"How much does an app like that delivery app cost?" We hear this question a lot. The honest answer is that it depends on things you can't see on the screens. Two apps that look alike can differ in cost several times over, because what sits behind the screens is different.
These are the factors we look at before we write down any number.
How many types of users does your app have?
This is the biggest factor. An app used only by customers is far simpler than one with a customer, a service provider, a delivery driver and an admin. Each user type needs its own screens, permissions and notifications, and sometimes an entirely separate app.
The choice between one app with different permissions and separate apps for each party also affects the price. The driver's or service provider's app usually needs screens and notifications that are very different from the customer's, and it may be published under a separate name in the store. The company's management usually works from a web dashboard and doesn't need a mobile app of its own.
Do you need iOS and Android, or just one?
Both together is the norm today in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Building with a technology that uses one codebase for both platforms lowers the cost and the time each update takes for most business apps. Building separately for each platform is justified in a few cases that need very high performance or deep access to device features.
Who will run the app after launch?
Behind every app is a web dashboard where your team manages content, orders, users and reports. Some quotes leave it out or include the bare minimum, and then you find out you need it in the first week after launch. Ask about it in detail.
Does the app need to connect to your existing systems?
Connecting to a system with a documented API is fairly easy. Connecting to an old system with no API can take a lot of work, or a middle layer built for the purpose. Every integration also needs testing with the other side, and that takes time the app team doesn't fully control. Before you ask for a quote, find out which systems the app has to read from or write to: accounting, inventory, bookings.
How do payments and subscriptions affect app cost?
Each payment method has its own technical and contractual requirements: a local payment gateway, cash on delivery, e-wallets, recurring subscriptions, refunds. Some types of in-app purchases also fall under Apple's and Google's store rules and commissions, so ask about this early.
Does the app need to work offline?
A field team app that saves data in places with weak coverage and syncs it later is much more complex than an app that is always online. The same goes for continuous location tracking, scanning and camera features.
Will the design be standard or custom?
An app that uses the usual iOS and Android components, such as lists, buttons and forms, is faster to design and build, and users feel at home with it from the first use. A custom design with its own transitions, interactive graphics and one-of-a-kind screens takes longer to design, code and test across different screen sizes.
Many people overlook one more factor: supporting Arabic and English together. Two languages means every screen is tested in both directions, and the text is managed in two languages from the admin panel. That is a reasonable amount of extra work, but it should be in the quote from the start.
- User typesThe biggest cost factor
- Integration with your systemsEasy with a documented API, hard without one
- PaymentsGateways, commissions and store rules
- Offline useSyncing and resolving conflicts
- DesignStandard components or a custom experience
What happens after the app is published?
An app isn't finished on the day it goes live. Apple and Google release new operating systems every year and change their publishing requirements, and users ask for improvements. Budget a yearly amount for servers, maintenance and updates. The details of what maintenance covers are in app maintenance after launch.
Which costs don't show up in the quote?
The development quote covers building the app. Around it are running costs you pay to other providers. Ask about them before you sign so they don't surprise you after launch:
- Developer accounts: Apple charges a yearly subscription, and Google Play charges a one-time registration fee.
- Servers, the database and image storage, which grow with the number of users.
- SMS messages for the sign-up verification code, usually charged per message.
- Maps and routing services, which may be charged by usage after a free allowance.
- Payment gateway fees on each transaction, and store commissions on some in-app purchases.
- An email service for notifications and invoices, if the app sends them.
Some of these items are small at first and grow as the app succeeds, which is fine as long as you planned for it. Ask the company building your app for an estimate of monthly running costs at the number of users you expect in the first year.
How do you request app quotes you can compare?
Write one page that covers who the users are, the task each of them does every day, the systems the app has to connect to, the payment methods, what must be in the first version and what can wait, and who will manage the content after launch. Send the same page to every company, and you'll get quotes you can compare.
Our advice is to start with a first version that solves the most important task for one type of user, launch it, and then expand based on how people actually use it, as we explain in the first version of your app. Read about our mobile app development service, or send us your idea and we'll come back to you with a proposed scope.
Questions our partners ask
Do I need an app, or is a website enough?
If a customer visits you once a month, a responsive website is usually enough. An app is worth the cost when people use it often, or when you need notifications, the camera, location, or offline use.
Whose name is the app published under?
Your company's name, on its own App Store and Google Play accounts. We help you open them if you don't have them yet.
How much does yearly maintenance cost?
It depends on the size of the app and the servers it runs on. Budget a yearly amount for hosting, compatibility updates for new iOS and Android versions, and bug fixes.
Written by the Visual Innovate team, the people who build, host and follow up systems, websites and apps for our clients in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Egypt.
