How Much Does It Cost To Build A Fantasy Sports App ?

The popularity of the fantasy sports app is growing with the increasing penetration of smartphones in life.

All passionate sports lovers are able to simulate their predictions using these applications and win a reward for the same. And, looking at these factors entrepreneurs and businesses are viewing it as a strong opportunity to win a competitive edge in the market. However, cost is an important factor that stays a strong consideration because every mind targets to gain value for money services.

Key Elements Affecting The Fantasy Sports App Development Cost

If you look at the statistics, the market size of fantasy sports apps has reached $9.84 Billion in USA in 2022. And in India,  the number of registered fantasy sports users will reach about 180 million by 2023.

Henceforth, before actually stepping into the market you shall understand the elements affecting the cost. Let us understand them.

1. Platform Choice

Selecting the platform on which you will build your fantasy sports app is the first decision to consider. The primary choices in this segment remain iOS, Android, or cross-platform (both iOS and Android). Native applications remain specific to the decided platform whereas fantasy sports app developers have to focus on elements separately. This focus increases the cost to build a fantasy sports app however it boosts the factors like performance.

2. Features and Complexities

The features and complexities involved in building the sports app also affect the cost factors. A basic application with the features like joining the leagues, drafting players, and following scores won’t cost too much. However, advanced features and complexities like robust live updates, AI-rich algorithms, and social sharing further increase the cost and development efforts.

3. User Interface And Design Of The App

If a fantasy application is user-friendly as well as visually appealing then it must have acquired long discussion sessions with the designing team. And when there are more efforts, screen numbers, and customizations,  it affects the cost.

4. The Fantasy Sports App Development Company USA Or India

Further, the development company you have decided on also affects the cost. Where is the company located? What is the experience of the experts working in the team? A scalable and reliable fantasy sports app development company USA will definitely charge for the work they do. Indian companies do charge less and will strongly suit your budget.

 

5. Security and Compliance

With data being one of the crucial things of every user, it becomes essential for mobile apps to safeguard it. However, there are certain layers involved in building a secure application. Also, since real money is involved in fantasy sports apps, then security and compliance demand more effort and specialized experts who alter the overall budget.

6. Legal and Copyright Expenses

Fantasy sports applications deal with copyright content. This involves the player names, team logos, league data, and more. To ensure that your app does not fall in any legal compliance, you must obtain necessary permissions that precursor additional costs adding directly to your fantasy sports app development cost.

How Much Does It Cost To Build A Fantasy Sports App?

There are multiple phases involved in the development of fantasy sports apps. Here is the phase-wise distribution of building an application.

Phase 1- MVP Development

Once you have consulted your fantasy sports app developers, the first development phase is Minimum viable product development. MVP is a basic version of your application that is built without major features and more with the goal to gather customer feedback on your idea. Companies can validate their idea, and test their assumptions if it will be loved by users or not.

Key characteristics of MVP include:

• Core functionalities
• Quick development
• Interactive improvement of the idea

Roughly an MVP development for a fantasy sports app costs from $10,000 to $60,000 depending upon the requirements and other mentioned factors in the above section.

Phase 2- Designing

The cost of designing a fantasy sports app also depends upon several factors. These include the number of screens involved in your application, complexities of interaction, customization, and revisions in the design. For a rough estimate, the fantasy sports app design will cost you from $5,000 to $50,000 depending upon the scope and complexity of the project.

Phase 3- Development

The cost of hiring a development team for a fantasy sports app will depend on the factors mentioned, such as team size, location, and experience level (as discussed earlier). For estimation purposes, let’s consider a mid-sized team with the following roles:

1. Project Manager: $50 to $150 per hour (depending on experience and location).
2. Front-end Developer: $30 to $100 per hour.
3. Back-end Developer: $40 to $120 per hour.
4. Mobile App Developer: $40 to $120 per hour (for each platform, if both iOS and Android are targeted).
5. API Integration Specialist: $40 to $100 per hour.
6. QA Tester: $30 to $80 per hour

Phase 4: Marketing the App

The cost of marketing too adds up in the fantasy sports app development budget. And without a proper marketing process, you cannot represent your application to the larger customer base. There are some key elements influencing the cost of marketing.

• App store optimization
• Paid Advertising
• Content marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Public relations
• App install campaigns
• Retention and engagement strategies
• Website marketing
• Social media marketing

Marketing agencies charge $1000-$5000 per month however a bigger team with more experience will definitely affect the overall cost of marketing the application.

Dream11 Case Study

The Dream 11 app is one of the most popular fantasy sports applications. Definitely, the application is currently standing on a popular and large-size enterprise level, however, we can take some key considerations from it.

Here is the Components break down of the Dream 11 application:

• App Platform (both iOS and Android)
• User registration and profile
• Fantasy sports matching
• Real-time data integration
• Payment gateway integration
• Social sharing and referrals
• Admin panel
• Security and Compliance

With the above components, it can be estimated that the cost of building a Dream 11 like fantasy sports app may range from $50,000 to $500,000 or even more.

Conclusion

To provide an estimate, a fantasy sports app development cost can range from $30,000 to $50,000. The estimate includes features like user registration, league creation, player drafting, and basic statistics updates. However, for a more advanced app with features like real-time updates, multiple sports, social sharing, and a sophisticated user interface, the cost can escalate to $100,000 or more, just like the Dream 11 app. It’s crucial to keep in mind that these figures are rough estimates and can vary widely based on the factors mentioned above.