The Key Factors that determine the cost of creating an Application like BookMyShow!

Author: Martha Jones

There was a time when people had to bear the hassles of long waits at the counters, for the simple activity of booking tickets. Thankfully, the advent of digital event-based ticket booking platforms has transformed the ticket booking experience altogether. Today, you just need to click a few times on your smartphones, from the comfort of your homes/offices, for booking tickets to watch your favorite movie, or show. No wonder, online entertainment ticket booking apps like BookMyShow have garnered unprecedented popularity.

BookMyShow, launched in 2007 is India’s most sought-after event-based ticket booking service. Using this app one can book tickets for movies, concerts, sports, events, etc., and also access the events calendar, film reviews, show times, and promotional offers. Here are some glimpses of its success stories.

  • The brand has established its online presence in 4 countries and over 350 cities; and has attained the loyalty of more than 16 million customers.
  • The app boasts of over 30 million downloads and over 10 million ticket bookings per month.
  • It bagged several titles like "The Hottest Company" for 2011-12; "The Company to watch out for" (CNBC Young Turks Award), and the "Best Omni-channel Customer Experience Brand" (OneDirect Quest Customer Experience Awards).

The aforesaid information indicates the humongous market demand for such applications. Therefore, several businesses are looking forward to architecting a ticket booking app. But, the very first question that arises in their minds is; "How much does it cost to develop a ticket booking app like book my show?"

This write-up discusses the key factors that determine the cost of creating an application like BookMyShow. But before we delve deeper, let me provide you glimpses of the trending online ticketing applications.

Top-rated Ticketing Apps

StubHub

Owned by eBay, it sells tickets for concerts, sports, and many other live entertainment events.

Ticketmaster

This is an American company that deals with the sales and distribution of tickets obtained from clients.

SeatGeek

This is a marketplace for event tickets and an aggregator for the tickets concerning sports, concerts, and other events. The users enjoy the option of browsing through the events, viewing color-coded seat maps, and receiving electronic or printed tickets after their purchase.

Ticketplease.com

This one-stop online portal sells tickets for all sorts of events and clubs up other offers with ticket purchasing activity.

Features to include in a ticket booking app along with Price Estimate

Take a sneak peek into the basic and additional features to include in an online ticketing app.

Basic Features

For App users

  • Login/Signup/registration
  • Forgot Password/Phone Validation
  • Splash Screen
  • Advanced search/Movies/Search Location
  • Booking Movie Tickets/Seat Selection Option with Layouts
  • Checkout Option along with ticket summary
  • Ticket PDF/Options for payment/pay later
  • Booking History
  • Push Notifications regarding upcoming events
  • View/Apply Coupons

Admin Panel

  • Dashboard
  • Login
  • Manage Users
  • Settings
  • Manage current and forthcoming events
  • Withdrawals/Wallet Management
  • Order Management
  • Vendor Management

The app development cost to integrate these basic features for Android as well as iOS ranges from approximately 32,000 to 35,000 USD.

Additional Features

App Users: Blogs, Support Chat, Mobile Wallet Integration, Loyalty and Rewards

Admin: Customer Analytics, dashboard Analytics, Management of Transactions, Managing offers.

Key Factors Affecting the cost of developing a Ticket-booking Application

The Choice of Platform

The two chief platforms targeted by mobile applications are iOS and Android. While both these platforms involve their specific set of features; Android app development turns out to be lesser costly than iOS. However, most businesses investing in app development target both platforms to cater to more audiences. But, platform selection entirely depends on your app development budget.

The App Design

Top-class and trending designs provide optimum customer satisfaction but are pretty more expensive to implement as compared to the ordinary ones. But, none the less, design is a crucial aspect of an application that not only affects the usability but also the UX. So, even though a high-end design incurs more expenses, it proves profitable in the long run.

The Size of the App

The integration of more tools and features increases the size of the app along with the cost. Therefore, select your features wisely. Remember, all the features offered by bestselling apps are not worthy.

The number of Features

The more features you integrate, the higher are the expenses. So, if you have budget constraints, it is advisable to conduct thorough market research and include only the key features depending on your target audience. However, you need to integrate some trending and unique features, for gaining a competitive edge over the popular applications.

Mobile Wallet Integration

The integration of a mobile wallet into your application elevates the UX by eliminating all types of hassles involved in online payments. But, this add-on will cost dearly, impacting the overall development cost.

Developer Selection

The project cost is directly proportional to the experience and expertise ofthe developers you hire. Nevertheless, it is better to choose proficient developers. Their charges might be higher than anticipated, but choosing quality over cost is necessary to sustain in this competitive market for a longer time.

The geographical location of the developers also plays a crucial role in deciding the development cost as the labor charges vary based on the location Have a look at the approximate developer rates per hour for the standard locations.

  • India and some of the Asian Countries: $20-30$ per hour
  • Eastern part of Europe: $40-$100
  • Australia: $50-$150
  • UK: $50-$180
  • U.S. and Canada: $50-$250

Final Verdict

My write-up must have provided you with a basic idea and approximate cost estimate for shaping your app idea into a fully functional mobile app.

If you hail from a non-technical background, it is absolutely essential to partner with a competent mobile app development company to achieve success. Biz4Solutions, a leading mobile and web app development company would be the ideal technology partner to pick for crafting top-class ticket booking applications. Contact us today!