And unless you’ve prepared an exhaustive software requirements specification (SRS) document listing the product’s feature set, UI/UX requirements, optimum technology stack, target audience, compliance provisions, and a dozen other issues, it’s impossible to put a price tag on your application.
- Target platforms. An application built for a particular platform (iOS, Android, web, or a cross-platform solution based on Flutter) has a minimum viable feature set, totaling software development efforts to X person-hours. If we’re building a multi-platform solution, we must multiply the hours by the number of target platforms.
- Feature price. Every application feature — for instance, the end-user or admin profiles — has a minimum time tag of Y person-hours. The efforts increase proportionally when you add subfeatures to enhance an app’s functionality.
- Modifiers. Industries and software features have difficulty multipliers. For example, I increased the hour count by 20% for healthcare IT projects to address possible development issues, such as integrations with existing medical systems, compliance, etc. To calculate complexity modifiers, I divided the sum of the software features by the total hour count. A constant modifier adds project management and quality assurance numbers to the estimate. When an app’s features and intended platforms have been assessed, the number is multiplied by 1.3, increasing the hour count by 30%. Lastly, there is the project stage modifier, which evaluates the cost of software development based on the product’s readiness. If a user only wants to design the application’s interface, the final estimate is multiplied by 0.16. For functional prototypes, the modifier is 0.25. The minimum viable product (MVP) version of a software solution containing just enough features to go to market has a modifier of 0.5-0.75. Finally, the development efforts in person-hours are multiplied by 1 for market-ready products.
- Developer hourly rates. The price of building a custom software solution depends on who’s making it. Software engineer hourly rates differ greatly depending on a person’s specialization, experience, and country of residence. According to a recent survey by Accelerance, these rates can range from as little as $25 per person-hour for mobile developers in South Asia to as much as $172/hour (and counting!) for senior software engineers based in North America. When developing my software cost calculator, I programmed it to multiply the final hour count by the blended rate of a software project team stationed in Eastern Europe, where my company operates. Currently, it fluctuates around $41.6 per person-hour.
Below you will find a formula that sums up the factors mentioned above to produce an estimate:
To calculate the cost of custom software development, the Flutter-based calculator assesses several parameters, including the number of supported platforms, project stage, and software feature complexity.
To calculate the cost of custom software development, the Flutter-based calculator assesses several parameters, including the number of supported platforms, project stage, and software feature complexity.
Let me write this out for you:
- If a feature is not mobile-related and does not require implementation on multiple platforms, it will be marked as featurePrice.
- avgFeatureComplexityMult increases the estimate based on a project’s tech stack and target industry.
- productStageMultiplier denotes the desired stage of the product — i.e., design assents, a prototype, MVP, or market-ready solution.
- The PM/QA hours are mandatory for all projects unless the client handles the management and quality assurance part. In this case, however, no developer can guarantee that bugs will not manifest themselves in the code. A little clarification here: some companies expect their vendor to produce bug-free code on the first try and genuinely wonder why they need quality assurance.
Mature clients, on the contrary, have adequate expectations regarding the test code quality and early invest in QA to avoid dealing with bugs post-launch.
How to Estimate Your Project Using Software Cost Calculator
- Solution type. This section allows users to select one of the six categories: the Internet of Things, eCommerce, Education, Travel, Education, or Other.
- Project stage. As I told you earlier, the project stage modifier increases or reduces the cost of software development based on a software product’s readiness. The difference between the estimates for various product stages can also give a customer an idea of how much it could cost them to take their concept even further, enhancing the solution following its release.
- Target platforms. The current version of the calculator allows users to choose between the native mobile app development tech stack (iOS, Android), cross-platform apps built with Flutter, and web and tablet applications. I singled out the tablet version of mobile apps as a standalone category due to the heavy customization of user interfaces.
- UI/UX design. Based on the expected design asset complexity, the UI/UX modifier adds a certain amount of person-hours to the estimate. I’ve included the Animations feature in the list for clients looking to create smooth navigation transitions between an app’s screens in functional prototypes. The estimate will be reduced if the user is willing to provide their own design assets.
- User roles. The software cost calculator contains a section listing the application’s anticipated user roles. These range from end users to multi-level software solutions serving the needs of a company’s staff, application managers, and customers.
