Many companies, communities, and individuals have great ideas for social media apps. But the biggest problems they face are organization and development processes. The cost of developing a social media app, the right development team, app quality, and time to market are many factors that will make or break these app ideas.
Proper development will determine which apps actually do it. And which one doesn't.
So what is the cost of developing a social media app?
The typical cost to build a social media app can range from $35,000 to $1,000,000 or more., depending on factors such as features, software complexity, design, and whether or not you'll need to hire staff and/or develop from scratch.
Also, the price will depend on whether you don't want an iOS app, an Android app, or a web app, or all of these platforms at once. Each additional platform will have additional costs, challenges, and specifications for each market.
What kind of social media app do you want to create?
To calculate the cost of developing a social media app, you must first decide what type of app you want.
To be successful with your type of application, we always suggest:
– Bring a unique and innovative idea with amazing featureso
– Create an app for a very specific audience or group (for example, for your business or community)
Here are some types of social apps to choose from:
network application
Create your own social network LinkedIn, a Facebook-like application for networking. A perfect platform for users to find investors, partners, potential clients, co-workers and experts in the same field. You can tap users from all over the world or make the app very specific to one community. The apps can work to build personal networks, expand your professional network, find investors, potential clients, and also help people find suitable partners.
Messaging and calling app.
Create your own Zangi-like calling and messaging app with military-grade encryption, high scalability, and unique technologies. Include features like messaging, voice/video calls, file sharing, group chat, and more. Publish to Google Play or App Store.
Socialdating app
Create your own Tinder-like dating app with high-quality calling and messaging technologies. Have users create profiles with details likeprofile photo, marital status, a brief description,includes filter-based search engine functionality such asgender, location, hobbies, etc.Have ultra secure conversations through chat calls and video calls and add your own touch or niche quality.
team communication app
Create your own Slack-like app for team communication. Get full application ownership and keep your team's data and communication completely secure with self-hosting. Add your logo, brand and make the app only visible to a specific company or community or make it public. Add additional security algorithms and special communication and collaboration features to appeal to the modern consumer.
Network for editing and sharing photos
Create an Instagram PicsArt-like app for sharing, editing, and creating video and photo content. Have users use various cool photo filters and features to get the most out of these social media apps.
streaming app
Create your own Telegram channel-like network app with channels to broadcast your public messages to large audiences. Send notifications directly to a large scale of subscribers. Have users create private or public channels. Charge for subscription or create channels for free. Have millions of subscribers.
Blogs and discussion forums
Make Twitter, blogs or microblogging similar to Tumblr, social content publishing apps to drive traffic and users, giving them a platform to post their thoughts and content. Also include discussion forums or question and answer services to exchange knowledge and advice.
The main features and functionalities you need
Once you've chosen the type of app, the features of the app really determine the total cost of developing a social media app. Your app costs and the success of your app largely depend on the features, functionality, UI/UX, and design you choose to integrate into your app.
Here are rough cost estimates for each feature:
Registration $750+
Edit Profile $600+
Search $900+
Messages $1750+
Encrypted messages $2,000+
Encrypted File Transfer$3000+
Group Chat $2,000+
Shared Contact $2750+
Share location $1250+
Media Sharing $2250+
Notifications $650+
Audio call $3750+
Encrypted voice calls $3,000+
Video call $5500+
Encrypted Video Calls $3,000+
Fixing $4000+
Decal Shop $2,000+
Different social media apps are built with various sets of features. To get all the basic features at once, the easiest and fastest way is withwhite label social media app providers, which will already give you the basis of what you need. Just add your brand and name on top.
Advanced Features for Developing a Social Media App
With emerging technologies and already known social media apps on the market, it would be pointless and waste of money to create a basic social media app. It should include advanced features to stand out from the competition and have a unique selling point to potential users.
Here are some advanced features and their cost/development time to consider:
Additional language support $1000+
End-to-end encryption/E2EE $4,000+
Registration and Special Verification $5,000+
Balance transfer $3,000+
Audioconferencia $30000+
Canales $12,000+
Large groups $8000+
Supergrupos $8000+
Integración Stripe, PayPal, Braintree Payment Gateways $ 1000 +
Animated GIFs $3,000+
AR Filters $5000+
Photo Editing $16500+
Chatbots$ 15.000+
Videoconferencing $40000+
Development team and technology stack required
Developing a social media app is actually quite complex; Not all entrepreneurs have the necessary skills, experience, or professional employees to build apps. They would have to create their own development and design team, hire developers or choose onewhite label app providerto create an application for you on a ready base.
A team you would need would consist of:
- 2 iOS developers
- 2 Android developers
- back end developer
- Front-end developer
- quality control engineer
- UX/UI Designer
- Project/Product Manager
- Backend configuration and integration
- Office rent and utilities (if you work from the office)
The cost of developing a social media app with a developer tea (in-house in the US vs. outsourcing in India) can be seen in the chart below.
