Talking app development cost: It shouldn’t be taboo

When it comes to building an app, discussing your app development budget shouldn’t be taboo

Here’s a common conversation about app development budgets that occurs when people reach out to us about creating a mobile or web app:

Client: “How much does it cost to create an app?”
Developer: “What’s your budget range?”
Client: “Oh, I don’t want to tell you”

There’s a definite taboo around talking about budget before estimation. Our experience is that clients often think that whatever number is spoken is suddenly the number that the project will cost. To us as your potential developers, however, understanding your budget range is a critical element to planning and approach to your project.

If you’re still in the early stages of figuring out your app development budget and have zero preconceptions about the cost of developing an app in Australia, you may not have established a set figure yet. That’s absolutely fine – but it’s important to at least have an expected app development cost in mind so that everyone’s on the same page.

Here’s why sharing your app development budget range is so important

1. To make sure we’re the right partner for you

Sometimes people who are completely new to the mobile or web app development space can have an unrealistically low expectation of app development cost. The reality of app development is that it’s generally not cheap to develop or maintain. Like any partnership, It’s best to be on the same page about budget as early as possible to make sure we’re speaking the same language.

2. It means we can propose the best solution

There are many types of software projects, some are feature rich but technically straightforward; some are technically challenging but small in scope; some lay in between.

If we have an idea of your app development budget and the required feature set, it helps us make decisions to best drive your project. This could be things such as choices in technology, or removing ‘nice to have’ features, or planning out a roadmap to deliver features over time.

Of course if your expected budget aligns with the features of the app, then happy days, although we would still assess it from a strategy point of view to make sure those features still make sense to the market.

At Appliquette, we’re here to work alongside you in partnership to achieve your ideal outcomes and deliver amazing work – and the best way to do this is by having open conversations about all facets of the project and how we can help deliver a development proposal that best meets your needs.