Accurate software that serves the customer can be a great source of income. Businesses and developers are currently targeting to create unique and well-featured software to build a successful business out of it.

But, most business owners back off from creating software because it requires an investment. Well, every business requires investment, so why is software development special? It is not special, you just need to understand the money you are spending on the software is not a cost, it is an investment. Also, good software will give you the best return on investment.

Building great software at the cheapest cost is possible. Let’s learn what the cost of software development and how to build software affordably.

What is Software Development?

Software development is the process of building software, it involves designing, coding, testing, and maintaining the software.
The development of accurate software is complex. You can hire software developers or a custom software development company. Software development requires a sufficient investment and there are other unseen costs as well. But don’t worry, with the right guidance you can find the best way to develop software.

Types of Software

There are three major types of software, and each software has distinct features:

1) Web Software

Web software is the tools or a web app available on any browser, you can use it with an internet connection. The developers use Javascript, CSS, and HTML to develop web software.

2) Native Mobile Software

These software are primarily used in mobile operating systems. The software works primarily in a common mobile operating system. The mobile apps for Android and iOS operating systems are considered as Native mobile software.

3) Hybrid Software

The software can be usable across multiple operating systems is known as hybrid software. This software is built with a javascript framework, and it helps to minimize the cost for those who are aiming to launch on multiple operating systems.

Estimate Custom Software Development Cost

Cost estimation plays a crucial part in deciding the budget for software development. You can estimate the costs for the development by following these four tips:

1) Breakdown tasks

Breaking down the project into small parts is always helpful to estimate the costs of small tasks, and then calculate the overall cost of the project.

Let’s say you wish to determine the project’s total cost based on its time frame and you have an approximate estimate of ten hours for the project’s duration.

However, the overall task will be accurate if you break it down to a small task and calculate the cost of an individual task. Let’s assume you spend you break the project into 5 tasks;

• 2 hours in designing CTA
• 5 hours for the About Us section
• 3 hours for contact us form
• 4 hours for the services section

Now, if you sum up the timeframe it takes 14 hours to finish the entire task. So, breaking down helps you accurately measure the time frame. Never go with the rough estimation without considering its building block tasks.

2) Remove the confusion by asking questions

Asking questions always helps to clear the doubt. Have a meeting with developers and ask them about the expenses they are making on the project.

The developers can explain to you the complexity of the project, the technology and features needed to be added to the software, and the overall development cost.

You can add your suggestions, and ask the importance of every segment of the development process. This can help you to avoid extra expenses on unnecessary things.

3) Keep tabs on extra software prices

Have a record of extra expenses on software development. These records can help you with accurate cost estimation.

The extra expenses can be made on pre-development, Find bugs, testing, revision, and deployment. The extra expenses can be a major part of the overall software development and testing cost.

Cost to Develop Software

Based on the complexity of the software

The software’s complexity determines how much it will cost to develop. The complex software needs complex coding, testing, programming, and design. It can differ from developer to developer.

The software with a higher number of features and advanced tools requires more complex algorithms and coding. The complexity increases the development cost. Also, developers charge high prices for complex coding.

So, you need to avoid adding unnecessary features that increase the complexity of the development and keep the software development process simple but useful.

• The cost of developing a simple app is estimated at $1600- $32000.
• For medium complexity, it is $32000-$48000
• For a very complex development, it is $72000+

Based on the software development team

The cost differs with the type of developers of the software development team you hire.

You need to choose the most affordable and beneficiary option to create the best software at the minimum price.

4 Types of Software Development Teams that Charge Differently

• The local development company. (They charge $200,000)
• In-house developers. (They charge $220,000)
• Freelance developers. (They charge around $150,000)
• Offshore software development company. (They charge $100,000)

Based on the market price you can clearly understand the cost of different software development teams. You can choose the right option based on your budget.

Unseen Costs of Marketing

Your job is not done with just building accurate software, the marketing is equally important. To run your business successfully you need to make people use your software. So, make sure to spare money to invest in the market.

There are marketing segments that require valuable investment:

• Search engine optimization for better reach
• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Marketing team expenses

The sum of marketing cost and development cost is the overall cost of software development.

Conclusion

Software development may be a costly process, but by making the right strategy to estimate the cost, analyzing the cost factors correctly, and removing unnecessary expenses, you can build accurate software.

Choose the development as per your need. Remember, the cheaper way is not always the best, choose the option that suits your desired software.