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The Mobile App Development Cost in UK are rising day by day. Do you know what’s the reason? Mobile App development is the need of every business all around the world in the present day scenario. Eventually, the London App Developers are now totally set to grab the opportunity and earn as much as they can. On an estimate, cost of developing a mobile app in the United Kingdom may range between £275 and £73,000. Umm…Isn’t that bracket too large? Well, however, seems unrealistic but it is true.
There are varying factors that affect the cost of mobile app development and these factors can fluctuate the cost to a great extent. So, in this blog, we will discuss all these factors, however very quickly! Let’s begin.
The mobile app development cost in the UK depends upon varying factors. These factors may be divided into 4 major categories. Here is a breakdown:
The platform that you choose to launch your mobile app also affects the cost of mobile app development. This is because different platforms need different types of app development techniques. The programming languages, development frameworks, testing techniques, and even features differ for different platforms. Eventually, the prices also vary. For example:
Android App Development Cost UK is comparatively lower than iOS app development. To estimate, we can say that the cost of developing an Android app to be launched on the Play Store, the cost range can be between £100 and £50,000 depending upon App’s functionality.
While a basic app such as a simple calculator app will cost not more than £90 to £150, a complex Android App such as a cab booking software or a dating app can cost as much as £55,000. Whereas, mediocre Android apps like ERP and CRM can cost between £25000 and £35,000.
On the contrary, when it comes to iOS development, requires specific skills and mastery of App Store App Review Guidelines. It is slightly tougher to launch an iOS app compared to Android Apps. Play Store accepts only highly ethical and glitch-free mobile applications as Apple Inc. focuses more on the User Experience.
Eventually, for iOS development, the London app developers need the knowledge of Swift programming language and SwiftUI as a development framework. Furthermore, even for the Beta testing, the Mobile app development company has to use TestFlight, a testing platform developed by Apple Inc.
Eventually, iOS app development costs higher than Android. To give an approximation, iOS app development Cost UK can range between £500 and £66,000 depending upon app functionalities.
Not all apps go on the App Store and Play Store Necessarily. Rather, to avoid launch hassles, some businesses prefer to offer app downloads through their website. In such a case, mobile app development costs may be less. To estimate a value, we can say that in this case, the mobile app development cost can range between £250 and £700.
However, one must note that usually only simple apps are launched this way by small businesses. Therefore, we are not considering complex apps such as healthcare apps, cab booking apps, dating apps, and travel booking apps in this category.
Next comes app complexity. The more functions an application performs, the more complex it becomes to develop. Now, how can we define app complexity? Below are the categories and their examples:
Mobile apps such as calculators, counters, communication apps like chatting apps, messengers etc. have simple functionalities. Eventually, the cost of such basic apps is low. We can discuss the mobile app development cost breakdown for basic apps as follows:
The mobile apps that perform larger data processing and are usually on-demand, come under the medium-complex apps. Some examples include cab booking apps, online food order apps, e-commerce apps, etc.
In simple words, we can say that apps that require a combination of online payment, messaging, sharing, and Maps APIs come under medium-complex mobile apps for a mobile app development company UK. The cost breakdown can be as below:
To build an App that has a large user base and is driven by the latest technologies such as Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and IoT systems come under highly complex apps. To give some examples, we have healthcare apps that measure body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen, and sugar levels.
Also, large e-commerce platforms like Amazon come under highly complex apps as it has a really large user base. Likewise, IoT mobile apps that help managing smart homes and are connected to a magnificent infrastructure also come under the highly complex app category. The cost breakdown can be discussed below:
Furthermore, the second category of factors that affect mobile app development cost is the location of the mobile app development company in UK. However, as a client, you always have the flexibility to choose on-shore or offshore mobile app development services. Still, the location matters a lot. The mobile app development cost breakdown as per location is as follows:
Locations that are highly developed, urban, high cost of living and inflation rates, and expensive will charge high prices. This is because the salary of the app developer will be higher in such locations. Say, for example, London, Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, Winchester etc. These locations will clearly charge higher prices.
Similarly, if you go for off-shore development via the remote development option, the overall economy of the chosen country will affect the mobile app development cost. For example, mobile app development costs in the USA will be higher than in the United Kingdom. The prices of mobile app development at such locations can range between £75 to £100 per hour.
Certain locations have moderate economies. So, the cost of building a mobile app will be moderate in such locations. Say, for example, mobile app development cost in developing countries like India and China will be much value for money.
It is because they have a developing economy and therefore it is easy to find highly skilled labour at a budget-friendly price there. The cost of mobile app development at such locations can range between £25 to £50 per hour.
