How much does it cost to develop a mobile app?

This question is all over the web. The answer? Maybe a little, maybe a lot, maybe an awful lot.

The consensus seems to be that using traditional development methods, if you budget anything less than $20K – $50K for a reasonably sophisticated app (database integration, use of phone features, etc.), then you are probably deceiving yourself. (That estimate would probably just cover one mobile platform…each one is different).

At DragonRAD we are bringing that cost down. Not down by a bit, but down by a lot. Database integration out of the box, multi-platform deployment, simple development environment…

Here are some resources you might wish to look at regarding development costs:

Neil Strother, Practice Director, Mobile Marketing Strategies and Mobile Services at ABI Research: “Current pricing for a mobile app ranges from $20,000 for a very basic application on up to $150,000 or more for a sophisticated one.” (Is an iPhone App Right for You?)

Nazmul Idris, President of mobile development company ScreamingToaster: How much should Android, BlackBerry, iPhone app development cost? Nazmul provides pretty detailed estimates drawn from his experience ranging from $10K to $200K on three different platforms.

A fascinating thread on stackoverflow in which real developers reveal the real cost of developing mobile apps (including a developer who worked on the “Obama App” and estimates the development cost at $50K – $150K, and a Twitterific developer who estimates their development cost at $200K).

Another interesting bit of information: The above estimates are probably from experienced mobile developers. According to a VisionMobile research report it takes from 5 months (Android) to 15 months (Symbian) to master a mobile platform!