Category: Tips

How do you find a suitable compromise for a mobile app’s necessary expenses? What are those expenses? What features you can forego in the first iteration without affecting functionality? Let’s talk about that. Mobile app development has many different variables and its price can range from $30,000 to $500,000. It’s hard to estimate app development cost for Android or iOS. We are here to help you with a mobile app estimation of essential expenses for your mobile app development.

The APP Solutions Mobile Development Process 

So, how to estimate app development costs?

Let’s go through the step-by-step development process to make clear what amount of money is needed.

We develop applications according to Agile methodology. A system development life cycle is composed of defined work phases. We use them to plan, design, build, test, and deliver the final product to the client.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO DEVELOP AN APP: DETAILED FEATURE BREAKDOWN

Steps of Mobile Development

Step 1. Planning & Business Analysis

The best projects start with detailed preparation.

Our fundamental approach ensures the product is going to meet the client’s needs. Thorough planning helps to understand where you are now and how to get to the desired point.

Meticulous market research helps to understand if there is any demand for your idea.

We also research competitors and carry-out SWOT-analysis in identifying their strengths and weaknesses.

Step 2. Technical Specifications

Detailed functional requirements help us to define the idea for your software solution. Also, all project features are determined in this document.

During this stage, you need to decide what kind of operating systems and devices you want in order to build an app.

Step 3. Prototyping & Design

A prototype is a rudimentary working model of a product. Such a model helps you to test the viability of the idea or startup and save a decent amount of time and budget.

This step includes the following processes:

• Creating a sketch (A draft version of an app that shows the number of screens and logic through which they interact with each other.)

• Creating wireframes (The visualization of the draft app structure.)

• Creating a clickable prototype (helps to find issues and solve them before coding. Shows where the interaction logic breaks and gives an understanding of how to improve it.)

• Designing app skins

During this stage, we collect all the wireframes and put them together to improve the design.

Step 4. Development

The app development process itself is divided into two parts: front-end and back-end. On average, it takes about ten weeks to build the back-end part of a native app (Android or iOS).

Front-end development of the app with basic functionality may take about eight weeks. However, it’s not always necessary to build the back-end part of the app if you use cloud technologies for storage.

Step 5. Testing/Quality Assurance

It is essential to test every part of the product manually and automatically at every stage of development. As a rule, it should be a separate department dedicated to quality assurance.

The testing/quality assurance stage includes requirements, compatibility, interface, security, and so on.

Besides checking the app or web project for bugs, QA engineers also make sure the UX of the app is up to par, and  users will understand how it works. 

Step 6. Publishing & Maintenance

Finally, your app is ready and it’s time for it to say, “Hello world!” You can submit the app to app stores by yourself or ask your app development company to assist you.

Also, the work on an app doesn’t end even after its release. Every app needs updates and customer support. Note, that post-release maintenance isn’t included in the initial cost of mobile app estimates.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO MAKE AN APP?

Development Price Factors

Generally, several main factors influence mobile app development cost estimate.

Labor Costs – important mobile app development estimation factors

The size of your team influences the number of zeros in your final bill.

Essential team for a mobile app includes:

• A project manager who communicates with the client and delivers requirements to the developers.
• UI/UX designer, a person on which depends on the app structure and visual appearance.
• Mobile developer. To develop the app, you will need one developer per platform (iOS or Android).
• Quality Assurance (QA) engineer monitors every phase of the software development process. QA managers make sure that new products are bug-free.
• Back-end developer creates the app back-end infrastructure and API integrations.

What else?

Number of Platforms and Devices

The main factor that drives the final estimate app cost is the complexity of your project.

• Apple iOS is a better choice when you intend to reach more solvent users. An iOS app should support the latest and previous versions of iPhone and iOS versions as well.
• The Android platform has a broader penetration among middle-income users. The world of Android devices is much more manifold.
• A hybrid app will help you to reach as many users as possible since it works on both iOS and Android. The more devices you choose, the more time the team needs to adapt the app for various screen sizes.

According to our experience, Android development takes 20% longer than iOS development. Why? Because Android powers a wide range of different devices with different screen dimensions. At the same time, iOS powers only Apple devices and follows the same build for all apps.

App features estimation

There are a lot of different features you can add to your app. Their number and type affect the technical complexity of the project.

The most common are:

• Third-party integrations. Third-party libraries, frameworks, and services make the app perform faster. Besides, to use a ready-made solution is cheaper than developing a custom solution.
• In-app purchases let you sell items from the app. In-app purchases usually add technical complexity to a project.
• Admin panel development. This tool makes in-app operations easier. You can manage users and content, view analytics, statistics, and more. Also, in the case of having a content-driven website, the admin panel is usually the place where you add content.
• Custom designs. The app design matters as much as the functionality of the app, and sometimes even more. But you should note that a customized user interface comes at a cost.

