How Much Does It Cost to Build an MVP in 2023?

Building startups is exciting, they said. It is always about new ideas on the brink of becoming products and entering the market and users’ lives… Well, that is a romanticized way of looking at it. Besides being exciting, startup development goes hand in hand with numerous fears and concerns. And the top fear title goes to the issue of cost. 

Right, you may have a great idea in your mind, even a more excellent plan of implementing this idea. But all this may strike off the rocks of strict budget limits. So how much is enough to build an MVP? 

As a Business Development Manager at Uptech, I have closed deals with many startups with both big and limited budgets. But first, let’s figure out what MVP is and why you should build it. Let’s start! 

What Is MVP And Why Build It?

MVP is the first version of the product, which includes only the basic features of the app. Usually, these basic features complete the essence of the app itself and display its innovativeness.

Imagine it as a watch, which is also a run tracker, player, and audio organizer. Basically, this is still a watch. That is how it works with startups – you highlight the features that form the basis of your product and make a viable product with the least effort and time. Congrats, you’ve got your MVP! 

Benefits of starting and testing a business idea with an MVP

• Test your assumptions.

• Collect user feedback

• Optimize the usage of resources

• Earlier launch to market

• Raising funds

How Much Does it Cost to Develop an MVP and What Factors Affect it?

When it comes to MVP costs, you will get different cost estimates from every app development firm. It happens because there are diverse factors that determine the MVP price. Let us discuss some of these factors:

1. Defining the Scope of MVP Development

One key factor affecting the MVP cost is the project scope. In this phase, you must define your competitors, target audience, market analysis, and business goals. 

Try to find the simplest way possible to validate the app idea by specifying the limited requirements and less complicated design. 

By defining the scope of MVP development beforehand, you can plan your budget more wisely. You can take the assistance of a reliable mobile app development company to develop an MVP.

2. Selecting a Platform: Web or Mobile?

It can be challenging for most businesses to select what platform should come first, web or mobile. 

Both mobile and web apps are highly effective. For instance, it is evident that most of the traffic comes from mobile websites, and users prefer mobile apps to complete their day-to-day tasks. Therefore, you can choose to build an MVP as per the budget and project requirements.

A mobile platform to deploy your app for iOS and Android will cost you more than the Web-first approach. Therefore, you can choose a cross-platform app development frameworks to create an app across all platforms (Android and iOS) with one code, reducing the development cost.

3. Development Team

The four basic categories of development teams are in-house, freelance, local, and outsourced.

• In-house team for MVP development

When the MVP is created internally, a number of costs are included in the mobile app development process. These MVP app development cost include the salary you pay your developers, the costs of setting up the IT infrastructure, the cost of the hardware and software, the price of technology training, any benefits you offer, and administrative costs.

• Freelancers

You can save money by selecting a freelancer’s MVP app development services. However, there is a problem with their degree of credibility, which is why many business owners don’t believe in freelancers’ work. For your business, a communication gap might occasionally be a concern.

• Local teams

Businesses that are unable to build an internal team but desire the advantages of working closely with their team may also consider hiring local teams. They can speak with a nearby app development firm that develops mobile minimum viable products.

Even while you save money in this scenario on costs like infrastructure and hardware/software, it will still cost you more than outsourcing your job to an offshore team of app developers.

• Outsourcing MVP development

MVP outsourcing is the most popular choice among all due to its viability. According to Fortunly, 78% of business owners are satisfied with their outsourcing partners.

While there are various types of outsourcing, many businesses favor those that can hire a specialist to build MVP, such as an offshore product development company.

4. Development Time

The duration of the development process is another factor that can affect the cost of MVP development. A longer development time will increase the cost as it will require more resources, such as developer time and project management.

How much time MVP development takes is also a prime factor that influences the MVP app development cost. In general, it takes 1-3 months to develop MVP. 

So, how does the development time affect the pricing? It is the hourly rate that developers charge for the time spent designing the MVP. This hourly rate changes based on several factors, such as geographical location and qualification level of developers.

5. Location of the Development Team

The size and location of the development team can also affect the cost of MVP development. The location of the development team can also affect the cost, as the cost of living and wages can vary significantly by region. For example, developing an MVP in North America will be more expensive than developing it in India or Eastern Europe.

