How much will your app idea cost to make?

As an app development shop, that's a question we're forever being asked by prospective customers, but unfortunately it's never a simple answer.

For a lot of the big household name apps you're familiar with, the answer to 'how much it costs to make' is millions of dollars (after all, these are VC backed or public companies with teams of developers with individual salaries of $140k or higher).

But what if you just wanted an idea of costs to build an initial first version of one of these apps? Let's call it, a proof-of-concept version so you can launch to the world, and then, later on, get the financial backing you need to develop it further?

We put together this visual guide with guesstimates on how much it would cost and how long it would take to build the first proof-of-concept version of well-known apps (it uses data from an article on The Next Web with feedback from various agencies, along with some additional sources).

COULD I SPEND $100K ON DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT AND END UP WITH A BILLION DOLLAR APP
HOW MANY MONTHS COULD AN APP LIKE TWITTER, INSTAGRAM OR UBER TAKE TO DEVELOP

Successful apps need more than just a good designer and developer…

 

The most important contributor to an app becoming an ‘overnight’ success is not design or programming, it’s **marketing**. Without getting the word out and enough people finding and using your app, it’s never going to get off the ground.

You need repeatable ways to get traffic (people finding your website and turning into signups, users, referrals) as well as establishing your brand so that you become top-of-mind whenever someone thinks about solving the problem your app addresses. (e.g. VoIP = Skype, Ecommerce = Shopify, Ride sharing = Uber).

 

Do you need an estimate for your web application or mobile app idea?

 

We’ve become pretty good at giving accurate estimates. Drop us a line, let us know what you have in mind and we can definitely provide some details to help you. And yes, we are happy to sign an NDA – your billion dollar idea will still be yours for the taking!

 

let’s start a conversation OR FIND OUT MORE