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iOS App Development Cost
Technology

What Is The Exact Distribution of Cost of iOS App Development?

Mihir Mistry,

$10,000 or $20,000 or $30,000 or $60,000, What is the estimate of developing an iOS application? It is quite perplexing to decide when you are given a choice to select an app development partner based on the above cost estimate to make an iOS app. Additionally, you might be tempted to try out app calculators to know the approximate cost of developing an iOS app before you decide. But, will the calculation convince you enough to invest, or would you demand a detailed explanation of cost bifurcation? This being said, t myriad of factors need to be considered while calculating iOS app development cost, in that respect, any application development cost. 

Start with the basics of cost distribution

In simple terms, why does the cost of cars or mobile phones vary? It is because of the elements and features it offers. Similarly, there are factors that govern the cost to make an iOS app. In this blog, we will try to simplify the cost bifurcation and explain to you the factors that would affect the iPhone app development cost. 

App development isn’t a cakewalk; you need to understand this! It takes a lot of brainstorming and engagement from the involved parties to come up with a final app development strategy. And therefore, by simple logic, the iOS app development cost is the total of (Total number of hours invested by developers x Hourly rate of development).

Well, as an experienced app development company, we have delivered projects of all sizes and scopes, we have come up with cost projections of app development. 

Again, we would like to clarify, in-house iOS development or hiring iOS app developers for your project, both the options would have different price tags and benefits/discomforts. However, you can read a guide on in-house app development and off-shore app development to have a detailed description of how and what things it will affect?

iOS has stuck a solid image in the minds of developers and users. The platform has nearly 1.4 billion active Apple devices and 2.2 million apps. It is obvious that iOS app development will give a huge amount of revenue to the entrepreneurs, which is why there is a lot of hype.

iOS App Development Cost

Coming to the factors that affect the cost to develop an iOS app: 

You would have probably read our blog on cost variation factors; if not, you should go and check it out. We would recommend that before allocating the iOS app development budget, you better read about the factors and understand how the pricing policy works.

The first factor that affects the pricing the most is,

  • Application Size: 

Do you remember the simple pricing calculating formula we have shared above? Pricing is directly proportional to the number of hours invested and the hourly price. 

The number of hours refers to the app size. A small app size would consume hardly 2 months for development, whereas a medium-sized app would take somewhere between 2 to 6 months. And an enterprise-grade app would last for around 6 months or more. Depending on the app size, the price of iOS app development will also vary. A small-sized app can be developed within a budget of $10K, and a medium-sized app would be somewhere between $10,000 to $50,000. An enterprise app would cross the previous limit and cost around $60,000. 

Again, app size is internally linked to many other sub-factors that we will be discussing next. 

  • Application complexity:

Application complexity influences the cost of app development the most. Here too, the higher the complexity, the more is the price of app development. Complexity in terms of features means how many features are there in the app you are planning to develop, how many of them need an interlink, or how many of them can function as a standalone app feature. 

If you are planning to integrate advanced technologies such as AR or VR, the complexity of the app design will increase accordingly. Therefore, a basic app with a simple sharing option or make a note feature will cost around $5K to $15K. But, the one with a complex user interface will start from around $20K or more. 

  • Application’s development team costing: 

You may find a list of hundreds and thousands of app developers on some of the popular platforms. But there again, you would have to select a team of the best developers that would fit within your budget. The hourly rates of the involved app development team would again vary depending on the profession they are in.

If we were to give you a global rate card of hourly rates of various team members, it would be like:

  • iOS app developer would charge around $20 to $100;
  • A UI/UX designer would have hourly charges between $15 to $50;
  • A QA tester would come at the price of $10 to $50;
  • A Business analyst would charge around $25 to $80.
  • A UI/UX designer would charge between $20 to $90;

These prices depend on their skills, years of experience, and the location of the professional. We will look into the details of location-based bifurcation in the coming sections. 

  • UI/UX procedure cost bifurcation:

Factors and subfactors affect the final cost of app development drastically. UI/UX designing is a huge process involving deep research, UX designing, UI designing, branding, animations, videos, etc. All of these tasks need another level of involvement from each individual, which adds to the final cost of app development.

Say, for example,

The research includes analyzing the competitors, performing market research, trend analysis, etc. These activities would cost around $50 to $400, depending on the professional niche.

Same way, UX designing, which includes tasks such as creating rough sketches, wireframing, prototyping, etc., would cost between $3000 to $10,000.

UI designing where the team would be responsible for creating mood boards and mockup samples would be a bit cost-effective and cost around $1000 to $5000.

