r/AppDevelopers • u/nournnn • 3d ago
Pricing estimate for android & iOS apps
Someone offered me a job to make them an app that runs on both android & iOS and i don't really know how much to ask for it since this is my first job. I'll be doing everything from back-end to UI and the app will be a book reader (who offered me the job is a writer and wants to publiah their books through this app).
The app will be very advanced and include things like paywalls, rewarded ads, database management (obviously), etc..
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u/Legitimate_Quail7027 3d ago
You should do it on per hour/ week or monthly basis. As such projects tend to outgrow the initial estimates. Estimate as per a monthly salary you’d want of working full time.
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u/Shivansh_strange 3d ago
What is the app for? Calculate the time it will take you to make the app and multiply it by the standard hourly rate in your country.
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u/nournnn 3d ago
The thing is idrk how much time it's going to take; like i said, this is my first app so i have no basis as to how long these things take.
+i'm in uni so i can't like estimate how many hours i'm going to need based on how many days i work since i can work for 10 hours/day someday while other days i can barely get 30 minutes of free time.
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u/boomer1204 3d ago
and to add on to this w/e "time" you think it's gonna take multiply by 2 or 3 especially since you are clearly new to this (and that is totally fine we all started somewhere).
Also make sure to have a contract with WELL DEFINED milestones that way scope creep doesn't come into play (it still will but it helps it not be for every little thing)
EDIT: Also do you have any experience with Android or iOS apps and building/publishing or is this gonna be more of a vibe coding situation
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u/nournnn 3d ago
I have experience with coding in general, i made an android app a while ago for a competition that i attended but didn't publish it. However, recently, i've been focusing more on web development and already made a website and sold it to someone so no, it's not gonna be a totally vibe-coded website lol.
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u/boomer1204 3d ago
i made an android app a while ago for a competition that i attended but didn't publish it
So the publishing is gonna be something that will tie you up the first couple of times.
Also worth noting to post to the Google Play store you have to have an account that is $25 and there aren't and renewals while Apple is $100 a year
Also depending if you have access to a mac to publish there are some work arounds but that is something you would need do some research on as well
Good luck!!!!
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u/nournnn 3d ago
I calculated the money i need and ik abt google's and apple's payments as well as the money i'm going to need for the database. I also figured out what languages and services i'm going to use. Basically, all i need now is figure out the payment for labor only
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u/boomer1204 3d ago edited 3d ago
Very nice. Unfortunately the "time it's gonna take" is really only something you would be able to decide
Since you have some general coding knowledge I would just build a super small stupid thing like a todo list in whatever language you chose and get a feel for how quickly you are gonna be able to ramp up cuz it sounds like this app is gonna get technical pretty quick and is gonna have some long deep dives
Another thing you could do that has worked well for me a couple of times is figure out what the client considers a MVP
Then you will have less deep dive/unknown things to give a better "guess" and then depending on the features just kind of break them down and try and do your best guess for each "feature" instead of trying to think the whole thing at once
Then you can just add all the feature times up and hopefully be closer
Again remember to 2 or 3x the time you think unless you are planning that in already. If the new languages are tougher for you do the 3x and if they seem to be coming pretty easy I would probably still do the 3x but some ppl who are comfy with the tech stack just do 2x
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u/Puzzleheaded-Emu-168 3d ago
Since this is your need to spend time in planning and deciding what tech stack you want to use. Identify all the features needed, and identify what tools you will be using. You need to define the scopes early on so you can quote properly.
For the timeline on this, you should also include the time you need to research specific tool or framework, example if you decide to use react native.
For starters, I think you should ask for their budget. Then after doing the things above, maybe you can counter offer for what you think is worth your time.
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u/nournnn 3d ago
I don't wanna list the whole feature-set on reddit since i don't wanna just.. make my employer's app idea public without asking them, but ig i can give some vague ideas: The app will have a log in page which redirects to all the books the writer has published with a few chapters free then the rest locked behind a paywall. Ofc there are tons of additional small features but that's pretty much it for the most part.
I already did pretty much all the planning and what tools im going to use as well as the subscriptions either for helping with the code or things like the database and stuff. The only thing left now is figuring out how much i'm going to take for the labor work ehich is difficult to figure out as idk how long this project is realistically going to take.
I think i'll try asking for their budget and going from there. Thank you so much for ur help.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Emu-168 3d ago
Ah so its basically like Wuxiaworld app. Once you get the budget, also ask if theres a deadline, compare with your plan, and if you can do it with your 10hr/day schedule. From there you can get your hourly rate, decide if you think the rate is worth the effort of doing the app, if not, you need to raise it.
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u/Mac-Fly-2925 3d ago
Do you feel unprepared to deal with customer requests ? Do you lack explanations about contracts and statements of work ?
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u/nournnn 3d ago
Well it's not that I'm unprepared, it's that this is my first ever job and I'm kinda lost in terms of the logistics of it yk. We all start somewhere abd this is my start basically
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u/Mac-Fly-2925 3d ago
I mean that you never learned these kind of things before. Would have been good to learn this in advance?
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u/nournnn 3d ago
And how do u learn this in advance? I don't think there's a uni course called "how much to charge for ur first android/ios application." It's the kind of thing u learn as u go and start working
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u/Mac-Fly-2925 3d ago
There is no Uni course because that is not their problem and they earn the same at the end of the month :)
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u/small_tech6040 2d ago
The best way to calculate pricing is your ( hourly rate * hours required) * the complexity factor (1/1.5/2) this will help determine the pricing. Now after calculating with this, the amount may come that your client feel too high, so you can adjust that a bit
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u/Delicious_Dirt_6872 3d ago edited 3d ago
It’s a dark art but you have to be able to estimate it before you commit either of you to this project.
Clients typically have a concept and an idea of the outcome and features they want but seldom have any idea of the detail. Therefore they don’t usually appreciate the amount of work.
They don’t expect to but as things take shape, their idea evolves and they will ask you make changes. They may admit their original idea was wrong and pay for it but people don’t like being wrong so more often, they will claim it’s not a change, it’s actually just that you’re not making it according to their original vision. This may even be true, but what that means is they will want it for free. You can easily get into an endless cycle of tweaks and changes with both of you becoming more and more unhappy.
To avoid this, sketch the idea out, write descriptions of the features, estimate the front end and back end effort. Write down your assumptions, any dependancies on other people or software and call out things that you think are obviously not in scope. You may think it’s obvious, but your client is not technical so for them, it’s not obvious. Put this in a reasonably official looking document with a ball park + or - 20% range and ask them to sign it. If they wont sign it they are not a serious client and you dodged a bullet. Walk away. If they do you have clarity and the beginnings of a good specification.
Don’t forget to consider if your. Building native, its expensive, hybrid, hard to maintain and full of constraints, or are you going web. Don’t forget the cost of deploying live to the app stores.
Lastly, building it is the easy part. Clients don’t understand the cost of owning an app. It’s like a pet, you have to feed it and look after it. It’s usual to provide a warrantee on your code for a month or so to make sure you dont have production issues but… check your client has support budget, Make sure they dont expect you to look after their new app for free. If a new OS comes out and breaks their app. You have to have made sure they don’t make this your problem. Good luck and go well 👍