Cost of Developing an App Across All Platforms

[Esquire]

I have a stand-alone App in mind ... I'd like to develop in 2015.

Nothing too complex ... quite basic actually ... but I think it has significant potential.

I've never developed an App before ... so here is what I am trying to figure out:

Apple ... Android ... Windows ... and (maybe) Blackberry ... three (or four) distinct operating systems.

Suppose then (for purposes of this example) it costs me $10,000.00 to develop the first App ... and now I want to replicate the App ... so that it can be used on the other platforms.

What do you think the relative cost might be to do this ...?

Am I literally starting from scratch each time ...?

Should I expect the cost of replicating the app on a second platform to be significantly less than what it cost to develop the first app ...?

And (on a side note) ... supposing I had to pick one platform to start with ... Apple or Android ... which platform would you likely advise me to start with ... and why ...?

 

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[BigBrianC]

There are different multiple platform tools you can use, depending on your needs. If you don't need to access native functions, you can use stuff like PhoneGap, HTML5, etc. If you do, the best way to develop cross-platform is Xamarin Studios. If you've got a huge budget, Xamarin is easily the best way to go. It'd help if you gave us a bit more info on the app, otherwise that's all I got.


If you can't use the multi-platform tools, develop for iOS first if you have a Mac. More people pay on iOS and more people in the U.S. use it (though numbers are dwindling). If you're targeting other countries more than US, use Android.

 

[ilrein]

Hello.

I figure you'll be outsourcing your development needs then.

There exists some tools that make cross-compilation relatively easy, but you'll still be hard-pressed to find a reliable, cost-effective developer who can use this technology confidently. The first, and most popular is PhoneGap. Since it's the most popular, you should have the easiest search for competent developer (easiest being a relative term here).

Second, in popularity, is Titanium Appcelerator. You'll get better performance with an app that uses this technology, because it actually compiles to the native language of whichever platforms you desire. But it's less popular, compared to PhoneGap, which relies on creating a wrapper that manipulates web based code (HTML/CSS/JS) into a WebView. These Webviews have no performance loss on the iOS, but I've heard that there is some issues with it's implementations on Android devices (mainly some small buffer lag). This may or may have not been resolved, I haven't researched it, as I'm not working in this space right now.

Finally, you have the last option of working with developers who actually will write the code natively, which means Swift and/or Objective-C for iOS, and Java for Android. You'll get the best performance, but of course, none of your applications built this way will be cross platform.

Which, truthfully, isn't a bad thing. You're better off starting small and justifying continued time/money into a project. I'd suggest go for iOS development, as Apple only releases a few screensizes, and has a huge market share, so there's a certain benchmark of consistency developers can shoot for.

Good luck!

 

[Esquire]

There are different multiple platform tools you can use, depending on your needs. If you don't need to access native functions, you can use stuff like PhoneGap, HTML5, etc. If you do, the best way to develop cross-platform is Xamarin Studios. If you've got a huge budget, Xamarin is easily the best way to go. It'd help if you gave us a bit more info on the app, otherwise that's all I got.


If you can't use the multi-platform tools, develop for iOS first if you have a Mac. More people pay on iOS and more people in the U.S. use it (though numbers are dwindling). If you're targeting other countries more than US, use Android.

Well ... I guess it depends on what you consider to be a "huge budget." I checked out Xamarin's website. The business plan only costs $999.00 a year ... which is entirely doable if that is what we're talking about here. Is that what you were referring to ...?

Why do you think Xamarin is better than PhoneGap and Appcelerator ...?

I am completely unfamiliar with these programs so it would be helpful to know why you think Xamarin is the better way to go ...?

 

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[BigBrianC]

Yes, that's what I'm talking about. Xamarin uses C# to basically wrap native code. So you won't see any kind of performance hit and you can access native functions of each platform with Xamarin as well. And Xamarin apps don't require a connection to the internet (PhoneGap does, and of course if your app relies on the internet this is moot). I worked with Xamarin all summer long and it was a joy to work with, though if you're outsourcing it may not matter too much other than having better written code&having it done faster.

Take a look at this link as well:
http://forums.xamarin.com/discussion/10932/advantages-of-xamarin-comprehensive-list-anybody

 

[Esquire]

Hello.

I figure you'll be outsourcing your development needs then.

