Ever visited a Subway outlet? What about developing an app like it?
Well, before bothering to develop an app like Subway, you must be confused about the budget to invest in it, right?
Relax, we got your back. The cost to make a restaurant app like Subway depends on the type of features, technology, and design you want, and how much complex it can be.
However, the cost to develop a restaurant app like Subway can vary from $20,000 to $100,000.
To understand it in detail, let’s begin the journey together which will comprise of cost, factors, time to invest, and monetization strategies.
Shall we proceed?
Subway: A Fresh Experience with Flavourful Submarine Sandwich
Before we jump to know how to make an app like Subway and its development cost, let’s learn a brief about the same.
Fresh, Fast, and Flavourful- That’s Subway!
Subway sandwiches are among the most popular restaurant chains in the world. It is an American Multinational fast-food restaurant chain that has expertise in sandwiches and wraps.
The brand and its sandwiches have become the leading choice of the majority of people who seek quick and nutritious meals for the whole family.
Do you know, that Subway’s quick service restaurant accounted for 36,592 stores worldwide?
Well, the majority of the stores (20.3 thousand) are located in the United States.
Isn’t it a great opportunity for you to enter into such as giant market?
You need not be bothered about the competition Subway can offer to your restaurant app, because it’s all about the type of food and service the brand delivers which can create a difference.
If you are still wondering whether or not to develop a restaurant app like Subway, let’s consider the following section.
Why Create an App Like Subway?
How to build Subway-Like Restaurant App?
An app that can make the users’ experience more seamless and engaging in the restaurant world is in the current demand.
If you are the one who owes a restaurant and is confused about whether to proceed with app development, then let us be your mirror.
Before how, you should know ‘why’.
With the following reasons to build a restaurant app like Subway, you will find it all.
♦ Restaurant Apps and Food: A Timeless Combination
Food is a necessity when it comes to life. Additionally, with the growing demand in the people into a fast-food category, you cannot ignore their love for sandwiches and wraps.
Statistics on the U.S. quick service restaurant market reveal that its size has reached 387.5 billion U.S. dollars in the year 2023.
Along with this, 10M+ downloads of Subway restaurant app on Google Play, say it all. This can become an important reason to consider for creating an app like Subway.
♦ Simplify Sub Ordering With Ease
An app provides a seamless service to the target user. Through effective app features, users can order their favorite sandwiches from remote locations.
You want to simplify the customer journey, right? Then, opting for an app development process can be the ultimate solution here.
People prefer restaurants and a quick fast food delivery chain when the effort for ordering it is minimized. Thus, you should make a restaurant app like Subway, effectively.
♦ Increases User Engagement
One of the important reasons behind developing an app like Subway can be increasing user engagement.
When you ensure that the customers can book sandwiches from the ease of their homes, then it can automatically increase user engagement.
Thus, to create engagement with potential users, you must have a restaurant app.
♦ Enhances Brand Awareness
An app has a tendency to increase users’ visibility over the platforms. Once you develop an app that will cater to users’ needs and they download it, the brand visibility increases over their smartphones.
They can view and use it according to their preferences which will not let them forget your brand. Instead, creating an app like Subway will help you to increase awareness about your brand.
An app’s icon will play an important role here along with its design.
♦ Helps to Manage Orders
Would you like to wait for the potential customer for a seat at your restaurant?
Well, for this issue you can prefer to develop an app like OpenTable. However, an app of your own brand that can comfort the users to order subs at their place can be of much help.
Developing an app can help you to manage the target users’ orders with ease. They won’t need to wait for their turn for the seat. Along with this, it will help you to manage the orders systematically and in a clustered-free way.
♦ Assist to Comply with Business Purpose
Every business model is developed with an aim to accomplish. In the case of restaurants like Subway, it delivers quick service while maintaining freshness and taste.
Thus, while developing an app like Subway, you should note to achieve the ultimate purpose of the business.
An app can help you manage orders, list them, and provide quick service to the target customers. Hence, creating an app can serve the purpose of your restaurant.
Are you ready to make a restaurant app like Subway?
With the ultimate guide to developing a restaurant app, you can have the whole process on your tips.
However, before reaching out to the right way to build an app like Subway, identifying its development cost is significant.
Let’s proceed with the next section for the same.
What’s the Cost to Develop a Restaurant App Like Subway?
Well, to create a restaurant app like Subway, you need to know the right pattern of the costs.
The cost to develop a restaurant app like Subway can vary from $20,000 to $100,000.
However, this restaurant app development cost can change depending on the right factors such as features, complexity and size, design, technologies, and others. All you need to know is how they work in your case.
We have discussed them all for your convenience in the next section.
Bonus Read: Cost to Develop a Mobile App
Factors Influencing the Cost of Building a Restaurant App Like Subway
Before you arrive at a decision over the cost to develop a restaurant app like Subway, it’s essential to consider important factors that might impact it.
Here’s a list to follow.
1. Complexity of Features and App Size
You need to examine the complexity of restaurant app features. Some of them can cost you less but the advance once can increase your investment rates.
