How to Create a Budget For Your Mobile App Development in 6 Easy Steps?

While considering large-scale investments like mobile app development, the cost is an important factor in deciding whether a project will get the proverbial “green light” or not. However, the best part is that mobile app development is highly customizable and therefore there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to cost. It all depends on what you want from your application.

You must be wondering why you need a budget before hiring mobile app developers?

Oftentimes, when companies search for vendors for an app development project, a budget is required to receive accurate vendor offers. Two key factors impact the cost: the cost of materials (function and features) and the cost of labor. With apps, the cost of features is determined by the platform and purpose, what users can do with the app and the level of the user interface.

The cost of labor at this stage is based on the claims of talented developers and designers from your chosen mobile app development company

So how to create a budget for your mobile app? 

In this post, I will help you explore what factors are critical in developing a budget, understand where you can cut costs, and how to do it effectively so you don’t jeopardize your success.

The 6 Easy Steps!

1. Know what you want to build

Before creating a budget for your potential application, it’s important to decide on your feature set, your project timelines, and the services you need. The best way to know what you want to build is to set clear goals.

Below is a checklist of questions to help you set clearly defined goals:

• Who is your target audience? Who will use your application?
• Who are your competitors?
• Why should your customers download and use your application? What’s the unique selling proposition of your mobile app?
• What problems are you solving with your mobile application?
• What particular function should your mobile application perform?
• What results are you trying to achieve, both immediately (probably after a week) and after 3-6 months?

 From that checklist, you should get the following knowledge:

• A target audience and your surveyed competitors
• A list of must-have features/functionalities for your application
• A concrete monetization strategy
• Design and discovery

2. Allocate additional funds to cover unexpected expenses

Developer hours generally cost more than design and QA hours. Before setting a budget, it is important to understand the hours that will be spent at each stage of development. Keeping a budget aside for development, deployment, publishing, integration, testing, and QA is the best practice to get an accurate picture of your budget.

Also, life is uncertain. Isn’t it? So we must stay prepared for any disaster that may come up our way. 

Keeping a small margin on the exact figures is always a smart choice.

Also, keep in mind that while the fixed-price model offered by some mobile app development services seems reasonable, it doesn’t leave much room for modifications unless you agree to pay more to make those modifications.

3. Functions and features selection

What do you think affects the budget for your mobile app development the most?

Well, expert developers say that every function or feature that is added to your application will ultimately affect the final cost. Having a minimal amount of features while still achieving great functionality for your users increases the chances of meeting your planned budget.

It is also important to prioritize each desired function based on user needs. For example, an app like Netflix, which includes a live streaming feature, is required for a video platform. Although it is an expensive feature to include, it is imperative for functionality for your users. 

Gateway integrations require a lot of coding and money, but getting rid of this feature doesn’t make any sense if you plan to build an eCommerce application. For these reasons, I recommend that you seek the expertise and guidance of teams and designers of top mobile development services to understand the resources and cost of each feature in detail.

4. Choose a platform

Many young entrepreneurs ask me whether they should launch a mobile app for Android or iOS?

As you know iOS and Android own 97 percent of the global mobile market, the ideal approach for mobile app development is to build an application for both platforms. 

However, that is not possible for every startup. It might be due to constraints such as time, budget, and resources that can prevent you from developing both operating systems at the same time. Instead, you may want to consider launching on one platform first and then introducing a second platform at a later date.

Therefore, when setting a budget for their mobile app development project, companies in this position must collect research data from the target audience to find out which platform the majority of their customers/target audience use. Once you know this data, you can easily decide which platform to look for first.

You must keep in mind that if your goal is to cover a large number of devices and operating system versions, the applications will require more time and resources and therefore incur higher costs. 

Another smart move will be to go for cross-platform mobile app development. This way you will be able to target both iOS and Android mobile users with a single app. It might be a little more costly than a simple Android or simple iOS mobile app but it’s two in one thing so you must go cross-platform app development

5. Plan for the future

The process of developing an application does not end once the product is delivered. Oftentimes, an application is delivered in multiple stages including the prototype, alpha, and beta releases, and all of this also affects the final cost. 

Even more important; you must remember that your application will require continuous maintenance, upgrades, and updates as new technologies become available, business objectives change, and user needs evolve. 

When developing a budget for your project, it is a good idea to get estimates of how much maintenance and upgrades will cost so that you can fit them into your budget or be future-ready.

6. Decide: In-Built Or Outsourced?

Although creating an application is a brilliant idea, you must stay clear about how it is developed. In other words, you need to be clear about whether the application will be outsourced or developed in-house. Many companies may not have the option of the latter and may therefore choose to outsource it to a third party.

This means additional investments, as the agency (or individuals) would be paid according to the work they do (coding, design, etc.). While developing an application in-house is not difficult, you are generally looking for a high-quality product which, in turn, can only be obtained when the product is developed by an experienced professional or agency. However, care must be taken before hiring offshore developers.

However, there is always a medical way to cut costs. First, aim to develop an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) and improve it as your user base grows.

Wondering what is an MVP? Why should we leave room for doubt? Let us discuss what is an MVP.

What is an MVP?

MVP or a Minimum Viable Product is a version of the product or in this case mobile app, with minimum or basic features to be usable by early customers. These customers can provide feedback for further development of the app. 

Simply put, it allows you to avoid spending a lot of money upfront, which may not generate a measurable ROI. So, start with only truncated functionalities i.e. an app with 1-3 key features. Then test your mobile app by launching it in the real market before investing more money in full feature development.

Final Thoughts

While there are many more considerations included in creating a budget than listed above, these considerations are often the ones that have the most effect on your total final cost. Once you’ve come up with an acceptable budget, remember to keep an eye on overall spending and the specifics of where the budget is going. 

As your project progresses, it’s always a good idea to continually review your budget to make sure funds are being used accordingly, and ultimately to make sure you receive an app that works on time and budget.

With all this in mind, don’t forget to get in touch with a top mobile app development company in India and make your dream project come alive.