Have you ever thought your startup needs a mobile presence but dropped the idea because of the high cost? Creating a React Native app can become a solution. With this framework, you can engineer applications for several platforms within one code, which greatly reduces development time and price. In this article, we aim to enumerate what points can increase the cost of React Native apps and explain what makes React Native apps a great choice for startuppers.

What makes React Native apps affordable?

If you need a mobile app at a lower price, use React Native. React Native is a JavaScript framework that can be used for building applications for multiple platforms from one code. There are several reasons why it makes development more cost-effective:

Single development team

React Native development allows engineering apps with TypeScript or JavaScript and there is no need to write code in platform-specific languages like Kotlin and Java for Android and Swift and Objective-C for iOS. That’s why you can hire only one team to develop and maintain the product, which results in cost reduction.

Over-the-air updates

Some open-source platforms like Expo allow releasing updates without verifying apps in Google Play and App Store. So, there is no need to wait for the apps to be accepted each time there is a need to fix a bug or add a new feature.

Single code for multiple platforms

If you already own a website or web app, some of their code pieces can be used for creating a mobile app or app for Android TV, Apple tvOS, and macOS. Thus, the development will speed up, and the price will get lower.

Large number of libraries

React Native has many libraries and a big community of IT specialists. Libraries are collections of prewritten code that can be used for developing app parts. Many basic features are created with the help of libraries, which eases up the development process and makes it more cost-effective.

You can contact us regarding your idea if you have already decided to build a mobile app. Our team has created more than 30 React Native mobile apps, so we know about all the challenges that can occur in the course of development. This helps us save the time and resources of our customers. Learn how we approach React Native app development.

The approximate React Native app development cost

The price of building a React Native app varies depending on how complicated the completed piece of software is. At Ronas IT, the average cost of an MVP on React Native is $30,000–$45,000, while the price of the fully-fledged product can reach $300,000 and even more.

How are the deadlines estimated?

The cost and timing of the project are interconnected points. The more time the engineers spend working on a project, the bigger the React Native app development cost is. At Ronas IT, it takes 3–5 months to build an MVP that costs $30,000–$45,000.

To reach a more realistic estimate, our team usually runs it twice. At first, we create an accurate estimate for the design and rough for development. When the interface of the future app is designed and approved, we thoroughly estimate the time and price required for the React Native app development.

During the past few months, our team has built two React Native apps. We have developed and launched Lainappi, which is a service for taking items for rent. As a result, our client got the first version of the app in 5 months. Another project was Oddscrowd, which is a betting app that we managed to launch within 3 months. So, 3–5 months for the first app version is quite a realistic deadline.

However, there are cases when it’s not clear what product the customer needs and what product features will solve the problem of the business. In this case, there is a need to run in-depth analytics. We’ll describe the process below.

What affects the React Native app development cost?

Let’s have a look at the main parts of the development process and find out how each of them affects the app cost.

It’s important to say that every feature added to the product increases its cost. Apps can be compared to cars. A daily driver doesn’t cost as much as a new generation vehicle that takes advantage of AI pilot, corresponds to safety rules, cuts back on fuel consumption, and reduces emissions. That’s why it’s important to install features that help you to hit your business goal.

Analytics

The greatest problem that can occur at the stage of analytics is the lack of shared vision between the project team and the client. If the project requirements are vague and the project team and their customer see the product differently, the team will have a hard time remaking pieces of work they have already completed. Finally, the React Native development process will get longer and more expensive. We advise project teams and their customers to take the following steps to gain shared vision:

Analyze the client’s problem

The team should gather info about services and goods their customer produces, find out how the company functions, and what role the developed application will play in the company’s workflow. Thus the React Native development company can understand what tech solution can solve their client’s problem.

Create a project breakdown

Here the analyst should create a list of features of the future app and prioritize them. The analyst will help the customer and the project team to understand which product features are necessary to reach the business goal.

Run estimate

After the project requirements are made clear, and the project breakdown is completed, the team can estimate the project. As we have mentioned earlier, it’s better to make a detailed estimate of the design first and make an approximate estimate of the development. After the interface design is completed, the project team can run a thorough development estimate. Our team takes these steps to estimate the project more accurately and not to inflate the development costs.

Design

UI/UX designers create the UI of the interface, embed the company’s brand identity into it, and develop a UI Kit that can be used to scale the design. On average, it takes the design team 3–4 weeks to build the interface design. At this stage, the customers get mockups and prototypes that can be tested or shown to the stakeholders.

The main point here is that designers need to build only one interface, and it will look identical both on iOS and Android devices. So, if you are not planning to make interfaces for iOS and Android different, the design for React Native app will cost less than the design for the native app.

Here’s the list of things that enrich the experience but add to the scope of design and increase its cost:

Adapting design to different screen formats

When you make your app accessible from different types of devices, you reach a wider audience. If you want to launch the developed app on tablets and screens with horizontal orientation, the designers need to create a separate layout for each device.

