The use of mobile apps is increasing as people find them convenient and easy. They have made life easier as you can do your shopping, pay utility bills, and even get medical advice from the comfort of your home. Nowadays every company has an app as it makes it easier to connect with its customers.
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What is an MVP app?
An MVP is a variation of the final product. It stands for a minimum viable product and has the bare minimum features that are integral to the function and core of your idea. When developing an MVP, it is crucial to prioritize MVP features that align with your core value proposition. Launching an MVP app is considered a strategic move for startups. An MVP app helps in collecting important and relevant data that will help in making a profitable future investment. It makes it possible to get the user’s reactions to the features and purpose of the app. It is an excellent way of validating the app and preventing any major failures.
Here a few points that will help you understand the nature of an MVP app:
- It is a fully functional app and only has essential and basic functions.
- Developing new features in phases as it will not put too much pressure on the available funds.
- It helps in developing smart spending tactics so that you have adequate funds for developing the second phase of the app.
- MVP is a complete product that goes through some changes as you can add new features with time.
As per the reports, nine out of ten startups fail due to spending funds too quickly.
Why you need an MVP mobile app?
Developing an MVP is worth it because it gives a chance to test the strongest features of the append check customer responsiveness for those features. Customer feedback is crucial because it can assist in improving user experience.
An MVP mobile app has the following benefits to offer:
- An opportunity to test potential risks
- Save money by avoiding unwanted costs
- Spending resources wisely instead of wasting them on a single aspect of an app
- Get honest and real feedback from users
- Reducing business risks
- It can help in pitching app ideas to potential investors
Check: MVP development services
Cost of building an MVP mobile app:
The cost of building an MVP is only a fraction of what a complete app costs. If you have developing skills then you can easily develop an MVP for a mobile app. The cost of developing an MVP depends on a variety of factors. Here are some factors that impact the cost:
Check: Web application development cost
MVP Development Cost
One of the most important factors that determine the developing cost is the choice of developer. Developing a mobile app even an MVP requires programming skills. You can hire in-house developers, outsource the project to a reliable IT company, or hire a freelancer.
If you hire a freelancer then the cost of MVP mobile app can cost you between $10/hour to $200/hour. The rate is determined by the experience and skill level of the freelancer.
Hiring an IT company is an quite expensive option as compared to a freelancer. More importantly, IT companies are trustable than freelancers. IT companies are good choice to go, the MVP development costs ranges $4000 to $20000 with quality work.
If you do not have an idea of how much an MVP mobile app project costs then you can contact IT firms and freelancers and get a quote.
Check: Hire ios app developer India
Design of the product:
The design of the product also impacts the cost of the project. The cost of MVP mobile app increases with the complexity of the app. Complex apps are not easy to and they require good developing skills. To get a rough estimate you should calculate User Interface (UI) that you have chosen and add it to the cost of the initial design. Choosing a simple UI keeps the cost low and ensures a good user experience.
Check: Hire UI designer India
Below is a simplified version of MVP Development Cost
Costs based on the development team
There are four major types of teams for MVP app development which are: outsourced, local, freelancer, and in-house development teams.
In-house MVP development
As for the in-house development team, the development costs vary depending on the expenses incurred during the whole process. The expenses include overhead expenses, benefits incurred, technology training benefits, software & hardware costs, IT infrastructure set-up fees, and salaries for developers. What’s more, an in-house development team requires extra benefits apart from the salaries. Therefore, these costs can amount to up to $150,000. However, below is a simplified table for in-house MVP development. The prices are estimates.
Variable | Cost of In-House Development (Approx) |
Cost per hire | $3,500 – $4,500 |
Overall team salary | $120,000 – $140,000 |
IT expenses | $20 – $50 |
IT system | $1,200 – $2,000 |
Technology training | $800 – $1,500 |
Paid benefits | $6,000 – $7,000 |
Software license | $250 – $300 per person |
Total | $131,770 – $155,350 |
Outsourcing MVP development
Apparently, outsourcing MVP development is the best option. In fact, statistics show that about 78% of those who own businesses would go for outsourcing other than any other way when developing an MVP.
