How Much Does It Cost To Develop An On-Demand App? Complete Insight

How Much Does it Cost to Develop An On-demand App?

This is a very common question considering the fact that demands for on-demand app development has been skyrocketing in recent times.

With more than 7.6M Americans who will act as providers in On-demand economy, calling the industry is a criminal understatement.  The industry attracts around 23 million users per year, who in turn spend $57.6 Billion on average.

If you think that is amazing, wait till you hear this, even though it’s massive today, it is expected that just one niche of on-demand industry, the food delivery one, will cross the $161.74 Billion by 2023.

Needless to say, a lot of businesses from across the United States of America have poured their money in based on what the feature of this industry holds.

And the industry has reciprocated, as 23 out of 310 private companies valued at $1 billion by Jan 2019 belong to On-demand industry, as per CBInsight report of Global Unicorn Club.

As one might be expected this has attracted even more businesses to develop their own on-demand services or on-demand service providers who want to create an app for their business. In either case, when you go for on-demand app development, a big thing that bothers you is the cost.

You see, determining the cost to develop a mobile application on-demand or otherwise isn’t all that simple. But you don’t have to worry about it because we shall be discussing all on-demand app development costs and everything else related to the same.

Therefore, with this being said, let’s get started with the very definition of on-demand app development. It is, as mentioned below:

What is On-demand App Development?

First things first, what is on-demand app development?

Well, on-demand apps are a category of service-based mobile applications. And as the name suggests, they help users get services or products they want, “on demand”.

In other words, an on-demand app regardless of its niche works as a mediator or middle man between the user and the service provider. Consequently, customers have a lot of options from which they can choose.

Moreover, users can pay for the service through the mobile app itself with Ewallet Integration. The service is delivered to their doorstep or they can pick it up at their own convenience. There are many more features and facilities provided to users.

As for the platform itself, it charges small fees. This is quite a sustainable business model that has helped many businesses generate millions of dollars including food delivery apps like Zomato.

Speaking of which, let’s look at some popular types of on demands apps.

Types of On-demand Apps

It is safe to say that on-demand app industry is huge. There are hundreds of different types of on-demand applications, spreading across various industries.

We will be going through some of the most popular ones which will help you improve your project. Another reason to discuss the same is that different forms of on-demand app development also affect cost to build on-demand app.

Therefore, with this being said, let’s see what are the popular on-demand apps. These are, as mentioned below:

1) On-demand Food Delivery App Development

First and clearly the most popular one is on-demand food delivery app development. As the name suggests, these applications work as a mediator between restaurants and users to deliver food to the door steps.

Some of the most popular on-demand food delivery app are, as mentioned below:

• Grubhub
• DoorDash – Food Delivery
• Swiggy
• Talabat
• Instacart
• Deliveroo
• Zomato
• FoodPanda

These are some of the most popular food delivery apps in United States of America.  You can explore them further if you are planning to develop your own. And it would be a good idea to learn about some tips to launch your own food delivery app.

Nevertheless, with this out of the way, let’s move to the next one which is grocery delivery…

2) On-demand Grocery Delivery App Development

A Grocery Delivery App is quite similar to a food delivery app with a big difference, which is quite obvious. Now, whether you want to start a grocery delivery app in Dubai or USA, it is a good idea to conduct good research.

As for the cost to develop an on-demand app for grocery delivery, it is quite similar to food delivery too.

From working to feature, on-demand grocery delivery app development shares many things with the previous pick. In fact, some of the best food delivery apps also double as grocery delivery apps.

Moreover, you can also develop a grocery delivery app like InstaCart, as it serves as a good example of the same.  It is one of the top solutions within the on-demand industry and when done right, you can generate millions or even billions of dollars.

Enough said, let’s move to the next on, i,e, video streaming app.

3) On-demand Video Streaming App Development

We live in a time where entertainment is everything. People are always looking for it whether it is through Social Media Applications or others.

Now, what we shall be discussing in this section is on-demand video streaming app development. While you might not recognize it by this name, a few examples will do well to point it out.

Some of the most popular video streaming applications are, as mentioned below:

• Netflix
• Amazon Prime
• Hulu

These are some of the common very popular names in the industry. It goes without saying that these apps have generated not millions but billions of dollars.

And who doesn’t want to do that? These aren’t all that expensive to develop.

4) On-demand Taxi Booking App Development

On-demand taxi booking app development is something that has changed the taxi world in the past decade.

