How much does it cost to create an app?
This is a question asked by everyone we meet. When it comes to creating mobile applications the price tag is fully committed to the customer needs. This implies for us as developers that both functionality and design has a price.
Other factors might also affect the price. Is it a new system that should be developed or is there an existing backend and database? How should the communication flow work? Which platform should it support (iOS, Android and tablets)?
How do we as a development company manage to identify the correct price?
First of all the most important thing is to find the key features that the application should have. Then there should be a discussion around the future of the application (What will the app look like in 2-3 years and how many users will it have?). When key functionality and target users are defined, the discussion around what technology to be used can start. We are not dependent on a single set of technology, the technology should adept to be the perfect fit for the task at hand. The technology must be able to provide the security measures required by GDPR and the data to be stored analyzed to see if it contains sensitive data.
At this stage the basis of the platform should be clear and the developers can move on to design. How should the plattform look and are there micro animations, video, file-sharing etc ? When these questions are answered we are ready to give an estimate.
What can be expected from an estimate? As mentioned above it will be dependent on the size of the app, which security measures that must be implemented, what technology should be used and the design.
This makes the cost vary on every single project and a customer can look at a mobile development project as hand-tailored for their exact need.
To provide a ballpark answer it can vary from NOK 100.000,- to NOK 2.000.000,-. Why is the lowest cost at 100k NOK? Solutions delivered must have quality code. If the project is rushed, there will be great expenses at a later stage and possibly third-parties might be unable to perform maintenance, further develop and use the code.
Design takes time, not only for how the app should look and behave, but also for App Store and Google Play media, splash-screens and app-icons. Security must be included and always followed to ensure that the end-users information is safe. Testing is always time-consuming in development projects and something that must be followed to identify security risks and bugs. The work to be done are time-consuming and in even the smallest app-projects will be hard to accomplish for a price under NOK 100.000,-.
If you have an idea, or want to extend your current solutions to include mobile applications we are always open to discuss and suggest what security, functionality and technology that would be the perfect fit for the task at hand.