Mobile apps are intertwined with our lifestyle in such a profound way that we cannot imagine a day without using it. From booking a flight ticket to banking, learning online to ordering pizza, getting a taxi to finding a date, we have apps for everything. This has created a global demand for developing a mobile app. If you have a brilliant idea, you can Hire Mobile App Developer to make it a reality. But we need to ask one important question, what is cost hiring a mobile app developer? In this article, we have provided a detailed analysis on all the factors that affect the cost of mobile app development.
How to Start with Mobile App Development?
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Idea and Goal
Before we start with development cost, we need find our requirements first. We cannot go head first and start the process quickly, only to change it later. A clear idea and goal behind the creation of the app should be apparent before we even begin with any process.
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Research
Market research is important, as it can create a clear view of supply and demand of the app market. We need to collect the data on most download apps, most profitable niche and what segments are most favored in the market. This will allow us to build an app that become successful because of the market demand.
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Target Audience
Finding your target audience is a major decision factor in app development. If there is a demand in the market for certain apps, finding out who download those app can help with designing. Understanding the age, demography and location of your target audience allow you to add or remove features from the app. For example, if your target audience are seniors above 50 years of age, you need to have bigger fonts and easy interactive design.
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Monetization
Mobile apps have different types of monetization options to choose from. Most common way is to use ads in the app. Apart from that, you can choose, subscription, freemium, In-app purchase, affiliate marketing and referrals, sponsorship and more. Making a monetization strategy before staring the app development helps with designs and features. For example, if you decide to use ads for the revenue, you can change the design to facilitate better ad placement.
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Budget
Understanding the cost to hire mobile app developers will help you with a budget. Keeping a tight budget will help you decide all the other important factors of app development.
What factors Affects the cost of Hiring a Mobile App Developer?
1. Application Type
One of the most critical details of any app development depends on the application categories or type. Different types of app require different design and framework to build. Some of the well-known app categories are lifestyle, social media, entertainments, utility and more.
Application category determines the total hours of work that indicates total cost. For simple app categories like clock, calendar, note taking apps does not have more features and is simple to create. This will reduce the total cost of app development.
2. Platforms
Choosing the right app development platform can ultimately decide the total cost of hiring a mobile app developer. Selecting android or iOS for the app development can pave the way for every single decision. However, android and iOS are considering as one platform as they are known as native apps. Here are the 3 basic platform which are categories by the technology they use.
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Native App
Native apps indicate using native language to build the app. For iOS, we can use Swift and for android, we can build with Java. Native apps are built for one platform and easy to maintain. They have higher performance than other platform because they are built using platforms core programing language.
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Web Apps
Unlike native apps, web applications are access through internet using browser interface. Web applications are not mobile app per say because they can be accessed from any devices or operating system. However, they are considerably cheaper to made because they lack many features provided by native apps.
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Cross Platform App
Most business are choosing to build their app for both iOS and Android platform, but it is expensive. Using a cross platform approach will allow them to build an app that works on both platforms. This is a cost-effective way to build a mobile with better reach.
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Hybrid Apps
Similar to the cross-platform app, hybrid app method is useful to create apps for both android and iOS. Hybrid app uses both native and web app approach to create mobile application. The main difference between cross platform app and hybrid app is that hybrid provides better designs, features and security.
3. Choosing The Right App Development Partner
Finding the right mobile app development partner makes all the difference for the success. It also has major impact on the cost as well. Here are some of the different type of development options.
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Freelancer
Choosing a freelance mobile app developer can reduce the total cost of app development considerably. You can find some of the best and most experienced mobile app developers on websites like Upwork and Fiverr. However, Freelancers cannot handle a big project and deliver it on time. They might have experience but they cannot provide better services in some cases as the app development takes time.
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In-House Team
Businesses and companies established their own in-house development team. They can hire app developer for long term projects. In house team is always a good option when your company relies heavily on mobile apps. However, it raises the overall cost of app development as they are salaried employees which requires benefits and other options. Businesses also need invest in better equipment and workstation and purchase license copy of development software.
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Mobile App Development Company
App development agencies are mix between freelancer and in house team as they can work remotely but offers many faculties like in house team. They have teams of expert developers that can create mobile app from grounds up. They have years of experience with full life cycle of app development and understands your requirements and needs. No matter which country you live in, you can work with them remotely and hire mobile app developer in India.
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Location Based Development Charges
The cost of app development depends upon choosing the right development companies from budget friendly location. There are varied charges of development cost based on the country’s development team are located in. For example, a mobile app development agency in USA will charge around $100 to $200 for hourly work, but other development team from India will charge $30 to $50 per hour for same work.
4. Complexity
A difficult and complicated app cost higher than simple one. It’s depending on what type of features you need or functionality you want to include in your app. A simple app has simple framework and features which requires less hour of work. A complex app with custom UI, integration, backend supports and more will take more hours and an expert developer.
5. UI/UX
User interface and user experience is an integral part of the development. A simple interface is easy to make but create issue with user experience. We need an app that is easy on the eye and easy to interact. A standard UI looks similar to every other simple app which makes it less desirable. A custom UI with animations looks different and attract the attention.
6. MVP
Minimum viable product (MVP) are the prototype versions of mobile apps. They are the first version of your mobile app without all the features and design but only with core functionality. It’s important to create an MVP to get a better picture of your app.
7. App Maintenance
Just like a building, an app requires constant maintenance. Rolling out new updates, adding new features and any other extra works after the development is considered as app maintenance. Most mobile app developer offers free maintenance for a certain period of time, but after that, we need to pay them to do the work. We need to take the app maintenance into consideration for total cost.
Conclusion
As we progress through the era of digitalization, our reliance on mobile apps grows exponentially. Reports suggest that global app market will reach over $600 billion by 2026. This is the ripe time to create a successful app in the market. From small businesses and brick and mortar shops to large corporations, every single one is developing their own mobile app. So, Hire Mobile App Developers for your mobile app ideas and take advantage of the global demand.