Want to go with the iOS app but confused about its costs?
Well, it’s a great choice to target users with luxury smartphones and devices. Now, one of the important elements that might come to your mind is “How much does it cost to develop an iOS app?”
You might find it confusing about the right pattern of cost and how can it be calculated.
Hence, here you can find all your answers. From cost calculator, factors affecting the cost, hidden cost, to ways to reduce it and benefits of developing the iOS app, get the right insights.
Let’s begin the journey.
iOS App Development Cost Calculator
What’s the average cost of developing an iOS app and how it’s being calculated?
The cost to create an iOS app can be from $20,000 to $70,000, depending on the type of industry you prefer to make it for.
The cost to develop a mobile app can be calculated based on the following equation.
App Platform + UI/UX design development hours + [Development Time * Developers hourly Rate] = iOS App Development Cost
Well, this cost can further be impacted by too many factors such as app size, complexity of features, development team, and many others.
Want to learn more about them?
Let’s proceed with the next section.
Factors that Affect the Cost to Develop an iOS App
When you decide on the cost, there can be some factors that can be considered and which might impact the selected process of development too.
Here’s a checkout list.
♦ Complexity of Features
The more complex features will require high costs such as the use of advanced technology for developing the iOS app can impact the complete app development process.
Here it’s important to consider two primary aspects that include number of features and the complexity of features.
A simple series of features within the iOS app will require less cost such as login registration, text-formatting options sharing notes for social media, and many others. Let’s check the table below to know more.
Cost Estimate: $10,000-$15,000
| Feature Complexity | Cost Estimate |
| Basic: Simple app with core functionalities (e.g., login, registration, basic CRUD operations) | $10,000-$12,000 |
| Moderate: App with additional features (e.g., offline functionality, social integration, push notifications) | $12,000-$13,500 |
| Complex: App with advanced features (e.g., real-time updates, custom animations, integrations with multiple APIs) | $13,500-$15,000 |
♦ App Design
UI/UX app design cost can depend on the complexity of the project, the type of designs along the number of screens you want to put in the application.
Here, it is important to consider wireframes and prototypes while deciding on the cost.
Under app design, you should consider consistency, user experience, and navigation, along with app layout design. Here’s a table to be considered for the same.
Cost Estimate: $5,000-$7,500
| Factor | Cost |
| Simplicity vs. Complexity | $5,000 – $6,000 |
| Custom vs. Template-Based | $6,000 – $7,500 |
| Interactive Elements | $5,500 – $7,000 |
| UI/UX Design Quality | $6,000 – $7,500 |
| Number of Screens | $5,500 – $7,000 |
♦ Tech Stack
There is a series of tech stacks that can go with your iOS app, however, it can change based on the industry size and accessibility.
Here the programming languages used in the app are Swift and Objective-C. It is more specifically supported by Apple.
You can refer technology set as a group of techs that works simultaneously allowing you to build as well as maintain the app. In the given table you can find how it will impact the complete cost.
Cost Estimate: $7,500- $10,000
| Tech Stack Factor | Impact on Cost | Cost Estimate |
| Open-Source vs. Proprietary | Open-source frameworks and libraries can be cost-effective, while proprietary tools may involve licensing fees. | $7,500 – $8,500 |
| Complexity of Frameworks | Complex frameworks with steep learning curves may require more development time and increase costs. | $8,000 – $9,500 |
| Backend Integration | The choice of backend technology and integration complexity can affect development time and costs. | $8,000 – $10,000 |
| Third-Party Libraries | Using third-party libraries can accelerate development but may involve additional costs or licensing fees. | $7,500 – $9,000 |
| Future Scalability | Choosing a tech stack that can accommodate future growth and changes can help avoid costly rewrites. | $8,500 – $10,000 |
♦ Development Team
Hire iOS app developers who can be able to develop the app of your dreams. The team should have knowledge related to UX and UI along with great communication skills.
The developers should persist in adaptability along with collaboration skills, manage secure data communication, and many others.
You should note two important areas here, one is location, and the other is the expertise of the developers. Here’s a table that can help decide the cost.
