It’s great that you’ve selected Flutter over React Native for your cross-platform app development. But being a CTO or a business owner, it becomes important to estimate costs before you finalize and hire a Flutter app development agency like us.
Let’s dive deep into calculating the Flutter app development costs and the factors affecting the costs, considering the benefits it offers for your business.
How Much Does Flutter App Development Cost?
The average cost of developing a Flutter app can range from $50,000-$200,000+ depending on various factors like app complexity, development time, additional resources, app launching costs, development partner, etc.
The below table gives you a rough estimate of phase-wise costs. However, the amount can be completely different according to the scope of your project.
| Phase | Cost distribution | Approximate cost | Timeframe | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Requirements gathering and analysis | 5% - 10% | $1,000 - $5,000 | 1 - 2 weeks | Understanding the client's needs and requirements for the app. Creating a detailed project plan and timeline. |
| UI/UX design | 10% - 25% | $5,000 - $15,000 | 2 - 4 weeks | Designing the user interface and user experience of the app. Creating wireframes, mockups, and prototypes. |
| Development | 50% - 75% | $10,000 - $150,000+ | 3 - 12 months | Writing the code for the app. Testing the app and fixing any bugs. |
| Deployment | 1% to 2% | $99-$299 | 1-2 weeks | Deploying the app to the app stores. |
| Maintenance & Support | 5% - 10% | $1,000 - $5,000+ | Ongoing | Update and maintain the app for smooth functioning. |
Factors We Consider When Determining Flutter App Development Cost
After several discussions with our development heads to understand how things work, we have come up with the most important aspects that contribute to the total cost of developing applications. This might help you during discussions with your development partner.
1. App Complexity
Applications are generally categorized into three, based on their level of complexity: low, medium, and high complexity apps. More and more complicated features means higher complexity of the apps.
Additionally, the requirement for various functionalities, third-party integrations, deployment architecture, and use of modern technologies (AI-ML, Blockchain, etc.) contribute to an app’s overall complexity.
Complexity of features and functionalities differs from app to app. For example, building a simple fitness app that provides meals and workout plans will require less complex features than a stock trading app that has complicated functionalities and government regulations to follow.
The below table gives you an idea of average Flutter app development cost based on complexity.
2. App Niche/Industry
Application requirements vary across industries. Therefore, apps can be divided into different categories based on user demographics, crucial functionalities, special features, level of security, legal regulations, etc.
When industry/app categories change, you may notice that feature sets and functionalities vary significantly. For example, a banking app requires two-factor authentication while a simple gaming app may not even require login.
Thus, the overall cost of developing a Flutter app for your business majorly depends on the industry you’re operating in.
3. Design Requirements & Approach
Despite a great app idea, design (UI/UX) plays a major role in getting desired success. While you would want an intricate, free-flowing, and intuitive app design and topography, it’s a significant factor that affects the overall app development expenditure.
With your development partner and their design team, you can come up with ways to keep the design minimal yet interactive. The estimated cost for designing your flutter app varies according to complexity and design approach.
- Simple app design: $200 to $1,000
- Medium complexity app design: $1,000 to $5,000
- Highly-complex app design: $5,000 to $10,000
However, there are various other factors like number of screens, animation, use of custom icons, etc that impact the overall cost in the design phase.
4. Additional Tools & Licensing Costs
Flutter is an open-source framework. However, in order to build your perfect enterprise applications, development teams may incorporate additional tools into the process.
The use of IDEs (Integrated Development Environment) and third-party API integrations for programming or payments require licensing and payment. Thus, these factors add-up to the overall Flutter app development cost.
5. Server Space Requirements
Enough server space is concerned for seamless functioning of apps that need to process and store data. Less server space often results in lagging apps that leave the users frustrated. Additionally, one needs to make sure that the servers they’re using are secure enough to avoid any data leaks or breaches.
You may have to pay around $1500/ year for a 24-hour working server with a high RAM space and reliable CPU. However, there are options for customization which makes space for variation in the actual costs.
6. Testing & QA
Testing and QA (Quality Assurance) play a crucial role in launching a flawless, robust app. No one wants that a great app’s performance gets ruined by a bug or error. To make sure that your app functions seamlessly across focused platforms and devices, testing and quality assurance should never be skipped.
While QA and testing is a part of the development process, the different approaches and time-frames result in varying costs. As per general estimates, testing and QA costs are 10%-25% of total development cost.
7. App Release Costs
Once the development of the Flutter app is complete, it should be released on respective app stores. Considering your focus on iOS and Android, certainly you would need to deploy your application on Apple App Store and Google Play Store. These platforms charge a one-time registration fee for each app launch.
The costs associated with launching an app on Google Play:
- One-time $25 registration fee
- 15% service fee on the first $1 million in earnings each year
- 30% service fee on earnings over $1 million each year
The Apple Store app launch charge is $99 per year. This fee is required for all developers who want to publish their apps on the App Store. The fee is due each year, regardless of how many apps you publish or how many downloads they receive.
Just like Google Play Apple also charges a commission on all paid app sales and in-app purchases. The commission rate is 30% for the first $1 million in earnings, and 15% for all earnings over $1 million.
8. Post Launch Maintenance
The secret ingredient to the success of most apps is regular update and maintenance post launch. According to users’ feedback and demand you may need to upgrade your app features from time to time.
There are also other technological updates that remain unavoidable while ensuring smooth functioning of the application. So majorly there will be general app updates, design changes, and bug fixes to deal with.
You may need 15%-20% of the overall development cost to maintain and update your app in the future. Considering these additional costs when calculating Flutter app development cost, helps you set a clear and sufficient budget bar.
Do NOT Forget. Location Of Your Development Partner Has Huge Impact On Overall Cost
While the above mentioned points give you a rough cost breakdown and various factors that affect it, there’s more to it. The location of your chosen app development partner significantly increases or decreases the cost to build a Flutter app.
We have discussed this in many of our previous blogs that development charges vary across the world. Based on the size and expertise of the team, you can find comparatively lower rates in Asia than North America.
Here is a rough estimate of the hourly rates for Flutter developers in different regions:
Thus, choosing your development partner wisely can help you reduce the overall Flutter app development cost.
Discussing all these aspects with your development partner will give you a clear insight into the required budget. Summing up the above mentioned points you can estimate the expected cost of building a Flutter app for your enterprise.
Build a Robust, Budget-Friendly Flutter App With Us
Developing an app for your business is going to be a significant investment. While this blog gives you an idea of Flutter app development cost, you must implement every plan smartly. To yield the best results from your application, it’s important to implement it perfectly with the help of a reliable developer team.
At Narola Infotech, we focus on meeting your unique requirements with our tailored solutions that are scalable and have potential for consistent growth. We’re a team of 350+ proficient enthusiasts all set to cater to your business’ digital necessities.
Take a look at our project case studies to understand our work better.
Over the last 18 years as a team, we have successfully accomplished 3000+ projects across 50+ countries. Trust us with your project and see significant growth for your brand/business. Share your details in the contact form below. We’ll reach out to you soon!