Gone are those days when prime importance was given just to the website design and development process. The advent of the Google App Store paved the way for a new aspect of the digital world to be born. Web application (Web-App) became a mandated entity as digitalism notched up. Whatever domain you are in, you need an ‘App’ today and that is how today’s digital journey has evolved. This has boosted the mobile app development process and thereby more mobile app development companies are booming day by day. With that stated, it is essential to have an insight into the mobile app development budgeting factors. Let’s dive into this article to learn how to unlock the important mobile app development cost factors and figure out the app development cost breakdown process. 

Factors that determine the cost of the mobile app development

The key to unlocking the important mobile app development cost factors lies in determining the factors that contribute to the cost of the mobile app development process itself. The cost of building an android app depends on the following factors:

#1 App Features

The app feature is the primary factor that majorly determines the cost to build an android app. Depending on whether you are a product development company or service providing company, your app features are to be designed. The more complicated the feature, the more work is involved. Also when the number of features is more, more amount of work is involved. Therefore the sophistication involved in the features and the number of features play a crucial role in the mobile app development cost breakdown process. 

#2 App Functionalities

Next, the app functionality plays a major role when it comes to calculating the cost to build an android app. When a particular function is to be executed in an app, the factors that are inclined towards making that functionality work, come into the picture while budgeting. For example, if you need more graphics and animation to enhance the UI/UX of your mobile app, then that adds up to the total cost to build an android app. 

#3 App Development Platform

When it comes to the app development platform, you need to make sure if you are developing your app for android alone or both android and iOS platforms. People from the UK and US majorly utilize iOS platforms but the rest of the world predominantly uses the android platform. Technologies differ when it comes to building an app on the android platform and iOS platform. The cost of developing your app depends on the platform that you choose to build your app. And when you go for mobile app development on both the platforms, then the overall cost will depend on the app development companies. 

#4 App Hosting Platform

Your choice of app hosting platform decides whether your mobile app development cost will be budgeted under a sharing basis or a single-user basis of the server. The following criteria will be helpful to choose the best fit:

1. The transmission capacity per user
2. Bandwidth per MAU
3. API request of the backend process

#5 Integration of Niche Third Parties

Mobile app development is almost impossible without the integration of third parties. This is due to the fact that while developing social apps, GPS is required to figure out the location of the user and when building an app that has checkout functionality, then the payment gateway needs to be incorporated, and enabling that into the app adds up to the cost of the mobile app development process as well.

Picture Credits: Unsplash

#6 Native/Hybrid Development Process

If you are specifically focusing on building your app on the iOS platform, (integrating higher-end technologies like augmented reality) it is better to go with the native mobile app development process. But, if you are planning to have your app built on both the platforms, then, hybrid mobile app development process pays off. Building a cross-platform app can be pulled off with minimal engineering and moreover the essential aspect in the case of the hybrid development process is cost-effectiveness. 

#7 Hardware for IoT oriented App Design

When you develop an app that requires pieces of information like the heartbeat rate, temperature, etc then the sensors that help in sensing this information need to be incorporated and that adds up to the mobile app development cost itself. Therefore when you build an app that requires such information and data, the cost of hardware for IoT oriented app design needs to be counted in while budgeting the cost to build an android app.

#8 UI/UX

User interface and user experience play an important role in having an app up and running successfully in the longer run. The visuals of your app starting from the content, alignment, layout, design, color theme, navigation inside the app, graphics, and animation determine the overall user experience and how smoothly these factors interface says all about the proper functioning of your mobile app. Each factor contributes to the cost to build an android app. It is up to you to choose these factors according to your budget. 

#9 Backend Integration

So basically the backend process involves maintaining an up-to-date database that keeps getting updated in real-time. The frontend of your app needs to compute in accordance with the database available in the backend in real-time and has to give an updated output. Authentication, data storage, and synchronization, data analytics, etc are the processes that happen in the backend. To make sure that your app is fully working fine, you need to use the latest technology that establishes a 100% smooth backend integration which adds to the overall costing. 

#10 Security Features

When you work on the digital platform, security matters a lot. Users need to be assured that the information that they share over the app is protected and is not used for any other purposes. So, while developing the app you can follow these steps to ensure maximum safety:

1. Always code securely
2. Incorporate data encryption protocols
3. Use the libraries carefully
4. Ensure the authorization of the APIs that you use
5. Implement tamper detection strategies in your app
6. Make use of higher-level authentication protocols (biometric, passwords, etc)
7. Use proper session management protocols
8. Assign limited privilege access
9. Make use of advanced and updated cryptography tools and techniques
10. Keep testing continuously

The above-mentioned security protocols are mandatory since the security of your mobile app can never be compromised at any cost. But again, implementing these security protocols means investing in them. In addition to the other factors that contribute to the overall budget, implementing security protocols adds up too.

#11 App Development Team

Building an app requires an interdisciplinary talent pool. App development companies today have a mixed talent on-board unlike before. If a specific skill set is required, freelancing options are also available. So, when it comes to hiring an app development team, you need to pay a good amount to get the best talent on-board, and hiring the best team means getting a quality output in the end. Upon the mobile app development cost breakdown process, you will see that hiring a good app development team will cost you significantly.

Picture Credits: Unsplash

#12 Agility and Maintenance

Agile methodology is proven to be effective these days. In the present day scenario, we have updates happening now and then. Technologies become outdated and newer ones come into the picture. So, in order to stay updated, it is essential that your app has the option to adapt to new updates and has scope to add on new features and functionalities if and when required. You need to make sure that you add agility and maintenance into account when you make the budget for your mobile app development.

Mobile App Development Cost Breakdown

When you break down the cost of building your mobile app you need to be able to unlock the important mobile app development cost factors in the first place. And for that, the above-mentioned factors will help you to make an estimate roughly. Each and every factor has a unique contribution to the overall budget. Depending upon your requirements you can add or delete the features that are needed for your mobile app and the cost varies accordingly

Finally…

Ever since the mobile app became an inevitable asset of a successful business, special attention needs to be given to the mobile app development process. Whether you are an established or a budding business person, once you decide to build an app, you need to know the mobile app development cost breakdown. The above-mentioned factors play a crucial role when it comes to framing a budget for your mobile app development. Depending on the complexity of your mobile app, the overall costing is done. The more the app features and functionalities, the more it costs to implement them in your mobile app. And this is how you unlock the important mobile app development cost factors.

To get a free consultation in regard to customized mobile app development strategy and budget contact us today!