Cost Estimate: $12,500-$15,000
| Factor | Cost Estimate |
| Location | |
| Asia | $12,500 – $13,500 |
| Eastern Europe | $13,000 – $14,000 |
| Western Europe | $13,500 – $14,500 |
| UK | $14,000 – $15,000 |
| US | $14,500 – $15,000 |
| Expertise | |
| Junior Developers | $12,500 – $13,000 |
| Mid-Level Developers | $13,000 – $14,000 |
| Senior Developers | $14,000 – $15,000 |
♦ App Maintenance
When you decide to launch your iOS app over the Apple store, it’s important to consider after-launch services to remain in the competitive landscape.
If you aren’t aware of the importance of app maintenance then it’s time to consider it. Do you know that the maintenance can cost you from 15% to 20% of the total app development cost?
You can connect with experienced app maintenance services who can help you with the same. Here’s the table to be considered for deciding the cost of maintaining an iOS app.
Cost Estimate: $2,500-$5000
| Factor | Cost Estimate |
| Frequency of Updates | $2,500 – $3,500 |
| Complexity of Updates | $3,000 – $4,000 |
| Third-Party Integrations | $2,500 – $3,500 |
| Bug Fixes and Troubleshooting | $2,000 – $3,000 |
| App Store Submission and Review | $500 – $1,000 |
♦ App Security
Another important element to consider while deciding on the cost of developing an iOS app is mobile app security.
It is a criteria where the users can trust or even abandon the app based on its security levels.
Thus, you should implement high and robust security parameters, well this can impact the overall cost parameters. High-security parameters will demand high costs too. Here’s the table to be considered for deciding on the cost.
Cost Estimate: $2,500-$5,000
| Factor | Cost Estimate |
| Data Encryption | $1,000 – $2,000 |
| Authentication and Authorization | $1,500 – $2,500 |
| Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing | $1,000 – $2,000 |
| Secure Coding Practices | $500 – $1,000 |
| Regular Security Updates and Patches | $500 – $1,000 |
These were some of the factors to be considered here that can impact the overall cost of creating an iOS app.
Now, let’s work over the other important factors that might impact the complete cost of developing an iOS app. The next section can be helpful here.
Hidden iOS App Development Cost
Till now, you learned about the cost, and factors impacting the costs, well, there are other elements too that must be considered.
Let’s study some of the hidden iOS app development cost factors.
1. Costs of App Store
While building your app for the store market, there are a couple of important points that should be noted such as the cost of launching apps over the store and learning about the app store license.
Additionally, when you create native apps, and launch them over the store, you provide a certain amount of control of the app to the store. This might impact the complete cost of developing an iOS app.
2. Data Storage Cost
When you build an iOS app, where millions of users will input their information, one of the main protocols is where this data can get stored. These costs might vary depending on the provider and the amount of data stored.
To store the data over the cloud, you will be required an additional series of spaces which can take a high investment cost.
3. Mid-Term Project Changes
Another crucial component that can impact the complete cost of developing an iOS app is mid-term project changes. Here you should adopt the cost estimation based on the initial specs.
Well, many businesses can underestimate this cost and how these changes may drive up the whole investment.
4. App Testing Costs
Before you launch the app in the market, it’s essential to go for testing. It is an essential process to identify the bugs and errors within the app and then reduce them with effective tools.
Well, if you avoid it, this can impact the complete budget and even the functioning of the app. Additionally, you should put a budget for different device types, OS versions, screen sizes, and many more.
5. Marketing Cost
Have you kept the budget for marketing your iOS app? Well, this is one of the important hidden costs that can impact the overall cost of creating an iOS app.
Here you should decide over the type of platforms where you want to market the apps, The cost of marketing the app over these different platforms can have a large impact that shouldn’t be avoided.
6. Third-Party Integration Cost
When you connect your third-party apps with those of the other networks, then it’s a great way to improve their functionality. With this feature, your users can easily access the other apps, even without switching the screens.
Here, you should be aware that certain third-party services may charge fees for their use. Additionally, they might require ongoing payments for the continued access of the application.
These were some of the hidden costs that shouldn’t be avoided when you consider building an effective iOS app.
Now, are you wondering that somehow this cost can be reduced?