Features such as a basic menu display, contact information, social media integration, Photo gallery, and others can cost you less. However, the implementation of advanced features such as table reservation, chatbots, multi-locations, and payment settings can be take high cost.
You can check out the table below to know more.
| Feature Complexity | Description | Impact on Cost |
| Basic Features | Simple menu display, contact info, social media links | $20,000 – $30,000 |
| Medium Complexity | User reviews, basic order placement, promotions, push notifications | $30,000 – $60,000 |
| High Complexity | Advanced order customization, loyalty programs, real-time updates | $60,000 – $100,000 |
2. App Design
The selection of UI/UX design affects the overall Subway-like app development cost. The more functions or screens you add within the app, the more time will it take to build and this can increase the complete complexity of the application.
Here, you should follow UI/UX design principles and an ultimate restaurant app design guide to stand out from the competitors.
The UI/UX design cost can vary for your restaurant app depending on multiple factors as stated below in the table.
| Design Complexity | Description | Impact on Cost |
| Basic Design | Simple UI, standard templates, minimal customization | $5,000 – $10,000 |
| Medium Complexity | Custom UI elements, brand-specific design, moderate animations | $10,000 – $20,000 |
| High Complexity | Advanced custom UI/UX, interactive animations, high-end graphics | $20,000 – $30,000 |
3. Tech Stack
The selection of the technologies can impact the overall cost to develop a restaurant app Like Subway. The selection of databases and frameworks such as Flutter, React, and Native has a wide impact on the complete costs.
Tech stack is all about the set of technologies, you will use for building as well as running a software application.
You can check out the given table for more information.
| Tech Stack Choice | Description | Impact on Cost |
| Basic Tech Stack | Use of widely available technologies, open-source tools, and basic APIs | $5,000 – $10,000 |
| Moderate Tech Stack | Combination of open-source and proprietary tools, moderate customization | $10,000 – $20,000 |
| Advanced Tech Stack | High-end proprietary technologies, extensive integrations, advanced features | $20,000 – $30,000 |
4. Platform Compatibility
The number of platforms on which the app requires to be developed affects the restaurant app development cost like Subway.
To build your app over a single platform, you might need to either hire Android app developers or iOS app developers. However, app development is a time investment, hence you should be investing in both platforms to save future costs.
Additionally, the compatibility over screens impacts the cost to create a restaurant app like Subway. You can check out the table below to know more.
| Platform Compatibility | Description | Impact on Cost |
| Single Platform | Developing for either iOS or Android | $5,000 – $10,000 |
| Cross-Platform | Using frameworks like React Native or Flutter | $10,000 – $15,000 |
| Native for Both Platforms | Separate native development for iOS and Android | $15,000 – $20,000 |
5. Third-Party Integration
API and third-party integration have a large impact on the cost of developing a clone like Subway. Here applications with custom animations, complex UI elements, and highly polished designs can require more resources.
If your app requires social media integration, then another layer can be added to the cost. This further may result in higher costs due to licensing fees as well as integration efforts.
Here’s the table to consider.
| Integration Type | Description | Impact on Cost |
| Basic Integrations | Simple integrations such as social media links and basic analytics | $5,000 – $8,000 |
| Moderate Integrations | Payment gateways, basic CRM systems, and push notifications | $8,000 – $14,000 |
| Advanced Integrations | Advanced payment systems, loyalty programs, real-time tracking, and complex CRM/ERP systems | $14,000 – $20,000 |
6. Development Team
Another useful component that can’t be ignored is the development team. The selection of the development team should comply with the two important factors such as location and expertise of the developers.
The cost to hire mobile app developers depends on standard of living from where they belong. Highly experienced developers can cost you high but can ensure you a higher quality of the product.
Hire mobile app developers who suit your project and provide you with maximum output. Let’s consider the table below for the same.
| Location | Description | Impact on Cost |
| London, UK | High living costs, experienced developers | $80,000 – $100,000 |
| United States | Competitive market, high-quality standards | $70,000 – $100,000 |
| Asia | Lower labor costs, skilled developers | $20,000 – $50,000 |
| Middle Europe | Moderate costs, experienced developers | $50,000 – $80,000 |
These were some of the factors that impact the cost of developing a restaurant app like Subway. Now, the other essential component is time.
The majority of restaurant apps don’t fulfill the users’ demand because they fail to occupy the market at the right time.
This is among the largest restaurant app development mistakes to avoid in the current era.
Let’s consider the time undertaken for developing a restaurant app in the following section.
How Long Does it Take to Make an App Like Subway?
The cost to develop a restaurant app like Subway depends on the time factors. The more time it takes, the more fees you need to pay to the app developer.
Therefore, the next question is how long it takes to develop a mobile app.
Let’s check out the given table to address it.
| Development Phase | Description | Time (Months) |
| Planning | Requirements gathering, market research, defining features | 1 – 2 |
| Design | UI/UX design, wireframes, prototypes | 1 – 2 |
| Development | Frontend and backend development | 3 – 5 |
| Testing | Quality assurance, user testing, bug fixing | 1 – 2 |
| Deployment | App store submission, server setup, deployment | 0.5 – 1 |
| Post-Launch Support | Maintenance, updates, and feature enhancements | Ongoing |
The approximate time is 6-12 months.
