What’s the cost of developing a mobile app for your business or startup in 2024?
Simple apps cost between $10,000 and $60,000, average complexity apps fall between $60,000 and $150,000, and highly advanced apps start at around $300,000.
The final app development price varies depending on the app’s complexity and the development team’s location.
Understanding these cost drivers will help you balance value and price when budgeting for app development.
This guide explores mobile app cost factors, hidden app development costs, and tips on selecting an app development company. Let’s dive in!
Hire outsourcing experts from SPDLoad.
It’s important to note that the price of app development depends on the complexity of the solution you are building.
Your app can be simple, basic, or complex based on the number of features, integrations, programming language, and other factors.
| App Type | Estimate Cost | Time |
| Simple App Development | $10,000 to $60,000 | 1-3 months |
| Basic App Development | $60,000 to $150,000 | 3-6 months |
| Complex App Development | from $300,000 | 9+ months |
The best way to discover how much app development might cost for you is to talk to the developers directly. If you haven’t found a development company yet, you can try an app cost calculator to get an estimate.
Suppose you ask a development studio to estimate the price of app without giving them clear documents and details. In that case, the price for app development will probably be just a rough guess.
On the other hand, to get a precise estimate with app development cost calculators, you need to consider many things.
At SpdLoad, we figure out the cost of making an app by going through a careful estimation process.
If you want to learn more about the process, check out our product discovery services.
To get an idea of how much app creation costs, we look at app development statistics and global trends.
To get an idea of how much app creation costs, we look at app development statistics and global trends.
Here, we’ve gathered data from trusted sources like Statista, Business of apps, Appmysite, and Influencer marketing hub.
Check out some relevant stats on the importance of having your own mobile app in 2024.
As you can see, the mobile app market is a pretty welcoming area.
However, you might wonder if they truly impact enterprises.
Here are some statistics that demonstrate their significance:
Thus, it’s evident that demand for mobile applications is growing, and owning one will significantly impact your startup.
Now, it’s high time to move to the app development cost discussion.
We’ll explore the approximate costs of different types of apps you might be interested in building.
The average mobile app development cost ranges from $30,000 to over $400,000.
The type of application is an important factor that shapes the final price and it should be taken into consideration. Below is a list of the most popular types of apps and the average development cost involved.
| App Type | Estimate Cost | Time |
| Mobile App | $30,000-$300,000 | 1,200h |
| iPhone App | $55,000-$300,000 | 1,200h |
| Android App | $50,000-$300,000 | 1,200h |
| Web App | $60,000-$300,000 | 1,200h |
| Startup App | $40,000-$400,000 | 1,600h |
| Taxi App (Uber) | $50,000-$400,000 | 1,600h |
| Game App | $60,000-$250,000 | 1,600h |
| Retail App | $50,000-$150,000 | 1,200h |
| Augmented Reality App (AR) | $100,000-$250,000 | 1,600h |
| eCommerce App | $60,000-$250,000 | 1,600h |
| Social Media App (Instagram) | $50,000-$300,000 | 1,200h |
| Business App | $50,000-$200,000 | 1,200h |
| Learning App (DuoLingo) | $60,000-$225,000 | 900h |
| Video Streaming App | $80,000-$300,000 | 1,600h |
| Restaurant App | $40,000-$150,000 | 900h |
| Community App | $18,000-$150,000 | 900h |
| Shopify App | $30,000-$180,000 | 900h |
| Dating App | $50,000-$350,000 | 1,400h |
| Food Delivery App | $40,000-$150,000 | 900h |
| Hybrid App | $40,000-$200,000 | 1,200h |
| Healthcare App | $55,000-$300,000 | 1,200h |
| Typical App | $40,000-$300,000 | 1,200h |
The development price might differ depending on the OS you prefer. Let’s see how much is the cost for developing an app for Android, iOS, and hybrid apps.
| OS | Cost |
| iOS app development | $75,000-$500,000 |
| Android app development | $50,000-$500,000 |
| Hybrid app development | $90,000-$700,000 |
Are you confused about what each application type means? Let’s unwrap them.
