March 17, 2017 What? $100,000 for developing an app?! App development prices can be quite surprising at times, but don’t worry yourself to death on whether you should take it or just give up your dream. If you review and rethink your plan, you can find other ways to make the app development cheaper. And, no, it doesn’t include outsourcing or using an app builder software. But before we get to how to make your sourcing more affordable, let’s review the reasons why development can be so expensive. Here’s a YouTube video on the rewards you can reap after you “build it”: How much does app development cost? You’ve already pontificated this before you ever talked to your maker. And if you haven’t, read this Forbes article after you finish this one. App making costs aren’t easy to figure out as there are several factors to consider before reaching an estimate. Moreover, the price continues to increase even after your application is published because the base costs have already been established and the work only goes up from there. To give you an idea at least on how your pricing is calculated, consider these factors: Functionality Functionality is defined by the number of running functions your app will have. A photo editing app offering filters and cropping options will have more functions compared to a simple notepad app. Target market and device Your app’s audience will help you determine if you need to have a native app application (works from an operating system) or a web application (runs on a web browser). Time Needed to Develop The duration of the mobile application dev affects the cost you’ll have to pay. Additional changes needed along the way means extra time. The more you want your app to be published right away, the higher the cost will be. Platform Your app is published on a platform such as iOS, Android, Windows, and so on. The more platforms you want your app to be in, the more your dev cost will increase. App type An easy way to estimate the price for building an app is by identifying its category. The gaming niche will definitely cost more than a planner or scheduling app. Interface complexity The number of features you want also affects the interface. The more you want your app to do multiple tasks, the more its interface becomes complex. Program complexity Enabling your app to connect with other apps such as social media accounts, maps, or photo albums also increases app development costs. These are the basic requirements you should be specific about when creating an app. Any change among these can affect the estimated price you should expect for your app. Other factors to determine how expensive There are a few other things to look at before you can have a final price for your app. The process it will take and the needed people you’ll hire before, during, and after an app’s development adds also to the whole cost. Here are the other factors you should look at: Brainstorming Before getting into action, you and the app developer will go through hours of brainstorming and research. Prototypes App developers may provide drafts to have a precise definition of what you’ve envisioned. Design Design creates an app’s visual appeal and usability. Development The development stage is the largest and most costly of all as this is where all your requirements are put into place. Project management A project manager may come in handy to keep the team on track on the timeline created. Testing, production, and maintenance An app may take additional time and devices for testing before it gets launched in the market. It should also be continuously checked for updates and bug fixes. Licenses If an app is using external software owned by other companies, licenses are required. The list of other costs that you should watch out for aren’t limited to what’s listed above. That’s why it’s important to do your research or talk with a tech expert who can help you identify what your app needs before going to an app developer. Ways to cut app development costs The different factors that affect app development costs can be overwhelming. That’s why your app can be quite expensive with all those requirements and processes. But don’t worry, there’s still a way to reduce app development costs without sacrificing the quality of your app. List all requirements down Be specific and right down all the details you want for your app. It may take a lot of time and energy before you can finish the documentation, but you’ll be glad how it can save you lots of unexpected extra costs along the way. Writing all down all of your requirements in full detail – this minimizes the troubles of making revisions. It also makes the design and construction team know the tasks they need to do to provide you the desired finished product. Talk with the development team Be sure that you talk with the actual developers and not only with the project manager during consultations. Their presence ensures you that every person who participates in the creation knows all the details. Buy in bulk You can have the chance to ask for discounts by giving the app developer an idea that there are more app projects to follow after the current app you’re working on. Buying in bulk can help you reduce the development rates of your current project and even more for the next ones. Know what you want Don’t go to an app developer without knowing anything about the jargon/ industry language. You can try to learn even just a bit as long as you don’t look like a total newbie in the business. Showing that you have knowledge about the tools needed and the time it will take to work on a task will disincline the project lead or sales staff to try to charge you with higher rates. They may even do better for the price you’ve paid since they want to impress you. Show images Rates can be too costly when it comes to app design because designers know it will take several changes before you can be happy with the output. So to reduce the design cost, show them exactly what you want by having references. You can use screenshots of other apps, links to certain images, or create your own artwork that can be used as a guide. Having sample images to help designers makes the work easier for them, leading to lower design cost. You can expect to get better results too because they don’t want the product to look like a copy-paste of your samples. Reduce features Think if you really need every feature you’ve listed down. It’s better to keep it simple and focus more on the features that provide value to the user. With a simple mobile app, you can greatly save costs not only during the development stage but also during maintenance. Costs are typically reasonable enough if you work a time duration for maintenance into the initial package. If you think the quoted price is too expensive, mull over everything again after having read this post. One way to lower how much you end up paying is to add and subtract different features that don’t affect your app’s quality. You can also try to find a volume firm like MillionaireApps.com. They base their business on getting more customers rather than charging as much as they possibly can for each project. Based in Austin, Texas, MillionaireApps.com has in-person meetings with clients in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Fort Worth as well as clients nearby their office. Of course, they also serve customers throughout the US and will be expanding to the East and West coast by 2018.