The price question: how much does an app cost?

Hardly any question is asked as often as the price of an app. But only a few questions are harder to answer.

Unfortunately, as a serious service provider one has to admit that without a sufficiently detailed description of the requirements, the question of the price can not be answered. Nevertheless we try it in the following article on the basis of concrete examples.

Because the reference to the enormous range of requirements, all of which have an impact on the total cost of an app, helps the company, which is currently in the budget planning for the coming months, little.

What is all there is to do?

Often we will make an app equated with We are developing mobile app.

You can not emphasize it often enough: This way of thinking falls short and is usually the main responsibility, if an app project really goes wrong. Nevertheless, one meets again and again on product managers who invest time in the developer selection, but otherwise do not worry much.

So what else needs to be considered besides the development?

Strategy & Concept

It is irresponsible how many apps are put into development even before the most basic questions have been answered.

What does the app do? What should be achieved with her? Who is the target audience? How does the app product fit into the construct of existing services and processes? How should the offer develop in the long term?

The list of these elementary questions is far from over. It depends on the total cost of an app project. Nevertheless, it is often shirt-sleeved and without regard to losses just started. The fatal misconception: An internal brainstorming session with the top management, the marketing team and the two interns (who are certainly familiar with Snapchat and so on) will be enough, it can not be that hard.

What emerges is a long list of functions. This is a start, not an app.

When blatant mistakes are made, long after significant sums have been spent on development, there are long faces and brief statements from those responsible: apps are nonsense. At least, that's right.

If you want to build a sensible house, you can not go directly to the construction company, but to the architect. Objective advice from experts is crucial, especially in the identification phase, and must be taken into account in budget planning.

design

Today, users expect a high-quality usability and interface design.

With the existing print style guide from 2004 you can not inspire app users. The mobile platform has its own rules.

An app interface is much more than a website layout for a small screen. A true mobile designer knows that. If he then gets enough time available, something beautiful arises, which one likes to serve.

All the rest

We also like to forget the alleged little things around, but they can make a big difference. A small selection, without claim to completeness:

For example, is there a qualified product manager who takes care not only to keep things running during development, but to make the app an increasingly valuable business building in the long term? If not, then maybe it's time to hire an external product manager.

Or what about quality assurance? There are a lot of options from extensive manual testing on a variety of test equipment to automated UI testing and unit testing. Users quickly react to unstable apps or other functional bugs with dissatisfaction and bad reviews in the store, which in turn can negatively impact download numbers and revenue. Therefore, quality control should not be taken lightly.

It is also a classic with many B2C applications that the first level end customer support is not planned. If then the inexperienced colleagues on the hotline should provide information on problems with an app that they have never heard of, that causes with all participants for displeasure.

And of course, the app also has to be developed.

Native, web, hybrid or cross platform?

Before the development of an app can begin, a fundamental decision has to be made: on which technical basis should the implementation take place?

If you want to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the different technical approaches, where the topic is highlighted in detail.

What should the app do?

In essence, development costs are nothing other than the time it takes to implement, multiplied by a daily rate.

For each function, screen and requirement, the developer considers how long he will spend on it. The more precisely the requirements are defined, the easier this task will be. The sheer volume of functions therefore has a direct impact on the costs of implementation. At this point, we always say to our customers: less is more.

Because only then an app is created that can focus on the essentials and fun in the operation. Incidentally, this philosophy also means that the development costs are reduced - after all, no unnecessary functions are implemented, but the focus is placed on the actual core of the app.

A few calculation examples

To make the whole thing more tangible, we give three concrete examples in which one or the other may find again. And if not, just knock on the new department and we'll count together.

Your own app with your own team

The desire is to set up an app for iOS and Android with an internal team. What do you need for that at least?

A product manager keeps all the threads together and develops the long-term product strategy. A concept and designer in personal union is hard to find, if not impossible. In any case indispensable.

Of course you need an iOS developer, an Android developer and a developer for the backend.

Experts for marketing, PR and business development must not be missing. A person who feels responsible for quality assurance and end customer support completes the team.

For the sake of simplicity, we assume that each team member earns on average € 50,000 a year. In sum, including the additional wage costs for one year, you can calculate with about 430,000 € for this constellation. Then there are the costs that are incurred for Paid Advertising.

A small iOS prototype with a team of freelancers

The variant fits for customers, whose desire is to develop only for the iPhone a first prototype, or even MVP. For example, to test whether the resonances turn out to be positive.

The idea for the app is ideally simple. For example: All the table tennis tables in Munich are displayed on a map. The data is offline in the app. If you choose a location, you can then navigate to it. There is also a contact option via email, so users can tell if a table tennis is not there anymore.

The freelancer friend calls for a daily rate of € 500, as do the designers and designers. It is tested itself, there is no marketing.

Concept and design take three, four days and the development and maintenance of the data takes about two to three weeks. Overall, therefore, can be expected roughly € 8,000.

The advancement of the prototype with a professional app agency

When a prototype goes through the roof, new features have to be created quickly, maybe even a smart redesign or a version for Android smartphones.

The new features could be:

• all sites will come from a CMS in the future

• There is a sexy detail page for each table tennis table including pictures and comments

• Users can register and create a profile

• Through the app you can invite friends to a game of table tennis

For the concept and design of the new features on iOS and Android, the agency estimates ten days effort. Development requires four weeks per mobile platform and another week for the CMS. Accompanying expenses for project management and quality assurance. The daily rates are around 800 €.

All in all, the total cost excluding marketing will be roughly € 50,000.

In conclusion, we conclude: An app costs over one thousand marks