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How much does it cost to develop an Android app?

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Author

Vikash Kumar
4 min read 06th November, 2024
 Android App Development Services

There are many aspects in creating an Android app, each of which has an impact on the total cost. This involves all the factors starting with complexity, design and the operating system it supports, the geographical location of the developers and then the other functions such as the backend and maintenance, and marketing among others.

Below is the breakdown of all the main components that go into the costs of the best android app development services and the approximate prices within which you’ll find each of these components besides the features that are likely to affect their prices.

1. Cost Estimation of Android App Development

The cost is influenced by certain aspects that may actually vary from agencies to agencies as follows:

App Complexity

A basic app is cheaper than a complicated one. Apps can be divided into three categories:

  • Complex Apps (e.g., Utilities, time management, word processor and to-do list) estimated cost $50000 and above.
  • Moderate apps (social apps, simple e-commerce etc) will cost from $20000 to $ 50000.
  • Simple apps will cost from $5000 to $20000.

There are more complex apps (gaming, enterprise, AR/VR), which cost from $50000 to more than $200000.

Design Requirements

Complex designs are more expensive when compared to simple templates. Considerations during the design stage include; UI/UX, icons, color, and navigation, which requires $2000 for simple design to $30,000 and above for premium designs.

Platform and Device Compatibility

As with many factors, costs of developing Android apps depend on the supported devices. Creating an application to fit into both the Android and iOS platforms will also be more expensive than aiming for a standalone platform. But the latter can be less expensive, especially if attention is paid only on Android.

Location of the Development Team

  • The price per developer at an Android app development agency also depends on geo location:
  • North America: $50 to $150 per hour
  • Western Europe: $70 to $120 per hour
  • Eastern Europe: $30 to $70 per hour
  • Asia: $15 to $120 per hour
  • South America: $25 to $90 per hour
  • Australia: $50 to $130 per hour

Number of Features

Multiple features cause cost increase. Some common ones are:

  • User Authentication and Profile: $1,000 to $5,000
  • In-App Purchases: $2,000 to $10,000
  • Social Media Integration: $1,000 to $3,000
  • Geolocation: $2,000 to $10,000
  • Push Notifications: $1,000 to $5,000

2. Development Process of an Android App

The development process consists of several stages, each contributing to the total cost:

Discovery Phase

This stage is about idea generation, idea testing and producer research respectively. There is little to no cost involved for using several open-source tools, that range from $1,000 to $5,000 based on the type of project.

Wireframing and Prototyping

Wireframes are the sketches of the looks of an app and prototypes demonstrate what’s in them. This phase at an Android app development india can cost between $500 and $3,000 depending on how many screens and how detailed it is.

UI/UX Design

It has to be simple and not overburden the visual organs of the users and, at the same time, it has to be beautiful. UI/UX design could cost as low as $2,000 or up to $20,000 depending on the level of customization here.

Development Phase

Actually, here is where the coding takes place. Includes both front-end and back-end development:

Backend Development: Server administration, database administration, working with an API, and storing data. They are cheap and cost between $5,000 for a simple backend to over $50,000 for a complicated backend.

Frontend Development: This involves the design of the user interface and how a user is going to interact with the product, the price ranging between $5000-$30000.

Testing and Quality Assurance

In order to make the app downloadable on multiple devices and operating systems and to facilitate a functional one, testing is done in this step. Quality assurance typically incurs between $10,000 to $20,000 for the entire development expenditure.

Deployment

To upload an application to the Google Play Store, one needs to register for the developer’s license, which costs $ 25 one-time payment. There could be compliance or legal and security certification costs in addition.

Maintenance and Updates

Additional support and minor modifications can be between 15% to 20% of the total development costs in a year.

3. Android App Classes and Example Costs

Depending on their nature, Android applications’ price differs, as well as density of their functionality and elementary components. Here are some common types with estimated development costs:

E-commerce App: Entails need for product catalog, payment processing systems, users’ profile and orders tracking. They cost from $20000 up to $100000.

Social Networking App: Requires user authentication, media sharing, messaging and feed update. Approximately it costs from 15000 up to fifty thousand dollars.

On-Demand Service App (e.g., Uber): Includes location-based service, up-to-date information, integrated payments and personalized users’ account. The actual costs vary from thirty to one hundred thousand US dollars.

Healthcare App: May include data encryption, vital signs monitoring, and telemedicine services which range between $25000 and $70000.

Gaming App: The cost of developing a gaming app is from $10000 for a simple 2D 3D, AR/VR game to $200000 plus for complex games.