Below we have mentioned the hourly rate of the IT services as per the different regions. However, keep in mind that these ranges may differ as per the minimum viable product development services requirements.

Therefore, you must hire a leading MVP development company that can define the time to build the MVP, and that’s how you can save expenditure. 

6. Project Design Complexity

The UI/UX design is an essential part of MVP development. Therefore, this factor plays a significant role in determining the MVP mobile app development cost.

For developing an MVP app, a minimalistic design is enough to create a functional MVP. However, for any app idea where designing is the crucial factor in attracting the audience, a more complicated UI/UX design should be considered, including animations, 3D elements, and other custom features. 

Proper planning, wireframing, and mockup are necessary to ensure a well-designed MVP development. Evaluating the cost of MVP design will help you identify its development cost.

7. MVP Features and Functionality

You can define the complexity of the MVP based on the app type. In this phase, you discover the app’s features and how complex they will be.

• Simple MVP

You can categorize your MVP for apps in this section if it has standard features, including minimum screen transitions and core functions. The common examples in this category can be utility apps or quiz apps. 

• Average Complexity 

These apps can have slightly more features like data storage, payment portals, in-app purchases, geolocation, location tracking, etc. These apps can be specific to your business needs and might take more time for MVP development.

• High Complexity

Some over-the-top platforms, enterprise-level apps, taxi service apps, or food delivery apps come under this category. The MVP of these apps might contain high-level complexity like video calls, live streaming, location tracking, or in-app purchases. 

With defined app complexity, you can categorize your app and estimate the cost of building an MVP.

8. Technology Used

The technology you choose to build the MVP will have a significant role in defining the overall cost of development. Therefore, knowing different technologies and frameworks for building an MVP is essential. 

There might also be third-party integration involved in MVP that might affect the overall cost to develop MVP. 

Therefore, hire an MVP app development company, so they can suggest suitable and affordable technology to use and help you manage the cost more efficiently. 

You need feedback if you sincerely want to see how people respond to your product. Only an MVP can accomplish this.

Planning the Cost Ahead: Steps After MVP Launch

• Marketing and Advertising Your MVP

For any app idea to be successful, it must reach out to the right set of audiences. Since MVP development cost is significantly lesser than the complete app, you can spend that amount on marketing and advertising your MVP. 

Also, gaining early users will help you make the final app launch a huge success. 

The cost of marketing the MVP will depend on the app type and budget. These strategies include social media posts, blog posts, email newsletters, and networking. Other than that, you can use advertisements like Facebook ads, Google Adwords, and Display Advertising for advertising the MVP, which might cost you an average of $2000-$5000 monthly. 

• Monitoring MVP Performance

Only developing an MVP does not guarantee your product success. MVP is an iterative process that is based on the build-measure-learn model. Therefore, you must gain feedback from the audience and utilize it to enhance your app’s performance.

Therefore, align proper planning to effectively gather the feedback, such as in-app surveys, interviews, landing pages, etc. The strategies you choose will also impact the cost of MVP development. 

• Maintenance Cost

MVP maintenance is a necessary parameter to consider while defining the cost. Ideally, you should save at least 20% of the initial budget for MVP development. 

Various factors must be considered while determining the MVP maintenance cost, such as MVP complexity, team location, server expenses, etc. Also, include the charges of the company you hire to make the updates and various iterations.

Final Cost of MVP Development

On average, the total MVP development cost might vary from $15,000 or more, depending upon the complexity of the features. 

The app’s complexity, with several features with advanced technology, will add further expense to MVP development.

Usually, an MVP should take 2–4 months to complete, including the entire lifecycle from project analysis to maintenance. Defining the project’s requirements and objectives to help validate ideas rapidly and ensure your MVP development finishes within the timelines is essential.

The project needs and budget requirements of different business sizes and industries might vary. Therefore, it is worth scheduling a meeting with the MVP development consultant. 

Conclusion 

If you know the proper parameters and how to strategize them wisely, estimating the MVP development cost is not as difficult as it seems.

MVP is a proven strategy for many successful apps of this date, such as Twitter, Buffer, Uber, Amazon, etc.

If you have an app idea and you are all set to initiate its development, then hiring a RailsCarma offering MVP development services to hand over your project might be the best action. 

RailsCarma will help you launch your MVP with must-have features and save your time & budget.