An iOS application is a mobile app built primarily to work on the iPhone operating system and intended to interact natively with the device’s core component.
These apps are created using Swift, Objective-C, XCode, etc.
The cost of app development on iOS ranges from $75,000 to $500,000 based on the intricacy and complexity of each idea as well as which of the best iOS development tools your team is using.
As its name implies, these are mobile applications built to work natively on Google’s Android operating system.
They interact with the OS’s components to guarantee users an optimum experience.
These apps are created using Kotlin and Java.
The cost of developing mobile apps on Android ranges between $70,000 and $500,000, depending on the app’s complexity, compliance laws, and other factors.
A Hybrid mobile application is created with a single codebase to work efficiently on Android and iOS devices.
These apps are created using React Native, Ionic, Flutter, NativeScript, etc.
Creating a cross-platform mobile app ranges between $90,000 and $700,000.
In addition to the OS type, the app development cost depends on the development team’s country and location. Now, let’s examine how it works.
A high price does not always indicate a high-quality product. It only shows the salary variations of programmers in different countries.
Here’s a brief comparison of the programmers’ rates in different regions:
| Region | Hourly rate, $ |
| United States (USA) | 120-150 |
| United Kingdom (UK) | 100-120 |
| Australia | 100-120 |
| Western Europe | 80-100 |
| Eastern Europe | 30-50 |
| India | 20-30 |
As we can see, the price variation is substantial.
At an hourly rate of $120-150, it costs more to develop in the US than in any other country.
Hiring a developer with a similar skill set in India often costs $20-30.
However, India is a country famous for low-quality codes.
For top-notch cost-effectiveness, it’s best to opt for Ukrainian developers.
They mainly adopt a mathematical approach to their coding process, making the mobile app more scalable, resilient, and secure.
However, it is crucial to understand that the hourly rate will differ depending on the:
Check out our article on the top 10 countries to outsource software development for a detailed regional analysis.
The more information you have, the better prepared you will be to evaluate the proposal.
These main cost factors will help you create a basic design for an application that meets your requirements.
Moving on to the next part of how much money it takes to create an app. Let’s explore a few successful application examples.
Below are examples of mobile applications, along with the cost and development time.
It gives you a mobile app development price estimate, not a precise figure.
Tinder is a geosocial networking and dating application with over 67 million annual downloads.
The app is user-friendly and easy to use. You can swipe pictures either to the right or left to find people you might like to date.
Tinder began in 2012 with $485,000 in initial funding and has become very successful since then.
The company’s revenue was over $1.6 billion in 2021 and is poised to surpass that number in 2023.
The cost of creating a dating app like Tinder is about $100,000, with such features as:
Ikea is a brand-based application developed with the help of Augmented Reality.
The photos of the furniture in their catalogs are mostly 3d models.
Due to the various new features, integrations, and security aspects, these apps increase the bill but add many functionalities.
The price of app development can start from $45,000, and the product can be built in about 1,000 hours.
The features of the mobile app design include:
Uber is a ridesharing app that allows to request a ride from a nearby driver.
Uber’s first funding was a $510,000 investment, but it has raised above $25 billion since then. The app currently has over 118 million users.
Are you interested in creating a similar product? The average cost of making an app like Uber is $80,000.
The development process will take approximately 1,200 hours.
The company, which started in 2009, is currently one of the world’s most valuable organizations, with a valuation of over $91 billion.
Core features of the Uber app include:
Transform your ideas into reality with custom software tailored just for your business – contact us today!
TikTok is a popular social media application for video-sharing.
The cost of developing an app like TikTok can depend on the app features and functionalities it offers.
The cost of application development will start from $70,000 and can take about 1,200 hours to build.
The app features include:
Airbnb is an app that links people who need a place to stay with those who have rooms or homes to rent in a particular area for a specific time.
Airbnb grew from raising a seed fund of $20,000 to having a valuation of over $30 billion.
The company makes revenue from charging platform tax–guests pay 5%-15% booking fee, while the hosts pay 3%.