You no longer stand by the side of the road and wait for a taxi, rather what you do when you need a taxi is pull out your phone and use an on-demand app.

Cost to develop a taxi booking app highly depends on various solutions, therefore it is a good idea to read about it. Nevertheless, this is one of the most popular taxi booking apps which can help you generate amazing revenue.

Read the blog- Taxi Booking App Development Cost and Features

For instance the popular tech company, Uber has made its fortune through the taxi booking app. You can create a similar solution and generate market-leading profit.

Average Cost To Develop An On-demand App

The cost to develop an on-demand app isn’t all that simple to figure out. Reason is that there are various factors that can affect the cost.

In other words, every on-demand app development project is unique its own right and for that reason, one can’t use another one as a reference for cost, as the cost itself is unique.

Consequently, it is not possible to predict the on-demand app development price, without learning about the specifications and preferences that is.

Nevertheless, you can expect on-demand app development cost to be anywhere between $15,000 and $65,000. Finding an accurate cost is difficult because you need to know things like platform, tech stack, complexity, etc to even get close to the price range.

Moving on, if you are someone who wants to get a closer estimation it is highly recommended that you consult a mobile app development company. Based on your preferences and project needs, the firm will be able to give you a good cost estimation.

Moving on, as we discussed, there are various factors involved in the development cost which can affect the development cost. And in the section below, we shall be discussing the very same.

Factors That Affect On-demand App Development Cost

Mobile app development is easier said than done.

In fact, it is a fairly complex process that has many different components. And the worrying part is, all of them have their own ways of affect the cost.

Therefore, let’s look at some of the major factors. These are, as mentioned below:

• Platform

If you want to create an on-demand mobile app, the first thing you need to do is choose a platform. After all, it is on this platform that your mobile application will be developed.

As we all know, there are two major platforms, namely iOS and android app development services. Both iOS and android are good platform with each of them having a upper hand in different areas.

Nevertheless, when it comes to cost, android app development is slightly more expensive than iOS. The reason behind it is that android platform suffers from fragmentation so; developers have to make it compatible with different versions of android.

On the other hand, custom iPhone app development is much easier and somewhat cheaper as iOS is highly regulated, so it doesn’t suffer from same problem as android.

Apart from these two heavy lifters, there is yet third option i.e. Hybrid App Development. This will give you an app that is compatible with both of the platforms.

• Complexity

Complexity is a big thing when it comes to on-demand app development.

Look at it like this, when you create something simple, it takes just few moments, little efforts, and you don’t need help. On the other hand, when things get a little more complicated, everything gets that much more difficult.

Similarly, when complexity of an on-demand app increases, the developers needs to put in more time, more resources, larger team, and so on. This is how the complexity of an on-demand application affect built on-demand app cost.

So, it goes without saying that, the more complex an application is, the more expensive it is going to be. And the opposite of the same is also equally true.

• Developer Location

Location is yet another top factor which can highly affect the custom on-demand app development. The cost to develop an on-demand app in different parts of the world.

Let’s see how much you might have to pay in your region.

• Developer’s Experience

When you hire dedicated developers you would want to work with the ones who have a lot of experience.

However, you should also know that, the more experienced developers you are hiring for your project, the more you might have to pay for them.

This is one of the biggest factors here which is often overlooked. And now that this is said, we can move the next section which is…

• Tech Stack

Tech stack refers to the technologies used for on-demand app development.

This includes everything from programming languages to toolkits, and frameworks. MEAN Stack Development is a popular example of the same.

Now, as most you might already know, not all technologies are made equal. Consequently, cost associated with them also highly differ.  Considering the fact that tech stack can also highly affect the perform, this is something that you should pay attention towards.

• Hire Developers Mode

There are various ways to hire on-demand app developers. Based on which method you choose, the cost associated can be very different.

The cost is, as mentioned below”

• Outsource work to Software Development Company – $25-$45/hr
• Hire Freelancers – $60-$100/hr
• Assemble in-house team – $50,000 – $120,000/Salary

How Long Does It Take To Develop An On-demand App?

If you want to know the development time estimation of on-demand app development services, it is quite similar to the development cost in the sense it can highly differ based on various factors.

Nevertheless, you can expect anything between 2,700 – 4,000 hours.

Again, for a better cost estimation, you can consult an app development company with a lot of experience.

Conclusion

If you want to learn more about on-demand app development cost or want to develop an app of your own, it is highly recommended that you consult on-demand app development company regarding the same.

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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.