How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Hybrid (Cross-Platform) Application in 2023?

Last Updated on: April 27, 2023

Planning to launch an app to give a kickstart to your startup or improve the digital presence of your e-commerce business? Then, native app development must be already in your mind. But why create native iOS or Android mobile apps, when you can create something to accommodate them both by doing half the work?

Yes, it is through cross-platform app development you can get a single app that offers a native-like feel to both iOS and Android users.

However, here we are not pushing you towards hybrid mobile app development. Instead, we are trying to portray the present state of the mobile app development industry so that you can make the right decision and help you understand the cost to develop a cross-platform application.

Contents of the blog

• Current State of Mobile Applications
• How cross-platform app development will benefit your business?
• Factors Affecting Cross-Platform App Development Cost
• How much does it cost to develop a cross-platform app?
• How to Estimate Cross-Platform App Development Cost in 5 Steps
• Systango and Cross-platform app development

Current State of Mobile Applications

• As per research by Market Research, the mobile application industry is expected to grow by 18.4% by 2026.
• As per multiple surveys, the market of mobile apps can generate a revenue of over $935 billion.
• Amongst smartphone users, 66% of users prefer downloading games. And more than 95% of users are downloading communication and messaging applications.
• As of the third quarter of 2022, users have 3.55 million apps available for download on the Google Play Store and 1.6 million apps on the Apple App Store.
• 49% of users actively open applications 11+ times each day. Moreover, 21% of Millennials are bound to open mobile applications 50+ times each day.

The above statistics clearly show that mobile apps define the business and this trend will continue to grow in the coming years. And just to let you know – developing an app is not expensive anymore – with advanced technologies like cross-platform app development, you can get a single app developed for both iOS and Android platforms, which reduces both development cost and time. Now, you must be thinking of how cross-platform mobile app development will benefit your business. And the most commonly asked question is, how much does it cost to develop a cross-platform application?

Let’s find the answers.

How Cross-Platform App Development Will Benefit Your Business?

Maximize your Market Reach

The more platforms your app supports the large audience you can target. When you target any single platform, Android or iOS, you get the attention of a limited number of users. However, with cross-platform mobile app development, you can launch your app on all platforms without any additional effort. More platforms mean maximized audience reach.

Development Time is Reduced

Cross-platform app development involves using a single code base, which reduces 60-70% of your development efforts. There are a number of frameworks including React Native, Xamarin, Flutter and more, which help you develop a feature-rich application without having to write the code again and again. All you need to do is hire a cross-platform app development technology that works on the latest framework and is able to meet the expected deadlines. 

Development Cost is Less

For startups and mid-level enterprises, the app development cost is one of the crucial concerns. App development cost is majorly dependent on the time of development and efforts put by the developers in the process. When we talk about cross-platform app development, developers use the same code across all platforms, which not only eliminates drudgery but also cuts down the development cost.

Apart from cost-saving, cross-platform app development has a lot more benefits for startups. Here is why should startups go for cross-platform mobile apps?

Completely Compatible with Cloud

No matter whether you pick React Native, Flutter or Xamarin for cross-platform app development – all the cross-platform app development frameworks offer seamless integration with the cloud. Moreover, a single code base used to develop your application is coordinated with multiple extensions and is flexible, making it adaptable and scalable. 

All in all, for any startup or enterprise, app performance is one of the imperative factors and these reasons are enough to state that cross-platform app development not only saves you development time and cost but also helps you develop a high-performing app.

Factors Affecting Cross-Platform App Development Cost

Number of Operating System

The cost of app development is dependent on the platform you choose to launch your application. If you choose native app development, the starting app development cost varies from $20,000 to $25,000. Native apps have sharper UX, take time to develop and the development cost can further increase depending upon the features you want to integrate and the team you hire.

On the other hand, cross-platform app development is based on a single code base therefore they are quicker to develop, and take less time for quality testing. The starting price of developing a cross-platform app – a single application for both iOS and Android platforms varies somewhere between$15,000 and $20,000+.

App Design

App design is the most important part of the applications as it is your app design that will attract the user and keep them coming back to it. The simple and more engaging design your app will have, the better the user experience it will deliver. The per-hour cost of a UI/UX designer in the UK is around $31,000-$34,000.

Complexity of the App

The complexity of the app is dependent on its functionality and features of the app. Here is how are categorized based on their complexity:

Simple Apps

This includes basic features like login, user profile, in-app purchases, few payment options, which start from $10,000+.

Moderate Apps

Moderate apps include basic features as well as additional features like geolocation tracking, social login, payment features and more. Starting price of moderate apps is somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000

Advanced Apps

Advanced apps include all the features that can be found in moderate apps as well as advanced features depending on the requirement of the business. The advanced level of cross-platform apps costs somewhere around $25,000 to $40,000.