There exists some tools that make cross-compilation relatively easy, but you'll still be hard-pressed to find a reliable, cost-effective developer who can use this technology confidently. The first, and most popular is PhoneGap. Since it's the most popular, you should have the easiest search for competent developer (easiest being a relative term here).

Second, in popularity, is Titanium Appcelerator. You'll get better performance with an app that uses this technology, because it actually compiles to the native language of whichever platforms you desire. But it's less popular, compared to PhoneGap, which relies on creating a wrapper that manipulates web based code (HTML/CSS/JS) into a WebView. These Webviews have no performance loss on the iOS, but I've heard that there is some issues with it's implementations on Android devices (mainly some small buffer lag). This may or may have not been resolved, I haven't researched it, as I'm not working in this space right now.

Finally, you have the last option of working with developers who actually will write the code natively, which means Swift and/or Objective-C for iOS, and Java for Android. You'll get the best performance, but of course, none of your applications built this way will be cross platform.

Which, truthfully, isn't a bad thing. You're better off starting small and justifying continued time/money into a project. I'd suggest go for iOS development, as Apple only releases a few screensizes, and has a huge market share, so there's a certain benchmark of consistency developers can shoot for.

Good luck!

Yes ... I will absolutely be outsourcing this project out. I don't know the first thing about coding beyond some very (very) basic HTML.

As far as the concept itself goes ... I want to keep quiet about that (for obvious reasons).

But what I have in mind ... is something very simple. Just a couple basic features.

I would (however) like to have a free and paid version.

But you know ... one of the things I was thinking about ... as far as the paid version goes ... is continuity.

Rather than sell it once for a single flat fee ... I'd like to give users the option to activate the APP for a set time.

Sort of like what a lot of dating sites do.

Give users a choice between a highly restricted free membership ... or allow them to upgrade to a paid version on a month-to-month or year-to-year continuity plan.

Odd thing is ... I rarely see stand-alone Apps with continuity. It's almost always one and done.

And thoughts as to why this is ...?

 

[BigBrianC]

Most apps like that are free and then handle monthly subscriptions inside of the app. App Stores take a % (iOS more than Google Play) of sales, so if you're having monthly subscriptions, make the app free and then handle payments with PayPal, to avoid the platform taking a % (PayPal's % cut is much less than that, especially for iOS)

 

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[Esquire]

Most apps like that are free and then handle monthly subscriptions inside of the app. App Stores take a % (iOS more than Google Play) of sales, so if you're having monthly subscriptions, make the app free and then handle payments with PayPal, to avoid the platform taking a % (PayPal's % cut is much less than that, especially for iOS)

I suppose that is an idea ... BUT ... if Apple is not making any money off of it ... doesn't that significantly lessen the likelihood that Apple will promote it ...?

I'm thinking that the more money Apple makes off the product ... the more likely it is the Apple will push it to the front of the search results list.

Sure ... it might cost more than Paypal ... but I am not getting any (marketing) benefit from Paypal.

Might not it be worth it to pay Apple the difference ...?

What do you think?

 

[BigBrianC]

Downloads, Downloads, Downloads. That's how you promote it. Apple may not push it on their "Featured", but one swipe over to the "Top 100" and if you have 10M downloads, you'll be there.

 

[GuestUser113]

http://www.codenutz.com/ultimate-cross-platform-mobile-development-guide-part-1/

http://www.codenutz.com/ultimate-cross-platform-mobile-development-guide-part-2/

 

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[johnp]

Second, in popularity, is Titanium Appcelerator. You'll get better performance with an app that uses this technology, because it actually compiles to the native language of whichever platforms you desire.

I heard bad things about using Appcelerator. I did a lot of research on using it for cross-platform development but it seemed like there were more bad points than good. Have things improved with them?

I've never developed an App before ... so here is what I am trying to figure out:

Apple ... Android ... Windows ... and (maybe) Blackberry ... three (or four) distinct operating systems.

I have never developed for Windows and Blackberry. But I do develop for both iPhone and Android.

There is always going to be some problems with cross-platform development. It hasn't been perfectly figured out yet, but there are people working on it.

It really helps to buy a template if one exists for what you want to do. A template can cost between $40-$200. You can then build the template out, connect a backend, and edit the designs. So right there you will save thousands of dollars in design costs. You can then use that money to focus more on native development within each platform.