What are global mobile developers’ rates?

Consider that you can receive an excellent result even from low-priced developers and that a high developer hourly rate does not guarantee a high-quality outcome.

Developer location is one of the essential factors that influence pricing.

For example:

• Developers from Canada and the US charge from $50 to $250 per hour
• Australian mobile app developers hourly rates vary from $50 to $150
• UK-based and Western European agencies offer their services from $35 to $170 per hour
• Eastern European mobile developers charge from $30 to $150 per hour

With this in mind, let us continue.

Basic needs of every app

The estimated cost of launching an app depends on the number of hours the project will take. In other words, the more functions you need, the more time the development stage will take.

Let us give you an example.

Below, we have divided applications into three categories:

Simple apps

Simple apps include essential functions without third-party API integration and back-end development. Apps with basic functionality may usually consist of:

• Standard UI components
• Social login
• Push notifications
• Personal profile
• Feed list
• Map markers

The estimated cost of a simple mobile app varies from $30,000 to 50,000 according to the APP Solutions rates.

Our example is the RecruitPitch app, a free pre-interview tool for recruiters. With this app, HR managers set and check tasks for candidates using audio.

Medium complexity apps

Apps in this category include the integration of a third-party solution. For instance, for providing an app with payment features or real-time chats. Medium complexity apps may consist of:

• Customized UI features
• Integration with APIs
• Simple hosting server

According to the APP Solutions rates, this would be estimated from $50K to $70K.

One example is All Square, a social media platform for golfers. To learn more, read the case study. 

Complex apps

Complex applications include advanced functionality such as:

• Audio/video streaming
• Online chats
• Real-time data synchronization
• Custom design and animation
• Third-party services integration
• In-app purchases
• Complex back-end

and as many more features as you wish.

The estimated average cost of app development of complex applications starts at $70,000.

An example is our project Spotnews, an advanced streaming platform integrated with Spotify API. See the full case study on the link.

The APP Solutions Rates and Costs

As already explained, many factors can drive the quotes of a potential project. To cut to the chase, to estimate the expense for your app, you should understand the following.

The project complexity influences the size of the development team. The team’s composition has a direct impact on the time required to develop the project, the number of spent hours forms the final cost.

At the APP Solutions, we provide clients with a transparent and clear process of cost estimation. We also have developed an App Development Cost Calculator, which you can use before ordering app development services. 

We offer the best price-quality ratio. Сheck out our rates and portfolio to compare.

Specialist	Hourly Rate (USD)
UI/UX Designer	$30+/hour
Frontend Developer	$40+/hour
Backend (PHP) Developer	$45+/hour
Android Developer	$45+/hour
iOS Developer	$50+/hour
QA Engineer	$40+/hour
Project Manager / Business Analyst	$35+/hour
DevOps Engineer	$50+/hour

READ ALSO:

OUTSTAFFING VS. OUTSOURCING VS. MANAGED SERVICES: DIFFERENCES AND BENEFITS

HIRING A DEVELOPER FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A SIX STEPS GUIDE

SHOULD YOU HIRE APP DEVELOPERS NEAR ME OR OUTSOURCE OVERSEAS?

WHAT TECH STACK TO CHOOSE FOR YOUR PROJECT

HOW TO OUTSOURCE MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT

How to reduce the app’s cost?

The creation of an MVP or minimum viable product is a way how to save you money and time in the initial stages of your project. It is a version of your future product with initial functionality and fewer features. MVP helps make the process faster and identify possible problems. Also, MVP allows you to prove your theories or change some of the app’s functions (even product strategy.)

Below is an example of an MVP Agile model:

Estimation process: Common pitfalls to be aware of

Below you can find the most common pitfalls that may result in an inaccurate app estimation and an increase in app development costs.

Uncertainty and changes. While small changes might be acceptable, significant changes increase the estimation cost, because to make certain changes developers need to rewrite a large piece of code.

Forgotten features. During the app requirements clarification, some must-have features might have been overlooked. These include the “Contact us” button, FAQ section, and other features that you consider distinct. However, if you forgot to add these to the technical documentation, the developers didn’t estimate them. Therefore, be aware of your required features when creating the app documentation and requirements.

Lack of information. We, as well as most app development companies, write an NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) with our clients. However, in some cases, clients give very little information about the proposed project, which makes it impossible to estimate. To avoid such a situation with your app development team, provide them with as many details on the app as possible. 

In a Nutshell

Nowadays, app development mobile app expenses may vary from $1,000 to $100,000. The cost of app development depends on the app’s complexity, number of integrations, team location, and the number of platforms.

To receive a precise estimation, you need to tell your development team about all of the proposed app’s functions and business goals. Only then can the team provide you with precise app development costs.

We hope that this article has given a clear idea of how to estimate mobile app development for your future app.