This business model generated an income of $6 billion in 2021, a 78% year-on-year increase.
Feeling inspired to create a similar app? Building a mobile application for Airbnb will cost about $100,000 and can require a 1000-hour timeline.
Core features in the Airbnb app include:
Twitter (now X) is a microblogging and social network created by Jack Dorsey in 2006.
The app got $5 million in its first funding round when it was valued at $20 million. In the Q2 of 22, it was worth $44 billion, making $1.2 billion in revenue.
An average price of an app like Twitter is $500,000. The core features needed for the app to function include:
Now that we have explored the time and effort required to develop an app like one of the popular startups, we’ll examine the factors influencing app costs.
Before developing the mobile application, you must analyze the target audience and business objectives, understand how to start an app and focus on platform choice as well.
The buttons, screens, and other elements make the application unique, engaging, and convenient, but each additional piece affects the overall project budget.
Therefore, it is essential to pre-develop a prototype and think over the functionality to the smallest detail.
This functionality influences the following factors that affect the mobile app pricing.
The cost of developing a mobile application depends on three factors:
We will discuss these three aspects in detail, starting with the complexity.
The smaller and simpler the application, the less time it will need to be developed. When it comes to the development timing, you need to decide on the scale of the upcoming work.
How many features will be implemented in the product? How many screens, buttons, and functions will it have? How complex will the application’s business logic be?
The complexity level of the app depends on the features and integrations you choose. The cost of building a complex app with real-time features will be higher than the one with simple functionality.
If we choose an entire expert development team for our project:
The terms of app development in each category will be the following:
The cost of developing mobile applications depends heavily on the complexity level and the project size.
It comprises basic features, three to four screens, simple functions, and no data storage.
Such an application will have the main features including:
The budget for developing an app with simple features will be determined based on a collection of features offered through the app.
Examples: A calculator app, time tracking app, notes app, and social networks.
Why does an airplane cost more than a car? Because it is bigger, far more complex, consists of unique materials, has higher safety regulations, and has specialized features.
Similarly, developing an app by adding more features and databases will increase the cost.
In these applications, you are looking to add some extra features (other than the ones you find above):
Apart from these, there is better accessibility and usage of robust infrastructure.
These are the applications that require data storage, retrieval from more than one database, and synchronization.
To build such an app, you should also understand the size of the customer base; this helps define the cost and price range.
So, the higher complexity and number of features the app offers will increase the final app development cost.
Examples: Photo-sharing applications, taxi or grocery delivery applications.
The complex apps are designed for big businesses.
Basically, app development companies create a custom product without integrations, or they use custom integrations with existing systems.
Complex apps are legal or custom applications, usually leading to higher development costs.
The total cost of building an app can go way beyond how much you might expect.
Explore our app development services today
Here’s how the app development cost of this kind of app is different:
Developing complex mobile applications is hard. Estimating the app making costs involves a lot of research and planning.
There are many factors to consider, such as creating dashboards, handling complex platforms, and managing servers and databases. Ensure high availability and security, which adds to the complexity.
Customizations are often necessary, meaning developers must write a lot of code for various functions.
It’s hard to know exactly how much an app will cost upfront. This is because each project’s scope can vary, and it takes time to figure out all the details, usually through lengthy discussions.
Examples: enterprise applications, CRM applications, gaming apps, and trading platforms.
Moving on with how much it costs to develop an app, we have entered the app design stage.
The app design process is a crucial part of the development stage.
You cannot separate the two to decide on the cost of developing the app.
Designing is similar to development. Adding more features increases cost proportionally. (Read more about the app design cost.)
If you choose ready-made templates for designing, the cost estimate will be limited, but if you want more customizations in the design, it will cost more and take longer.
We need to look at a few things here as well.
Read the article for step-by-step instructions.
UX is about how the application works. It involves creating the screens on paper or a designing platform.
Ultimately, it also helps decide how much it costs to develop a mobile app.
The goal is to make the application easy for the end-user to use.