You can evaluate the time undertaken for your restaurant app development depending on the complexity of features and its required design.
Every app is different and the same goes with its development time.
Till now, you learned about reasons to develop an app like Subway, costs, and factors impacting such costs along with time undertaken within this process.
Now, it’s time to learn about monetization strategies that can help you cover the overall cost invested within it.
Monetization Strategies to Earn Money from Developing an App like Subway
The right app monetization strategies can assist in covering the complete cost of investments if considered and implemented in the right manner.
Here’s the list of important money-making strategies for Subway app development.
► Subscriptions
This can generate a permanent source of income for your restaurant app.
Under this strategy, you can discover different plans that can be flexible and unique based on your app requirements.
Here the monetization depends on renewable and auto-renewable patterns. You can charge users based on their ease of restaurant app use.
► Advertisements
Providing a valuable space to the other brands for displaying ads can become a source of revenue generation.
Here you can allow them to have different kinds of ads such as banner ads, native ads, audio ads, and others.
In exchange, you can charge fees from the brands to display their valuable ads.
► In-App Purchases
You can offer some of the app’s features for free to use by the potential users and may charge for the advanced ones.
With this monetization strategy, you can influence the target users to go for advanced features.
This can provide a reliable revenue stream for monetizing the app and establishing price points for the features.
► Crowdfunding
This is one of the important monetization strategies for new businesses that require investments.
It is an essential practice for funding projects as well as raising many small amounts of money from the public.
You can use this strategy to successfully attract potential investors and raise capital for the business for its expansion.
► Data Monetization
Within this monetization strategy, you monetize the data collected from the users. However, this data should be utilized after obtaining consent from the users.
You can make reports that can be useful for the other brands to analyze the current market demands of the users.
In exchange, you can charge a fee from the brands. These reports can also assist you in identifying valuable users’ needs.
► Sponsorships and Partnerships
You can invite sponsorships and partnerships of multiple brands to increase the overall growth of your business.
This will be a relevant monetization strategy for increasing the brand identity of your restaurant.
Here you can partner with various renowned farmers’ brands or organic outlets and can earn commission or charge a fee in exchange. This can become a permanent source of monetization for your brand.
Well, are you still unsure about the right cost to invest in developing a restaurant app like Subway?
Connecting with an experienced developer’s team can help here.
Partner with Nimble AppGenie to Develop Restaurant App Like Subway
Searching for a reputable, skilled, and experienced team of developers?
Switch to Nimble AppGeine. Our qualified team of developers knows how to handle the project under the right market preferences and industry demands.
We are the best Restaurant App Development Company, specializing in handling the growing demands of the target users and meeting our client expectations at the same time.
Our team can help you provide diversified solutions depending on advanced technology mechanisms.
Conclusion
Determining the accurate cost to develop an app like Subway is difficult until you evaluate the factors impacting the same. There can be multiple factors impacting the overall cost such as feature complexity, app size, design, compatibility, and the development team’s expertise level.
Other than this, if you are puzzled about developing a restaurant app then you should go for it due to many reasons. Such as growing market demand, increasing user engagement, facilitating the user to order from any location, etc.
You should be able to know the time of its development and the monetization strategies to cover the cost invested to build an app like Subway. You can connect with a reputable firm to know more.
FAQs
Key factors influencing the cost include:
- Complexity of Features: Basic features are less expensive, while advanced functionalities like real-time updates and loyalty programs increase costs.
- Design: The complexity of the app’s design impacts the cost, with more custom and interactive designs being pricier.
- Tech Stack: The choice of technologies and frameworks affects development costs, with advanced tech stacks costing more.
- Platform Compatibility: Developing for multiple platforms (iOS and Android) increases costs.
- Third-Party Integrations: Integrations with payment gateways, CRM systems, and other services can add to the overall cost.
- Development Team Location: Costs vary based on the location and expertise of the development team.
Essential features include:
- Menu Display: Easy navigation and viewing of menu items.
- Order Placement: Options for customizing and placing orders.
- Payment Integration: Secure payment methods.
- User Accounts: For saving preferences and order history.
- Real-Time Updates: Order status and delivery tracking.
- Loyalty Programs: Rewards and promotions for frequent users.
The tech stack significantly impacts development costs:
- Basic Tech Stack: Uses widely available technologies and is more affordable.
- Moderate Tech Stack: Includes a mix of open-source and proprietary tools with moderate costs.
- Advanced Tech Stack: Involves high-end technologies and extensive integrations, leading to higher costs.
The complexity of the app design affects the cost:
- Basic Design: Simple UI with standard templates costs less.
- Medium Complexity: Custom UI elements and moderate animations increase costs.
- High Complexity: Advanced custom designs and interactive features are the most expensive.
Platform compatibility impacts costs based on the number of platforms targeted:
- Single Platform: Developing for either iOS or Android is less expensive.
- Cross-Platform: Using frameworks like React Native or Flutter for both platforms costs more.
- Native for Both Platforms: Developing separate native apps for iOS and Android is the most costly option.
Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.
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