And depending on what country you're in, the cost of developing a social media app really varies for mobile and web developers.
The total cost of developing a social media app
By the end of this article, we hope you will be able to estimate your costs. Depending on factors like the number of platforms (iOS, Android, web), features, software complexity, design, and whether or not you'll need a team and develop from scratch, a simple app costs between $25,000 and $60,000 on average. . it will cost between $61,000 and $70,000 and the complex application can exceed $1,000,000 or more.
Should you go for the cheaper development option that claims to build social networking apps for less than $25,000?Most are just marketing scams.
Should you choose high-cost independent developers to ensure high quality?It may not always be the case.Or should you hire your own team to help you with development?This will give you the opportunity to hire the most experience, but is usually the most expensive option.
For the best social media app development cost + best quality, it is recommended to look for arenowned application development companywho will already know how to help you effectively. or onewhite label list application platform (PAAS),guaranteeing a risk-free process with a ready-to-use application, at a quarter of the price.
For exampleBrand Branca Zangiis a mature company that has built and achieved superior quality, great features: technology that doesn't drain your battery, fast messaging, a highly secure system, modern UX/UI and always delivered messages.
They have been providing messaging apps to communities and businesses for years. Cost starts at $13,000 for a risk-free, market-ready WhatsApp-like messaging app.
For more advanced features, customizations, and social networking features, the price increases respectfully. Even so, the development time and price is about 5 times less than developing from scratch.
FAQs
How much money does it take to develop an app? ›
According to Salary.com app development hourly rates, which currently hovers around $50 / hour, the US app development price cost for a app with a basic user interface and a set of basic features ranges from $16,000 to $32,000, Medium complexity app development project costs between $32,000 and $48,000 and, finally, a ...
How much does it cost to maintain a social media app? ›A ballpark average that an app owner will need to spend could be around $250 and $500 a month initially to keep the app functioning perfectly. You can budget 20% of the cost of initial development when calculating the cost of maintaining software.
How much does it cost to build an app like Instagram? ›On average, the cost to build an app like Instagram ranges from $30,000 to $500,000, depending on various factors. Simply put, the cost can be affected by the number of features integrated into the app, the complexity of the app, its UI/UX design, location, hourly rates of the hired developers, etc.
What is the average price of an app? ›The average subscription price was just over $10 per month, $29 for three months, $49 for six and $61 for an annual subscription. Most apps offer much higher discounts for longer term subscriptions, with some even offering a lifetime membership.
Can you become a millionaire by making an app? ›While the average app store developer might make under $10K a year from his or her apps, Joe Kaufman has managed to generate millions of downloads on iOS and Android of his hit Lost City and Secret of Grisly Manor apps, generating massive revenue and making him a self-made millionaire.
Can you develop an app with no money? ›If you're committed to build an app without money or experience, there's a lot you can do. Here's a step-by-step guide where you'll find all the necessary tools, resources, and tricks to bring your application to life.
Is making a social media app profitable? ›Ultimately, a social media app needs to be well-received by the users and has the potential to be profitable. This means that it's important to choose a business model that encourages long-term growth while keeping revenue in sight. Here are some popular business models commonly used in social media apps.
How much are legal fees for an app? ›However, the total cost can be as low as $5,000 or as high as $50,000. A legal app with a low number of features (also known as a "minimum viable product", or MVP) will be more affordable than an app that includes all intended functionality.
How much money do app owners make? ›Q. How much does Google Play Store pay per download of an Android app? A. Google takes 30% of the revenue made on the Android app and gives the rest 70% to the developers.
How much a 1 million downloads app can make? ›1,000,000*0.05 = $50,000 per day. That's sweet $1.5M per month. Do I get revenue for only the ads on my Android app that people actually click or do I get paid for every ad that appears inside my app? Is there any technique to bring 10k downloads on Android app or game?
How much money can you make off an app? ›
Let's understand this through the pattern of the current revenue potential of industry-leading apps. The apps that rank in the top 200 of the App Store generate about $82,500 in revenue per day. If you extend that bracket a bit and look at the revenues of the top 800 apps, the daily revenue will drop to about $3,500.
How much money do apps make per download? ›Interestingly, Android is the big winner on downloads for a given app but this is largely offset by substantially lower revenue, with the average app download bringing in around 2 cents to its developer; Apple fairs 5 times better, bringing in a dime for every one of the 40,000 potential app downloads a developer could ...
How do app owners make money? ›The app owner is paid according to the number of clicks that hits the ad or when the user completes the app installation via the advertisement. Subscriptions can be counted as the most useful and finest app monetization strategy.