Understanding the market, the user, your goals, and your objectives is essential when creating that kind of experience.
The cost of launching a mobile app will fluctuate depending on the engagement levels and intricate design.
Application design involves many details. However, it begins with the app user interface design, or how the application will look to the viewer.
You can estimate the cost depending on the use of different visual elements. In fact, it influences the cost of MVP design as well.
Designing an application follows creating mockups that allow for a visual hint of the solution.
Here, too, the design will depend on your goals.
What do you require from your enterprise app?
Furthermore, the kind of application you are developing will also play a role in app development costs.
Different types of applications require different design solutions.
At SpdLoad, we emphasize design and development equally to determine the optimal cost of developing an app.
What does come into your mind when you think of:
All organizations have a brand value.
Their icons and names stand out from thousands of similar brands.
Why? Because they have invested in branding.
When you’re creating a mobile app, you might decide not to promote your brand because of the high cost of marketing efforts.
However, branding is a part of your business model.
So, there is no doubt whether or not to include branding in the application development process.
The final cost to have an app made will depend on branding. That is why you must keep it nominal in the beginning.
After capturing the market to some extent, you can think about scaling branding efforts.
When you develop an app for a user, add copywriting to the total cost.
A creative copy must compel users to engage and interact more with your solution.
Fusing good copy and impactful design is vital for an app’s success.
However, regarding the cost, you cannot ignore that a good copy needs good money.
To know how much it costs to set up an app, ask your developer to choose a copywriter first.
Or, if you want to hire one by yourself, include the price in the final tally.
You can also select from a huge pool of writers available worldwide.
Choose a writer that shows nativity and cost-effectiveness.
Hiring a writer from a native English-speaking country will cost more.
Examples are texts for:
After discovering the price of mobile app development based on complexity and design, we move on to the platform.
You need to decide between two variants:
Hybrid here implies that the application will run on both Android and iOS devices.
This question is primary in the project discovery phase, which we adhere to at Spdload to decide how much an app costs.
Before boiling down to one platform, consider three things:
All these depend on the market you are going to target initially.
Knowing the market is helpful for determining the cost of iOS app development. You need to know where iOS is more prevalent than Android. The same theory applies to Android devices.
The development process for both platforms is different, but not the final price.
Cross-platform applications are advantageous because they can easily fit on different devices and work smoothly. Plus, they can utilize features specific to each platform.
This helps create a better experience and lowers an app’s “how much cost” answer.
The cost of developing a native app is higher than that of a hybrid one. And this is for obvious reasons. You require double the human resources and effort to build two apps at the same time.
Unlike a hybrid app, a native application runs only on a single platform: Android or iOS.
Thus, if you want to build an app for both Android and iOS using native frameworks, you’ll need to hire two different development teams.
One will create an Android version, and the other will create an iOS version.
The question arises: how much does it cost to develop an app for iOS and Android separately?
Since you will need to employ different people for different platforms, the cost will certainly double.
The question that you might ask is how much an iPhone or an Android app costs.
The answer is that the cost is the same as building an app on iOS and Android.
Although the technologies, SDK, databases, frameworks, and quality assessment systems are different for both, the price is the same.
Another integral part of the guide on how much an app will cost is hidden mobile app development costs.
Let’s move on to this topic.
To calculate how much an effective app costs, we must take into account a few additional expenses:
Let’s look at the details. For example, it costs $75,000 to develop the app.
When you estimate mobile app development cost, it is easy to overlook some hidden costs that can greatly impact the final app development price.
The most important among them are marketing and ongoing support expenses.
Let’s discuss what each entails.
When we talk about marketing expenses, we mean the money you spend to make your mobile app well-known to the people you want to use it.
Ideally, your marketing budget for an app development project should be X2-X3 of your initial development price.
So, if the app development cost is $100,000, you should budget from $200,000 to $300,000 for your yearly marketing expenses.
This money will be spent on the following:
These are funds you spend to ensure the application works as it should, there are no bugs and other issues, users find it easy to utilize, and their experience improves over time.
