How much does it cost to create an app?

This is potentially the most common question I am asked. "How much does it cost to create an app?" Of course, it's not the easiest question to answer and there are many variables that come into play. However, there are definitely some parameters I can share to help you prepare for the next steps in your app’s development.

The following are steps that my agency, Creative27, takes when developing an app. These are steps we recommend everyone take. To help you with planning, we have given a rough guide on timelines and costs for each step.

1. User Experience and R&D

This part of the process can take anywhere from four to seven weeks, with costs between $18k — $55k for an iOS app.

An app needs to be thought through thoroughly before you even begin to design or develop it. This first step is User Experience design where we build the functionality through wireframes to how the app will work. The increase in price and time depends on whether there is a web component, or two sets of users (for example, a vendor and customer each with their own set of functions, etc.).

2. User Interface & Interactive Prototypes

This part of the process can take anywhere from four to five weeks, with costs between $20k — $65k.

The interface design is the brand, look and feel of the app. The interactive prototype is a working model of the UI. The increase in price and time depends on the number of screens and if this is a cross-platform project.

3. Development, Project Management & QA

This part of the process can take anywhere from ten to forty weeks, with costs between $75k — 250k.

This is where research and prototypes go to work and we begin developing the real deal. The increase in price and time depends on the complexity of the app.

4. Marketing

This part of the process can take anywhere from five to twenty weeks, with costs between $20k — $80k.

For a soft launch, we recommend having a product landing page, blog, ten pieces of content marketing created, all social media channels set up with a pre/post/ongoing plan, a 30s video and Help Center section. The increase in price and time depends on the scale of the marketing activities.

5. Maintenance and Updates

This step is on-going, with costs between $2k — $6k each month.

Once an app is on the market, you’ll want to make sure it runs smoothly. This requires ongoing maintenance.

The increase in price depends on how much maintenance and updating is required.

Was this helpful? I would love your thoughts on what app insights you're most interested to hear!

If you’re ready to sit down and put your idea into action, get in touch.