How Much Does It Cost To Develop An App Like Mercari?

Do you want to develop an app like Mercari? You’re not alone.

If you look closely, you will find people are moving towards apps like Mercari ditching fast fashion. After all, these buy-and-sell apps allow users to get what they want without breaking the bank.

As a result, many investors are looking to hop on this trend and the one thing they Google the most is
“How much does it cost to develop an app like Mercari?”

Well, Mercari-like app development cost can be somewhere from $10,000 to $40,000 or more. Several elements can affect the overall Mercari cost.

The best way to know about it all is to get into this blog and read till the end.

What is Mercari- An Online Marketplace App

Let’s start with the basic, “What is Mercari?”

Mercari is a marketplace app that allows users to buy and sell commodities, goods, products, and much more.
Launched in 2013, Mercari aimed to create a global marketplace where anyone can buy and sell items. What made Mercari a really good platform were no selling fees, flexible shipping, an easy-to-use interface, and smart pricing.

Today, Mercari has over 23 million active users and stands alongside top eCommerce selling apps including Rakuma, eBay, and several Etsy alternatives.

The app is available on both Android and iOS.

Spellbound with the app’s success, if you are ready to build a marketplace app, then it is your time to shine.

Top Features of Mercari Like App

Features can make or break the app’s success.

Whether you want to enhance the user experience, get an edge over competitors, or anything else, your marketplace app features will take you a long way ahead in the market.

Here, let’s get to know the must-have features:

♦ User Registration

One of the most important features that you should have in your Mercari-like app is “Easy & Quick User Registration.

Allowing users to sign in to the app through contact number, email ID, or social media apps like Facebook , this will permit them to onboard on the app quickly.

After all, the main aim of this feature is to ensure users don’t have any difficulty signing in.

♦ Item Listing & Descriptions

Sellers can easily list products by uploading photos, writing detailed descriptions, and setting prices.

Features like auto-tagging help categorize products for better searchability, while users can add tags or keywords for specific items.

The app allows for easy listings and updating stock availability.

Sellers should have the option to mark items as “sold,” which instantly removes them from the marketplace to prevent further purchases.

♦ Search & Filters

Robust search functionality allows users to find items by category, brand, price, condition, and location.

Filters can help narrow down results, ensuring customers find products tailored to their preferences. Advanced search options, such as sorting by popularity, price range, and shipping availability, offer a more refined experience.

 A dynamic, auto-suggested search bar further enhances the user experience by predicting results as users’ type.

♦ Real-Time Messaging

The in-app messaging system enables seamless communication between buyers and sellers. Users can inquire about product details, negotiate prices, ask shipping questions, or clarify listing information.

Real-time updates allow for immediate responses, creating an interactive experience that can increase the likelihood of successful transactions.

Secure chat functionality protects privacy, and notification alerts ensure users stay updated on conversations without having to open the app.

♦ Payment Integration & Security

Payment processing is streamlined through integrated payment gateways such as credit cards, PayPal, or app-based wallets.

Secure, encrypted transactions ensure that users’ financial information is protected.

The app typically holds payments in escrow until the buyer confirms receipt of the product. This feature protects both buyers and sellers, ensuring payments are only released after the transaction terms are met.

 In addition, users can view past transaction history for reference.

♦ Shipping & Tracking

Mercari-like apps offer integrated shipping options that allow sellers to print shipping labels directly from the app. Users can choose their preferred shipping method, and tracking information is updated in real-time.

Sellers can set shipping fees or offer free shipping, and buyers are informed of expected delivery dates.

Notifications are sent to both parties at each stage of the shipping process, from dispatch to successful delivery, ensuring smooth communication throughout.

♦ User Ratings & Reviews

Once a transaction is completed, both buyers and sellers are encouraged to leave feedback for one another.

This rating system helps establish trust within the marketplace. The app allows for ratings (usually from 1 to 5 stars) alongside written reviews.

A higher rating gives users more credibility, enhancing their reputation and attracting more potential customers.

Negative reviews are visible but can be disputed, encouraging transparency and fairness in the community.

♦ Wish Lists & Favorites

Users can create wish lists or mark items as favorites, saving them for later purchase.

