How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Mobile App?

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Mobile App in 2024 And Why Choose Poland for This?

The value of a mobile application for business is undeniable. First of all, mobile applications are considered one of the most powerful tools for contacting the target audience. Second, with the help of a mobile solution, you can increase the company's profits and optimize business processes within the company. Third, mobile apps can significantly contribute to attracting attention to the brand through various marketing campaigns and increasing customer loyalty.

However, how much does it cost and take to develop a mobile application? What factors should be considered when planning the app development budget? And why should you outsource your mobile development project to Poland? Our experts are ready to share their insights.

Why Choose Outsourcing to Poland?

According to PARP reports, Poland has one of the biggest IT markets, representing about 8% of the country’s GDP, and the largest IT specialists pool in the entire Central & Eastern Europe regions. Its vast ecosystem of cutting-edge startups, entrepreneurs, and enterprises, together with its robust digital infrastructure, encouraged many global companies to move their business operations to Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw, and other outsourcing hubs.

It’s not surprising that tech corporations are strongly interested in the Polish IT market. First, Poland is on the list of countries that can boast the best developers. Second, a 2021 report by Google and Dealroom found that Poland has the most startup ‘unicorns’ in the CEE region. Third, the app development cost in Poland is lower than in Central Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States.

The country is truly tech-savvy: Poland is ranked first in CEE (13th globally) by smartphone penetration and has the cheapest mobile data in CEE (USD 0.7 per 1GB). So, if you want to successfully develop a high-quality product, outsourcing to Poland is the way to go.

What Affects App Development Costs?

The application cost calculation begins with a consultation. Our team offers free consultations to fully understand the customer's requirements and determine the most accurate price for our services. In this article, we have collected the top questions that our specialists consider when calculating the mobile app development cost.

Platform

First of all, it’s necessary to understand who the users of your application are and what platform you are going to run your app on. Different companies require different app setups based on the goals they want to achieve with the app. As for mobile development, we usually speak about two popular platforms: Android and iOS. The more platforms you need to cover, the more expensive the service.

Price and development time for iOS- or Android-based apps are usually the same. However, if you already have an iOS app and want to get the same Android app, you won't have to pay twice 一 the cost will be lower since the app architecture is clear and all development issues have been taken into account. 

Devices

The choice of device is another essential factor. The choice usually falls on mobile phones or tablets. The development cost for both devices is usually the same, but again, if you already have an application and want to get the same for a tablet or phone, the cost will be less due to the reuse of an already written code base. 

However, there is one aspect that requires additional costs when developing an app for tablets; this is the user interface. Because the tablet screen is several times larger than the phone screen, UI elements for the same application on both devices may differ. This leads to additional costs for design creation and testing.

Technology

There are three main coding choices for developing a mobile app: low-code, cross-platform, and native. All of them differ in cost, with low code being the cheapest option and native being the most expensive. However, each has unique characteristics that should be considered when creating an application.

The peculiarity of low-code development is its simplicity: even a programmer with little experience can quickly create a simple application. At the same time, it has some drawbacks, for example, the lack of customization. Low-code platforms offer basic features for creating similar applications. So, it may happen that the platform won’t allow you to add a new feature or redesign your application. The second drawback is complete dependence on the platform, if the platform raises the price, the only thing you can do is pay more.

Сross-platform development is becoming more and more popular due to its versatility. This technology allows you to create applications for both platforms, iOS and Android, using one code. The main benefit is cost-savings: cross-platform development takes as much time and money as native development does for one platform.

Well, you may ask, why do we need native development, which costs more and requires much more effort? The functionality of cross-platform technologies is limited: it doesn’t allow for creating a pixel-perfect design, and building custom elements is only possible using native code. Being equipped with native development tools, you have full freedom of action. So, if you want to develop a solution with a unique design and functionality based on modern technologies like AI, ML, and VR/AR, it is better to pay more and choose native development.

