Mobile app development has become an essential investment for businesses and startups looking to engage their audience and offer convenient solutions. One of the most common questions that arise during the planning phase is, “How much does it cost to build a mobile app in 2025?” The answer depends on various factors, such as the type of app, platform, complexity, and additional post-launch services.Â
In this blog, we will discuss how much does it cost to build a mobile app and break down the different cost elements associated with building a mobile app, helping you better understand how to budget your project effectively.
App Building Costs Explained: On the Basis of App Type
The app development cost depends upon various factors depending upon type of app, platform, developer’s location and many more. Let’s discuss cost factors for building a mobile app based on its type:
Cost of Developing Social Networking Apps
Basic App Price: Between $8000-$25000+
Timeline: For an ongoing project, 3-6 to up to 9+ months
Examples: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yummi, etc.
Building a social media app like Instagram or Facebook involves creating user profiles, messaging features, photo/video sharing, and social feeds. Additional components like push notifications, friend/follower systems, and privacy settings are necessary to create a functional and engaging platform. Each additional and unique feature add extra cost and adds chances of app success.Â
Cost of Developing an E-Commerce App
App Price: Between $10,000-$300,000+
Timeline: For an ongoing project, 3-6 to up to 9+ months
Example: Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, ASOS and more.
E-commerce applications come with feature-rich product catalogs, distinct product pages, and a payment-processing-based user check-out system. Services like Braintree and Stripe are excellent to integrate for payments.
The infrastructure of an e-commerce app is complicated since managing users, orders, catalog pages, payments, inventories, and other elements calls for a carefully thought-out back-end and admin panel.
Cost of On-Demand App Development
Basic App Cost: About between $10,000 and $100,000 or moreÂ
Timeline: Approximately 3-7+ months
Example: Postmates, Nimber, Melabiz, Uber, and UberEATS.
The on-demand economy includes services like food and grocery delivery, laundry or salon services, travel apps, and transportation.
On-demand apps require real-time tracking, multiple user types (service provider and customer), and secure payment options. Geolocation, map integration, and push notifications further increase development costs. As a result, the price of developing an app increases as the development cycle does.
Cost of Developing a Marketplace App
App Cost: About between $10,000 and $100,000 or moreÂ
Timeframe: Around nine months or more
Examples: Booking.com, TripAdvisor.
Since a marketplace app is a more comprehensive version of these apps, it incorporates features from both on-demand and e-commerce services. Demand and supply are the two facets of the economy that make up the marketplace app concept. In user experience, logic and interaction should be well stated. The price to design an app of this kind is expensive because this procedure takes time.
Uber, for example, only provides transportation services. In contrast, TripAdvisor uses native iOS and Android applications in addition to a website to provide services for hotels, restaurants, airline tickets, and other things.
Cost of Developing a Healthcare or Telemedicine AppÂ
App cost: About between $5,000 and $50,000 or moreÂ
Timeframe: From 3 to 6 months or longer
Examples: Teladoc, MyFitnessPal, Headspace, EMT: Pocket Prep, Epocrates, mySugr, etc.
The complexity, quantity of users, functionality, user experience and design, and whether or not you wish to innovate with cloud solutions, AI, ML, IoT, big data, or blockchain are other factors that affect healthcare application costs.
A key component of these apps is security and data encryption, so understanding healthcare application development standards like HIPAA, GDPR, HITECH Act, and others is essential.
Cost of Developing Authentication AppÂ
App Cost: About between $10,000 and $50,000 or moreÂ
Timeline: 3-6 months
Examples: Â Google Drive and the McDonald’s Loyalty App.
For an authentication app to work fully, the user must log in. Given the abundance of auxiliary features, the cost of developing an app for this kind of application rises. In this case, the user interacts with the synchronized data across devices using a personal account. A matching admin panel is also necessary for managing users and content.
Using social network registration is advised (Facebook, Twitter, etc). It takes less time to execute this one-step process. Our team has a great deal of expertise creating apps that allow users to log in.
Cost of Developing a Video Streaming App
App cost: About between $10,000 and $100,000 or moreÂ
Timeframe: From 3 to 6 months or longer
Examples: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu
Video-streaming services are in high demand, and many have migrated to online content-curation platforms and producers like Netflix, YouTube, Twitch, etc.
While developing these apps, many difficulties can arise ranging from complex back-end architecture, network connectivity, to security & licensing matters. The cost of creating such an app could increase significantly depending on these details.
Cost to Build an App Based on Platform Used
Mobile apps often require iOS and Android development, increasing complexity and cost. Cost Factors for Building a Mobile App based on platform are listed below:Â
Native App Development
Native app development uses platform-specific languages like Swift for iOS and Kotlin for Android to build apps for one platform. Complexity, features, and developer rates determine native app development prices, which range from $5,000 to $150,000.
Cross-Platform App Development
Modern frameworks, such as Flutter or React Native, are used in cross-platform app development to create applications that function flawlessly on multiple platforms or devices with a single codebase. Therefore, the answer of how much does cost of multi platform app development can range from $10,000 to $150,000, which is frequently lower compared to native development.
Web App Development
Web app development costs $5,000 to $100,000, including hosting and maintenance, because it runs on web browsers on multiple devices.
Progressive Web App (PWA) Development
PWAs combine the features of web & mobile apps, which offer a native-like experience on web browsers. Thus, PWA development costs $5,000 to $50,000, including offline functionality and app-like features.
Cost to Build an App Based on Operating Systems
The cost of designing an app might vary based on the program’s complexity and the operating system it will operate on. Per-app operating system cost estimate:
iOS App Development
iOS App Development involves building apps for Apple devices – iOS operating system, which uses Swift or Objective-C programming languages. The cost of iOS app development is between $5,000 and $50,000, depending on complexity, features, and developer rates.
Android App Development
Android app development focuses on producing applications for Android OS devices that utilize various programming languages like Java or Kotlin. Android app development prices range from $2,000 to $50,000 or more for complex applications.
Additional Hidden Costs of App DevelopmentÂ
The initial development cost is simply one portion of the entire cost. Mobile apps need regular maintenance, bug patches, and upgrades to be relevant and secure. Typical maintenance expenses consist of the following:
- Fixes for defects and performance enhancements: Any issues that arise after launch must be resolved. Optimizing the app for performance improvements is also an ongoing job.
- Operating System Updates: In order for apps to remain compatible with the most recent OS versions, they must be updated. iOS and Android both frequently issue new updates.
- Enhancements to Existing Features: Should the app prove popular, requests for new features or changes to current ones can arise, resulting in more expenses for development.
Conclusion
When planning your app development budget, it’s important to consider how much does it cost to build a mobile app as it allows you to decide the scope of your app. By considering your app’s type, platform, and long-term needs, app building costs explained above will help you better prepare for the investment and make smart decisions to ensure its success.
An skilled app development team can help you cut costs and produce a profitable business app. Our experts at Esferasoft design high-quality, affordable apps for all platforms. Contact us today to start developing your app idea.