For the backend (if you plan to have one), I would suggest using Parse.com. This will allow you to build a backend to both the iPhone and Android platforms very cheap and fast. Parse is free up to x number of requests per month. I have clients who will never have to pay for their backend because the free account is so good. The downside to parse is that you don't control everything with the server, so if the app takes off then it might be a good idea to invest into your own backend in the future.

When I build apps I always start with the iPhone. I build out the entire app and submit it to the app store. Then I pay an Android developer about $200 to clone the iPhone app for the Android platform.

All said and done the total cost is always less than 1k for a good app.

 

[Jamesdoesmith]

What if the actual act of coding is not an option for you and outsourcing is your only plan of action. Who do you guy recommend? what about non disclosure? I would hate to pitch a raw,gross, unrefined idea to a bunch of programmers then wham see a shiny refined app on the market in a week with you being a friendly idea charity case.

 

[Ninjakid]

If you want a good app, I wouldn't recommend doing it cross-platform.

The problem with cross-platform apps is that they won't run as smoothly or as fast as an app built specifically for a platform.

An app built in the native language of its platform, and that's tailored to make use of all that platform's features compared to a cross-platform app is like comparing a Mercedes Benz to a Pinto.

Of course, building a cross-platform app may be easier, but the end result won't be as pretty. The vast majority of apps out there are badly programmed IMO, and that's why they aren't as successful as the apps that are really well-done.

So I definitely recommend having the app rebuilt for each platform. I say rebuilt, as opposed to cloned. I find when apps are cloned, they never take full advantage of the features of the platform that they're cloned to.

You'll probably have to sniff out a developer who specializes in each platform, and give them the app design individually. This will probably be expensive, but you will get the best end product this way.

 

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[BigBrianC]

Sorry, but the above is wrong. Do research, Xamarin allows both native features and such a slight performance boost the only thing it will matter is for 3D games, and those shouldn't be coded wtih Xamarin anyway.

 

[Ninjakid]

Sorry, but the above is wrong. Do research, Xamarin allows both native features and such a slight performance boost the only thing it will matter is for 3D games, and those shouldn't be coded wtih Xamarin anyway.

I know. I'm not dissing Xamarin, and I think it's an excellent company. That said, an app built from scratch for its platform will perform better, and I'll tell you why:

• Xamarin apps have an existing overhead; so automatically they're larger than they need to be and take up unnecessary storage space. They may run slower, and on older versions of the platform, they're more likely to crash.
• Because it's like building an app on top of another app, there's a higher chance of running into bugs
• UI between iOS and Android is significantly different, and while you can make apps that work for both, it doesn't take advantage of the individually unique UIs. The experience for the user won't be as smooth; and users can tell the difference.

I think Xamarin is great for people who quickly want an app to compliment a variety of platforms. Some developers may argue that the simplicity of Xamarin is worth the end product, but I think the end-product of a purely native app is superior.

 

[BigBrianC]

They do have more storage space, but it's not that big of a deal. Really.

A higher chance of running into bugs....that one does not make any sense. Programming in Xamarin is just like programming in both different platforms.

Sure both UIs are different, and if you require different UIs, you don't have to use Xamarin.Forms.

I'm sorry, but it does not make sense to pay double and take twice the time to make an app.


Source: Developing with Xamarin.

 

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[Vigilante]

$4k to do it cheap. $10k to do it right.

 

[johnp]

Actually....

It all depends on what you are doing. Nobody has even stopped to ask you what type of functionality you need.

If you are building a simple 4-5 page app for a law firm then it's easy..can be done for less than $1,500 even with some cool features. You can probably even use a cross-platform development tool.

If you're building a social app, game, store or something else that's more complex then it will cost a lot more.

 

[James Fake]

Problems aren't a problem until it's a problem...

You'll never launch anything if you keep thinking like this. Just get this thing built (1 platform - iOS), something that works, see if folks will actually use it before you start thinking about things that build monuments of nothingness right now.

I suggest reading ReWork.. it's a quick read but it'll put you in the correct mindset to develop software.

 

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[luniac]

I use Unity3D, made android app, ported it to iOS in 1 day. Just had to play around with texture compression differences, everything else exactly the same. It build the xcode project for iphone, .apk file for android. Its a beautiful world.