These features help users keep track of products they’re interested in without making an immediate purchase.

Sellers benefit by receiving notifications when items in their listings are added to wish lists, helping them gauge interest.

Wish lists can be shared with friends or family, potentially leading to purchases as gifts or suggestions.

♦ Push Notifications & Alerts

Push notifications keep users informed about essential updates, such as when a listing goes live, when there’s activity on their posts, or when an item they are watching receives a price drop.

Users can customize their notification preferences, ensuring they only receive alerts that are relevant to them.

Alerts also notify users of successful transactions, shipping updates, or new messages, providing a proactive communication experience that helps users stay engaged.

♦ In-App Promotions & Discounts

Mercari-like apps often feature promotions, discount codes, and seasonal sales to encourage more purchases.

Sellers may offer discounts on multiple items, free shipping, or special deals for frequent buyers.

Additionally, the app might run flash sales, feature seller events, or offer loyalty points for continued purchases.

These promotions can be integrated with targeted marketing, enabling users to take advantage of time-sensitive offers, and ultimately enhancing the buying and selling experience for all users.

Now, as much as it is important to know about the best marketplace app features, it is also important to know about the ways to develop a Mercari-like app.

How to Develop an App Like Mercari?

Well, you want to create a marketplace app like Mercari.

Similar to any other app development process, making a Mercari-like app also consists of some steps.

In this section, we are going to discuss about it:

Step 1: Market Research

In order to understand how to create an app like Mercari, the first thing is to do thorough market research.

This consists of doing proper research about the top players of the market, users, their pain points, and challenges you might face.

Doing so will help you make proper plans and have a smooth launch of your app like Mercari.

Step 2: Make a list of Features

Once you get the answer that your app idea will be striving in the market.

It is now time to make a list of features that you believe are necessary, this market research will tell you exactly what you need as your USP to increase the downloads.

With that, time to move on to………………

Step 3: Designing Your App

UI/UX Design is an important aspect of any app.

You need to focus on offering a minimalistic, simple yet visually appealing design that promotes user participation.

For which make sure to work on a prototype and wireframe that will allow you to know how your design will look before going to full development.

Wireframes provide a basic layout and structure, focusing on user flow and functionality.

 Prototypes, on the other hand, offer a more detailed and interactive representation, enabling you to test user interactions and gather feedback.

Step 4: Develop Your App

Now, comes a very important part where you need to develop both front and back end.

To get a consistent end product, you need to coordinate between front-end and back-end work. Your developer will make sure to write code properly to build the Mercari-like app.

In how to develop an app like Mercari, this is one of the longest and most complex processes in the app development process.

Step 5: Testing

Only developing an app isn’t enough, you need to test it as well.

There are different types of testing including Unit Testing, Integration Testing, System Testing, and Acceptance Testing. Every test checks different aspects of the app, so all are necessary to ensure your app is bug and technical issue-free.

Once, it’s done, time to……

Step 6: Launch Your App

As soon as the app passes all the inspections.

The app is now ready as per the market standard, you can publish the app on the App Store or Submit it on Play Store, whatever is decided beforehand.

You have to wait sometime to hear back from them. Till then, you have plenty of time to make marketing strategies to make sure that your app shines among your rivals.

Step 7: Support and Maintenance

Launching doesn’t mean your work stopped, now it’s time to work on support and maintenance services.

By taking post-launch support seriously, you will ensure that your app remains bug-free and functional as per changing market dynamics.

You need to work on new releases, features, and updates.

Now, with that, it’s time to know about the cost to build an app like Mercari.

How Much Does it Cost to Develop An App Like Mercari?

On average, the Cost to create an app like Mercari is $10,000 to $40,000 or more. This cost can change as per growing requirements or the complexity of the app.

Here is a small breakdown of the marketplace app cost:

It’s just an estimate we are talking here about.

To find a detailed estimate of your project requirements, you should take the help of an experienced mobile app development company as the real cost is affected by different factors.

Talking about factors, take a look at the next section to learn about it all:

Factors Affecting the Cost to Build An App Like Mercari

Without any second thought, the Cost to develop an app like Mercari is not constant.

