In the current digital-driven age, education is undergoing a transformative shift. Elearning and online education are changing the way people teach and learn. Educational applications have ushered in innovative approaches. They offer learners unparalleled flexibility and convenience in their learning pursuits.
From primary school students to working professionals, e-learning has become the cornerstone of modern education. As a result, this rising revenue potential within the e-learning industry has sparked the interest of numerous entrepreneurs eyeing the education app market.
However, a critical aspect that demands attention and thorough exploration revolves around the cost. What precisely does it take to develop an educational app? In this article, we will demystify the landscape of education app development cost in 2024.
This post will give you the right cost estimation for education app development for all kinds of apps. It will also help you plan your budget efficiently, and useful tips to reduce your educational app development cost.
Table of Contents
Overview Of The Current Educational App Market
The educational app market is witnessing high growth. E-learning or educational mobile apps work like digital teachers which makes online learning fun, interactive, and engaging. Parents and teachers can also keep an eye on how well the students are doing. As a result, the demand for educational apps is increasing significantly.
At present, digitalization is transforming educational and e-learning practices across all industries. From schools to businesses, every market segment looks for innovative and feature-powered learning apps to provide effective educational or learning experience.
As more people are using smartphones and mobile apps, the scope for education app development is on the rise. Many companies and educational institutions are leveraging innovative technologies like AR/VR, wearable devices, AI & ML to build high-performance educational apps. Hence, the market of education app development services is growing at a fast pace.
According to Technavio the global education apps market is projected to increase by 124,782.56 million at a CAGR of 28.61% between 2022-2027.
This growth is due to several factors that work behind propelling the educational or learning market. For instance, the increasing adoption of elearning platforms, rise in EdTech startups, more demand for AI-powered learning apps, etc. As per GrandViewResearch’s latest reports the worldwide Edtech market was valued at $123.40 Billion in 2022 and it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.6% by 2030.
Especially, AI is playing an influential role in transforming the elearning landscape. Therefore, organizations and educational institutions look for top education app development company to build more interactive and featured education apps for students and learners.
Factors That Affect Education App Development Cost
Determining the cost of education app development is not a straightforward task. It involves several factors to determine the education app development cost. Therefore, to get an accurate estimation, you should consider all these factors.
App Features
Complex features in an Education app demand complex timeframes and expertise. The more complex features you demand, the more you have to pay to avail the service. Hence, you need to see what features your app includes.
Development Partner
In an app development process, there is a demand for multiple resources. Your education app development company will decide the cost on the basis of the experts they are deploying, aligning their respective time frames to complete the tasks.
Technology Choice
What technology you are choosing to build your education app affects its cost. Different technology experts demand different skill sets and compensation.
Platform Choice
iOS or Android- will affect the cost! Android can be a bit on the less expensive side as compared to the premium iOS app development.
Educational Content
Creating educational content, like videos or lessons, can be expensive. Some apps need a lot of content, and that can make costs go up.
Maintenance and Support
If you want long-term support from your mobile app development service provider, then the pricing will vary. Maintenance includes server costs, regular bug fixing, new feature testing, and more.
Type Of E-Learning Apps You Can Build
Online Learning journey can differ from student to student. You must define your targeted niche before moving to the actual cost factor. Here are the types of e-learning applications you can build from scratch if you want to step into the e-learning industry.
Kids E-learning App
Kids find entertainment in learning through their smartphones and tablets. Entrepreneurs are planning Kids E-learning app development on a higher scale. However, kids learning apps are more focused on the graphical content to make the learning process fun.
Study Material App
Learners require multiple resources to study. An app offering the complete resources required for a specific course will be a hit. This is why Study material apps are in demand. Study material apps collect study materials. Then they organize them according to the courses and let users access them either for free or for a fee.
Test Preparation App
It is important to test the knowledge of every learner. Although books provide exercises in the end, knowledge testing still becomes essential. Test preparation apps combine multiple sets of tests to test the knowledge of learners from multiple angles. Government exam preparation and aptitude tests are hot selling in the current era.
Language Learning Apps
People love exploring languages beyond the borders. Through language learning applications, users can explore and learn new languages cross-border. Whether it is Spanish, Chinese, or any other app, an app can teach learners. Consequently, these apps have become famous in recent years. This is due to the curiosity of learners and the ease of learning through these apps.
Corporate Training and Learning Apps
Employers want to upskill their employees to gain maximum productivity in organizations. E-learning apps are becoming popular among corporations. MNCs have completely shifted their onboarding, organization introduction, and upskilling processes to e-learning platforms.
Education App Development Cost Breakdown
As we discussed the cost of developing educational or elearning applications varies depending on several factors. You need to define your app requirements & features to get an accurate estimation. Thus, the best way is to directly consult a dedicated educational app development company. They would give you a quotation based on your specific project requirements. However, to give an overall idea, here we have shared the breakdown of education app development cost for different categories.
