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Rahul Motwani

March 16, 2023 468 Views
15 mins read Last Updated March 16, 2023
put an app on the app store

Quick Summary : Learn about the costs involved in publishing an app on the App Store with this comprehensive guide. Discover the fees associated with Apple's developer program, as well as other expenses that may arise during the app development process. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, this article will provide valuable insights into the costs of putting an app on the App Store.

Completing an app is only the beginning of the app development process. The next step is to deliver your app to users, and you will need to publish the app in the store to do this. For app distribution services from these app stores, fees are charged for app uploads and in-app purchases. This is how app stores make money while helping your app reach a global audience.

An app store is an online platform where app developers publish their apps, and the customer downloads or buys the app. The idea of creating an App Store was born in 2008 when both the AppStore and Google Play Store were launched. The reason behind the creation of the App Store is familiar with the rise of mobile phones and tablets, but now it covers desktop operating systems and web browsers within its scope. Web browsers such as Mozilla and Google Chrome have their own app stores where users can download and install web apps.

The App Store offers many free and commercial apps that have been pre-approved for use on users’ devices. They can browse apps, purchase, download, and install them and update them through your device’s app store. All major mobile operating system vendors, including Google, Microsoft, and Apple, have their own app stores. Some third-party apps are also available online, such as Cydia for jailbreak Apple iOS devices and the Amazon App store for Android devices.

The Cost of Developing an App

In general, Mobile app development costs can be calculated directly from the rates charged by developers. So, for a project that takes 500 hours to develop, the rate is $50 per hour. That app will cost $25,000.

But predicting how much time a business will spend developing an app is easier said than done. This varies depending on the type of feature and complexity of the app. Here’s how to calculate mobile app development costs:

  • Rates for app developers, experience, and expertise.
  • iOS vs. Android
  • Mobile app development technology
  • Mobile App Features
  • the need for additional abilities

Platform Cost: Pros and Cons?

Are you building apps for Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android? There’s no doubt you will benefit from both markets. But there’s no shame in starting with the platform that best fits your needs and growing your customer base after you get a return on your initial investment. You can know the brief details about the pros and cons of each platform.

Types of Mobile App Development Technologies:

The technology you choose as a base for your mobile app development project will determine who you ultimately hire to build the app. Of course, this choice will have a big impact on the overall cost of your app.

Main mobile app features

Although we are talking about mobile app technology but the features you choose to include in the app will increase the complexity of your project and affect your overall cost.

Breakdown of the various costs to app development

What is the average cost of creating an app? You need to use some judgment when looking at different pricing levels for app development. Here are some of the main factors that affect app development costs:

put an app on the app store
  • Who created your app?
  • How to build your app
  • What Will You Want Your App to Do
  • Your App Budget
  • Mobile App Design
  • Maintenance Fee
  • App Complexity
  • Operating system (Android and iOS apps)

Each of these points will affect the amount you will pay. You can use this article as a reference to help identify the  key differences between spending $1,000, $100,000, or some middle ground for your app idea.

Cost of hiring a developer

Hiring a developer is an upfront investment that can have multi-five-figure costs. And today, you will learn about the cost of hiring a developer so that you can invest in worthwhile.

With technical expertise, that is one of the most sought-after talents. Demand for developers has only increased in the past few years. The cost of hiring is higher than ever.

Hence, hiring great software development company or developers is a challenging process faced by businesses, entrepreneurs, and large corporations in India. So, figuring out the cost of hiring a developer has a number of details that recruiters need to consider. Some of them are:

  • developer skills
  • experience
  • product/project complexity
  • the necessary technology stack
  • developer location

So before hiring a developer, you need to assess actual costs to determine who is right for your budget and needs.

Cost of hiring a developer

Other miscellaneous costs

How to put an app on the app store or release app to app store

When a developer builds a mobile app, they take into account the requirements of the App Store but ask the developers listed in your favorites if they will also manage to place your app in the App Store. Not all companies do that.

When it comes to App Store fees, the cost doesn’t matter. Apple App Store and Amazon charge $99 per year, and Google Play charges a one-time fee of $25. When you release an app to an app store, you must play by the rules of that store.

Marketing

Mobile application development may take some time, then released to the app store, and people wait for a long time not only to see their products in action. But to see success, although the product is well built, it still has to beat the competition. A quarter of mobile apps are opened only once. Usually, this is due to poor marketing. You need to make sure your audience can view, try, and like your app.

Planning a quality marketing strategy and campaign is essential to spread the word about your app and increasing sales. But it comes with a price. Basic public relations and marketing support will cost about $5,000 to $10,000 per month. Some companies spend over $100,000 a month to keep their mobile apps at the top.