What’s more, offshore product development is the most preferred form of outsourcing compared to onshore outsourcing because of accountability and reliability.
Below is a table showing expenses incurred when outsourcing a team made up of five developers plus project managers and designers in India.
Variable | Estimate Cost of Outsourcing Development to India |
Cost per hire | $800 – $1,000 |
Overall team salary | $30,000 – $35,000 |
IT expenses | No costs |
IT system | No costs |
Tech training | No costs |
Benefits payable | No costs |
Software license | No costs |
Total | $30,800 – $36,000 |
Local teams’ MVP development
If a business can’t afford an in-house team or outsourcing option, they can opt to go with local teams for their MVP development. This is especially a perfect idea if the business wants to be in close contact with the MVP development team.
The process involves doing a bit of research to get a perfect local company that delivers MVP development services. Even though going this route will help you save hardware/software and infrastructure expenses, paying the local team is way higher compared to when outsourcing for the same services.
Local MVP developers would require you to pay an hourly rate of around $150 -$200. In this case, hiring a team of five developers at the same amount will equal around $160,000 – 180,000 for the project to complete successfully.
Freelancers
Another option for selecting talents for your MVP development project is hiring freelancers. While this will help you save extra costs, the main disadvantage lies in finding an expert and knowledgeable freelancer in the same field. This is the main reason why many businesses won’t prefer freelancers in this case. Another major challenge is open and regular communication, especially in updating the progress of the projects.
Nonetheless, hiring freelancers for MVP development is way cheap. To get a full-stack developer, you can get an expert at $5000 per month.
Again, to get a freelancer who is an expert designer, you can easily get one at $3000 per month. Apart from the main developers, you will incur extra costs of $2500 per month to pay a tester.
With this analysis, you can get a freelancer for your MVP development at a cost ranging between $3000 –$ 12,000. However, you cannot define the final results unless you’ve worked with the freelancer for a while and you are sure of the best results.
Summarized costs of MVP development based on the teams
Team Types | Estimated prices |
In-House | $132,000 – $155,000 |
Freelancers | $4,000 – $15,000 |
Local teams | $160,000 – $180,000 |
Outsourcing | $30,800 – $36,000 |
MVP development based on Geolocation
The prices of developing an MVP product vary depending on the nation from which the talent was outsourced. This is because of the varied living conditions in different locations. An MVP developer from the US is likely to earn more than a developer from Asia.
Below is a summarized hourly estimate of MVP development costs depending on the location of the developer.
Region | Approximate Hourly Costs |
Western Europe | $110-200 |
Eastern Europe | $20-50 |
North America | $150-230 |
South America | $30-50 |
Africa | $20-40 |
Australia | $100-180 |
Asia | $15-40 |
Features:
The number of features you decide to add to the MVP mobile app can tell you how much the project will cost. More feature means more developing time which ends up increasing the cost. It is important to be clear about the type of mobile app you are developing because it will help in determining the must-have features for the app. The developers should include all the basic and must-have features in the MVP mobile app.
Choice of technology:
The cost of developing a mobile app MVP is determined by the MVP technology stack you use for the project. It is possible to save time by coordinating the pre-tailored solutions and develop an MVP. It is better to avoid using native codes in a hybrid environment to develop features as it adds to the eventual development cost.
Conclusion:
Determining the cost of a mobile app MVP is not an impossible task. By weighing important factors you can easily determine the cost and get the results you are looking for. A minimum value product is critical for laying the foundation of a successful mobile app. Once you have an MVP mobile app. You can release the MVP and get valuable feedback from the target customers. The feedback is crucial in making the required improvements.
Looking for MVP mobile app development solutions? Connect with us today and get a free quote.
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Written by:
Muzammil K
Muzammil K is the Marketing Manager at Aalpha Information Systems, where he leads marketing efforts to drive business growth. With a passion for marketing strategy and a commitment to results, he's dedicated to helping the company succeed in the ever-changing digital landscape.
Muzammil K is the Marketing Manager at Aalpha Information Systems, where he leads marketing efforts to drive business growth. With a passion for marketing strategy and a commitment to results, he's dedicated to helping the company succeed in the ever-changing digital landscape.