These days, everyone and their brother (including, literally, my brother) wants to know how much it costs to turn their app idea into a reality. A new app cost calculator called HowMuchCostAnApp.com will make sure you don’t get ripped off.
It works by asking you a series of questions:
- Quality: Do you want optimal quality, good value for your money, or something more basic?
- Platform: Will your app be iOS, Android, or Windows Phone?
- Design: Do you want something custom, or simple? Can it just mimic your web interface, or have no design at all?
- Monetization: Will the app be paid, solicit in-app purchases, or use advertising?
- Login: Will users login with an email address or social network profile?
- Integration: Will your app communicate with your website via an API?
- Profiles: Will users be creating profiles?
- Administration: Will you need an admin panel?
- Language: Will your app be in one language, bilingual, or multilingual?
- Stage: Is the app still an idea, or have you started sketches or development?
For example, a good-value iPhone app with a simple interface and no API integration – where users login with email and see advertising within the app – runs at approximately $7,600.
HowMuchCostAnApp.com is sponsored by Spain- and Colombia-based Yeeply, a marketplace for mobile developers, designers, and marketers. Of course, once you figure out how much your app costs, they very much hope you’ll use their service to find the person to produce it.
The tool works by estimating the number of hours the project will take, and multiplying that by different hourly rates depending on how you answered the Quality question. Presumably, Yeeply should have some insight into these things, since they can see what mobile professionals are charging these days.
If you want a second opinion, there are a few other app cost calculators out there:
- How Much to Make an App gives you a basic estimate based on which type of platform, login, monetization strategy, and level of design you need, and whether you want features like profiles, reviews, and API integration.
- Otreva lets you select even more features you might want to include, such as photos, geolocation, a shopping cart, messaging, and maps; and administrative features like feedback and a content management system.
- Tus Nua Designs also takes into account how complex the app is, whether you need to store and sync data, and whether you need security.
Of course, none of these tools will agree, so they should probably be called app cost estimators instead of app cost calculators. But knowledge is power, even if it isn’t perfect.