How Much Does It Cost To Build An MVP? Know Everything

April 16, 2021

Reading time about 6 minutes

Having an app idea is not enough to make your business succeed in this competitive world of today. For the best possible results, your budget and MVP should be planned much ahead of time. The study says more than 90% of mobile apps are abandoned after a single-use. After spending a huge amount of time and effort on mobile app development, you wouldn’t want your business to go through app failure especially for startups. To prevent such scenarios, it is always advisable to go for MVP (Minimum Viable Product), which will help you find the scope of the product in the market. If you are planning to make an app for your startup, building an MVP can be very effective to test the feasibility and scope.

Before you hire expert app developers of the leading Android or iOS app development company, let’s find out everything you need to know about MVP, why it is important and how much does it cost to build it.

Why Your Business must go for MVP?

Starting with an MVP is a wise choice if you are planning to build the next big thing for your business. Working as the initial product version, MVP is cheaper to build as compared to a fully-finished product. Some of the major advantages of building an MVP are lower development cost, lesser business risks, genuine feedback from real users & more.

If you are not convinced yet, here are some of the top factors that show why MVP is important before you make your startup-

– COVID 19 Pandemic

With many countries employing lockdown restrictions, people have lots of free time to spare. Go for app ideas like contactless delivery, addictive games, etc., and test your idea with MVP to ensure success.

– More Profit in Future

MVP reduces the chance of startup failures as it gives an idea about the scope of the app saving money & effort, which would not be possible if you released the complete app.

– Meet User Expectations

Building MVP can help you get genuine feedbacks from users by giving them the chance to work with the initial product version. This will help in building a user-focused app that meets their expectations.

– Know about the Market

Building a product that is fit for the market requires a good analysis of the market demands & that is where MVP helps. Not knowing enough about the market is one of the top reasons that lead to startups’ failure.

What is the Cost to Build an MVP?

Though it is not possible to find out the exact cost of MVP, this section will help you in getting a brief idea of the factors that impact the cost.

– Developers You Choose to Work with

Whether you hire freelancers, manage a development team, or hire a software development company, you need an investment of time as well as money. Depending on the option you choose, an average freelancer may charge from $4k to $15k for an app prototype. On the other hand, if you hire a company, the cost may range from $20k to $30k. The estimates of MVP are based on the developer’s hourly rate, which can differ from one location to other.

– Design & Functionality

Another factor that plays a main role in MVP development is design and functionality. As cost depends on the design complexity, the best way is to estimate the user interface (UI). Keeping UI simple & easy to understand ensures an engaging User Experience (UX). Some questions that you must ask yourself first are if it will help in keeping users engaged, the navigation is smooth or the design is eye-catching. Remember for every customization in gestures, buttons, and transitions, the cost will be more.

– Technical Complexity

This part plays a main role in estimating the cost of MVP as well as the app. Depending on the complexity of the app types, the basic type with limited features is often less complex, making it easier to build and consume lesser development time costing around $10k only. The app with average complexity having features like data storage, geolocation, in-app purchases, etc. will cost higher ranging from $10k to $50k. The last type is the one with high complexity such as booking app, on-demand delivery, enterprise-level app, etc., which cost the highest and may reach up to $100k.

– Business Idea Validation

The main part of MVP development involves idea validation, which helps in finding out if the app is needed by the market and if customers are ready to pay for it. This step is very important if you are a startup, as it can help in reducing the cost of the app development process. If your app idea doesn’t show any potential after building MVP, you will be saved from losing your time as well as money. Some great examples who started with idea validation are MailChimp & Airbnb. Another important aspect is the discovery phase where you get insights about competitors, market, target audience, etc., which helps in planning ahead of the investment.

As we know, MVP development plays an important role for your startup in lowering the business risk and providing many other benefits. Some great startups that rely on MVP for their success are Twitter, Instagram, Uber, Amazon, Dropbox, and many more. Whether you wish to develop an MVP or an app, you can make use of a smart app cost calculator that helps in giving you a quick estimate just by answering a few questions.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, you must have got an idea of how important it is to build MVP for startups. If your business goal is to build a successful product that performs well in the real market, MVP is necessary as it enables founders to raise funds helping your app to grow for the target market. Ensure that you go through the points stated above before building an MVP for your product. For any doubts regarding MVP and to know how much to make an app cost, get in touch with our app developers today. Being a leading iOS and Android App Development Company, we can help you discover a lot through MVP development with the help of working product keeping time and cost in mind.