What our clients say 

Today we use mobile devices, not only for sending messages or receiving calls but also for ordering products or services and paying for them. Statista report that by 2022, the transaction value of mobile payment apps will reach nearly $14 trillion, illustrating the fast-paced industry. Whether you want to build a booking, event, or even an e-commerce app to process transactions you will need a mobile app payment gateway. 

In this article, we will guide you through different payment gateway providers currently existing on the market, and explain how to integrate a payment gateway into your app via SDK. 

But first of all, let’s see how the mobile app payment gateway works.

HOW TO CHOOSE BEST PAYMENT GATEWAY FOR E-COMMERCE

How do mobile app payments work?

When you buy a new pair of sneakers or order pizza, either the app or website gives you the option to conduct an online payment via a built-in payment gateway. To achieve that, you need to fill in several fields with your cart information. Then, the mobile app payment processing goes like this: 

• You send your card information to the payment gateway
• The payment gateway sends the information to the bank that issued your card
• The bank sends the request to your payment system (MasterCard, VISA, etc.)
• The payment system analyses your reputation and analyzes the term of money transaction
• Your bank sends an authorization code that approves the payment system to complete the payment 
• Then, the code is sent to the payment gateway and, if the bank approves the transaction, money is sent to the seller’s bank account

[In-app payments process]

All these stages take only a few seconds if the Internet connection is good. Now you can imagine what is going on when you pay for your orders online. At the same time, you also see a clear picture of how important payment gateway security is. Every second, a massive amount of money and payment information go through payment gateways. To protect personal data from breaches, most payment systems use an HTTPS secure protocol, the IP address verification mechanisms, and even the request signature. 

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN APP?

To empower your app with payment gateways, you can choose among several options, explained below. 

In-app payment systems

There are two ways your app can conduct online payments, depending on the type of goods you are selling:

Use App Store Methods for virtual goods

If you want to sell subscriptions, additional features, or premium accounts, empower your app with specialized In-App Billing API for iOS and Android. Both Apple and Google take 30% from each transaction made within your mobile app and prohibit the use of any third-party payment gateways. By using In-App Billing API, you enable users to pay in-app with their AppStore or Google Play via Apple or Gmail accounts.  

9 ALTERNATIVE ANDROID APP STORES

Use the Payment Gateway for physical goods

When you are selling products and services outside the app, both Apple and Google recommend using third-party mobile payment gateway providers. You can integrate SDK as one of the existing in-app payment solutions to your app that will conduct all transactions with banks, secure customer data, and be responsible for payment transactions. 

Choosing A Mobile App Payment Solution Provider

Below we have gathered the top three most popular payment processors that provide SDK for mobile app integration. All of these providers take care of data and money transfers, saving you from unnecessary headaches. Now, let’s take a look at them in more detail. 

	PayPal	Braintree	Stripe
Payment methods	Developers can use the PayPal mobile SDK to process: Visa Mastercard  American Express  JCB  Maestro  Discover	Braintree accepts:  Visa Mastercard American Express  Apple Pay  Android Pay  MasterPass PayPal  Bitcoin	Stripe accepts:  Visa  Mastercard  American Express  JCB, Maestro Apple Pay  Android Pay  AliPay (a Chinese platform)
Transaction fees	Rate: pay a competitive rate of 2.9% + $0.30 per U.S.  Monthly fees: no fees or $30 in case PayPal Payments Pro package Currency conversion fees: varies from 0.4% to 3.3%.	Rate: 2.9% + 30 cents per successful charge. No fees for the first $50,000 processed Monthly fees: none Setup fees: none Currency conversion fee: 2%	Rate: 2.9% + 30 cents per successful charge Monthly fees: none Setup fees: none Currency conversion fee: 2%

If you need a simple yet effective solution, choose PayPal. At the same time, if you want to personalize the design of your payment gateway, so it matches your website or app identity, use Stripe or Braintree.

After choosing the most suitable payment gateway provider, let’s move to the next stage. 

Using SDK for integrating payment gateways in the app

Each payment provider has its own software development kit (SDK), as well as detailed documentation on integrating payment gateway in your mobile app. As we have said, the main benefit of using the SDK of an existing payment gateway is that they take control of the security and operations carried out during transactions. In this way, the use of payment gateway libraries rid you of buying a PCI certificate. 

While the integration details may vary depending on the platform and dev tools, the scheme remains the same. Thus, let us take Braintree as an example and see how to integrate this gateway into an iOS mobile app. 

