When you come to the decision to create a mobile app with no experience in development, the question of hiring developers inevitably arises. The question itself does not give an answer, so you have to analyze the pros and cons of outstaffing or outsourcing services from different performers. The first factor to consider in the analysis is the price. You want it cheaper, but will it end up being cheaper?
2021 was a record year for the global mobile application market. Let’s look at the figures: 204 billion app downloads, 45% more than in 2020, 3 hours 40 minutes daily users spend on mobile devices, 35% more than in 2022.
The past year seems to be changing attitudes about technology once and for all – for almost all companies, integrating mobile technology into business processes has become a matter of survival. But mobile app development has the flip side of the coin – price.
Why is it so expensive?
Freelancing gives the impression that you can create any turnkey mobile app inexpensively. In some cases you can really count on it: if the allocated budget is extremely limited, which implies acceptance of a lot of flaws in the quality of work, hidden and obvious bugs (errors), unoriginal or minimal functionality of the application. With a comprehensive approach to the application, such a price is impossible. Today it is very difficult to answer the question “how much would it cost to create an app?”, as it depends on many parameters, some of which we have given below.
Time
In any professional company the price is clearly calculated and broken down by components. The most frequent and universal way of calculation is the number of hours multiplied by the cost of the specialist’s work per hour (rate). Thus, the cost of time determines the cost of the project. As you know, the quality of any case can be provided by the amount of time spent with it.
Time is required for each stage of the project: research, design, application design, frontend development (client side), backend development (server side), testing and commissioning. These stages necessarily require detailed elaboration when creating a successful application.
It will be difficult to refuse a “cheap” specialist – it is unlikely that someone else will undertake to redo a lot of bugs. Even if the rate is half as much, because of the bugs you will spend your time searching for, the release will be delayed many times, and the number of hours you will be paid for will grow by 2-3 times. In the end, the total cost is still comparable to the option of hiring experienced professionals, the work with whom does not turn into a headache.
Complex application structure
What does the amount of time depend on? There can be many factors, from the list of devices and platforms that will support the app to the list of features.
A complex application structure increases the amount of time required. The server part is required if the application will, for example, synchronize data with the server or will be controlled by an admin panel through a web interface. Third-party APIs, offline functionality, interface animations, data storage issues, non-standard controls, and multiple user roles also add complexity to the application structure.
One or multiple platforms?
Are you interested in developing applications for Android or iOS? Or maybe you need a web app? There are a few things to keep in mind. In Android development, unlike iOS, there are many devices with different technical characteristics and operating system versions. Adapting for tablets and supporting older versions of platforms and devices, limited by performance, functionality, and lack of updates makes the project more expensive.