Branding would include social media activity; logo designing would cost around $3000 to $18,000.

Animations and video clips enhancement would be around $1000 to $30,000.

  • Cost based on application categories: 

Well, can you tell me your favorite app category? Probably, everyone admires game applications, do you agree? If we look at the chart laid down by Statista mentioning the most popular app store categories, gaming tops the chart.

The categories that follow the game are business, education, lifestyle, utilities, entertainment, food, and drinks, etc. We are mentioning these because a game app development would cost between $30K to $90K. A business app would cost between $5K to $80K

Education app prices would fall between $10K to $60K. The Health and fitness app price of development would be $5K to $1,50,000. Entertainment app price of development would be $15K to $80K

Social media apps would be around $10K to $50K, healthcare and medical apps would be approximately $25K to $80K

iPhone app development cost
  • App development cost based on location: 

The geographical location of the app development company affects the price of iOS app development. Well, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, because the lifestyle and per day income of individuals in various countries differ considerably. 

Below we have mentioned the hourly rates of iOS developers across the globe. 

LocationHourly Rates
US$90-$180/hour
India$20-$60/hour
Ukraine$30-$100/hour
Australia$80-$150/hour
Russia$50-$140/hour
Indonesia$25-$70/hour
Eastern Europe$40-$80/hour

As you can see, the minimal charges are of the developers hailing from India. So, if you are running tight on budget, you should opt for an app development partner operating in this region.

  • Online Vs. Offline application:

The online app means the one that needs internet connectivity for functioning, and offline means the one that can function without internet connectivity. Yes, this decision also affects the cost to make an iOS app. 

Online apps definitely have more features than offline, which is why the cost of app development would also be higher. On the other hand, offline apps only process data and other short-hand tasks, and the cost of app development are lower.

  • Native or cross-platform iOS app development:

Another important decision that will affect the cost of iOS app development is to decide between native or cross-platform development. Native or cross-platform app development both have their pros and cons, which we have already discussed in one of our blogs.

When it comes to cost, native app development will be a bit more expensive because you would need a team of experts having knowledge of iOS. These experts would overcome every challenge related to code, performance, security, testing, scalability, etc. 

Well, in the case of cross-platform, as we all know, with a single code base, you can have iOS and android app development both. This means it might lack a few requisite native features of iOS, but it is very cost-effective.

Native app development would cost you around $30K to $80K, whereas cross-platform app development would be between $15K to $30K. Native apps are quicker to get discovered than hybrid or cross-platform apps.

  • Cost of app release:

Again, we have written a detailed blog on how you can release an app on the app store; you should check it out. It will give you an idea of the platform fees that you would have to incur for releasing the app. 

The iOS store fee is $99, which needs to be paid yearly, just for your information. 

Cost to Make an iOS App
  • Cost of API integration:

This is one of the major factors affecting the final cost of iOS app development. APIs are added to the app to increase the flexibility and functionality of the app. You may have to integrate payment gateways APIs, or third-party APIs to make your app eligible for various services.

If you are developing an eCommerce app or any shopping app, you may integrate payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, ApplePay, Authorize.net, etc. Read about the transaction processing and fees in our blog.

When it comes to third-party integrations, you will need services like GoogleMaps ($200 for integration);

Facebook APIs ($200 for integration);

Movie Database API ($600 for integration);

Booking API ($800 for integration);

We hope this gives you an idea of where and how much you should invest in API integration. 

  • Hidden and Miscellaneous Costs:

Well, we should not be missing out on this thing at all. Because there are certain costs that may add to the list and might sound like an upfront cost. These costs include,

  • Maintenance and monitoring cost: $4K to $15K yearly;
  • Updates release :$1K yearly;
  • Data storage: $500 yearly;
  • CDN cost: $150 yearly;

So, yeah, that’s all about iOS app development cost bifurcation. There are certain important decisions to make in this journey that will ensure that you have high-quality standard apps, highly secured and well-maintained. For initiating this decision, if you need any help, please feel free to contact Kody Technolab and the team. 

Wrapping Up:

We hope you will not be misguided anymore by the extravagant prices of iOS app development. The bifurcation will also help you in selecting the app development company of your choice and budget. Keep this guide bookmarked for your easy reference and carry it with you for any discussion related to the final app development cost. All the best!

Mihir Mistry

Mihir Mistry is a highly experienced CTO at Kody Technolab, with over 16 years of expertise in software architecture and modern technologies such as Big Data, AI, and ML. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others to help them benefit.

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