Do you have an idea for what you think will be the next big app in India? You’re not alone.
So maybe as it’s the country with the world’s largest number of smartphone users and a rapidly maturing digital economy
the route to a startup fortune in 2025 will also come via the launch of a massively popular mobile app.
But what is the real cost to develop an app in India from ideation to publishing?
We’ll help break down the app development cost in India and design,
but also for marketing and updates and help make sure you have a grip on your budget and aren’t burned by any surprise costs.
The Real Costs to Developing an App
The illusion of making something out of an app, of course, is that you hire a developer and all the other pieces of the equation tend to fall into place
But the reality is that building an app has been a multi-step race that depends on designing,
iterating, handling infrastructure, maintaining over the long term, and strategy to grow the user base
The overall project cost may also depend on project size, technology stack, a team, and long-term goals
App Development Cost in India
Simple Apps
If you think about launching an app with only primitive things such as a listing of calculator or something that is almost static to do so cost of development differs but it’s still going to be expensive,
it will in the range of 80k-2 lakh in any case
Medium Complexity Apps
For applications containing functionality such as a e-commerce transaction capabilities, payment gateways,
GPS-based location tracking and even the bare bones application programming interface (API) based solutions
it can start at ₹6 lakh and can go upto ₹15 lakh.
That would apply to services such as food delivery apps, taxi booking apps or event ticketing services
High-End/Complex Apps
Apps which requires AI, live video streaming, real time chat, or custom back end architecture are such
These are the type of construction that you would usually require the machinery of a big development team for and could cost between ₹20 lakh and ₹50
lakh or more. It might be apps such as Instagram, Swiggy or WhatsApp
What Affects Development Cost?
- Developer (freelancers, in-house agency) rate per hour of operation
- Project timeline and scope
- Tech stack, number of platforms (Android / iOS / web)
The more elaborate the app, the longer it takes to develop and the more it will cost to build
Let’s not be Superficial. What is UI/UX Design?
Basic UI/UX Design
A sub-basic design package may come for between ₹50,000 and ₹2 lakh. This covers wireframes,
UI mockups, and some minor branding. It is good enough for MVPs (Minimum Viable Products)
Specialized UI With Flipping And Art
And if your app needs high-end user experience meaning you want custom transitions, brand illustrations
and other unique interactivity it’s somewhere between ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh
It’s not a luxury to take design seriously, that’s how you get people to click
Why Invest in Good Design?
Most Users choose whether or not to keep or ditch an app in the first 30 seconds. Clean and intuitive UI design equals better onboarding, higher retention
Backend Infrastructure & Hosting
Cloud Hosting
Chances are that you’d need a robust, reliable and scalable clouds architecture that you can use to store and manage users profile info, media or real time capabilities
Services like Hostinger AWS, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure bill you for what you use and your scale, and their pricing is generally monthly
So, based on the number of active users and the kind of data storage you may need, you could be prepared to spend anywhere between ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 a month
Backend Features
Backend is everything that happens behind the scenes that isn’t directly related to the experience served by your frontend user interface (UI)
for example who the users are, system/database communications, payment processors, integrations to external services
the admin panel, etc. The initial set up for only this part is priced between ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh
Security & Scalability
There is never enough emphasis on security.
And you’ll also want to shell out for the encryption and secure log-ins and firewall and performance monitoring (cyberattacks are a blooming)
They may not be price tagged, but here are some of the bottom line costs of building a bullet-proof product
Maintenance and Regular Updates
Why Maintenance Is Continuous
Apps must be updated to continue working with the latest OS releases, to correct bugs,
to introduce new features and to respond to users’ feedback This isn’t a one-time task
Monthly Costs
One profitable item to add is for app support (routine support, fixing bugs, upgrade to newer version of OS) you can charge anywhere between ₹10,000 to 50,000
a month right Follow on costs for releasing new features,
and transitioning to later versions of course would also be additional costs, depending upon scale.
Skipping maintenance = Losing users
But it is not the product of the app itself that kills many of them, it is the lousy maintenance. Want to be good in bed long-term, succeed
Marketing, ASO, and Launch Costs
App Store Optimization (ASO)
All app store optimization (ASO) is, is to optimize the app’s store description, keywords, screenshots etc
with the intention s to get your app as high as possible in the app stores.
What does it cost? It can vary from ₹20,000 to ₹1 lakh depending upon the quality and depth of keyword research
Digital Marketing Strategy
And finally, you’re going to have to bottom-fish your own customers through online ads (Google, Meta), influencer shoutouts, email, and content marketing
Costs Digital campaigns cost between ₹1 lakh and ₹10 lakh a month, depending on scale and goal
Initial Launch Campaign
You might plan on putting aside money for launch press releases,
and to pay beta testers, and for early user incentive systems if you are going to do the product launch
Realistic Budget Estimates For App Development Cost in India
Here is how that shakes out, broadly speaking, according to industry trends and the estimates of agencies
Small Apps
Here’s around what you would pay: If you are bootstrapped and working on an app that is stripped to how it can be with minimal to basic features,
you can expect to pay ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh for the entire project.
That was development,design, a bit of backend, and a lean launch in marketing
Medium Complexity Apps
As some of our apps are linked to e-commerce or payment facility, usually the budget for the same is in the range of ₹15 lakh to ₹30 lakh.
Our back-end certainly is, big-custom-build performance driven infrastructure
Complex or Enterprise-Level Apps
The costing for futuristic tech in apps (AI, blockchain, real-time streaming) could vary from ₹40 lakh to ₹80 lakh or even more and for apps with a user base of millions, it could be higher
You’d also need dev(s)-full-time dedicated to your app, 24/7 support and loads of marketing cash
Conclusion
It’s an exciting and exorbitantly expensive prospect to build an app development cost in India For a start up founder
small business owner or a tech entrepreneur, knowing exactly how much it truly Costs to create the thing YOU want to build, is vital to getting it right the first time.
Budget smart. Build right. Launch strong.
