iPhone app development cost is a pretty hot subject. Every entrepreneur aims to optimize the app development budget because, as a rule, he creates a new product under conditions of uncertainty.
A little while time ago we have already observed the problem of the app development cost estimation and the drivers of development price in our blog post: How To Estimate Basic Expenses For Your Mobile App Development
In this article, we are going to take a closer look at iPhone app development cost by disclosing the cost of the most essential app features.
Please note – the estimates below are based on the experience we’ve had, but it does not mean your project would require exactly that amount of hours. It all depends on what features you’d like and what is the timeframe for the project.
The most demanded mobile app categories
At The APP Solutions, we get a lot of requests to estimate the cost of apps like Uber, Tinder, WhatsApp, and others.
Let’s figure out an average cost to develop an iPhone app through the cost of the most common features in popular apps.
On the basis of our experience, we distinguish between the most demanded app types:
- Taxi/Carpool App
- Dating App
- Messenger App
- Geolocation App
Taxi/Carpool Mobile App
Uber App is considered to be a good reference for apps from Taxi/Carpool industry. Normally the Taxi/Carpool app should include the following options:
Map/Geolocation
It is one of the most crucial features of this type of app. The technology of GPS tracking is used to determine the current location, find cars, and track the route. Moreover, the exact journey tracking helps estimate the fare. The process of implementation of the same feature as in the Uber app has could take about 140 hours of teamwork.
According to the APP Solutions rates, it may cost from $2,800 to $3,500 (depending on the requirements.)
Passenger/Driver apps
To ensure an excellent taxi service your mobile app should possess a set of 3 different products: two separated apps for passenger and driver and an admin dashboard.
The passenger app in its turn has to provide the following basic features: registration, taxi booking, payment, push notifications, ride history, driver`s review, and rating.
The app for drivers may duplicate some features may from the passenger`s taxi app, such as registration, push notification, and messenger, etc. But here some unique features as well: status, order alert, navigation, estimation, and reports.
Payments
Providing a taxi app with a payment system is a long-term undertaking and may take about 60 hours of work. We implement the solution of gateway providers like Stripe or Braintree that help to set safe and convenient payments.
User profile
It is an essential feature to carry out payments, create loyalty programs, save ride history, and provide other important options for registered passengers. The “Log in” option can be implemented through existing social networks like Facebook or via email and phone numbers. Normally it takes about 60 hours to provide a taxi app with this feature.
Drivers rating system
An option that helps customers to choose the best driver according to his ranking. Also, it helps to respond to complaints and maintain a high level of service quality. It does not take too much time to implement the rating system, you can count on 10 hours of work.
Based on the experience our developers have had with the previous taxi mobile apps, it takes about 4-5 months of work and costs about $35,000 per platform.
Dating App
Considering that our world is slowly becoming virtualized so unless you find someone to date at the university or school or work, online dating apps are the gateway to meeting new people. Besides, people nowadays are almost inseparable from their mobile phones, so dating apps are a great help for those who can’t simply venture out into the world and meet strangers. Anyway…
Successful dating apps should possess a number of features.
Swipe-to-like interface
Today the swiping feature became a new way to ‘Like’ anything. To provide the swiping feature just like the Tinder app has may take 30 hours.
Built-in chat
Dating apps are impossible without messaging. This feature may take an enormous amount of developers’ time depending on the messenger options and complexity. On average it takes 40 hours.
Matches nearby
It is important to empower dating app with geolocation services to search the person nearby. Otherwise, your users risk getting a broken heart.
Based on our own experience, the implementation of matchmaking algorithms could take more than 100 hours (most of the work will be done on the backend.)
The APP Solutions team implemented the same feature in our last project – The all Square app.
AllSquare is a social network for golf lovers. The project uses geolocation technology to let users find the nearest golf course and make check-ins. We compared the data of golf club location with the user’s location and showed the nearest golf courses on the map.
Also, the nearest hotels to the golf courses are shown in the app. We tied up our app with Booking.com service via API so that a user can book a hotel via Booking.com directly from the AllSquare app.
Messenger
Messengers can be a part of the dating app (that we’ve mentioned above) or a standalone mobile app that allows users to exchange texts and pictures. The app with messaging ability should possess the following basic features:
Direct & Group messages
In the case of iOS app development from scratch, it takes up to 30 hours to make the primary text exchange feature between two users. It may take up to 75 hours together with backend development.
Also, the app needs to have the backend part to store the conversation history and provide users with it in case they logged in on another device.
Push notifications
We use turnkey solutions and integrate Apple Push Notifications to inform users about new message arrival. To provide this feature on iOS devices takes 24 hours.
Media content support
A capability to send media content enriches virtual communication with real emotions. To share photos with a smile, video memories, or audio with a love confession, is amazing, isn’t it?
Implementing the capability for the photo, video, or audio support takes approximately 40 hours.
Rich links
It is exactly the same feature as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger provide in their chats. The feature of rich links gives users an idea of what a link is about even before it’s opened by creating a small website preview. To empower your messenger with rich links could take from 26 to 32 hours.
Geolocation App
The main purpose of geolocation apps is to allow users to search for places, people, etc. For example, think of the FourSquare mobile app that helps you to find a good place to eat or spend time with your friends. Geolocation technology even has created a new niche of location-based services. Every geolocation app should include:
Maps integration
Maps help users navigate the terrain by providing the app with a variety of compasses, schedules of urban transport, terrain navigation, and even astronomy maps.
Venues profiles
Besides simply helping navigate in the city (or wherever you are), sometimes you want a description of the venue you’re planning to go to (if that’s your first time there). Therefore, a good geolocation app would have venue profiles in it that help to understand what to expect.
Search nearby
This feature compares the data of the venue location with the user’s location and showed the nearest venue on the map.
Check out our project Nuwbii where the geolocation component gets the main role. Newbie app is an innovative resource that helps find products and services in the neighborhood. The results of a search are organized by the current location of the user due to the geolocation component.
To create a simple mobile app with the geolocation functionality described above would take from 2 to 3 months with a total cost of up to $11,000 (depending on your requirements.)
Takeaway
As you see the app development cost may vary widely. The cost of labor is the primary driver of price, it can vary as many, as there are countries with developers. But understanding the cost of the basic app’s features will help you know the rough estimation of your project.
A set of native UI frameworks can be very helpful when designing non-standard user interfaces. There are many tools that you can flawlessly implement in the application contributing to the UI / 