Country-wise Education App Development Cost
| Location | Per Hour Rate | MVP App | Full-Fledged App |
| USA | $180 | $100,000 | $200,000 |
| UK | $80 | $90,000 | $180,000 |
| India | $25 | $20,000 | $60,000 |
| Australia | $60 | $50,000 | $150,000 |
| Canada | $50 | $40,000 | $120,000 |
| UAE | $70 | $80,000 | $160,000 |
Cost of Education App Development as per Complexity
| Complexity | Cost |
| Simple education app | $20,000 |
| Medium education app | $60,000 |
| Advanced education app | $80,000 |
Cost as per the Type of Educational Apps
| Type of Educational App | Real-world Examples | Key features & goals | Cost (Low-High) |
| Language Learning Apps | Duolingo, Rosetta Stone | Focusing on teaching languages through interactive methods. | $30,000 – $150,000+ |
| Subject-Specific Apps | Khan Academy, Photomath | Concentrating on specific subjects like math, science, etc. | $20,000 – $100,000+ |
| Coding and Programming Apps | Codecademy, SoloLearn | Teaching coding and programming languages with interactive lessons. | $40,000 – $200,000+ |
| Test Prep Apps | SAT/ACT Prep apps, TOEFL Prep apps | Preparing students for standardized tests like SAT, ACT, etc. | $30,000 – $150,000+ |
| Skill Development Apps | Skillshare, Coursera | Apps aiding in skill enhancement across various domains. | $40,000 – $200,000+ |
| Reading and Literacy Apps | Epic, Scribd | Promoting reading, literacy, and comprehension. | $25,000 – $120,000+ |
| AR and VR Learning Apps | Google Expeditions, Anatomyou VR | Apps using augmented reality or virtual reality for interactive learning experiences. | $50,000 – $250,000+ |
Cost of Education App Development as per Mobile OS Platforms
| Mobile OS Platform | Cost of Educational App Development |
| Native app on iOS | $60,000 |
| Native app on Android | $55,000 |
| Cross-platform app for iOS and Android | $40,000 |
Tips To Reduce Your Education App Development Cost?
We would also like to convey to you some of the important pointers that might keep your Elearning app development cost low.
Feature Selection
Choose your features after analysis! Yes, when you opt for irrelevant features they add up to your overall cost. For example, a social media sharing button in a finance app will be useless. Hence, you should plan, prioritize features effectively, and build an MVP to analyze your features.
Open Source Tech Stack
Some technologies are not open source. For example, COBOL is a commercial programming language that helps the finance industry to code applications using the English language. Therefore, target open-source tech stacks that will reduce your overall development cost.
Outsource your Project
The cost of hiring elearning app development services will be much higher compared to outsourcing your idea to an Education mobile app development firm. Companies have dedicated experts! Hence, if you hire resources on your own you have to also invest in infrastructure, hiring education app developers, management personnel, and what not.
Go Cross Platform
Building an app separately for Android and iOS will cost you more. Instead, you must use cross-platform app development technology. With this, your application will flawlessly use the single base code line and save development cost.
Concluding Thoughts
Continuous technological advancement and innovation are reshaping the learning landscape. As people are getting more interested in using featured educational apps, the demand for educational app development solutions is skyrocketing. Thus, it offers great opportunities to Ed tech startups, educational institutions, and organizations to leverage educational apps.
However, the cost of developing educational or eLearning apps varies depending on several associated factors. You should properly define your project requirements and goals to get the right cost estimation. The above information will help you determine the education app development cost accurately and help you save your budget.
FAQs
How much does it cost to develop an education app?
The initial factor in determining the cost of an education app is the complexities involved in your education app. These complexities then sub-determine the development time and team deployed in your education app development project. And, all that combined, decides your total cost for building an education application.
Are there any ongoing costs for maintaining an education app?
In the maintenance and support requirements, there are separate costs described by the companies according to their team, brand value and location. So yes, there are bug fixing, cloud hosting, security enhancements and upgrade costs involved in education app development.
How long does it take to build a more complex education app with advanced features?
If you are building a basic education application it will at least take 3 months to develop. The more complex your requirements are, the more timeframe it demands. A complex e-learning app with advanced features can take more than 6 months in development.
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WRITTEN BY
Ishan Gupta
CEO & FounderWith a strong belief that inclusion of mobile technology and digitalisation of processes for any individual or a business will help them to ease their life so that they can be more focused on their Core Business functions, with this intent and an experience of 6+ years our service ranges from consultancy to build next-generation mobile applications for Entrepreneurs/Startups to Enterprise Businesses. Our goal is to provide optimum quality services to our clients at the best reasonable price in the market.
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