Developing a native mobile application from scratch requires a huge upfront cost. Depending on the complexity, size, and type of the app, it can cost you as little as $5,000 to over $1 million in some cases.
The increasing popularity of mobile apps in the gaming genre, entertainment, transportation, productivity, utility, etc. has led app market revenue to skyrocket. As per a report by Statista, the total revenue of the app market is expected to reach $673.80 billion by 2027.
Every business is investing in app development right now. However, the most common question that they still ask is, “How much does it cost to build a native app?”
Let’s understand how you can develop a mobile application under a budget and join the entrepreneurs who are earning exponentially via their apps!
What are Native Apps?
Native applications are built for a particular platform, say iOS or Android. Native applications are well-known for delivering high performance and a seamless user experience. Moreover, they work better on the operating systems they’re specifically designed and developed for. Since they are built using platform-specific languages and frameworks, they are bound to work much better than cross-platform apps.
However, these apps are distributed through their official app stores, that is, the Google Play Store (Android) and the Apple App Store (iOS). Although native applications are expensive to build, here’s why they are comparatively the best option for entrepreneurs wanting to launch an app-based business!
- Optimized performance: native applications are well-optimized to work as per the specific platform’s architecture.
- Seamless user experience: the applications offer an intuitive user experience since they are built as per the platform’s UI and UX design guidelines.
- Direct access to the device’s features: native apps can easily leverage the device’s features at full capacity.
- No compatibility issue: building native applications reduces the chances of compatibility issues and bugs, which is comparatively hard to achieve in cross-platform apps.
What’s the Cost of Building Native Apps?
Usually, a simple application with basic functions and features may cost you around $8,000 to $14,000. Whereas, a more complex app may require you to spend around $30,000 to $500,000, and high-end apps for healthcare, taxi booking, etc. may cost $500,000 or even more!
Several factors influence app development costs. Here are some of the major factors that may impact the overall cost of building a native app.
Type of application
If you need to build a social media app, a gaming app, a healthcare and fitness app, an on-demand app, or other apps for your business, you need to spend separately to build them.
Not only does it take more than 9 months to build the application, but it also costs at least half a million to build it!
Region
The region in which you’re developing the application can also affect your costs. Usually, in regions where labor costs are higher, app development costs more. It includes regions like North America and Western Europe. On the other hand, regions like Asia and Eastern Europe have lower labor costs, so you can build a native app within your budget!
App development approach and developer’s cost
Another important thing that can increase your app development costs is the approach you take when building them. In brief, building the app from scratch costs you more as it involves hiring an entire team of developers. Investing in a ready-made app can cost you a fraction of the cost it’s required to build the app from the ground up!
Besides, if you’re thinking of hiring a team, know that it can be a cost-effective option for you; however, it has its own set of challenges. Hiring freelancers is okay for a small project, but for developing a complex app enriched with features, you need professional assistance.
App Development Costs You Didn’t Know About
Many of you may not know, but there are several other hidden costs that you may have to pay for right after building your application. When estimating the budget, some of you may underestimate the cost of app development.
Here are some of the common hidden app development costs you should know about:
Security features: you have to ensure your user’s security, and therefore, you need to spend additional money to implement different security features. It includes-
- Encryption
- Two-factor authentication
- Mutual TLS
App Store fees: yes, you need to pay to publish your application on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. There is a pre-defined fee that you need to pay these platforms for submitting the app, updates, and hosting it!
App marketing: you have to promote your application so that you can reach more and more people and get more sales.
Third-party integrations: you also need to integrate third-party services such as SMS gateways, APIs for maps, payment gateways, etc. Integrating them also costs you more.
Maintaining the application: you have to keep maintaining your application so that it stays relevant for the market. This also means you have to invest in upgrading your technology and fixing bugs!
Clever Tips to Reduce the Overall App Development Cost
Now that you are ready to build a native application for your business, you need to learn how you can get that done under budget. Even though you have a large budget and a ton of money to invest in app development, strategically planning your costs will only be fruitful for your business!
Here are some of the most clever tips you can use to reduce the overall app development costs.
Building an MVP
Developing an MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, can save you a lot of money. MVP means you’re launching a basic version of your original product on the market. Once you launch the MVP, you can work through different feedback from the users and incoming demands to innovate the application later on.
Designing a simple UI/UX.
Another strategy you can use to reduce the app development cost is to design a simple UI and UX. Not only will a simple design ensure that new users adopt your application, but minimalistic designs also cost you less as they don’t have too many elements and features.
Opting for a white-label solution
As already mentioned in the blog, opting for a ready-made app can cost you less than building everything from scratch. It can drastically reduce the app development cost and give you professional support from experienced developers, designers, and testers. and so on.
Longer timeline
A shorter timeline means you need more resources to complete the job and may even need to input more working hours. Overall, it can cost you more! Launching an MVP is one solution.
Besides, you can simply opt for a pre-built solution that requires only 1-2 weeks for white-labeling and launching if you don’t want to wait longer!
This way, you don’t have to hire a bigger team and pay them more. The professional white-label firm will take care of everything within the shortest timeline.
Conclusion
If you are thinking of developing a native app for your business, you need to spend a handful of money and invest more time as well! However, if you wish to skip all those struggles, you can simply approach a white-labeling firm and buy a ready-made clone app script package.
You can find firms offering pre-built Uber Clone, Gojek Clone, Grab Clone, and other clone scripts of popular apps. All you need to do is get them white-labeled and launch them in the regions you want!
Well, the best thing is that you will make money from each and every service booked on your platform. Set the commission rates, integrate in-app ads, or charge minimum charges for service cancellations and surge pricing!
With the purchase of the package, you will get native apps for iOS and Android platforms, a website, and an admin panel as well!
It is that simple to launch your own app-based business in today’s time!