Whether you’re launching a business or innovating to deliver value, app development will be your gateway to making your vision a reality. Because, let’s be honest, it is incomprehensible to imagine a routine without mobile applications!

Now, we are no magicians, but we know what you’ll ask:

How much does it cost to develop an app?

App development costs are affected by a plethora of factors. However, considering an average app development cost, the range can go anywhere from £15,000 to £60,000 and more. It highly depends on the features, functionalities, and also programming languages! 

Shocking, eh? 🤔Well, not so much. The benchmarks can largely be categorised based on the application’s complexity level:

Now, before these stunning numbers scare you away, wait!

Ask yourself this - is app development expensive when we weigh the value we receive? Not, really. Because if it were, the world wouldn’t be witnessing the release of 3000+ applications every day, and the mobile application industry in the UK wouldn't be predicted to be worth more than £30 billion by 2025!

Well, now that we have a few comforting numbers, let’s cut right to the chase! 

Key Takeaways:

• App development costs

The cost of building an app depends on a plethora of factors, including features, platforms (native and cross-platform), categories, and regions (offshore vs onshore) - Understand each.

• Start by developing an MVP - Get early to market at less cost 

Minimal Viable Product allows you to get validation in the early cycles of development. Understand its importance in business and more.

• Don't hire in-house resources, outsourcing is much cheaper and better

Outsourcing allows you to use an experienced development team at much lower costs, whereas hiring in-house can be really expensive - Understand more.

• Market research and scoping out your app is crucial 

The discovery phase is equally important in a product development cycle. It ensures you're developing the right product for your users. Understand the costs involved.

• Marketing Phase

The secret to market disruption is a brilliant marketing strategy implemented in time. 

• Choose the app development company that suits your business needs

Know its experience, technical expertise, portfolio, etc. Explore other factors that will help in decision-making.

• If you have an amazing idea, lack of funds shouldn’t stop you! 

Raise funds for your app development through angel investing, crowdfunding, grants, and accelerator programs. Understand each in-depth.

• Rome wasn’t built in a day

And never does an app! From extensive research to marketing, there is a lot that goes into building an app. And all of this influences the overall cost of building an app.

Okay, enough with the wait! Here’s your treasure trove on app development costs. 

As mentioned above, the app development costs can range anywhere from £15,000 to £60,000. However, a simple ballpark figure doesn’t provide a clear picture here. So, let’s dive into every factor involved and help you determine how much you might need to invest. 

App Development Cost Breakdown by Features:

The features you decide to incorporate into your app will influence the final cost of the project and raise its scope. User registration and push notifications are some of the necessary or basic features that are typically less expensive.

Meanwhile, sophisticated features, such as payment systems, web portals, and navigation, raise the overall cost of your project.

Now, we’ll understand this in detail with the help of an example. Let’s reimagine the development of one of the popular fitness apps, such as Fiit or Freeletics. So, say we develop this fitness tracking app with only the following necessary features:
 

• Registration and onboarding: This feature allows users to create an account and log in to the app. This feature module would be required to know who’s using the platform, their activities, etc.
   

• Connecting health apps: Connecting the app to a specific health kit that can read and stream user fitness data. Please note that this feature is specific to the activity-tracking application.
   

• 2-3 core features: A simple app should only have those features that are absolutely required. Example: Viewing the stats of exercises, comparison with previous weeks, etc.
   

• Profile management: Users would need to edit their profile details, such as their weight, goals, diets, etc
   

• Push notifications: The app would need to send push notifications to users, such as steps, milestones, reminders, etc.
   

• Admin Panel: You’d definitely need an admin panel to access and edit your user data, have a bird-eye view of everything that’s going on in the platform, etc.

From the above-explained app development cost breakdown, a basic fitness application would cost you around £15,000. 

Next: Say you want your application to be advanced and functionality-rich. So, let’s say you add to the application the following complex features:

• Social media integration: With this, the app allows users to share content or interact with others on social media platforms.
   

• Maps & geolocation: GPS and location-based services are essential if you want to provide added location-specific content, including the user’s route on a map and air quality details.
   

• Payment Gateways: If the app will include a way for users to make purchases within the app for additional content such as diet plans, workout guides, etc., you’d need to introduce payment gateways.
   

By having an app with these kind of features, you are looking at £30,000+

As mentioned above, the cost of an app depends on its features and complexity. The more the features and scope, the higher the cost.

Cost of Building An App Based on Platform
 

The cost of an app also depends on the platform you decide to go with.
 

• Cross platform development: Developing apps through Flutter OR React Native. Advantage: Less time because the developer would code once and deploy on both iOS and Android stores.
   

• Native app development: Developing Android and iOS apps but in 2 different programming languages. Disadvantage: 2 developers would be required, 2 different platforms, more time required and even more when you need to solve any problems.

Okay, think about it with an example: Why would you want to buy a separate appliance for baking, grilling, and cooking when the latest model of a microwave oven does it all? That’s right, it's cost-effective and time-saving. 

Following is the app development cost breakdown by platform.

Okay! Enough about ourselves. Let’s get back to the pie! :)

Now that we’ve covered development costs on the basis of features and platforms, let’s understand app development cost breakdowns on the basis of category and region. 

Cost of Building an App Based on Category

In 2023, the answer to how much does it cost to develop an app can depend significantly on the market you’re planning to serve as well. The functionalities required differ when industries change, and this influences the overall app development cost.