How much does it cost to build a mobile app?

A mobile app can cost anywhere from $5,000 to more than $100,000.

However, there is no upper limit to the cost of an app. As a potential software client, you can set budget expectations better by knowing the factors that affect the cost of developing a mobile app.

This article answers the following questions:

What is the typical cost of building a mobile app in the United States?

What are the typical costs of developing a mobile app around the world?

How much can it cost to develop a mobile app in the Philippines?

What are the factors that affect the cost of software development?

What are some ways to estimate the cost of building a mobile app?

Cost of mobile app development in the United States

In the United States, the median hourly salary of mobile app developers is $45. In addition to this, you'll have to pay for the salary of an entire software development team if you want to end up with an architecturally sound application.

Depending on the software requirements, a mobile app can cost from $40,000 to $60,000. However, there is no upper bound to what a mobile app can cost to build, maintain, and scale.

For small business owners, these numbers can be jaw-dropping. That is why many small business owners outsource their mobile app development offshore to cut back on the costs of building high-quality mobile apps.

Outsourcing is a viable solution because technologies needed for mobile development is available worldwide. The quality of the product comes down to the software vendor.

Cost of mobile app development world wide

Based on a survey of 102 app development companies worldwide, a simple mobile app can cost $5,000 to $10,000.

Hourly rates vary wildly among countries. In India, the services of a mobile developer costs $18 to $40 an hour. In Eastern Europe, $60 an hour is a typical rate.

Cost of mobile app development in the Philippines

The hourly rate of mobile software developer in the Philippines is between $13 to $25 an hour. Because of its strong workforce, the Philippines has become an emerging hotspot for software outsourcing.

The cost of mobile app development in the Philippines is not the cheapest in the world. But outsourcing software development to the Philippines offers a high value for money, given the ease of working with Filipinos and the quality of their output.

What are the factors that affect costs of developing a mobile app?

Estimation based on the hourly rates of software developers alone can lead to wild inaccuracies. It makes sense to understand the cost factors to arrive at a realistic budget expectation.

The following are the factors that impact how much it costs to build a mobile app:

1. Workforce costs associated with software development

A mobile app can be built by an independent developer. However, building an app that is secure and scalable requires roles that are too many to be handled by one person.

That is why reputable software vendors require the services of a chief technology officer (CTO), quality assurance engineer, project manager, system administrator, network administrator, content specialists, user experience specialists, etc.

Each role have a different hourly cost, which may also change based on the job requirements.

2. Software requirement costs associated with software development

32 project-related factors affect the cost of software development. These factors impact the required time, human resource, tools, hardware assets, and software assets; and consequently, the overall costs. The following have the biggest effect on software development costs:

Project size. There are different ways to estimate the size of a project. The two most common are:

• the number of lines of code needed to meet project requirements; or
• the number of human hours needed to meet project requirements.

Uptime requirements. Uptime is the amount of time that software is ready for use. A higher uptime means more physical assets -- the hardware required to make software run and hardware required to serve as backups.

Number of users. The number of people who can use an app at the same time increases the required hardware and software assets.

Data size. Applications that process, analyze, and store massive data take longer to build; and require more hardware storage and processing capabilities.

Complexity. Complexity refers to the number and relationship of entities that interact so that an application solves the problems it is designed to solve. These entities include tools, code design, and software size.

Technology. Cutting-edge or niche software may not able to use existing solutions. As a result, these software tend to:

• require more time for research and development
• rely on experimental technology that needs more time and human resource to maintain

Deadline. Deadline is a complex factor. Depending on the context, a software vendor might:

• Increase the number of people working on a project;
• Increase the number of workhours on a project (either by assigning a dedicated software development team or simply putting more human resource); or
• Engage senior-level staff who might be able to build and test faster.

However, increased staffing does not necessarily translate to faster delivery. At times, more people working on a project can lead to more delay in delivery.

Different ways to estimate costs of mobile app development

A software partner can help you estimate the cost a mobile app using the following ways:

Building a minimum viable productBackward estimation using budget and timeline

Estimation using a minimum viable product

A minimum viable product (MVP) is software built to test the idea behind a product. An MVP has just enough features and functionalities to solve the main problems it is designed for. It helps business owners:

• understand how customers will interact with a product before it is fully developed
• make changes early in the product design to increase likelihood of success
• decide if it is worth investing more capital into an idea

An MVP is created with the lowest cost and smallest team possible. After an MVP is completed, a software vendor can give more accurate estimates for a product.

A well-defined project requirement and scope of work can help you come up with a better estimate of how many hours it will take to complete a mobile app. You can send queries to a chief technology offer (CTO) to help plan your project and come up with a clearer estimate.

Backward estimation using budget and timeline

An experienced software partner can tell you what can be accomplished with a given budget and timeline:

"This is the development budget, these are the features we can build with it."

There is a right way and bad way of doing so. A good software partner will code a less complex version of your app in a way that will be easy to:

Add more features. Add faster and more powerful components. Handle more users. Upgrade or maintain by future developers.

In tech terms, these are the attributes of extensibility.

One of the best ways to come up with a budget estimate that is suited to the nuanced needs of your software is to talk to a chief technology officer (CTO). A CTO is a senior developer who understands the business side of software development.