App maintenance may be routine, on-demand, or both.
The budget for app maintenance should contain x2 of your initial app development cost. The bulk of maintenance costs will be spent on the following:
Now that we have explored the hidden costs of mobile app development, it is time to choose a reliable vendor to create an app for you.
Use our app development calculator to estimate app cost.
The final point to consider in terms of how much it costs to make your app is the app development team you choose.
The assumption that the kind of development one chooses does not matter is not valid.
On the contrary, choosing the right development partner has countless benefits. The main ones are lower costs and higher quality.
As a startup, your budget is low, but the need for a unique product is imperative.
So, choose the team wisely if you want to get the best bang for your buck.
Here’s some expert guidance that will help you decide how much an app costs.
The choice of a team will significantly influence how much it costs to make an app.
Pro Tip: Always keep three things in mind when you are hiring developers for your solution:
Here is a more detailed description of each option.
You can always choose a trusted medium-sized local company that provides a list of services, including SEO optimization.
| Criteria | Description |
| Cost | To develop an app, the development cost by the local companies will be higher. |
There is no doubt about that.
Depending on the country you are starting your startup in, the per-hour rates of a development team and a design team can range between $150 to $250 per hour per specialist.
So, if the total work is for 400 hours and takes an average rate of $100, you are looking to spend $80,000.
That is the app development cost breakdown.
Plus, you will get expert quality and the possibility to make changes easily.
Lastly, a local team will be responsible and accountable for their work.
However, the cost factor of these teams is over the charts.
If you can and are ready to spend $40,000 on the product in one go, be our guest.
But this cost doesn’t include maintenance, edits, copywriting, discovery, and market analysis.
For more complicated projects, there is another option.
An in-house team is a group of app developers who work directly for your company. They get paid a salary by your company and follow instructions from your management team on a daily basis.
These developers are the most preferred option for solutions that collect sensitive information.
| Criteria | Description |
| Cost | The cost of hiring an in-house team varies with the location of your startup and the developer’s expertise. |
For startups based in the United States, the cost is
Here, the cost is even higher than contracting the work to a local agency. (You can compare the salaries using our calculator.)
However, you can reduce your expenses by offering the developer some equity.
Additionally, the high development cost here also leads to twice as high maintenance costs.
Its benefits are:
Its disadvantages are:
You’re also liable for a lawsuit if things go wrong due to the negligence of your management staff.
Also, you’ll have to worry about both technical and business needs.
Although this is the most popular hiring model, it’s not cost-effective.
If you have decided to create an app but you have a limited budget, then you can hire freelancers.
If you need to quickly test a hypothesis or do a small project, you can work with freelancers.
If you choose this option, keep in mind that you will need to spend a lot of time communicating with contractors and managing the project.
| Criteria | Description |
| Cost | There are two ways you can go ahead with a freelancer. |
Plus, there are plenty of platforms to find freelancers.
Websites like Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, Toptal, and so on.
The average hourly price of a freelancer again depends on the country you are hiring from.
These are the starting rates, and they can climb as per the experience.
So, to figure out the cost of building a useful and excellent app, consider the hours.
With freelancing, you have the power to dictate the prices and still get a quality product.
The downside of working with freelancers is that you can lose track of accountability.
They can quickly quit the job and leave you hanging.
Hence, here, the question is not how much it costs for a freelancer to make an app but whether the specialist will see it through.
However, ensuring that the freelancer helps you till the end of the product development and adheres to your requirements can become an issue.
So, we would not recommend going the freelancing way until and unless you have the time and energy to monitor them continually.
If your project requires more staff and specialists working on the project, the availability of high-quality software, and experience in promoting apps, then you may want to outsource mobile app development.
By outsourcing application development, you’re contracting a foreign company to help you create your app from scratch and manage the overall architecture.
It allows you to focus on your business needs, and a team of experts manages your technical requirements.
| Criteria | Description |
| Cost | Cost of development differs from country to country. For example, developers’ prices in the USA are 2x-3x higher than the cost of hiring developers in Ukraine. |
Eastern European countries provide the perfect blend of cost and quality.
