The cost of mobile app development depends on several critical factors, from platform choice and app complexity to design, security, and testing requirements. Understanding these variables can help businesses plan better, set realistic budgets, and avoid unexpected expenses. By carefully defining requirements and collaborating with the right development team, companies can maximize their investment and achieve their app goals efficiently.

As mobile applications are becoming extremely popular, every business is trying to extend its services to be delivered through an app. For this, they need to have two things done: find a mobile application development company and calculate how much the development services will cost. And even though both steps are achievable, there are plenty of things to be predefined. Especially when it comes to the cost of app development.

Since the revenue in the app development market is expected to be around $179.90 billion in 2024, we believe you need to know more about what the final pricing is made of.

Top Factors at the Core of Mobile App Cost

  • Platform Choice

This choice significantly predetermines the final price for the development of a mobile application. If you want to have an iOS app developed, the costs are typically higher due to the need to 1) adhere to very strict guidelines and 2) use only specialized instruments. However, it’s an Android application that usually requires more testing across many devices.

  • Complexity of a Final Application

The time & cost of development correlates with the complexity of an application. Simple functionality applications will cost a lot less than complex functionality applications. The brightest examples are informational apps vs. social integration apps, online ordering apps vs. real-time trackers, and online scheduling apps vs. complex AI-powered applications. The more complicated the app’s functionality is, the higher the development cost.

  • Requirements’ Precision

During the pre-discovery and discovery phases, teams work on creating the app’s requirements to finally estimate the total development cost. In the requirements, business analysts work together with businesses to describe the backend infrastructure, third-party integrations, and CMS choices. In the case of well-written requirements, it’s easier to remain within the budget frames. But if later more features and integrations are added, they affect the total cost.

  • App Design

In addition to a feature set, two more aspects keep users hooked on an application. They are User Experience and User Interface design. This is why it’s of top importance to make everything possible to keep users hooked. Most businesses invest more time and money into avoiding issues like slow loading times, low-resolution images, poor connectivity, broken navigation, and/or signup/login functionality. This adds more to traditional UI/UX expenses.

  • Features

There are basic functionalities like authentication, in-app purchases, and push notifications that are at the core of a simple app. They do not require much development time or impressive budgets. But there are also more complex functionality sets. They include GPS and location-based services, offline mode, payment gateway integration, cross-platform compatibility, accessibility features for disabled users, AI-powered chatbots, behavior tracking, gamification elements, loyalty programs & rewards, etc.

  • Third-Party Integrations

What are third-party integrations? These are app integrations with extra services like social media platforms, payment gateways, and other APIs that enrich functionality as well as grow the development costs since engineers require more time to study their API documentation and then proceed with the integrations. Moreover, you need to consider API usage charges and licensing fees.

  • Security and scalability

These days, it’s highly important to ensure a high level of data protection to decrease the number of security threats. If you’re considering development on a single platform, scaling and updating it is a lot easier. Developers are flexible in their resources to introduce large-scale changes per need. Developing an application for two platforms means growing a development team and other resources, which requires more money.

  • App Testing

The trouble is that most business owners believe the main budget expenses are related to app development, whereas the quality assurance team and its input are not less important. They run tests to ensure that the design runs smoothly. They run tests on app functionality to ensure an app has no pre- / post-launch bugs. If there’s little or no testing performed, users soon run into fires that are challenging to put out within minutes.

  • Development Teams

Another factor that plays a major role is the location of engineers. For instance, developers from the USA will cost twice as much as developers from Western and Central Europe and three to four times more than those from Eastern Europe. At the same time, the quality of code and post-production support is equally high. Time difference can be the only constraint, Yet, a huge benefit is that this means a 24-hour development cycle: while your in-house team sleeps, a dedicated team from Eastern Europe keeps writing lines of code and testing them.

Conclusion

These are the major variables affecting the costs of mobile app development. If all details are predetermined before the development starts, there’s a high chance you won’t cross your budget borders. Yet, experts agree that in addition to using specialized cost calculators offered by most development agencies, you need to add 15-20% to the final estimate. This will be the real cost of development, with all unexpected stumbling blocks and extra features.