Backend

The backend system is essential for many types of applications 一 that’s why this is another aspect affecting a mobile application's cost. If you already have a backend or your app doesn’t require this, then you don't need to spend money on backend development. If you need backend development, its final cost depends on the flexibility and complexity of the system required.

UX/UI

The design of your app is the trademark of your business, and it immensely affects the cost of the final product. The final price of the design service depends on your business needs. Bringing your idea to life or profound analysis and creation of a new concept, creating a design from scratch, from screen layouts to logo and brand book, or working with ready-made layouts 一  the more UI elements and tricked-out UI features you need, the more expensive the development will be.

Integrations

There are very few applications that cover the needs of modern business alone. To quickly share data, companies integrate their applications with other systems. Therefore, the cost directly depends on the number of integrations needed in your application. 

Businesses are most often interested in integrations with 

• Social media (Instagram, Meta, Twitter, etc.)
• Analytics Integration (Google Analytics)
• Payment systems (Stipe, Paypal, Apple Pay, Google Pay)
• Third-party library integration (Firebase, Zoom, Bluetooth, Maps, Route Calculation, etc.)

How to Reduce the Cost of App Development 

The high cost of developing mobile applications is a significant challenge for small companies and startups in particular. For this reason, the question of how to reduce app development costs is one of the most common among businesses.

Of course, you still have to allocate a certain budget to build an app, but there are several rules that can help you save without affecting product performance and the time-to-market.

Create PWA

The most obvious way to save on mobile app development is not to develop a mobile app but to create a PWA. PWA is a cross between familiar mobile apps and websites. If you already have a website, you can create a mobile version of that website that acquires the functionality of the app. The “appsite” has its icon on the desktop and works like an application but is run in the browser.

Use backend platforms

Another good option for those striving to cut costs is using backend platforms. Today, many available backend platforms, such as Google Firebase, Parse, Back4App, etc., are good alternatives to building a backend from scratch. 

Using these platforms is an excellent opportunity to speed up development and save money, especially if your application is not burdened with complex functionality. You only need to pay for the number of users who leverage your application. This is a good alternative, especially at the initial stages when you want to create an application quickly but the budget is limited.

Prioritize features

The goal of any business application is to make users' lives easier and allow them to solve various tasks in a couple of clicks on their smartphone. However, deciding to cram an application with as many features as possible is not always a good approach 一 developing a feature-loaded application takes a lot of time and money and entails various risks.

Don't spend money on nice-to-have features; focus on core ones. For example, the first version of Facebook only allowed posting photographs and personal information; and the Wall of a member’s online profile feature was added six months later.

Build MVP

This point is similar to the previous one: by creating an MVP, you get an application prototype containing only the main functions. It will help you understand what users need from your product and what is not worth spending time or money on. It is much more efficient and cheaper to start with an MVP than to build a full-fledged application when you haven’t learned more about your target audience and the market tendencies in practice.

Cut down UI costs

A simple design is a surefire way to cut development costs. A product overloaded with various UI elements can lead to unnecessary costs and tire users. Businesses should never forget that design is just a set of visual solutions that help an application fulfill its purpose. Although design helps draw user attention, it isn’t the impressive UI that determines the success of an app. A truly successful application is an app that can keep users despite a trite design.

Choose a technology partner

According to statistics, 59% of companies outsource software development to cut costs. This is the leading driver for many businesses to use outsourcing services. You won't have to pay salaries and spend money on taxes, perks, software, hardware, workspace, and many other costs. When choosing to outsource app development, you can hire professionals worldwide and leverage their high-quality services.

Need a cheaper, faster, and more efficient alternative to an in-house IT department? Build your offshore development center with our assistance. Emerline has more than ten years of experience in software development for businesses operating in many industries. We are flexible to engagement models and are always ready to provide you with a skilled mobile development team needed for successful project delivery. 

Contact our expert and receive valuable advice on reducing software development costs at each stage of your project. We understand how to make the most of the existing technologies to speed up the development of your app and ensure rapid time-to-market to make your product produce value as soon as possible.