The real cost of building an app!

#letmetakeaselfie

We have been asked this question many times from clients and friends looking to build app's and from a bit of research and talking to our partners who have either built them or at least have been through the process.

The answer truly is “How long is a piece of string?” others say it ranges $10,000-$1,000,000+ to create an app, but it depends on many things;

These are main (this is not extensive) consideration points for building your app 

• What are the integrations (API, XML, JSON)
• Does it require a backend to function or just a pretty User Interface? 
• Who is going to build it for you, in house, outsourced, agency?
• What are the overheads of the company (Marketing the app, acquiring users, paying a salary?)
• What is the roadmap of the app beyond the MVP (Minimal Viable Product) 
• Are there other connections required?
• Finally, what is the user flow and use case

Research from many leading investment companies suggests that companies who are backed and focusing on launching an app look at funding rounds of 500-750K should be factoring at least 30-50% of that into the app initial prototype costs and then the marketing functions around it! 

Now if you want to build backend services for your app, that number is going to go up even more. Everyone seems surprised that Instagram chewed through $500K in venture funding to build a new frontend and backend. I'm not.
- CRAIG HOCKENBERRY,STACKOVERFLOW
 

The costs of building the MVP goes beyond just the initial idea, scope and dev costs.   You need to consider the ongoing costs as well as security, roadmap development, and future proofing the app. it is always best to research and think about the future of your app beyond v1 otherwise is there a point even starting? 

If you are considering building an app, we have some insights and thoughts we would be happy to share with you or just give us a call and we can help talk through your requirments.