- Supported languages. The software development cost calculator will increase the estimate for multi-language websites and applications.
- Login options. Here, I opted for the three most-used login mechanisms — i.e., via a social media account, email address, or one-time password (OTP).
- Customer support. A prospect intending to keep in touch with their customers can choose one or several of the available customer support options, varying in complexity from a contact form to an integrated ticketing system.
- Monetization strategy. In this block, users can select between one-time purchases and subscriptions — or opt out of any monetization mechanisms.
- Types of content. I listed text, photos, videos, and audio files as the most common types of content available in software solutions while adding streaming capabilities as a separate feature. It is possible to add multiple options to the estimate.
- Live chat and audio/video calls for customer support. As part of the customer support functionality discussed earlier, live chats may allow multiple users to join the conversation and exchange files. The audio and video calls functionality are billed for separately.
- Geolocation. When creating the software calculator, I configured maps with pins and maps with routing as the primary geolocation options.
- Event bookings. The estimate will increase depending on whether your app will support the event booking functionality and who can perform it (e.g., admins or end users).
- Customer engagement. I chose push notifications and deep linking as the primary mechanisms for keeping users engaged.
- Gratification and gratification. The calculator only allows users to select between likes and ratings. Users may also add gamification features like progress bars and leadership boards.
- Analytics. The calculator offers to include basic or advanced analytics capabilities in the application’s feature set. Mind that we’re not talking about AI-powered analytics here.
- Compliance. If a custom application needs to comply with certain regulations, such as HIPAA, GDPR, or PCI/DSS, our estimate is bound to increase.
- Content management. Finally, the software cost calculator asks users to clarify their content management needs, from basic content authoring capabilities to a proper CMS and the CMS plus data visualization combo.
There are several reasons to understand why it’s important to determine the cost of developing Software before you start creating your project:
- Budgeting: Knowing the cost of developing Software can help you plan your budget and allocate resources accordingly.
- Resource allocation: This Software will help you in making decisions about which features and functions to include, and which ones to leave out or save for a future update.
- Priority setting: With the estimated cost, you can prioritize the most important features and functions, and ensure that you are getting the most value for your money.
- Risk assessment: Understanding the cost of the Software can help you assess the potential risks and benefits of the project, and make informed decisions about whether to proceed or not.
- Project planning: Having an idea of the development cost will enable you to create a project plan that takes into account the time and resources required for the development.
Overall, determining the cost of developing Software at the beginning of the project can help you manage your budget, allocate resources effectively, and make informed decisions about the project.
Factors affecting Software Development Cost :
Perhaps the first question that pops into your head when considering having your Software built by a Software development business is, “How much will it cost to develop? The correct response is “it depends,” since there isn’t a standard rate for developing Softwares. There is a tonne of variables that affect the overall cost of developing Software, but the following are the most important ones:
- The complexity of the Software: The more complex the Software, the more time and resources it will take to develop, which will increase the cost.
- The platform: Developing Software for iOS will generally cost more than Android, due to the differences in market share and development costs.
- The development team: The cost of the development team will vary based on their location, experience, and the size of the team.
- The design: Custom design elements, such as custom graphics and user interface elements, can increase the cost of development.
- The features: Adding more features to the Software will increase the development time and therefore the cost.
- Maintenance and updates: Ongoing maintenance and updates will also add to the overall cost of the Software.
Reference
- https://bambooagile.eu/estimate
- https://litslink.com/app-cost-calculator
- https://www.uptech.team/resources/app-development-cost-calculator
- https://hackernoon.com/how-i-built-a-software-cost-calculator
- https://www.creolestudios.com/software-development-cost-calculator/
- https://eleks.com/software-cost-calculator/
- https://anywhere.epam.com/business/software-development-cost-calculator
- https://magora-systems.com/app-cost-calculator/
- https://imaginovation.net/estimate-your-project-cost/
- https://digitalya.co/app-cost-calculator/
- https://expanice.com/software-cost-calculator
- https://www.creolestudios.com/free-software-development-cost-calculator/
- https://www.creolestudios.com/software-development-cost-calculator/
- cost :
- https://radixweb.com/blog/software-development-cost –> banyak standar harga
- https://www.spheregen.com/cost-of-software-development/
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