Development Options: Freelancer vs Agency vs DIY:

The development options -Freelancers vs Agency vs DIY also contribute to the total cost of cross-platform app development. Let’s have a look at the advantages and disadvantages that come along with different development options:

Hiring a Cross-Platform App Development Agency

What does it mean?

• Cross-platform app developers with experience of working with a number of clients from different business domains.
• No need to seek designers, quality analysts and app testers as you will find them all in the team.
• No need to worry about deadlines and communication. We, at Systango, ensure constant communication for feedback and updates and make sure that your app is delivered on predefined deadlines.

Cost Benefits

You can see what you pay for – project estimation, and hourly rates.

Hiring a Freelancer for Hybrid App Development

What does it mean?

• Hiring a single person to work on your app, means app development costs would be less.
• You have to hire testers, and designers separately
• Communication between members of the project team is daunting.
• No one to manage the team, ensure proper communication and take care of deadlines

Cost Benefits

The cost of hiring a freelance app developer varies. It can be anything from £1000 upwards.

App Template or Starter Kits

What does it mean?

Platforms such as BuildFire and Apple can help you craft an application and fulfil your wish to become an entrepreneur. But, if you are planning to build a full-featured cross-platform app for your business, then this is not a reliable option. A lack of programming and coding skills may result in badly optimized and buggy applications.

Cost Benefits

Subscription cost is something which you will be required to pay and these subscription charges are $10 per month or may cost around $5000 at the initial stage.

How much does it cost to develop a cross-platform app?

So, again the question is how much does it cost to develop a cross-platform app? As we mentioned above, there are a lot of factors that contribute to cross-platform app development. According to Business of App, The UK has one of the strong cross-platform app developer markets in the world; hiring a developer for single-platform app development in the UK could cost $53,000, while for two-platform it can cost somewhere around $60,000. 

However, this is just an average estimation cost. The cost can vary depending on the type of app you need for your business, the features that need to be included in the app, the technology you are using to build the app and much more. Get in touch with cross-app development experts at Systango to discuss your needs and get an idea of the total app development cost.

How to Estimate Cross-Platform App Development Cost in 5 Steps

Step 1: Ask your cross-platform app developer for a quote

To receive a price for cross-platform mobile app development, get in touch with the development team.

Step 2: Select the technology for your app

Discuss with your app development team and select the best technology for your app. There are various cross-platform app development frameworks you can pick from – React Native, Xamarin, PhoneGap, Flutter and more.

Step3: Create a list of app functionality

To provide you with an estimated cost, developers need to understand the app functionalities that you want to include in your app.

Step 4: Prioritize features to implement in MVP

If you first want to validate your business idea, then prioritize the core features that you want to be included in your MVP.

Step 5: Ask the per-hour cost and the estimated time of delivery

Inquire about the hourly rate of developers and the estimated time of completion of the project to understand the final cost of app development.

Systango and Cross-Platform App Development

We, at Systango, are enthusiastic when it comes to working on forefront technologies. We have a dedicated team of cross-platform app developers with expertise in the top frameworks like React Native, Xamarin and Flutter to provide our clients with the app developed exactly according to their demands.

We offer a full spectrum of cross-platform app development services, including:

• Custom cross-platform app development
• Cross-platform applications re-engineering
• Application management and maintenance

Our development process starts with initial discussion and brainstorming sessions and then we move ahead to finalize the technology and create a roadmap. Get in touch with our team to understand which technology would best meet your app requirements, and what will be the cost to develop the same.

Systango’s Cross-Platform App Development Portfolio

The Simcha App

The client approached us to develop an innovative solution to simplify gifting. We brainstormed and suggested cross-platform app development technology for their app, where one can make groups, choose from a selection of gifts from different vendors for a variety of occasions, and send with just a few clicks.

We delivered The Simcha App with a sophisticated backend developed using ReactNative, allowing users to manage the gifts which show up on the app. They can upload new products, manage cut-off times for delivery, and see what items were ordered and what needs to go out when. It all stays very organized!

RadioSpirits

The client needed a subscription service that allows users to stream and download on-demand programs from their vast library of thousands of classic radio programs developed using cross-platform app development technology. Top features include Sam Spade, Jack Benny, Johnny Dollar, Fibber McGee and Molly, The Green Hornet, Life of Riley, etc.

We built iOS and Android apps for RadioSpirit with ReactNative that seamlessly operates on both iOS and Android-based mobile devices. We have built a streaming service that leverages WebRTC technology to stream data.

Whether you just want to calculate app development costs or want to augment your cross-platform app development team to meet specific project requirements, get in touch with our team to discuss.