The Cost of Developing a Web Application

In the digital age, creating an engaging web application is crucial for growing your business. If your company is at the stage of expanding to new markets by building an online presence, a reasonable question is “How much does it cost to build a web app?” As a provider of web development teams in Eastern Europe and LATAM, we can say that the main factor behind its cost is the app’s complexity. With that in mind, in this post, we will take a close look at the web apps’ anatomy, from simple to complex, in order to define the cost of developing a web application. Let’s begin!

How much does it cost to build a web application?

As we mentioned above, the cost of developing a web application is different for simple and intricate products. In other words, the cost of building a simple e-commerce store will be lower than that of a complex enterprise ERP system with numerous functions and multiple integrations. The time-to-build and number of resources it requires may differ by a large margin for both cases. Here’s a detailed breakdown to define the complexity of the web app:

Web applications with minimum functionalities fall under the category of simple web apps;
Web applications with extended functionality are known as mid-level apps;
Complex web apps tend to have multiple functions, interactive content, and advanced features, for instance, Machine learning or robust analytics.

The cost of developing a web application: Simple apps

Creating a simple web application is an excellent way to validate a business idea, that’s why apps of this caliber are popular among startups as a part of the MVP strategy. A simple web application can be executed with minimal resources and over a short SDLC. They typically have several info pages, a handful of basic functions, simple UX/UI elements and often rely on ready-made templates. Some examples of simple web apps are portfolios, online catalogs, and basic online stores.

How much does it cost to build a simple app? According to various sources, the cost varies between $3,000 – $15,000.

Time-to-build: 1-3 months

Key features:

Landing pages
Static content
Database

The cost of developing a web application: Mid-level web apps

“Medium” web apps include more features and boast custom, more intricate design elements than their simple counterparts. Some examples of such apps are e-commerce apps, custom web apps for business, web portals, and online games.

How much does it cost to build a mid-level app? According to various sources, the price range for this type of app falls between $15,000 – $60,000

Time-to-build: 2-6 months

Key features:

Landing pages
Admin panel
User accounts
Third-party integrations
Online payment options
Database integration
Enhanced security

The cost of developing a web application: Complex apps

Complex apps are large-scale products that have extended functionality, the ability to deal with heavy traffic, exclusive CMS, intricate design, and more. Web apps of this breed are usually built-to-order. Some examples include ERP platforms, Human Resources management systems, client management systems, automated billing systems, e-commerce stores, and social media apps.

How much does it cost to build a complex app? According to various sources, the price is in the range of $60,000 – $250,000+

Time-to-build: 6+ months

Key features:

Dynamic content
Multiple types of user accounts
Third-party integrations
Online payment options
High traffic
Huge database integration
Custom features
Detailed analytics
Enhanced security
ML/AI capabilities
3D Animation

	Simple	Mid-level	Complex
Landing pages	+	+	+
Database	+	+	+
In-app purchasing	–	+	+
Registration/Log in	–	+	+
User account administration	–	+	+
Third-party integrations	–	+	+
High web traffic	–	–	+
In-depth analytics	–	–	+
AI/ML capabilities	–	–	+
3D content	–	–	+
Enhanced security	–	+	+
	$3,000 – $15,000	$15,000 – $60,000	$60,000 – $250,000+

Overview: How much does it cost to build a web app?

How to reduce the cost of developing a web application

The problem of cutting back on the cost of developing a web application is as important as the question of “How much does it cost to build a web app?” As a company that builds web development teams, we want to share some tips you may find useful when looking for ways of keeping costs at bay.

Have a clear understanding of the product from the start. The first step in creating a web application should be outlining a vision of the product you want to build – its value for your business and the functionality to drive that value. It should be reflected in a project scope and tech requirements documentation your team will use throughout SDLC. Without taking your time to plan everything thoroughly, you risk facing additional expenses amid SDLC. Thus, it’s key to document all the requirements and plan the SDLC before launching software development.

Consider the Agile approach. Agile lets you plan the SDLC effectively, which minimizes the risk of going over your planned costs for web application development. Thanks to Agile, you can define the functions you need to develop first, as you’re blazing the path to the first version of your web application. Within this approach, you can divide the process into sprints (short cycles of development), which are the foundation for this flexible approach. The sprints approach takes into account your business goals, budget and deadlines, and priorities and ensures you don’t waste time and resources redoing the work.

Use offshore/nearshore teams. Your staffing choices play a great role in determining the final cost of web app development. In most cases, hiring developers in-house will be more expensive than building the team using external providers. There are several reasons for this:

In-house staff means expenses on recruitment, workspaces, and IT equipment as well as covering employee bonuses, sick leaves, vacations, and so on.
Building an in-house team limits your pool of specialists to those who are located nearby, which means you need to offer salaries that are competitive in your region.

Offshore and Nearshore staffing models both are budget-friendly alternatives to in-house teams.

Nearshore partners will help you build a team in a similar time zone. For example, we at nCube help companies source web development talent from LATAM (for North American companies) and Eastern Europe (for UK and Western European businesses).

The offshoring approach is a way to build a team on another continent and access the benefit of greater cost savings. nCube sees Eastern Europe as the optimum offshore destination for US-based companies thanks to reasonable business hours overlap, a vast pool of tech talent, and the confident English of local web app developers.

When it comes to the cost of building a web application, firms can typically save from 40% to 70% of overall costs by partnering with providers of nearshore or offshore software development providers according to Accelerance. As such, we believe that it’s a good idea to consider a nearshore/offshore team when you are mulling over the question of “How much does it cost to build a web app?.”

Narrow down your web app’s functionality. If you want to lower the cost of web application development significantly, you should define which features of your app are must-haves and which ones can be put on the back burner. How to do that? The method of user stories is proven to be most effective for a better understanding of what functionality is likely to be required. For example, if you build a delivery web application, your users probably need to log in to your app to place an order, be able to track the status of the order, and contact support. The bottom line is that all functionality you plan to implement should be dedicated to the user’s goals.

Optimize the structure of the team. Creating a web application often requires an extensive team that may potentially include the following roles:

Business Analyst
Project Manager/Product owner
Front-end developer(s)
Backend developer(s)
Quality Assurance expert(s)
UX/UI designer(s)
DevOps engineer(s)

Nearshoring and offshoring approaches are both excellent ways to add skills you may lack locally and involve affordable resources from the world’s most skilled tech hubs. If you select nCube as your provider of tech talent, you can create a hybrid team that will unite your in-house developers with remote web development talent in a seamless way. The remote developers we provide will be seamlessly integrated into your processes and work under your leadership as if they were a part of your local team.

MARYNA DEMCHENKO