Guide for Calculating and Planning App Maintenance Expenses
Launching an application in the app stores comes with a significant challenge - combatting complacency. This online apathy can stifle growth and momentum, leading to the downfall of the app if not addressed promptly.
Once released, it's crucial to actively ward off cybersecurity threats and deter issues like a decline in app performance to retain users effectively. Failure to do so could result in the app's ultimate demise.
But how much does it cost to sustain an app for long-term success? Delve into the approximate expenses associated with mobile app maintenance. This information also covers factors influencing costs and tips for efficient management.
Investing in Mobile App Maintenance
During the app development process, maintenance follows design, development, and launch stages and typically incurs expenses equivalent to around 20% of the initial development costs.
Below, find a table that provides a clearer understanding of the investment needed for basic mobile app maintenance:
| App Type | Development Cost | Maintenance Cost ||-------------|----------------------|---------------------|| Basic app | $30,000 - $60,000 | $6,000 - $12,000 || Simple app | $60,000 - $300,000 | $12,000 - $60,000 || Complex app | $300,000 | $60,000 |
Assuming the goal is to maintain a basic application, plan to invest anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000 annually, or approximately $500 to $1,000 per month.
However, these figures only account for basic maintenance expenses. Prepare for recurring fees:
| Type of App Maintenance Expense | Cost ||--------------------------------------|----------------------------|| Servers | $5 to $500 per month || Push notifications | $17 to $75 per month || Payment gateways | $15 to $149 plus transaction fees || Emergency maintenance | Fees depend on emergency || App stores developer fee | $25 (one-time fee - Google Play), $99 to $299 (annual fee - Apple App Store) |
In addition, consider the following items when calculating your app maintenance budget:
- Bug fixing and updates: Regular updates are essential for fixing bugs and enhancing the user experience, with costs varying based on the size and complexity of updates.
- Customer support: Investing in customer service staff is vital for addressing user complaints and maintaining positive reviews. The cost increases as the number of features and complexity grows. Learn more about minimizing features without sacrificing quality as well as affordable alternatives to human customer service agents in later sections.
- Hosting: Choosing the right server for your app and calculating associated hosting costs depends on factors such as the type of data your app manages, whether text-based or multimedia. More extensive data requires more server resources, leading to higher expenses. Options for hosting include cloud services like AWS.
- Mobile analytics tools: Applications like Google Analytics are essential for monitoring and analyzing bugs and glitches. While some mobile analytics tools are free, others may demand fees. Select tools that best suit your requirements, balancing both financial and time costs.
- Third-party technology: Using licensed technology incurs recurring costs. Consider these fees when calculating maintenance costs. These costs depend on the third-party services your app incorporates (e.g., geolocation, smart chatbots, content sharing, music management, cloud translation).
Cost Management Strategies
When addressing app maintenance expenses, several factors play a notable role in the overall cost:
1. App size and complexity
A small, simple app is comparatively inexpensive to maintain. However, a complex application, with multiple features and intricate user interface, tends to be pricier to maintain for optimal functionality. But, maintaining a minimalistic app may not offer a competitive edge in the highly competitive app market. To learn more about finding a balance between simplicity and innovation, read our article on developing an app idea.
2. User volume
Increased user numbers require more maintenance, as there is more data to process, customer queries to answer, and potential bugs to address.
3. Update frequency
Updating the app is necessary for maintaining functionality and user appeal. However, updating too frequently could consume resources and increase the number of bugs, adding to the cost. Striking a balance between frequent updates and avoiding unnecessary changes can help manage costs.
4. Cross-platform compatibility
A cross-platform app, compatible with both Android and iOS systems, is typically less expensive to maintain compared to a native app.
Tips for Effective App Maintenance Management
1. Outsource app development projects
While it's possible to develop and maintain an app internally, partnering with an app agency offers several benefits, such as app design, development, and maintenance services. Our experts at Appetiser Apps are available for free consultations to optimize your budget and learn more about our services.
2. Identify hidden costs
When managing app development and maintenance independently, be aware of expenses not explicitly shown on the surface, such as administrative services, infrastructure services, and IT support.
3. Develop a minimum viable product (MVP)
Not every planned app feature is necessary from the outset. Developing too many unnecessary features can waste resources, leading to wasted investments in a lackluster app market. The MVP concept focuses on delivering a basic application and building upon it as user feedback and market demand warrant.
4. Implement the Agile app development methodology
Agile development is a strategy that delivers software in short phases, or sprints, each connected by feedback loops. Providing opportunities for user feedback throughout the production process can potentially lessen the requirement for significant updates down the road. By focusing less on documentation and more on feedback, Agile development can potentially lead to cost savings.
5. Precisely define app goals and platform selection
Clear identification of an app's goals can help determine the most cost-effective platform for development and maintenance. Cross-platform apps offer an attractive cost-benefit, as they only require maintaining a single digital product for multiple operating systems. However, native apps can provide better performance and revenue for specific use cases. Choosing the right monetization model and assessing resource utilization play a crucial role in platform selection.
6. Invest in customer experience automation (CXA)
For apps with a large user base or high-traffic volume, investing in CXA could help manage costs by automating routine tasks such as addressing customer inquiries and resolving issues. The web app Amazed utilizes a chatbot system for 24/7 customer support, improving efficiency and reducing the need for human customer service agents.
In conclusion, managing mobile app maintenance costs effectively is vital to an app's longevity and success. A proactive, strategic approach can ensure your app remains functional, secure, and user-friendly, while also keeping costs under control.
Get the latest industry news first.
1.The agile development methodology can help manage costs by focusing less on documentation and more on user feedback, potentially leading to fewer significant updates down the road.2. App monetization plays a crucial role in platform selection as investing in customer experience automation (CXA) can help manage costs for apps with a large user base or high-traffic volume.3. To maintain a complex application optimally, it might incur approximately 20% of the initial development costs annually for app maintenance, as maintenance follows design, development, and launch stages.
