Miscellaneous

10 Factors that Determine the Costing of an iPhone Application

Many iPhone app development companies charge on an hourly basis, with the costs as much as up to $100 and more per hour. However, if you want to get your app developed at “lesser” rates, you can think about outsourcing your project to an IT outsourcing company based in different countries. In this case you will get an app developed within your budget constraints (if any), but you will have to compromise on certain aspects.

Let us take a look at ten factors that determine the costing of an iPhone application (irrespective of the company you are getting it developed from).

# Expertise

The expertise of a company is one of the prime factors, which determine the cost of an iPhone app. If the company has the requisite expertise on the various mobile platforms and associated programming languages and it also keeps itself updated about the latest tools and technologies available on the market, it is obvious that it will charge substantially for developing your app. But, you will be getting your monies worth, in this case.

2# Experience

Experience is another parameter, which plays an important role in deciding the price of an iPhone app. A company with years of experience can handle your project way better in comparison to the many inexperienced companies that also offer iPhone app development services.

Suppose, there is a company with 4-5 years of experience in developing iPhone apps; in this case, the experience of this company dates back to the time when the very first iPhone was launched in the market. Hence, such a company will factor in their years of experience in its costing.

3# Track Record

Everyone wants to work with a company that has a successful track record. Since the demand of such companies is always high, they will charge you more (simply on the basis of their reputation in the market). So, if you are going to choose a company that has developed and submitted successful apps consistently on iTunes, then be prepared to pay more. I would like to add that shelling out some extra bucks for such companies is totally worth it because you know that they won’t go wrong with your app.

4# Amount of Coding and Existing Coding Required

Coding an app is tone of the crucial steps in the entire app development process and has an important role in determining the cost of an app. There are two types of coding, which help companies in this direction.

The first one is – the amount of new coding that is required and the second is – using the existing code(s).  Both these coding, are required to develop an iPhone app.

The new coding comes into play, when the company has to begin everything from scratch – right in order to develop some never before seen features and functions. But sometimes, a company may use existing codes (like an existing wire frame from their previous projects). So, if the company feels that only a new code will do the job for you (w.r.t to your app), then it will charge you for the new code, but if it thinks that a new code and little bit of the existing code will also be needed, then, it will charge you for both.

# Location of the Developers/Development Company

The price of an iPhone app also depends on the location of the developers or development company. For instance, if you hand over your project to a company in Los A, the cost of development will go up considerably as compared to handing your project to a company in Texas.

This is because a developer living and working from Los Angeles might have different costing as compared to somebody living in Austin, Texas since the cost of living in a particular city, rentals, everything else, is usually factored in (although indirectly) when it comes to costing of an app.

This is something which no one tells the clients, but it does add to the development charges. So if somebody is charging say $80/hour and somebody else is charging $120/hour, don’t be surprised since the difference in the rate, is also because of the change in location, in addition to various other factors.

Similarly, if you decide to get your app developed in say an offshore development center outside USA, you’ll have to shell out less money. This is the reason why many companies opt for outsourcing, since the overhead costs are much less (although they might not get the same quality as the apps developed in USA).

6# Time Frame

Time Frame is yet another factor for determining the cost of an iPhone app. If you want your app to be developed within a short span of time, it implies that the company would have to use to allot more resources (manpower, tools and technologies) for your project and that too on a priority basis. And since your project will take up these extra resources of the company, means that you’ll have to ready yourself to pay more! So before requesting a company to develop your app in a short span of time, wait for some time, give it a thought and if you are still ready to pay more, then go ahead.

7# Number of Developers Needed for the Project

This is self-explanatory; developers are one of the main resources in an app development company. More the number of developers assigned for your project, more will be your expense.  This is usually the case when it comes to the development of enterprise applications where a large number of developers are required to handle various modules of an application.

8# Conceptualization… Client Input… Project Brief

Generally, a client needs to supply the basic idea about the project to the company. If you don’t give your input/project brief or the concept of the app, and your project needs to be developed from the ground up, it shoots up the cost of development of an app.

For example, you will have to spend a lot of time in just interacting with the developers or project managers working on your app and explaining them about your app at various stages of project development. This back and forth, which takes up the time and effort of the developers, adds to the cost of the development. Many a times, this happens involuntarily, which baffles the client(s) because they don’t understand what aspect of the project increased their bills!

9# Intricacies Required

More often than not, the concept and the purpose of an app, determines the intricacies involved in the development of an app. A simple app with a basic concept will of course have a limited number of features and functionalities and won’t take up much time, efforts and resources for its development and thus, it won’t cost as much. But a high-level app on the other hand, requires more resources, planning, efforts and technology, which is included in the cost of development.

For instance, take the example of a high-level game app. Naturally, it will have an outstanding concept and rich features and functionalities and for this, developers have to start with creating the entire architecture of the game app, work upon various challenging features and functions (may be character building, VFX and sound effects) for the app, integrate various segments/modules of the app and much more. All these require more time, resources and effort, which will in turn, contribute to the development charges.

10# The design of the app – Design and Development Costs are Different

When it comes to developing an iPhone app, the design of the app is as important as its development process (think of any iPhone app and you will find that it is visually appealing). This is because the design elements in your app will be handled by expert designers and the coding will be handled by expert developers. Since the two sets of experts and experienced professionals will work on your app, you’ll have to loosen your purse strings for both design and development of your app separately.

So, even if the design element in your app is less than that of development, or if the design is not that complex, you still have to pay the company for the design separately. And if your app is design intensive i.e. it has a lot of graphics and animations, the cost will rise up for sure.

To conclude

These are some of the factors, which add to the cost of an iPhone application. But let’s not forget the fact that some companies also market the app for their clients, which are different from that of the development costs. Hence, if you want to get an iPhone app developed, calculate the overall amount you’ll have to shell out (including the development and the marketing costs) for your app and then take the plunge. Good luck with that!

Author Bio:Carlos is a developer with MyFirstiPhoneApp.com – A new division of MyFirstMobileApp.com. This explains his love for adventure sports. He’s a passionate writer as well and shares his write-ups on different guest-blogging sites with other like-minded people.

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