For more free marketing guidelines, you can use App Store Optimization (ASO) as the easiest way to generate organic traffic. If you have promoted your website, you already know what SEO is, but there are some differences. ASO uses a set of keywords along with text descriptions, product names, and visual design elements to attract the target audience.

Maintenance

Any app, be it a mobile web app or even a website, also need updated maintenance and technical support on a regular basis. But not all app development companies provide maintenance services. Confirm that the company will take care of the app after launch.

Good app developers keep up with iOS and Android operating system updates, which means that your collaboration with your developer shouldn’t stop after your app launches. Of course, updating your app requires some investment. To discuss the cost of app maintenance before you start developing.

Companies fall into the trap of thinking mobile app development is a one-off project. But it’s an ongoing process. Many companies are confused about the extent to which applications should be sponsored to keep your app running. You will need to debug. Apply a security fix and Update with all new operating system versions, user support, and more.

The biggest unexpected expense is ongoing application maintenance. Most apps require additional functionality when a new operating system is released. The API used by the app has changed, or user expectations have changed. The maintenance cost can be significantly higher than the initial cost of building the application.

This works on all platforms. But especially with built-in apps, Native apps require constant updates to the operating system and device compatibility. Although mobile web applications require maintenance, it is not affected by changes in the operating system and hardware.

App Security

App security is a major concern. Users need to trust your app with their data. You should have a proper security plan in place for this reason. Here’s a list of things you should know before planning a security plan with your development team:

  • If your development team wants to use third-party frameworks and libraries, Make sure the security check is checked.
  • Ask your developers to test their code for vulnerabilities as much as possible.
  • You can reduce the number of access permissions in your app. don’t give access to your contacts or camera unless necessary.
  • Make sure your development team does regular code reviews.

Please note that if you include all of these activities in the app development process, it will take longer than you expected. The cost will also be higher. But in the long run, it will keep your app safe. Also, keep in mind that your app must comply with applicable laws.

Hosting and Servers

When your app is ready, you need to store and process the data somewhere. That’s another app development cost. Normally, all data (photos, videos, locations, etc.) is stored on the server. The server runs the software that accepts requests, Processes, and returns responses almost every mobile application has a back-end server.

For storage purposes, many developers today want to use cloud services. You can use the mobile backend as a service solution (mBaaS), Amazon Web Services, or build your own cloud service.

Therefore, you need to consider server costs for mobile apps. Pay attention to the monthly cloud storage charges. That usually adds up as your app grows. Facebook pays about $1.5 billion a year for data storage. Currently, the most popular cloud storage service is Amazon S3. At first, Amazon’s storage will not cost you anything. Your app can store data for free. But if you need more than 5 GB of storage, you will have to pay.

Software license

When developing mobile applications, you may need SDKs and libraries. Most of licences are free and open source but some are paid or offer paid upgrades from the limited free version. This type of software allows developers to reduce the amount of time spent on features.

For example, suppose your app requires a flexible search. This is a feature that allows users to search for anything by name, location, and other parameters. Your development team can build this functionality from scratch. But it can take a long time. It took up to 100 hours of app development costs. Just multiply the time required by the developer’s hourly rate. Developer rates vary depending on region and company.

To save money and time, it is common to use paid solutions. You can reduce development costs by paying for software licenses. However, consult an expert when making your decision. Your development team will know what works best for your project.

Multi-platform

If you are creating an app for the first time, you might be surprised that each mobile platform requires its own programming language. Native iOS apps won’t work on Android, and vice versa. If you are going to develop natively, you will need both iOS and Android developers. As a result, the cost of mobile app development increases. This is only relevant for native apps. The hybrid apps are built with web technologies and run on multiple platforms.

Mobile applications are deployed over the internet and run on all platforms. The cost of accessing all platforms with native apps depends on the type of app and the features required.

The average cost of developing an app

Before talking about the hidden cost of mobile app development, Lets take a look at how app development costs are incurred.

App development cost depends on these factors:

  • feature
  • design
  • The hour rate of your development team.
  • project size

The biggest factor influencing an app’s cost is the developer’s hourly rate. This often depends on location. The complete cost of application development depends on many factors.

Cost of work

Operating cost is the cost of implementing the functionality of your app. for certain functions to work. You may need to subscribe to a service that has a delivery mechanism. The number of functions used by apps varies, and sometimes the list is endless. For these fees, it can be hundreds or even thousands of dollars a month.

Administrative expenses

Administrative services can provide you with uninterrupted access to your data. So you can update app content and manage users without contacting your IT department. The cost of administrative services is unpredictable and largely depends on the type of mobile app you are developing. These costs add up, and you will continue to pay.

Infrastructure cost

Infrastructure costs include the cost of hosting the app. Storage and delivery information these services require redundancy and load balancers for backup servers and security.