PAYMENT GATEWAY COMPARISON: GUIDE TO E-COMMERCE PAYMENTS

Step 1. Set up the client to call your server

In this step, you set up your client to call your server. To achieve that, you need to: 

• Download and install the SDK of the Braintree payment gateway. You can find it on the link
• Add your credentials. Set up the client option to call your server to fetch the Braintree client tokens
• Set up your client. Follow the Braintree documentation to set up your client for iOS SDK
• Call your server to process the payment

Step 2. Set up your server to call the Braintree SDK

During this step, you set up your server to call the Braintree SDK to set up and execute the payment:

Initialize the Braintree SDK:

• Import the Braintree SDK module
• Set up a gateway using your Braintree access token
• Set up a URL to return a client token to the browser

HOW TO DEVELOP A SHOPPING APP LIKE WISH?

Set up the payment:

• Set up a URL to handle requests from the client
• Get the nonce from the request body
• Set up the parameters to execute the payment, including the nonce 
• Call the Braintree gateway to execute the payment
• Return a successful response to the client

If you are not a tech person and you need to integrate a payment gateway, we recommend hiring mobile app developers.

Final Thoughts

The payment gateway is essential for all commercial mobile apps. To empower your app with this feature, use the SDK of existing payment gateways, such as PayPal, Braintree, or Stripe. You can integrate the SDK on your own or hire a development team that will do all the integrations and settings for you. 

One of the early signals that Google might increase beyond exploration in all sorts of curious and surprising directions was the Google Maps that was released in 2005. The Google Maps project has grown over the years to carry satellite imagery, street views, millions of places of interest, turn-by-turn navigation, public transportation, traffic conditions, public transportation, and more.

Google has jam-packed a bundle of great features inside of Maps, but not all of them are easy to find. We will help you solve the mystery of Google Maps with these tricks and tips.

1. Route the easiest bike trails by Google Maps

If you enjoy cycling, Google Maps is a perfect tool for you. It will help choose safe or extreme paths showing steep hills or slopes. In such a way, you can avoid difficulties and troubles with planning a perfect route. If you bike to work, you can avoid not only traffic jams but search for a better way without any troubles.

These maps also count the total number of feet you have to climb. Unfortunately, this feature is currently only available on the desktop. Google Maps is working great on mobile phones, but you may also use it on your desktop.

2. Have lost or don’t know the exact location? Google Maps can make it easy

Google Maps can show the exact address and right directions. Sometimes, you have no possibility to explain to your friends the exact location. Don’t be afraid. You need to press down a little blue dot on the screen to drop a pin. Then just press on that pin and “share” your location spot via email or a message with your friends.

3. Find your way around without Wi-Fi

A lot of consumers complain that one of the major defects of Google Maps is the fact that you need to be online to use it. If you are going to take a trip to your neighborhood or nearby cities with no Wi-Fi, you can download a part of the map you need to be your guide.

You can also download and watch maps offline with a little planning: mark the three dots on the corner of the map, and click “Save the offline map.” That area will be saved as Your places category in the app.

4. “Star” your favorite places

Another great way to save locations that you love is by starring them. It will add a tourism location to your “Saved Places,” and create a yellow star on your map. You need only touch the needed address, and the star icon will be labeled as “Save.”

5. Google will prevent you from staying without gas and money

Google lists are helpful options for you when you are out of cash or gas by searching nearby gas stations or ATMs. So in some way Google Maps is your savior and trouble-solver. Also, you can easily direct yourself towards coffee shops, hospitals, libraries, Apple stores, post offices and cinemas, and museums.

6. Make sure you don’t miss the last train

If you are partying all evening and don’t want to bother with this problem, but, unfortunately, you need to get home on time. Google can check for you when the last train or bus leaves and will remind you not to miss the last one. Look for your destination address and tap the navigation icon. On the next page, you can choose a transportation mode.

Change into the train icon. You’ll see a list of different ways to travel. Select the one you need. A simple list of tips will tell you where to go, how many stops it will make, what buses or trains to catch, when to get off, etc. It is simple as 1,2,3!

7. Zoom in and out with just one finger

Pinch-to-zoom is one of the most spread actions of the touch screen era. You can simply double-tap to zoom in. Google has created an approach to Zoom in and out with just one finger click.

8. Google Maps knows where you are at all times

Google Maps remembers all the places you have visited in a timeline to make your location history easily accessible in a timeline view. Google Maps shows you a chronological list of visited places, how long have you been at a location, what transportation you have used. Also, you can set your information about locations.

9. Be your own traffic manager

This version is suitable only for desktops where you can watch real-time traffic data, allowing you to arrange your time and avoid traffic jams.

10. You can give nicknames to your favorite places

You should already have at least 2 favorite places: Home and Work or School, Or College. Google Maps enables you to create names and nicknames or even rename every location you want. This feature exists not only for entertaining but for making your searching tool more convenient.

11.Explore your area

Living in a big city is always a question of finding the right place to have a rest with your family or to have a romantic dinner with your girlfriend. Google Maps Make It Easy. After clicking An Explorer Bar, you will see tons of local favorites, avenues, attractions, top cafes, and restaurants.