Furthermore, you can also find some inexpensive locations for cheaper prices. Within the boundaries of United Kingdom, you may choose Doncaster, Newport, Londonderry, Sunderland, Belfast etc. for lower prices. Moreover, if choosing offshore development, then countries like South Africa, Indonesia etc may help.
In these locations, the hourly rates of mobile app developers can range between £22 to £40 per hour. However, always remember that within the territories of the UK, you will find higher prices than the prices in inexpensive countries.
The mode of development can also affect the mobile app development cost in UK. The breakdown is as follows:
If you choose to hire an app development team and start the mobile app development process in-house, then certainly you will pay much higher charges. However, if you already have an IT team, then the cost of development will not be additional, but your resources will be blocked for the due period.
If you prefer to outsource the mobile app development process, then the app development price will depend upon the economy of the outsourced location as already discussed above. The stronger the economy, the higher the development costs.
Also, if you choose remote mobile app development, then the hourly rate may be lower. On an estimate, mobile app development cost per hour can range between £20 to £50 while also considering other factors already discussed above.
The on-site mobile app development can cost a bit higher. Especially, if you choose the expensive cities of the UK as already discussed, then the hourly rates may range between £50 to £100.
Mobile App Development Cost Breakdown As Per App Features
However, the factors we have discussed above are secondary but important. The primary factor that decides the mobile app development cost is the number of features that you ask the app developers to create. However, certain features are necessary to have in an app in modern-day scenarios, but still, not all features are mandatory! Let us now discuss the average cost of mobile app development per feature to get a better insight!
This is the basic feature that every mobile application needs in the current scenarios. Without logging in and profile creation, neither the app user can manage his/her activities on the app nor the app owner can gather user behaviour insights for formulating marketing and sales strategies.
Therefore, one must necessarily add a user login and profile creation feature which may cost between £1500 to £2500 depending upon what login options you provide. Login options include signup with a Google account, other email accounts, mobile number, and one-time password (OTP) etc.
The admin panel is one of the most important features in mobile app development. Every mobile app development company in UK will always suggest the business owner have complete access to the admin panel. For the business owner, the admin panel is the centralised control of the mobile app.
Admin panel allows the business owner to access, retrieve, manage, and manipulate the app data transparently. He or she can view the activities of the users and can get data insights for successful business planning. An admin panel costs around £2500 to £3500 and it is always recommended to have an Admin panel necessarily. Otherwise, mobile app development becomes futile for the business.
Another feature to must-have in the modern mobile app development is push notifications. You can send your customers (or app users) personalized messages through push notifications. This keeps your app users hooked to your mobile app and enhances engagement.
Moreover, it also increases the chances of making more frequent sales when you keep on sharing offers and personalized discounts with your customers.
Furthermore, always remember that a mobile app brings multiple sources of revenue to a business. If the app engagement is good, then many other brands will also approach you for ads and promotions. This will create a new source of income for you. So, consider push notifications. It hardly costs around £1000 to £1450.
If your business connects two individuals and communication is important between them, such as a delivery business or a dating app, then providing calling as an app feature can benefit you a lot by increasing app engagement.
Moreover, it elevates customer experience adding value to your business. The cost of adding a calling feature can range between £5000 to £7500 for an audio call and £8000 to £15000 for a video call. However, you can offer calling as a ‘purchasable’ option within the app. This will also add to your income stream.
Messaging or chatting is a cheaper alternative to the calling feature. If communication is really necessary in your business model within the app, then choose the chatting feature. It will cost you around £550 to £650. So, you can choose chatting over calling and save a great deal on the mobile app development cost.
You will need Google Maps API integration if your mobile app serves the delivery, transportation, and tourism industries. Not all apps require Google Maps API. The cost of Google Maps API integration in London can range between £2000 to £3500 depending upon the app complexity, user base, and various other options.
If your business needs online payments from the mobile application, then payment API integration will cost between £2500 and £4000. Simply put, if your business runs on a subscription model, or you offer in-app purchases, or you are an e-commerce business, then Payment API is the mandatory feature to have.
Most businesses today prefer to integrate social media into their mobile applications. They add share, like, and comment buttons for a hassle-free customer experience.
Also, social media integration opens the opportunity for the business to be shared and promoted (digital technique of word-of-mouth marketing) by their customers free of cost.
However, it makes your mobile app more modern and stylish, it is just an optional feature that costs around £900 and £1250.
So, you must be quite clear on the mobile app development cost breakdown in the UK so far. However, the above cost estimation covers only the development charges. There are also other additional maintenance charges after mobile app development. You must also create a room for while creating an app for those additional costs and have a budget for the same.