You also need to buy storage. Most companies generally buy storage from the same vendor that provided the hosting. Moreover, if you use an image, you will need to get more storage space. All infrastructure pieces (such as servers, storage facilities, and images) also require regular maintenance. You may need to pay for updates from time to time. This cost may vary. It depends on your seller.

IT supports costs

You can’t build high-quality apps without ongoing IT/Technical Support services as an integral part of maintaining any app and the only problem is that support costs can add up over time.

App Store Fees

There are different versions of App Stores in the market, be it the Apple app store for iOS or the Google App store for the Android version. These platforms have restrictions on accepting payment methods or simply promoting services within the application.

You can categorize as free, paid, and free with in-app purchases. When you create a developer account with the App Store, you will be charged a $99 annual fee. The store also offers a base percentage discount depending on the app. For example, if you try to sell an app for $0.99, you will share about $69.3 with the app store.

For Android apps, developer fees can range from free to an Apple App Store fee of $99/year. Google Play has a one-time $25 fee.

App Store fees are more important when you first get started or if you have a drop in sales. When you sell more apps, Store fees become much less of an issue. App Store takes usually percentage-based. So the more you sell, the more you get, as well.

App Store Percentage

Many app stores get most of their revenue from paid apps. The store earns its share before sending the money to the developer.

The industry standard for App Store revenue is 30%. We can thank Apple for setting it as a standard – they are not the first. But the iOS app ecosystem is being used as a prototype by many other players in the mobile app space.

There are app stores that make a difference by paying higher percentages to developers. It’s not just about getting the most out of each sale. It’s also about getting a lot of sales. Most app stores that pay more than 70% of their revenue to developers don’t have very high traffic. While it’s nice to engage with those App Stores, they are not. But you can’t ignore a huge market like Google Play.

Hidden Costs Associated with App Store Submission

While creating any app, developers have to follow a set of rules and guidelines given by the Google and Apple app store. Publishing an app will not cost much, as Google Play Store will charge you $25 for a lifetime. Use, while Apple’s App Store will cost you about $100 a year.

For $299 per year, you can join the Apple Developer Enterprise program and publish your apps exclusively through your organization’s in-house App Store. However, this service is free on Google Play.

hidden costs associated with app store submission

If your app offers products or provides in-app purchases or subscriptions, the Google Play Store charges a transaction fee of 15% to 30%. You will also need to go through an approval process before your app can appear on the App Store and this process can take a long time.

In other words, if you do not follow the rules or requirements of the platform your app will not be accepted. This can result in your mobile app developers putting in more effort to make necessary changes. Therefore, costs may increase.

However, let’s say you are a non-profit organization, government, or educational institution that distributes free applications. In that case, you may be exempt from payment.

You also need to know that App Store fees will use more of your budget than your developer account. There is a fee when your app contains the following:

  • in-app purchase
  • Paid subscription

If users of your app are required to submit an initial grant, for example, if your app is paid, a fee will also be charged. If your app is paid, Have a subscription and in-app purchases. A 30% tax will be charged for each model. Such high taxes apply to any company whose app has annual net app revenue of more than $1 million.

Conclusion:

Mobile application development is costly and time-consuming. Hope now you know how much it costs to develop an app. The cost of a mobile app largely depends on features, design, and project size, as well as the hourly rate of your development team. But there are still some hidden costs in mobile app development that are not so obvious. In this article, we have explained what these costs are and why you need to pay them for mobile app development:

Before signing a contract to develop a mobile app, discuss these costs with your development team. It could save you money in the long run and definitely help you plan your expenses more accurately. Launching your application in the app store is an exciting time for everyone in the company. So knowing how to do it and the costs involved is worth it.


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Written by: Rahul Motwani

Rahul Motwani is an experienced Project Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. He started his career as a Backend developer and currently has his hands-on managing projects at Groovy Web. He is a strong program and project management professional with a Bachelor's degree focused on Computer Application.


Frequently Asked Questions

We hope these clear your doubts, but if you still have any questions, then feel free to write us on hello@groovyweb.co

The price of app marketing might also differ significantly based on the target market, advertising channels, and marketing approach. Social media advertising, influencer marketing, and app store optimization are a few typical methods of app marketing. These tactics may cost a few hundred dollars or as much as several thousand dollars.

The steps to upload an app to the App Store are as follows:

  1. Become a member of the Apple Developer Program.
  2. Create an App ID.
  3. Create and evaluate your app.
  4. Create an app icon, screenshots, and a description to get your app ready for submission.
  5. Submit your app for review.
  6. Await for Approval
  7. Post your application to the App Store.

Note: Depending on your particular app and its category, you might need to adhere to extra criteria and rules.


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