What does it cost to build an app?

Do you have a brilliant idea for an app but feel unsure about the practical side of development, and not least what it costs? Do not despair. It can be hard to navigate the current ecosystem for founders, but there are many different ways to build applications, from cheap and simple solutions to solid and relatively expensive options. It is up to you to choose what fits your concept and budget best.

You do not need much knowledge of coding to build an app. There are several systems on the market, so-called DIY solutions, that you can use to realise your app concept. With systems like GoodBarber, Appy Pie and BuildFire you can easily put together images, video and simple functionality and get your app to market quickly. If you are a little more experienced with coding, FlutterFlow can be a good option. Remember that the price you pay will affect the quality of your app, so think carefully about what matters most to you: a stable platform, extra features, a good user experience or low maintenance costs. The advantages of DIY solutions are that costs are low and you can do it yourself. The drawbacks are that the application is simple without specialised extra features, and it can be hard to choose a solution that fits the concept you want to realise.

DIY solutions are recommended for those who want to be the developer themselves but have little coding experience and want to limit costs. Using DIY solutions to build an application varies in price depending on the platform you choose, but it is by far the cheapest option.

MVP stands for minimum viable product and focuses purely on making sure the most important value-giving features are in place, implementing the core of the product so you can start testing it in the market. For example, an app for booking hairdresser appointments would include the central booking function. If you have a higher budget and want an application with custom functionality, a typical MVP app is a good first solution. Here you usually have a strategy for developing it into a full product. MVP apps are often built as hybrid solutions to keep costs at a minimum, since that lets you use one shared codebase rather than developing a separate app for Android and one for iOS.

The advantage is an affordable way to test the app idea in the market.

The drawback is less focus on design and user experience, which can colour the feedback on the application. It is important to stress that an MVP should not be used as a finished product.

An MVP is essentially a way of testing the business model of a platform with a minimum of custom coding and complex features, and is a good way to increase the value of an app idea before raising capital, when investors are involved. A solution like this costs from 70,000 NOK.

The popularity of hybrid apps has grown in recent years, which can be attributed to advantages such as fast development time and low development costs compared with native apps. That comes from hybrid apps being written in a different programming language than the operating system of the mobile device, which means they use a shared codebase and can run on both iOS and Android. That shortens development time since two separate development processes for the different operating systems are not needed.

The advantages of such an application are that development can be faster and cheaper, while requiring less specialised knowledge than building two separate native apps. Another advantage is that the hybrid app can run on several platforms and therefore reach a larger audience. You also only have to maintain one codebase rather than two.

The drawback of hybrid apps is that they have slightly poorer performance than a native application because of the layer sitting between the programming language and the device. That also gives somewhat limited access to device-specific features such as the camera, though whether that is a problem depends on the product being built.

The technology for hybrid apps is constantly evolving, and near-native performance can be achieved using Flutter, for example. A cost estimate for a hybrid app is from 200,000 NOK.

A native app is an application built specifically for one platform. It is written in the same programming language as the operating system of the phone, which means it has to be built separately for Android and iOS. It is of high quality and needs little bug fixing when new operating system updates arrive.

The advantages of native apps are that they are fast and responsive, since they are built to run directly on the mobile platform. They also have full access to platform-specific features such as camera, GPS, calendar and contacts, which gives a seamless, integrated user experience.

The drawbacks of native apps are that they are expensive to build, especially if you want one app for iOS and one for Android. They also have longer development time because they are built separately for each platform. At the same time that means a limited audience, since you can only use the application on the platform it was built for.

Native apps are recommended if you have a complex app with advanced features that demand high performance and an optimised user experience. An example is apps that work with medical equipment, where the requirements for security and uptime are high. A cost estimate for such an app is from 400,000 NOK.

If you want to talk through which solution is best for you, get in touch and we will have a chat.

Written by:

Mia Torp Nielsen and Michelle Sæther