How expensive is it to create an app?

Estimating costs is super hard in the software industry, especially if your app gets more complicated

Could avoid paying out of pocket altogether by applying to MassLight. We invest capital and software engineers in early-stage startups in exchange for equity.

The basic formula to calculate the cost to build an app is
Total Development Time x Hourly Rate = App Cost

Factors that Determine the Application Development Cost:

• Project type
• Platforms
• Features
• Development partner and Engagement model
• Location of development partner
• Design complexity
• App maintenance and other additional costs

This is a good read. Thanks :)

Excellent publication, I think it depends on how big the application is and its functionalities, also the technologies. It is not the same to develop for mobile or website.

App development has become more easy and intuitive with dev environments such as Flutter.
The costs are still high since coding is only part of the job. Deployment of the app still requires some time and effort dealing with the app stores, including ongoing maintainance.

A rough estimation for a POC is around $5,000
Longer term version could easily reach $25,000
As the app needs constant updates and improvements such as UI/UX, bug fixes and extra features.

it is expensive

Great read! Certainly an investment that with right fit can pay dividends! I like NoCode to bring down costs while providing valuable products. We use a pure nocode stack at JMP Studios - JMPStudios.xyz 🙂

I love this article! In my opinion, the author highlights all the important parts of App Development - design, functionality and maintenance.

However, I find the price estimates somewhat ridiculous. As a freelance mobile developer in the United States, I doubt anyone would "be ready to spend around $20,000 - $30,000 for 2-3 months of work". I could be wrong lol!

We definitely ought to include thinking and talking about the economics of development, hosting, maintenance, backups, security, etc. in our strategizing, and ideation. We can have an appetite for a big juicy Kobe steak but enough resources to eat a salad.

¯\_ (ツ)_/¯ It depends...

This calculator might help you: https://webmarken.com/en/how-much-does-an-mvp-cost/

2 weeks to 9 months typically (just pull the number out of a hat). But i have a pretty good work break down for clients that explains why.

I think that is quite a heavy estimation. If you concentrate on the "M" in "MVP" you can definitely get something done for less than 25k.

Between DIY, app builders and cheap dev teams around the world, there is money to be saved.

You should also consider the maintenance cost. Especially with Android. A couple times every year Google will ask you to do changes to still be able to be in the Play Store. Depending on the app some of this changes can be small or huge.

Consider PWA instead.

There is too much duopoly in the apps ecosystem.

As someone who has managed multiple agencies, I can say that the answer to your question is "more than you'd think".

It's expensive, whether you do it yourself (time/energy) or you hire someone (money). And whatever you think it'll be, it'll be more. If you're hiring it out to someone, do a fixed bid, or T&M with a cap. If you're doing it yourself, set a strict timeline, have someone hold you accountable, and be vigilant about scope creep.

Of course, the price tag will vary according to experience level, where you're sourcing your talent, and whether you choose freelancers or an agency.

In my experience, it's best to hire people that you know. If that isn't doable, then try to hire people near you. If you're a reasonably organized person (and the talent is reasonably experienced), you shouldn't need a project manager (and hence, you really don't need an agency) — just learn from resources like this. If you don't have the money to hire someone experienced from your own area, then either wait until you have the money or (even better) learn to build it yourself. These days, you can learn to code for free, and no-code is becoming a real option too. You could also find a technical cofounder, but you should really get started on the tech yourself before you do that.

Just don't get it on the cheap. Cheaply made apps are a headache and often end up costing more in the long run.

Depends on app requirements. Every app is different and requires more or less resources. Would be better if you could provide example of the app. :)