As we said before, several factors affect the overall cost.

Let’s find out about them in this section:

1] Development Team Location

One of the common factors that affect the Mercari clone app development is the “location of your team.”

Suppose you hire developers from regions like the USA or UK where the cost of living is high as compared to other regions like Asia, the cost is definitely going to blow.

Every country has different hourly rates, so the cost differs:

 2] Experience of the Developers

When you want to build an app like Mercari, you want to find developers who are experienced.

 Well, the catch here is in case if you hire developers who are not experienced and just starting, their hourly rates will be lower. But, if you are mid-level or expert developers, they will charge you more.

In case, there is customization and complexity involved, then you surely need expert developers.

3] Design

UI/UX Design is one of the factors that affect the cost to make an app like Mercari.

The design requirements for the app can vary and so does the cost. As you know, apps that have simple and basic designs typically cost less.

But if you plan to get custom UI/UX and animations, it will need more iterations and extensive resources adding to the cost to develop an app like Mercari.

4] Complexity

One of the most common factors that people might overlook is “Complexity”.

While calculating the cost to develop an app, complexity should be covered including functionality and complexity of the app.

If your idea demands a lot of integrations including server-side logic, AI-based features, and more, without any doubt the cost is going to get a lot higher. After all, each of them has hidden fees and more to it.

We suggest initially you should start with limited functions and then you can add something as per your user recommendation.

5] Choosing Platform

Usually, you get two options, Native and hybrid app development.

♦ Native App Development

• Android App Development
• iOS App Development

♦ Hybrid App Development

Native app development aims to design separate apps for different OS, they offer unique solutions for each platform, demanding high app development costs.

Whereas, hybrid app development mainly focuses on targeting both platforms with a single codebase. It will be cost-friendly, but you might have to compromise on performance.

5] Integration With Third-Party Sources

Without any doubt, third-party integration services make your app look good.

But, they also upsurge the cost to develop an app like Mercari. These third-party services include payment gateways, social media APIs, and mapping services.

Prices may become different depending on the API integration.

6] Tech Stack

The tech stack is a key element that’s responsible for security, user experience, and much more.

So, choosing a tech stack somehow affects how much does it cost to make an app like Mercari. How?

Simply because, some tech stacks chosen enable faster development, reducing labor costs while some of them require more time and resources.

Moreover, the ease of maintenance and scalability element also has an impact on long-term costs.

So, choosing the right tech stack may balance these factors to meet the budget and project needs effectively.

With that, we believe you have an idea of these factors.

Now, time to check out some top monetization strategies to integrate into your Mercari-like app

Monetization Strategies for Your Mercari-Like App

Now that we are done with the cost of developing a Mercari-like app, time for us to talk about Mobile App Monetization.

Let’s check out some of the different strategies that can approach your app:

► In-App Advertising

Through this model, you can display ads within the app, and generate revenue while targeting a huge number of audiences.

► In-App Purchase

Users can be charged for additional features or purchases after they start using the app. This is a simple way to generate revenue and allow users to keep control of their spending.

► Freemium

It is a mix of Free and Premium Features, the app is offered for free, but users can spend money to unlock other benefits of the app.

► Subscriptions

Users are charged a recurring fee for the app, which can be weekly, monthly, or annual.

It doesn’t matter if you have one or multiple strategies for your app; the key here is to balance user experience with monetization- offering enough free content to attract users while encouraging them to invest in premium features.

How Nimble AppGenie Can Help You Create an App Like Mercari?

Are you eager to develop an app like Mercari? Well, you need experts on your side.

Nimble AppGenie, a top marketplace app development company is here to help you leverage the benefits of top features while simultaneously working on recent trends.

Our experts are well-known for delivering high-quality marketplace apps.

If you are ready to turn your idea into reality, we are right here to help.

Conclusion

In essence, this is clear that people look forward to marketplace apps to buy and sell second-hand items.

This trend driven by the growing popularity surely demands more such apps. We believe that this blog has given you all the necessary details that you need to know to get started.

For better guidance, make sure to consult with an app development company like Nimble AppGenie to capitalize on this evolving digital landscape.

FAQs

Niketan Sharma

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.