Always remember when you are launching a mobile app on the Play Store or App Store, you will be paying their platform fee as well. However, usually, it is a one-time fee, but you must have a room for the same. Note the following:
Furthermore, if you offer your app download from your website or any other site (third-party platform), then it is free of cost. However, it is a risky approach and such apps are vulnerable to malware attacks.
Besides paying the one-time registration fee to the Play Store and annual charges to the Play Store, there are no other hosting charges. However, you will be paying 30% of the In-App Purchases on both Play Store as well as Play Store. So, as many in-app purchases will occur, only that much you will be paying.
By app maintenance, we mean app updates. It will include fixes, UI/UX updates (occasional), maintaining infrastructure, and database management. These will cost you around £1000 and £4000 again depending upon app complexity.
So, all in all, we have covered almost every major aspect of mobile app development cost in UK and abroad as well. However, this is an estimate and we can say that any mobile app development company will charge at least this much for a particular platform, feature, location, or mode of development.
Let us now discuss the phases of the Mobile app development process and get a bird’s eye view of what percentage of your total cost will be spent on which phase. During the project management, a mobile app development process goes through the following phases:
This is the best phase of development as during it you will be researching and connecting with various mobile app development companies in UK and abroad. Here you will discuss your requirements and take price lists from them. So, during this phase, you will not be spending any of your total budget. Enjoy it!
During the prototyping phase, the mobile app development company presents a graphical presentation of the mobile app. In simple words, in this phase, the app developers will give a 2D picture of the final mobile app design, it’s UI/UX, and functions.
However, most mobile app development companies UK might offer prototyping free of cost. However, some might start prototyping after taking a token amount for the development. This token amount will not be more than 10% generally.
The development phase is the most expensive phase in mobile app development process. In fact, the maximum of your budget will be invested in the development only. So, almost 60% of the budget is allocated to the development phase.
Testing is the most important phase in mobile app development. Never overlook testing and allocate at least 20% of your budget to the testing phase. This phase helps you identify the lags and bugs in the finished mobile application. During this phase, you can rectify all the errors and mend the codes.
Launch will take note more than 15% of the total budget including the platform fee and the digital marketing expenses. Therefore, save this amount for later whenever you make a budget for mobile app development cost.
The expenses will continue to occur even after the launch. There will be app updates, bug fixes, Play Store annual fee (in case of iOS and cross-platform apps), UI/UX revamp, introduction and integration of new features etc. This will be a recurring cost so we cannot count it in the budget.
Finally, to sum up, we can say that mobile app development cost UK range between £150 and £75,000 and can go even beyond that. The cost depends mostly upon the number of features, app complexity, and the type of technology integration. However, certain third-party factors such as the location of the app developers, chosen platform for launch, and mode of development factors. So, now you have learnt everything about the cost breakdown and you can plan your budget accordingly.
While planning to launch your own mobile app, you can consider all the above points that we have explained here. We shall always advise you to do hardcore research before choosing the right mobile app development company in UK. Likewise, plan your app feature wisely. Avoid unnecessary features to save cost and prefer a simple user interface and user experience (UI/UX) with user-friendly designs. This will help you save a great deal of cost and enhance your business image! Simply put, the app will serve its purpose the right way!
iOS app development cost is slightly higher than the cost of Android app development because iOS app development requires more specific coding skills as the App Store accepts only high-quality glitch-free apps. Moreover, even the app upgrades require MacBook systems. Also, it is a bit difficult to find iOS app developers in London while the demand for iOS app development is high. Therefore, it costs slightly more.
Well, if your target audience is UK-based, then you must go for both iOS as well as Android development. This is because, in the UK, around 52% of smartphone users are iOS users and the remaining 48% are Android users. Both are significant, even though iOS users form the majority, but still, both are almost equal. However, in place of getting two separate apps, you may choose Cross-Platform app development. It will cost you almost equivalent to the cost of iOS app development, but you will have a single app that runs efficiently on iOS and Android platforms both.
You can choose cross-platform app development if you need both iOS as well as Android apps. Cost to develop a cross-platform app can be around £950 to £50,000 depending upon app requirements. It is almost equivalent to iOS app development. Therefore, this is the most popular technique these days.
In a word, no! Apple focuses on high-quality user experience and highly ethical especially kids’ friendly mobile applications. Therefore, if you have developed an app which is glitch-free, strongly encrypted, and smoothly functioning while also maintaining ethical boundaries, then launching an app on the Play Store is not a rocket science at all
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