MVP Development Cost: Affecting Factors, Estimations, Optimization Tips

Budgeting is tough! And, when it comes to validating your mobile app idea by building a minimum viable product, it is very crucial to estimate the MVP development cost. Key questions like, what are the factors driving the MVP building cost? or How can I perform MVP development cost optimization? are natural for entrepreneurs.

This blog will clear your queries and help you prepare the right budget for building your MVP to bring your mobile app idea to life. But before that, let us help you understand the need to plan your MVP development budget.

Why Should You Plan Your MVP Development Budget?

Being clear on your budget reduces ample complexities for any startup or established enterprise looking forward to testing the viability of their new idea. In fact, building a minimum viable product is the ultimate key to turning your idea into reality. But, without defining the cost, you might enter into no-mans land, converting investment into unnecessary expenses. Planning your MVP development budget helps you in:

• Setting realistic budget expectations, enhancing efficiency, and making informed decisions.
• Staying financially sustainable is especially important for startups that are limited on budget and are planning for constant expansion.
• Tracking your funding so that you know how much you are going to spend on the development cost of the MVP.

A right budget can without any doubt save precious resources for businesses, especially startups, and avoid failing due to budgeting. As a matter of fact, according to CB Insights, nearly 38% of startups fail due to a lack of funding.

As quoted by William Feather in Forbes, “A budget tells us what we can’t afford, but it doesn’t keep us from buying it.” So, yes, budgeting is crucial!

Now let us head to the core section of this blog, where we give you the real factors driving MVP development budgeting.

Factors Driving MVP Development Costs (With Cost Estimations)

When planning the budget for your MVP, there are several factors affecting estimates. And knowing them can help you make informed decisions.

The Type Of Your MVP

MVPs have several types. For example, the cost of low-fidelity MVP types might be lower compared to high-fidelity MVPs. It is because low-fidelity MVPs target basic complexities and have the primary goal of finding a suitable solution for the target audience. Whereas high-fidelity MVPs are aimed at understanding whether customers will pay for their solutions or not. Here are rough cost estimates for different MVP types:

• Landing Page MVP: $1,000 to $5,000
• Single-feature MVP: $5,000 to $25,000
• Multi-feature MVP: $25,000 to $100,000

The Design Complexity Of Your MVP

Look and feel are important, right? However, the more you focus on it, the more it raises design complexities for your MVP. But, why not? An MVP should look and feel right.

A more extensive design of the MVP affects the overall budgeting. Whereas, a less appealing interface can keep your budget on track if you have a limited budget set for building your MVP. On average, a designer charges somewhere between $50 and $100 per hour, depending on the requirements of their business.

The Development Team Of Your MVP

Development is one of the key phases of MVP development, and you have to keep a good amount of budget aside while planning this phase. There are certain development approaches available that have their own costs.

In-House Development Team

Sometimes businesses plan to hire a development team themselves. This is a viable option if your budget is on the higher side and you plan to expand your business within a shorter span of time. Here is the cost estimation for hiring an in-house development team for your MVP project.

Hiring Freelancers For Your MVP Project

Another popular development option to build your MVP is hiring freelancers. Here, you must have some knowledge about the technical side, like top full-stack web development technologies. Then only you can hire freelancers who are experts at different tech stacks. This option might be cost-effective for you, but it is very complex on the technical side. Let us lay down a monthly cost estimation:

• Freelance developer: $4,000
• Tester: $2500
• Overall cost estimation: $4000-$15000

Read More: Why You Should Hire Full Stack Developers For MVP Development?

Hiring Local Teams

Freelancers can be from anywhere, increasing your average MVP development cost. But you might plan to hire team members locally to form a local team that can design MVPs for you within a reduced price range. Local teams charge somewhere from $150 to $200 per hour. So, if you hire like 5–6 team members to achieve different milestones, the final cost can touch $170,000 to $190,000.

Outsourcing Projects To MVP Development Company

This is one of the best options in terms of cost-effectiveness and sustainability. The global spending on outsourcing is estimated to cross $731 billion, which is a whopping amount. It gives us an idea of the popularity of businesses outsourcing their MVP projects to top MVP app development companies around the globe.

• Overall cost estimation of MVP App Development Company: $25,000 – $40,000

Location Of Your Development Partner

No matter if you go for a freelancer or outsource your project to an MVP development agency, the overall cost is highly affected by the location of your development partner. For example, in India, the average cost of development is nearly 2.5 times less as compared to the USA. Also, the quality remains the same. It is because infrastructure and living expenses are much higher in the USA, making it a reason for higher costs.

Decided Platform for Your Project

Another key factor driving the cost of MVP development is the platform you opt for. For example, native MVP development costs more compared to cross-platform MVP development and web MVP development. So, make sure that you have clear goals and objectives about which platform you want to choose.

Post-Development Factors Affecting The MVP Development Cost

With the key factors driving the cost of your MVP, there are some hidden costs that are a must for every business targeting to build an MVP. Here are these:

• The marketing cost of your MVP is roughly estimated at around $10,000.
• Sales team cost, whose rough estimation is also around $10,000
• Maintenance of your MVP since you might need iterations on the basis of user feedback. Generally, it is estimated at 20% of the total cost.
• Localization of your app or internationalization of the app might affect your overall cost.

Tips For MVP Development Cost Optimization

Budgets are flexible if you clearly plan things in advance. The case is the same with MVP development. In order to optimize costs for your MVP, there are certain tips that you can follow.

Thoroughly Research Your Users

Why do we build products? OfCourse to solve problems for users. Until and unless you have a clear understanding of your users, you cannot plan the optimization of your costs. A thorough user research will not only help you understand your users but also how to invest in them in the most cost-effective manner. Use surveys, questionnaires, feedback forms, and every other method to better understand your users.

Define Your MVP’s Core Features Clearly

There needs to be a strong understanding between the minimum viable product and the full product. You have to define the core features that you need in your MVP, or else you might end up adding so many features just like the full product. Focus on applying the key features that really define your idea so that you can test if users will like it or not.

Hire A Development Agency Instead Of Other Development Options

If you opt for building the team yourself or even hiring freelancers, the overall cost can be higher in the long run. Whereas, top mobile app development companies have the complete infrastructure required for your MVP to get developed. This development approach is also viable for the long run when you want iterations according to user feedback.

Go For Cross-Platform MVP Development

If you are clear about targeting both iOS and Android markets, look no further than a cross-platform app development agency. Through cross-platform technologies, developers can reuse the code, reducing the effort and turn-around time of your product, ultimately leading to cost optimization.

Read More: Factors that Will Determine Mobile App Development Cost in 2024

Convert Your Idea Into Reality With Our MVP App Development Services

When you build your MVP with RipenApps Technologies, you assure 50% more surety of getting your idea successful. Further, we have deployed a nearly 100% client satisfaction rate where 90% of our clients are recursive ones. And, nearly all of them have built their full product after building the MVP registering millions of downloads of their apps. This makes us one of the top cost-effective MVP development services providers.