So, planning out to start an online taxi and car-sharing business, or you already have one and looking out for a mobile app for the advancement?
Regardless to say, Uber will be the first name that would come in your mind for the references to research about the procedures and would want to know about it.
Along with the process, you would be more keen to know how much would it cost you to develop a mobile app like Uber, am I right or am I right?
Well, today I will be discussing in this complete article about the process and cost of development of a mobile app that functions like the one for Uber does.
However, before we start discussing the cost, let me focus on whether or not you want to build an app highly functioning like Uber. Here we go!
Uber – Mobile Application
While thinking about mobile applications for taxis or car hires, what makes Uber the first one to come to our minds?
Well, it can be its brilliant services, the vast variety of features or the functionalities of the mobile application itself.
Uber, along with the services on the road, provides the best user experience on the app comprising of the highly efficient app functionalities.
It uses high-end functionalities like GPS tracking, Payment gateways, and Fare calculator which may not be functioning well with a weak or bug-full app backend.
Further, it is available on both the major platforms – Android and iOS.
The APIs related to the functionalities and their integrations is a different process in both the platforms.
Also, they come up with superb updates enhancing the riding experience and app’s user experience much better every time.
The app comes with a robust backend as the scaling, and the features of the application do not make it a heavy load on the user’s Smartphone.
Thus, when you are planning to create an app like Uber you need to justify with your app features and its robustness and yes, the service of course.
Then, how much does it take to create an app like Uber?
Here we come to the title topic what I started writing this article for.
The complete Interface of Uber, if considering the car sharing one only, includes a minimum of two platforms:
- The driver’s app
- The passenger’s app
Let us review the list of features each app may require.
Features for a Driver’s App include
- Registration
- Booking
- Notifications
- Map Navigation
- Fare Calculator
- Reporting
- Messaging
- Support & Contact Center
Also, to manage the complete schedule and circulation of the drivers from a center point, an admin panel will be required too.
Features for a Passenger’s App include
- Sign up / Login
- Booking Interface
- Tracking
- Fare Calculator
- Payment options
- Push Notifications
- Messaging
- Reviews & Ratings
- Booking History
Looking at the list of features mentioned above, we can understand that a solid base of developers and technologies is sure to be required.
Uber, being thoughtful to this requirement, has disclosed its API to the public and the developers on its website to help them tailor-make their taxi hiring mobile app.
However, while considering its development, a company should be thoughtful enough not to consider hiring an offshore mobile app development company just by cherry picking the lowest cost one.
One thing you need to tie the knot in your head that developing a taxi hailing mobile app is not a one time task and it is never finishing the development.
Its development and maintenance will be termed as an on-going project only since the day you start planning and preparing it.
Thus, be prepared that you are going to get a dent, wait, not a dent but a bottomless pit on your bank balance while developing a correctly functioning taxi app.
Now when you know that you can’t outsource the project, you need to find and hire the best mobile app developers, both for iOS and Android and give them the in-house job roles on a full-time salary.
The complete development of an efficiently functioning taxi app may take up to 4500 to 5000 hours. You can count up to 12 months to launch it to the public with complete functions to use.
The Cost of Development
The cost of developing the complete app is broken into the phases of development each thing.
For iOS –
- Backend Development – $5,000 – $6,000
- App Development – $12,000 – $14,500
- Frontend Development – $9,500 – $11,000
- Testing – $6,500 – $8,000
The total of above development elements sums up to $33,000 to $39,500 for developing a basic taxi app for iOS.
For Android –
- Backend Development – $5,000 – $6,000
- App Development – $13,000 – $15,500
- Frontend Development – $12,000 – $14,500
- Testing – $8,000 – $10,000
The total of above development elements sums up to $38,000 to $46,000 for developing a basic taxi app for Android.
Total cost for both platforms
The total cost for developing a basic taxi app functioning on iOS as well as an Android platform will sum up to $71,000 to $85,500.
This is an estimate of a basic taxi app development, but as and when your business grows you would need to add up more features in the app and maintain it from time to time to keep it bug-free.
Its maintenance has its own cost. It would help if you instructed your team of developers to keep a timely check on all the features.
This particular category of application requires high maintenance of bug testing as it deals with the personal details of the users.
Further, if you are planning to outsource the project because of lack of skilled people in your locality or because you can’t keep a check on this aspect and want an experienced brain to look after the complete management or whatever the reason may be, you can count the cost adding up a few more thousands.
Talking about Uber
When we are looking at the development cost of a taxi app and referring to Uber, we need to see how much did the peer pay.
Back in 2016, the company had over 1200 engineers on the desks working over the app which probably would have touched the count of 1800 to 2000 by now and each costing the company around $270K to $350K a year on an average.
Moreover, looking at the services and the functionalities encompassed in the application, we can nod to yes that the investment of such a tremendous amount of development is making an asset to all, not the company alone.
Uber takes utmost care of all the features of the app such as the Geo-location feature, Payment Gateways, and others.
It keeps on working towards more and more integrations to various platforms such as combining to social media and maps which ease the lives of people on the go.
So, how much to spend on such an app?
Well, concluding this piece, we see about here that the referring platform is the one that has drawn the eyes towards itself for years now and to develop a same kind of app is a shoulder bending task.
Further, if you are looking forward to it as one of your business goals, you must give your hundred percent to its development and well-functioning.
The features in tech are never-ending, and if you want to walk head to head in the competition, you need to be up on your toes to stay updated about the tech and use it to make users’ lives better.
The above written are just the basic numbers as I mentioned earlier in the paragraph, but when you want to excel, you must try to invest as much as you can.
Also, the development of the app is not the only thing you need to do to make millions out of it.
You need to invest in the marketing of the app and your services related to that.
For marketing, you must consider hiring an excellent digital marketing specialist with great market experience and knowledge of the trends.
Author bio:
Manan Ghadawala is the founder of 21Twelve Interactive which is one of the best mobile app development company in India and the USA. He is an idealistic leader with a lively management style and thrives raising the company’s growth with his talents. He is an astounding business professional with astonishing knowledge and applies artful tactics to reach those imaginary skies for his clients. Follow him on @twitter