Well, we understand that it matters to pay less for the service. Thus, in the next section, you can learn all about the ways and patterns for minimizing the iOS app development cost.
Ways to Minimize Cost to Develop an iOS App
What are the top ways to reduce the cost to build an iOS app?
Here’s a list to be considered.
➤ Research and Planning
One of the important criteria that can help save the complete cost of developing an iOS app is efficient research as well as planning.
It is one of the important phases where you design and program everything from app development to maintenance.
Through a detailed and complete planning of the resources, you may divide the whole coding into multiple phases. This will help reduce the chance of errors and mistakes.
➤ Go with a Simple App Design
You can go with a simple, straightforward, and clean design that should meet the target audience’s requirements.
Along with this, simple designs can help create less confusion among the users and will provide them clarity related to all the functionalities.
It tends to save more resources and reduces bugs in the app’s functionality. Thus, it can be one of the important practices for minimizing the cost.
➤ Develops Prototypes
You should consider developing prototypes and then make a comparison among the preferences of the users over the app. Developing a clickable prototype is one of the important ways of keeping costs low.
This will help analyze the flow of the app and enhance the user experience by clarifying the users’ requirements at an early stage.
This practice is also helpful in validating the app idea as well as it is a simple technique to test the app before you invest the complete resources into it.
➤ Optimize the App for Scalability
While building the iOS app, you should include scalability parameters in the same. This can affect the iPhone app development price because scalability can help reduce the scope of bugs or even crashes when high traffic shows up.
When you design the app for scalable solutions in the future, it helps to easily handle more users as well as features to save more money.
This process is quite helpful to minimize the requirements for major rewrites or any kind of large updates.
➤ Develop an MVP
You should go for a minimum valuable product (MVP) which can be effective in minimizing the cost to develop an iOS app.
Developing an MVP can help identify whether your app can address growing users’ needs or not.
It is one of the important processes to launch the app with enough features that can be helpful to release solutions as per the competitive market.
➤ Appropriate Testing
You should consider rigorous testing which will be effective in addressing the errors and bugs for reducing app crashes.
Testing the iOS app will be useful in spotting the issue in the development stage. It is useful in identifying the errors even before they can cause app crashes.
This is a useful technique for measuring the user experience and ensuring that the app works simultaneously and efficiently.
These are some of the common strategies you can adopt for reducing the iOS app development cost.
Are you still confused about whether to develop an iOS app or not?
Well, the next section can be helpful.
Benefits of choosing iOS App Development
Why do you need to develop an iOS app?
Here are some of the reasons to consider why iOS app development is crucial.
-
Improves User Experience
Apple is known for its effective customer experience along with rigorous testing standards. These apps are generally more polished, intuitive, and user-friendly.
Additionally, an impressive user experience may result in high customer satisfaction as well as high retention rates.
Along with this, when the users find the app easy to navigate as well as pleasant to use, they tend to keep coming back. This will increase user interaction.
-
Enhances Reach to High-value Audiences
Iphones have a reputation as a premium product and are being used by people who value high-end devices.
Hence through developing an iOS app, you are placing the business within the hands of a demographic known for high spending power as well as a strong preference for user engagement.
Additionally, this can be highly beneficial for you when the business offers a series of innovative products as well as effective services.
-
Source of Monetization
Another and most important reason that you can’t skip is developing an iOS app can help earn more revenue for the business.
Here you can earn revenue from diversified sources such as advertisements, sponsorships, subscription plans, and offering freemium versions of the in-app purchases.
Creating an iOS app for your industry can provide you access to exclusive features and help you connect to the changing technological trends.
-
Helps to Offer High-Security Standards
When you develop an iOS app, it cannot be without the features such as two-factor authentication, regular security updates as well as end-to-end encryption.
Launching an app over an iPhone can be a challenge as you need to keep up with the security standards, however, it can be a wonderful opportunity to build the trust of the users over the business.
It will ensure to the users that their personal information is in good hands. Thus, it will help address any legal issues and any financial losses related to data breaches.
-
Produces Global Market Reach
With the assistance of the iPhone apps, you can get access to the global market by launching the app over the Apple store.
