The Cost of Building an MVP Explained
Building an MVP for your mobile app can be a success factor. It might result in new ideas to enhance the app’s original concept. Or you could decide this idea is not profitable and move on to the next. All in all, an MVP is indispensable when making a new mobile app. The question here is, does building an MVP tighten the app development budget? This article discusses the cost of building an MVP, focusing on the factors determining the rate.
First, What is an MVP?
About 42% of new businesses fail due to insufficient consumer demand. Before investing time and money into developing software, the minimum viable product is used to gauge interest in the market. It sounds better than spending long months developing an app only to learn that nobody is interested in downloading it.
The 80/20 rule, from which we get the word "minimum," states that the majority of users only utilize 20% of a product’s features. To that end, we develop a minimally viable product. To ensure the success of the product, it is essential to zero in on the top 20% of features and devote most of your time and energy to them.
MVPs are especially useful for new businesses, such as start-ups, but they benefit any company developing a new product. After all, they are still less expensive than developing a fully featured product and then seeing it flop in the market.
MVP VS. Prototype
A prototype is a static visual representation of the app's essential structure and functionality. Prototypes come in three varieties: hand-drawn, lo-fi digital, and hi-fi digital.
An MVP, on the other hand, is digital in most cases, and it focuses on core features only, not all app functionality.
Cost of Building an MVP
The cost of building an MVP varies depending on the factors we’ll mention in the following section. Traditional MVP building can cost between $15,000 and $50,000, with an average of $30,000.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Building an MVP
#1: The Development Team
When building an MVP, you have a few options. You could hire freelancers and pay them by the hour or an in-house team to pay a monthly salary. The third option is to outsource to an agency, which you can pay by the hour or at a fixed rate.
In all cases, the app’s timeline determines how much you will pay, but generally, an in-house team requires more resources, while an agency and freelancers, as cheap as they are, can be unreliable.
The choice is yours, but if you opt for outsourcing, you should ensure you hire skilled designers. If you’re on a tight budget, you could employ designers from Asia, South America, Africa, or Eastern Europe as they’re much less costly than other designers like Americans or Western Europeans.
#2: App Type
The less complicated the app is, the cheaper it gets, and vice versa, because a simple MVP will take less time and resources to build. We’re not saying you should develop a basic app, but manage your expectations and prioritize the most crucial features to decide which to include in the MVP. When choosing the features, aim for the most helpful ones that address customers’ pain points instead of fancy, showy ones.
#3: Tech Stack Required
You have many options when choosing the tech stack for building the MVP. We recommend aiming for cost-effective stacks that are easy to understand and work with. For example, regarding the front-end stack, React.js and Vue.js are easier to grasp than Angular.js.
As for the back end, it depends on the app type and usability. Ruby on rails is the most secure and developer-friendly. However, Python is ideal for AI and Machine-Learning based apps and can be used for apps of bigger scales. Node.js can be used if you’re building a messaging or streaming app because it performs and scales highly.
#4: Design
The UI/UX design process is the most expensive and vital when building an MVP. In most cases, you don’t need an MVP just for the core feature; you also want to showcase your brand’s identity, designing logos and a unique interface. To cut costs, don’t go overboard with the brand’s design; keep it simple without too many details that take up the designers’ time. You can make an unfuzzy design that still impresses users and stakeholders.
No-Code MVP Building
Building an MVP with no code saves time and costs. We’re talking months and thousands of dollars. It eliminates the part where you hire a professional to finalize it, and the MVP is always easier to tweak and update.
There are several approaches to no-code MVP building:
1.) The Prototype: Create a working model of your product to learn more about customer needs.
2.) The Single Feature Approach: Focus solely on the app's most functions and release it as a standalone product to determine if it addresses users' needs.
3.) The Crowdfunding Approach: It's possible to crowdfund a prototype after successfully pitching the idea to the audience. You can use it to see if potential investors agree that it's a good bet.
4.) The Landing Page Approach: Use a landing page to introduce your app and highlight its best features.
5.) The Email Approach: Get feedback from potential customers by emailing them about your app and inviting them to join the beta test.
6.) The Chat Concierge Approach: Engage in conversation with prospective buyers and pay attention to their comments about the product.
MVP building is demanding money-wise. You spend thousands of dollars to create one that attracts investors and customers. No coding can save you money and still be effective if you can get the message across. Another way to save MVP-building and app development money is by using a no-code app builder. With the nandbox no-code app builder, you can save money and watch your app come to life within minutes of signing up for the native app builder.