Six Hidden Costs When Developing A Mobile App

If you invest in the mobile application development process, you must be aware of your expenses. Some costs are often not thought of or even discussed during the idea stage, so knowledge of hidden fees helps you avoid possible financial disruption later in your development process. Here are six hidden essential cost expenditures to know.

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1. Cross-platform Development Costs

It’s often assumed that one mobile app works across different platforms. However, if you want cross-platform native applications, you need a separate application for iOS and Android operating systems. And if you want those applications to work on tablets, there are additional costs because more development work is needed. There are options to build hybrid apps that work across platforms, but even creating hybrid cross-platform apps isn’t a single development project. 

2. App Store Requirements
When it comes to the app store, it’s not the store fees that can be expensive. You have to play by their rules in each store. The requirements can change with updates to the app store, and your mobile app must be updated to comply.

3. Maintenance

All mobile or web apps need regular updates, maintenance, and technical support. At FocustApps, our developers keep up with iOS and Android operating system updates, so we constantly work on the current systems when your app launches. However, after your app is live, keeping it updated requires more investment.

4. App security

App security should be a significant concern primarily because users need to trust your app with their information. Investing in a proper security plan for your mobile app is critical. It should include ensuring third-party frameworks and libraries check their security, testing code for vulnerabilities as much as possible, and reducing the number of access permissions in the app. 

5. Data storage and processing

When your app is finished, you need a place to store and process all the data, including photos, videos, locations, etc. And as your app grows, you can experience an increase in costs. Plus, storage fees are not the only expense because you might need to pay for different data manipulations such as requests, storage management, and data transfers.

6. Software licenses

To save time, it’s common to utilize paid solutions for different SDKs and libraries. While some of these are free, they can be limiting and require payment for upgrades. Paying for a software license can decrease the cost of development time; however, it is a trade-off that requires consultation with your development team. 

Ultimately, you don’t want your app to cost more and more as it grows, so at FocustApps, we help our clients consider the hidden costs of mobile app development so they can budget accordingly. Contact Becky Faith at 502.465.5104 to learn more about our solutions.

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