The iPhone app provides you access to the global market with the assistance of an Apple App Store.
This is available in over 175 countries and regions. Thus, launching an app over the iOS platform can be effective and here you support multiple languages as well as currencies to make it easier to address the global audience worldwide.
These were some of the benefits to be considered for selecting an iOS app.
Comparison of Android Vs. iOS app Development Cost
Well, if you are still confused about whether to proceed with the iOS app and Android app development, then it’s important to learn about both the cost, right?
We have already done it for you. Here’s a series of comparisons based on multiple factors.
1] App Design
The app design of the iOS app is higher than that of the Android. Here the app design depends on multiple factors such as target market, features, security and privacy as well as budget.
Here you can compare the factors such as time taken for developing the app design as well as the cost of work per hour.
Android App Design Costs can be 20-25%, on the other hand, the cost of iOS app design can vary depending on intuitive design along with the latest updates and technologies.
2] Programming Languages
The programming languages that are being used in the Android apps are completely different from that of iOS apps.
For iOS development, the most common languages are Swift as well as Objective-C, however, for Android app development, it is Java and Kotlin.
Thus, this cost can be 20%-30% of the total app development costs whether it’s the case of Android or iOS.
3] App Development Time
The time taken to develop the Android app can differ from that of the iOS app. Different elements at work may help identify the time efficiency of any kind of procedure.
This is the plus point within the iOS app that will get you ahead of the Android apps. Here the iOS apps take much less time compared to the Android app developers.
Over the iOS apps, you need to check for 20+ devices however, that can work with simple coding or similar programming languages. On the other hand, in the case of Android apps, the developers will need more time to address the compatibility issues.
4] App Development Hourly Rates
This is one of the important points helpful to decide the cost and your budget. Here, hiring iOS app developers can cost you much higher than that of Android app developers.
The major reason behind this scenario is iPhone app developers who are using Swift or Objective-C charge around 10% to 15% more than that of developers who are Java experts.
Thus, this is one of the essential factors that cannot be avoided when deciding to develop an iOS app, effectively.
Well, these were some of the important comparison factors that might have a large impact on your decision to decide the cost of creating an iOS app.
Now, another crucial resource that can impact the complete cost of developing an iOS app is time.
The next section can be helpful here.
How Much Time Does it Take to Build an iOS App?
How much time does it take to make a mobile app for iOS?
The time taken to create an iOS app can be from 9-14 Months. Well, this time can vary depending on different factors such as features, location, and expertise of the developers, and the development process.
If you want additional information, then connecting to well-experienced enterprises will be effective here.
How Nimble AppGenie Can Help You Develop an iOS app?
Are you searching for an experienced company?
Well, connecting with Nimble AppGenie can be helpful here. Our team is ready to convert your dream app into reality.
We are the best iOS app development company targeted to deliver quality service and helpful in ensuring success for your business.
Our team will help address your app requirements by meeting the market requirements successfully.
Conclusion
You cannot develop an iOS app of your dreams without evaluating the actual budget. The cost of creating an iOS app can be evaluated with the help of identifying potential factors that might impact the process.
Here certain important factors that need to be considered are app design, complexity of features, tech stack, maintenance cost, and many others. Additionally, the comparison among Android and iOS apps should be considered before you arrive at a decision.
Along with this, there are some hidden costs that you might skip such as the cost of the app store, data storage costs, app testing, marketing costs, and third-party integration costs. You can reduce the cost of developing an iOS app by developing MVP, optimizing app scalability, and installing simple app designs, as well as others.
FAQs
There are multiple ways you can opt for in order to reduce the complete cost of developing an iOS app. Given lists define the measures:
- Research and planning: With complete research and planning, you can decide on the right ways to develop an iOS app.
- Simple App Design: A simple app design can be useful in identifying appropriate costs and will be useful in reducing confusion among the users.
- Create Prototypes: One of the effective and essential measures is creating prototypes, where you will be able to evaluate users’ flow.
- Develop an MVP: You can build an MVP and may reduce the cost by launching it over the early adopters.
- Optimize the App Scalability: You can optimize the scalability of the app so that it can handle the growing traffic over the platform effectively.
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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