How Much Does App Maintenance Cost In 2021

How Much Does App Maintenance Cost In 2021

Let’s talk numbers, shall we? What does app maintenance cost in the USA? Let’s start from the basics, if you are planning on getting your apps out there on any app store. It makes for better planning if you also ask: How much does it cost to develop an app? Creating a basic app could cost you (if we calculate at the rate of $50 an hour approximately): around $25,000.

Apps with medium complexity could be priced between $40,000 and $70,000, whilst complex apps usually go beyond $70,000.

Once you have that number down, we can go on to app maintenance. An app holder can expect to pay around $250 and $500 a month to initially keep their app in working order. So why do people willing to spend big bucks on app making and maintenance? The ROIs.

Google Apps: Publishing and Removals

Google Play Store has more than 2,700,000 apps available and over 3700 apps are added to Play Store every day: these numbers will only increase by the end of 2022. 

There are 2,156,187 rated apps and 8,58,200 apps without ratings on Play Store. Google’s enabling people to rate apps has helped users in choosing apps, and app makers to make changes if their apps are faring poorly. This also enables Google itself to achieve Play Store Optimization, which is the process of helping app developers in improving app ranking.

This explains why maintenance is just as important in the mobile app development lifecycle as development. With these figures in hand, it should clarify why a separate budget and a mobile app maintenance plan makes perfect business sense. 

Apps go all around the world today, and in many ways make the world go round too. By 2021, the expected number of smartphone users should grow to 3.8 billion, this further increases the ROI probabilities for app developers. 

The Dreadful “Uninstall”

Any seasoned developer can honestly say that despite the tremendous efforts the development process takes from strategizing at idea conception stage to deployment, and marketing, it does not end the process.

Viable apps needs regular maintenance, performance monitoring and regular upgrades. Imagine being at the nail-biting level of your favorite game or the jump scare scene of a long-awaited movie, and the screen blanks out. After you have finished rebooting and going backward and forward several times, now imagine your frustration if you’re still staring at a blank screen. If you had paid for the apps, you’d definitely want your money back. Plus I can only imagine your reviews. What would have saved the day? Excellent app maintenance services.

An engaging mobile app must have a seamless experience without any disruptions. Of course, maintenance leads to additional costs, but is often the deciding factor between your business going big or going bust. The flip side to this is not investing in mobile app maintenance, which could lead to app failure and uninstalls. You lose bigger.

Remember this: as soon as your app is visible on an App store, your need for mobile app maintenance has begun. Consider the numerous statistics available that show that while new mobile apps published in the store are on the rise, the obsolete apps removed are also high. Google removed nearly 700,000 obsolete apps in 2019. Compare that to data from June 2020 where 2.96 million apps were deployed. Which end of the spectrum would you like to belong to?

Importance of User Feedback

It’s as simple as this: those who do not invest in long-term maintenance help their apps become obsolete. Keeping mobile apps updated reduces uninstalls.

If you know what your users want (through their feedback), this can help you curate features to reflect their reviews. In 2017, over 20% of millennial smartphone users uninstalled apps simply because they didn’t like the appearance of the logos onscreen. Imagine that!

This unequivocally shows that users will discard without hesitation anything that’s not according to their expectation, and that they awareness of functionality and aesthetics should not be underestimated. That’s how important continual monitoring of user preferences and expectations is. Update your apps.

The app stores maintain strict quality guidelines, and if you don’t make the cut, they will reject your app listing. Therefore if you don’t consider updating your app with new features and APIs and consequentially find a dip in your app rankings, platforms may choose to clean you right out of their stores. You can gain better user experiences with consistent upgrading, and what does a great user experience do? It helps:

• User retention numbers
• Develop long-term relationships with users
• Increase customer loyalty 
• Get positive feedback and reviews

With such benefits, providing users with a smooth experience is a priority.

Which type of application has the highest maintenance costs?

There are maintenance cost differences between app types. A hybrid app means maintaining a single code, native apps require individual app development for each platform. 

Developing a native application (apps that are installed directly onto the device such as WhatsApp) is very expensive. While costs vary based on the application complexity, they could range from $50k – over $1,000,000, with an average cost of $271,000.

Hybrid apps are software applications that combine native apps and web application features. You can download them from an app store and install them on your device, but they can connect directly to their source through a browser embedded in the app, e.g. Facebook and Twitter. Their development costs range between $100,000 – $500,000, and small apps with fewer or more simplistic features could cost between $10,000 and $50,000.

Consequently, native app maintenance cost more. Now that you know how much it costs to run an app, it would help to get specific details for your own specific product.

At Appedology our relationship with you starts from the time you receive a free consultation and certainly does not end at app deployment. Our app maintenance services for iOS & Android are comprehensive and open to change based on your requirements. With well-defined features, we aim to provide superior user experiences and achieving your simplest to most complex requirements. We provide you the on-going customer care that ensures consistent service when you need it most.

We provide bug fixing, technical support, corrective maintenance, and app upgrades, etc., as well as scope based checks. We also conduct routine checks on features, functionality and appearance to help you retain customer satisfaction and engagement. Start your app success story now, give us a call.