Animation

Animations can serve as clues and notify users about what’s going on in the app. Designers and engineers have to work in close coordination to create a mockup that would be quick to implement during the stage of development. Thus, they improve the user experience. Setting up the animation requires more time and increases the total React Native app development cost.

Dark and light modes

During the last few years, dark modes were quite trendy and saved many mobile users from eye strain. You can consider getting a dark mode for your app. Although designers need to create separate mockups for both modes, your users will be able to choose a convenient mode.

Custom illustrations

Illustrations can be used as part of onboarding screens and another part of the user interface and make them more lively and recognizable. Each illustration requires the designer’s time, increasing the cost of the overall design.

Also, each iteration of improvements will make the design more expensive. That’s why it’s important to thoroughly discuss the requirements before diving into the design process.

Development

At the stage of React Native app development, engineers develop the features according to their priority. During the development, front-end and back-end teams work together to implement all the basic functionality.

Here’s the list of basic features that, on the one hand, can enhance the functionality of any app but, on the other hand, can increase the complexity of the development process and add to the React Native app development cost. Some of them may not be included in the MVP but you can consider installing these features after the app is tested to provide your customers with a more enjoyable user experience. You can work with an analyst to understand which of these features the MVP needs.

External integrations

External integrations can complement the basic app features and allow integration of already existing services like Google maps or Apple Pay in your app. Although it takes some time to install each integration and increases the React Native app development cost, the external integrations make app functionality richer.

Unique features

Although React Native has many ready-made solutions for developers, sometimes, they are not enough. If your app needs a unique feature, developers will need to create a native plugin, align it with the app and go through several iterations of setup and fixing bugs.

Offline mode, advanced features for editing video and content creation, or hardware-related features in mobile games can be called unique ones. Although such features take some time to develop and set up, they make your app stand out from similar ones.

Here’s the unique chat feature in the Lainappi app. With its help, users can pay for rental items and schedule item exchanges.

Authorization complexity

The users can sign in to the app using the login and password and that is the easiest method of authorization developers can implement. However, you may want users to sign in with their Facebook and Apple accounts or enable authorization with Reddit, Slack, or Twitter accounts which can be more expensive to implement. By providing multiple authorization variants, you can make the sign-up quicker for users of different online communities.

In-app adverts

Adding in-app adverts to the app is a great monetization strategy. But integrating an ad network into your app will add to React Native app development cost.

Analytics dashboard

To analyze how your customers use the app, you may need a system of analytics like Google Analytics. It allows app owners to see what screens the app users spend most of their time on and what buttons they tap. Based on this data, you can later enhance your in-app experience. It’s an important feature, but it requires some resources to install.

File managers

Text and photo editors or software for creating reports need a system for processing files. The file manager will be a core feature if you are to create an app for content makers.

Number of platforms

React Native development can be used not only for engineering apps for iOS and Android devices. They can also be adapted to web browsers as well as Android TV, Apple tvOS, and macOS. The more systems you reach, the more users are able to use your application.

Release

After the app is designed and developed, it should be submitted to Google Play and App Store. It will be accepted by the stores if they correspond to the platform guidelines and existing laws. Some apps should be thoroughly reviewed before release.

For instance, finance apps can be submitted only by companies that are declared to be financial organizations. In case this point is not covered, it will be rejected by the store, and the team will have to rebuild the entire interface. That’s why the price will keep rising.

During the time on the market, we gained considerable experience and found out about all the pitfalls and reasons why the app can be rejected by the stores. This helps us release apps to the store more quickly and save time and resources for our customers. To avoid this issue, it’s better to hire an experienced React Native development company that can warn you about the law issues.

Maintenance

The React Native development may not end after the first app release. The project team can keep cooperating with their clients to fix the bugs and release updates to keep the libraries used in the app up-to-date. Here are the things that can affect the cost of maintenance.

Code refactoring

It’s important to run code refactoring and update the technologies initially used in the development. These procedures shouldn’t be avoided because, otherwise, they may result in bugs and cause new fixing iterations that will bring the app owner new expenses.

Number of platforms

If you want an app for multiple platforms, you will have to maintain the app for each of them. The bigger the number of platforms, the bigger the price of the maintenance.

Wrapping up

React Native app development is a great approach for business owners who want to test their business idea. This technology allows building an MVP even with a small budget and short timeline, as it allows developing apps for multiple platforms from one code.

The development of each feature will increase the total price of the app. But as our experience shows, the lack of a common vision of the developed product is the greatest issue. This factor evokes multiple fixing iterations that will add to the app cost.

To provide a smooth project flow and successful release, it’s better to hire a team that can prove its expertise with client reviews and cases.

In case you are searching for a React Native development company, contact us regarding your idea! We will analyze your goals and requirements and help you build a successful business tool.