How Much Does It Cost to Develop A cross platform Educational App

The world around us underwent a massive transformation during the Pandemic. With people locked in their houses, digital disruption was inevitable. The transformation occurred in all the major industries, especially education. 

As compared to 642 app downloads (both iOS and Android) in the last quarter of 2019, the total app downloads (iOS and Android) reached 936 million in the first quarter of 2020 (Statista). This leap in the total downloads for the education industry shows how the Pandemic impacted virtual learning.

The time is perfect if you plan to develop an educational application. People are looking for niche learning apps as well as holistic learning solutions. Schools and colleges seek to learn management solutions that offer greater access and availability.

Before we dive into the cost of developing a mobile app for your specific educational needs, check out the benefits of having an education app.

Benefits of Mobile Apps for Education

When you are thinking of developing a mobile app for the education industry, there are millions of things you analyze. One is the reasoning for why you should develop the mobile app. 

Here are a few benefits your end users of the app will likely gain.

1. Access to Content

Access to educational content was restricted to libraries and physical schools/colleges. With time, you could access them through websites and restricted applications. However, with the learning applications, you can access the content anytime. You don’t need to wait for the Internet connection or to pull out your laptop. 

2. Learning while Commuting

It enhances the child’s learning capability and saves them a lot of their time. While commuting, the child can learn or revise concepts. This way, they will spend time fruitfully and be more productive.

3.Parent-teacher Communication

Before the mobile app, parents and teachers couldn’t communicate instantly. The lack of immediate communication delayed the help needed by the child. The mobile app closed this gap between parents and teachers. They knew how the child was progressing and whether or not they needed intervention. 

The Total Cost of Developing a Cross-platform App

Here are all the factors that can impact the cost of your cross-platform mobile app for the education industry. 

1. The Type of App

The first thing to consider is the mobile app type you plan to develop for your industry. Is it a mobile app to improve the educator’s productivity? Do you plan to develop a classroom application to improve teaching capabilities? Are you looking for a content creation application?

The type of application will determine the features and the overall effort that goes into developing the mobile app. 

If you have a content-heavy mobile app, the time taken may be much more compared to a simple to-do application. This can impact the overall app cost. 

2. The Features of the Application

Every feature requires a specific time, effort, and resource. You will spend money on every feature you incorporate into the mobile app. This is an essential factor to consider when estimating the mobile app cost.

The timeline would be less if you were developing a basic mobile app. This means the cost would go down (considering you will pay for the number of hours the resource has worked on your application).

For every advanced feature, you will be recruiting specialists or experts that will take time and cost. The features would define the budget you plan to add. 

3. The Technology Stack

If you are developing a cross-platform application for the education industry, you will need to decide whether you want to go with Flutter or React Native. 

Say you want to incorporate AI technology in your mobile application. You need resources that are well-versed with the non-relational databases and tools used to devise the AI algorithms. 

This will add to the overall cost of development. For every technology added to the stack, you need an expert who can provide the necessary guidance and solution. Resource cost (calculated per hour in most instances) will be added to your overall estimation. 

4. App Complexity

If you are planning an advanced-level application that is highly complex, you will require expertise and top-notch tools. The infrastructure, resources, and other costs will increase with the advancements you are planning in the mobile app. 

When you have too many features in the mobile app, it can get confusing for the developer. The complications can lead to a highly complex user interface and confusing usability. That will lead to app rejection. 

As a result, despite the complexities owing to increased features, your developer should be able to build a simple and intuitive interface. When you hire experts, the per hour cost rises, adding to the overall development cost. 

5. Developer’s Expertise

The cost of development also depends on the real expertise of the developer. If you want a junior developer, they will not cost a lot as compared to a senior developer.

Similarly, if you are planning an advanced application, it will increase the cost automatically. The developer/s you need will be senior level, and their expertise should be advanced too. Similarly, you might need more than one person in the team for your requirements. 

6. Hiring Approach

This can also impact the cost of the application development. Whether you plan to develop the app with an in-house team or outsource the application will decide what would be the ultimate cost. 

In the case of an in-house team, you will need to hire, spend time scanning the team, train them, and offer them the requisite tools and infrastructure. Your cost is halved when you outsource as you don’t spend on infrastructure or tools. 

Cost of App with Basic Features

Feature	Backend Development	Cross-platform App Development
Registration/Login	47 hours	44hours
Quick Search	22 hours	21 hours
User Profile	59 hours	47 hours
Payments	45 hours	42 hours
Menu	88 hours	100 hours
Push Notifications	14 hours	14 hours

Note: This is just one version of the application (the student’s app). Approximately the same number of hours will take for the basic feature development for the teacher’s app.

The total cost of cross-platform app development = Total hours * per hour rate.

If you are outsourcing app development to the Indian market, the per-hour rate is $30 approximately. 

The total hours are taken to develop a Flutter app = 268 hours (Note: this is an approximation)

Total cost = 268*30= $8040. 

Conclusion

You can reduce the cost of an application effectively by following these three steps:

• Detail the project scope and make sure you have listed all the requirements for development
• Prioritize the features for developing the mobile application. 
• Research and select the right mobile app development company that fits your budget and requirements
• Follow the design guidelines and ensure a specific methodology to implement the designs. 

Follow your checklist to the t, and you will be able to deploy a capable app into the market before your competition.

 Author Bio: –

Jignen Pandya – Expert App Devs