How to calculate the custom web application development cost

If you’re a business looking to expand, nothing beats having technology to back you up, especially on the internet, which leads to the creation of websites and mobile apps. The problem with these two examples is that the former, while relatively inexpensive, lacks customer interaction, and the latter, despite possessing these qualities, is expensive. What is the solution to this issue?

Custom web applications, through which the interactivity of mobile apps can be accessed for specific problems, are the answer. The accompanying price tag is right in the middle of things and given their benefits to all parties, knowing the custom web application development cost gives a significant advantage according to Latam Nearshoring. So let’s get into that, discuss the cost-affecting factors and how to make the most accurate estimate.

Factors that come into play

The actual custom web application development estimate is more of a range and even then, multiple ranges from various sources exist, making it seem as though there isn’t an exact price. The truth is exactly that.

There is no exact price, and some sources say it is between $3,000 and $12,000, while others say it’s in the $20,000 to $60,000+ range. All this is true because of the complexity of building this tool. Below are a few of these:

The product’s nature

The increase in the app’s complexity is in terms of features added, and how dynamic the pages are, the more expensive the build will be. This will also include the mobile compatibility element, and the post-build needs of the application, which still needs to be maintained, and supported. The rule is quite simple: The increase in a build’s complexity, the longer it takes to complete, and finally, the greater the custom web application development price.

The build’s tech need

This speaks to the tech stack of the build, which includes the programming languages, frameworks, and databases used. These vitally determine the people you hire, whose expertise will vary in price depending on what’s needed.

For example, hiring a PHP engineer in the US is typically cheaper than one versed in Python. For example, for the former, it is around $85,938 annually and $127,235 for the latter. This is because the former is specially made for simpler projects that don’t need the versatility that Python brings.

The nature of builds

This speaks to several elements of the build including the location of the team, which makes them much pricier in a country like the US compared to India. The manner of job accomplishment is also considered, which could be in any of the following manners:

  • In-house building, in which your resources are used is the most expensive, although it does give you more administrative control
  • Outsourcing, in which you give the reins of the build to another company, is the cheaper variety, which unfortunately means less control
  • Freelancing, in which entities hired outside essentially work for themselves, costs the least on this list, but they aren’t as dependable and may not deliver quality apps on time

Getting the most accurate figure

As stated above, there is no set price for this endeavor, as they are based on particular situations. Your vision and goals directly impact how much you’ll be spending. With this, and the factors above, one can narrow things down somewhat. However, to form your estimate, you’ll need more, like knowing about the creation process in and out, which includes:

The creation procedure

Naturally, the process of building apps is far from easy but is summed up in a few steps. These are as follows:

  • Getting an idea, and understanding the niche you wish to enter
  • Begin creation prep, which may mean understanding design, or UI/UX elements, data necessities and workflows
  • The app’s actual creation, incorporating all major facets including, databases, UI/UX, features, frontend, and backend elements
  • Testing the product and debugging to make certain that a good product is created, and
  • Launching the application
  • Continual maintenance after the launch

This, as the above has implied, can be done via outsourcing, in-house, and through freelancers, and that will get you closer to actual figures. However, seeing as you’re trying to get as accurate a custom web application development cost estimation as possible, you may want to look at the creation phases, and the number attached to each. To do this, you have to know who is building the product.

The creation crew

Teams hired in this space need diversity to be efficient. The jobs done by each allow one to gauge how much the project will need monetary-wise. This is because each stage will have a certain amount of time needed for completion. The roles that form said units include:

  • Project managers
  • System architects
  • UI/UX designers
  • Both frontend and the backend engineers
  • Quality Assurance engineers

Having gone through the information, the basic estimation method goes like this: with what you want and how it should be done in mind, know the phases of web app creation. This is because they will lead you to knowledge of who is working at a certain stage and the amount of time job completion takes. Multiply that total time spent with the hourly rates of said workers and you have a fairly accurate custom web app development cost or, near one, anyway.

Final thoughts

What the above shows is the multi-faceted nature of estimation, which while complex, is certainly possible. Is finding the likely custom web app development cost for your specific situation rather challenging considering all the factors you need to think of and research you may do? Well, yes. However, what you get in return is a budget you can use to create the best tool possible, which may then lead to further success of your operation.

With all that said, nothing as it pertains to cost estimation is ever set in stone, as unforeseen events may occur. So, it would be wise to not settle on anything too quickly.