What Influences the Cost of Mobile App Development?

Cost of Mobile App Development

Apps have become synonymous with convenience for consumers. Among messaging, social media, retail, and other miscellaneous apps, the use of these pieces of software are common, to say the least.

As such, it only makes sense that many businesses want to cash in on this opportunity. Yet, before jumping on the bandwagon, it’s crucial to consider the cost of custom mobile app development. One of the biggest factors to take into consideration is the literal, financial cost of mobile app development.

This price tag isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer for every business. Rather, it’s a number calculated by the individual decisions that are made about and during the development process. These choices can add to or detract from the budget that a company will need to plan out for the creation of their new app.

Internal or External Development Options

Whether a company develops an app in-house or hires an app development agency will affect how much they’ll have to invest in their app. At first glance, this might seem as though in-house development is obviously the less expensive option.

This isn’t always the case, though. When developing an app on its own, a company will have to invest in internal talent as well as any software tools necessary to create the app. However, working with an existing agency like Rocket Lab can help minimize costs.

Installed Features

It makes sense that the bigger an app is and the more it offers, the more costly it will be to develop. While a simple app might take a little time and money, a larger, more complicated app will cause a larger sacrifice of resources.

All in all, the use of an extensive library of features or even a few complicated features can increase the cost of a company’s app. This is why it’s important to weigh in how often used and appreciated a feature would be before deciding to include it.

Use of External Services

One set of features that can factor into the cost of an app significantly is the use of any external services. For instance, if an app needs a database to work with, that will add to the expense.

Databases are required in a number of situations. If the app’s users can upload content, save content, or if the app offers updating data, a database is necessary to store this extra information.

Platform Choice

There are a lot of different platforms for apps  ranging from mobile devices to virtual assistants and smart home devices. The cost of app development can vary depending on the platform that the program is being developed for. This cost can even come down to the comparison of iOS vs. Android platforms. For example, according to the Business of Apps, the companies, on average, will spend $28,000 on iOS development but only $23,000.

Localization

Where an app is meant to be used has a lot to do with the cost of creating it. If it’s meant for a small, local business, that’s going to be much less expensive than an app with any international options.

The reason behind this is that it costs extra time and resources to translate an app. This is exacerbated by the fact that blanket translations aren’t typically the most effective and polished solution. Rather, it’s better to take the time to pay attention to localized translations for the regions the app will be released in.

All of these factors can change the ending budget for your company’s app development process. From who takes care of the main process to the specific design choices of the app, the exact cost of the creation process will vary from business to business. Knowing what will change the financial impact of an app on the company is the first step to realistic planning both app design and the budget to support it.