4. Other Costs Factor In Android Application Development

Technology Stack: Android app development services can either increase or decrease the cost. For instance, creating an Android native app with Kotlin or Java is costly as compared to hybrid frameworks such as Flutter or React Native.

Backend Infrastructure: Applications that need a large amount of support resources in the form of cloud, real-time operations, and intricate databases will add to expenses greatly. It may also incur further costs such as Cloud service providers being AWS, Google Cloud or Azure, and many more where costs may vary depending on usage.

APIs and Integrations: Implementation of third party services such as payment gateways, social media log ins or location based services as well as also consume development time and costs.

Data Security: Adhering to data security as well as GDPR or HIPAA can cost between $3k and $15K, depending on the application’s audience and niche.

Offline Mode: Many capabilities need more time and additional costs during application development. This can be important in areas where internet connection is either slow or almost nonexistent for apps.

Animations and Custom Graphics: Complex animations and graphics will add up to both the design and development as achieved in video gaming and designing applications.

5. Cost Analysis Based on the Types of Development Teams

The cost also varies based on the type of development team you choose:

Freelancers: The least expensive with fees that range anywhere between twenty to fifty dollars per hour. But, the entire freelancing management can be cumbersome, more so when dealing with intricate applications.

Mid-Sized Development Agencies: Typically cost between $60 and $150 an hour while aiming to provide reasonable rates and more significant returns to customers in terms of the quality of work and time management.

Large Development Agencies: Cost $200 per hour and more offer full-scale solutions with intense project management, good for complicated applications, which will demand lots of work.

6. Hidden Costs to Consider

Project Management: Overall team size and duration of the project at an Android app development company can increase the cost by 10-20% of the overall regular price.

App Store Fees: Google Play store fees is a one time fee of $25. Some may be charged as is the case of using an application that costs an extra amount of money or special application advertisements.

Marketing and Promotion: There’s one thing that is certain – launching an app takes exposure. Marketing budget may weekly $200-$2000 depending on the marketing target in terms of coverage.

Legal and Compliance: Other costs can be different but may include fees for applying for a copyright or intellectual property, licensing or conformity to certain legal standards, amounting to $1000-$ 5000.

7. Sample Cost Estimation in Relation to Development Time and Development Complexity

Here’s an approximate timeline and cost estimation based on app complexity:

Simple Apps: Take about three months to complete and cost between $5,000 and $20,000.

Moderate Apps: 4-6 months to come up with, and $20,000 to $50,000.

Complex Apps: It takes 9+ months to create and it will cost ranges from $50,000 to $200,000 or more.

This is a general estimate and one must look out for differences and deviations in his own context, development team in particular.

One must keep in mind how to reduce the costs of Android app development:

1. Set up measurable goals and create an app with a basic set of functions.

2. Leverage on cross-platform frameworks such as flutter, open sourced libraries for UI and templates to avoid the costs of designing and coding.

3. Think about outsourcing to cheaper locations and select highly available back-end solutions such as the cloud.

4. Make provision for maintenance and ensure that at the end of the package you should be able to get some feedback for future upgrades.

These strategies aid in cost control while delivering an excellent application that will meet the users’ needs.

Conclusion

Price of developing an Android application depends on various phases such as, complexity of the application, appearance of the application, compatibility issues, location of developers, and furthermore features as concerns data protection and integration of the application with the backend.

For a basic application, the pricing can range from 5000 to 20000 dollars, whereas, for the advanced functional application, one can expect the price tag to go beyond 200000 dollars.

Knowing your goal, roadmap and selecting the right development team will help you get the most out of your investment while fulfilling your vision of the app. Further, calculating inclusive costs including but not limited to maintenance cost, marketing cost, and the cost of support required post the launch of the app will help to provide a clearer picture of investments required in making an application successful.

For android mobile app development services, at best price, contact Web Panel Solutions.

Faq

The cost of putting an app on the Google Play Store is related to the developer registration fee, not the app itself. You need to create a developer account to publish an app.

  • Google Play Store Developer Account Fee: The one-time registration fee for a Google Play Developer account is $25. This fee allows you to publish an unlimited number of apps on the Play Store.

However, if you’re referring to additional costs like marketing, user acquisition, and app maintenance, those costs are separate and depend on your business strategy.

In addition to the main development costs, there are several hidden costs to consider such as project management, app store fees, marketing/ promotion, legal/ compliance costs etc.

We specialize in developing a wide range of Android apps, including but not limited to:

  • E-commerce Apps
  • Social Networking Apps
  • Healthcare Apps
  • On-Demand Service Apps (like Uber)
  • Gaming Apps
  • Utility and Productivity Apps
  • Enterprise Solutions

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