They adopt a mathematical approach to development and ensure solutions are resilient, robust, scalable, and secure.
Ukraine offers you access to developers at $40 while hiring the same talent in the US costs $100-$120/hour.
The cost of outsourcing mobile app development to an offshore agency varies from $30,000 to $500,000.
The exact amount depends on the product’s complexity.
Securing a partnership with a dedicated offshore development team provides you with several benefits. These include
Outsourcing app development to an agency will certainly reduce the app’s development cost.
However, before you choose an agency, leave no stone unturned.
Check everything and talk to the team.
In general, the cost of outsourcing mobile application development varies greatly from $30,000 to $50,000.
As mentioned above, it greatly depends on the operating system, minimum viable product, features, type of app, UX/UI design, tools, software, and other factors.
When it comes to the mobile app development process, you have to go through a lot of things, including
So, it’s better to be sure about the company you choose.
There are many IT outsourcing companies offering different services. But how to find a reliable partner capable of delivering high-quality products?
First, it’s better to conduct in-depth research and ensure they meet your product’s requirements.
Here are some tips that can help you in choosing an IT company that can fulfill your project needs and create the app you want:
You need to decide on the requirements for your application, the number of funds allocated for its development, the desired development timeline, as well as the platforms to run it.
It is also a plus if you get to know about the main popular technologies for mobile application development. This will help you better understand what sort of application you need to develop.
It will greatly help when choosing a mobile app development company, as you can look for an expert in your type of application.
If you pick a well-known software app development company with a good track record, you can be confident that you’ll have skilled experts working on your project.
This company will offer all the resources you need for designing, developing, and testing your app, so you won’t have to search for extra help elsewhere.
Once you’ve found an app development agency that fits your needs, dedicate some time to meeting the dedicated development team.
Ask them for their experience in app development, tell them briefly about your app ideas, and discover what they think about your app concept.
Such a conversation will help you understand how the app developers of this company find your idea and are ready to implement it.
Ask the company representatives to name some of the best apps they have created and thoroughly explore them.
Think about whether you like the design of these apps and whether you find them functional and user-friendly.
It is also important to remember that its uniqueness is one of the main factors for app success. Do you see anything special about this company’s apps, or do they seem ordinary?
It is crucial to discuss the security and privacy of your mobile application and your business data privacy.
Developers should be prepared to sign a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement to protect your sensitive information.
In addition, it’s better to discuss intellectual property rights in advance. These and other aspects of ensuring app security and personal data protection must be discussed and dealt with before starting the collaboration.
Building a mobile app involves evaluating features, design, and platform, which affect complexity and cost.
Select the best company to make your idea into a product for the market. Consider hidden fees, where they get their materials, and what support they offer afterward.
At Spdload, we specialize in developing market-ready mobile apps at competitive prices. Our detailed yet efficient cost analysis helps ensure your product’s success and scalability.
As an industry leader, we have the experience to turn your vision into a high-quality, cost-effective app.
Contact our mobile app development company today to learn more about our mobile app development, design, and consulting services.
Our CEO, Max, has an impressive 11-year background in SaaS development. His strong analytical skills have played a critical role in driving the company's growth and success in the highly competitive tech landscape.
When talking about app development costs, there are several factors that affect the final price. Where are app complexity, operating system you choose (whether it is Android app, iOS, or a cross-platform app). Another factor worth mentioning is whether you need a custom design or a simple one, and, of course, the location of your development team. You also want to include ongoing maintenance costs into your app development budget.
How long does it take to develop an app and how does this affect cost?The time to develop an app ranges from a few weeks to over a year, depending on complexity. Longer development times generally mean higher costs due to increased hours and resource allocation.
How can I keep app development costs within budget?To keep app development costs within budget, you need to clearly define your app requirements, focus on the most essential features for the early version of your app, and consider app development outsourcing. To prevent any misunderstanding, discuss your budget expectations with the development team and include ongoing maintenance and updates costs to keep your app going after the launch.
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