Maintaining a mobile application is as important as developing it. Building an app is just the beginning of your digital journey. After your mobile app is created and launched, it is crucial to update it regularly, perform troubleshooting and bug fixes, and enhance or change some of its features to keep it relevant, secure, & user-friendly. This is where mobile app maintenance comes in.
If you don’t maintain your app regularly, it may face security issues, crashes, or lack user experience. But the question is, “How to estimate the mobile app maintenance costs?“
In this blog post, I have shared some key factors and facts about mobile app maintenance that will help you hire a mobile app developer or agency to manage your app.
#1 The estimate
The average mobile app maintenance costs range between 15% and 25% of the total app development cost. For example, if your app is costing you SGD 20,000, you can expect to pay between SGD 3,000 & SGD 5,000 for its maintenance. In this cost, you will get regular updates, app hosting, security patches, and minor improvements.
#2 The deciding factors
Several factors determine the costs of mobile app maintenance.
- Servers
Is your app using web services or a web frontend for its functioning? If so, you will need to pay for both web hosting and mobile app hosting. - Development Platform
Native apps are more expensive to maintain compared to hybrid apps (such as Flutter and React Native). - Third-party Integrations
If your mobile app utilizes more third-party integrations, any changes in the policies will require your app developer to make significant adjustments, which will impact your app maintenance costs. - Frequency Of Enhancements
The frequency of new features that need to be added to the app will also affect its maintenance costs. If you need to add frequent changes or enhancements to your mobile app, it will increase the maintenance costs. - Design/UX Changes
Many startups & small businesses like to change their designs and UI/UX frequently, based on users’ feedback & response in the MVP version of the app. These kinds of maintenance works will definitely cost more than basic upkeep of the app. - Developer vs Agency
The cost of website maintenance varies depending on whether you hire a mobile app developer or an agency to manage your app. An agency may charge you a slightly higher rate than individual developers.
3. Saving on Mobile App Maintenance
- Choose a cross-platform framework
Instead of building separate iOS & Android apps (using the Native framework), consider a framework like Flutter or React Native, which can help significantly reduce your maintenance costs. - Make fewer UI/UX adjustments
Try to include fewer UI/UX changes in the maintenance scope so that your app developers don’t have to spend more time modifying the interfaces and can instead focus on the app’s core functionality and basic upkeep. - Go for an MVP first
Whether it’s about saving the cost of your app development or maintenance, going for an MVP (minimum viable product) first will definitely save you money. I always advise new startups and small businesses to invest in an MVP first and plan for strategic expansion.