How Much Does It Cost To Host And Maintain an App

By the end of the year 2022, the app hosting market is expected to reach a valuation of $72.5 billion. Clearly, people are willing to spend a lot of money to host their apps.Have you ever thought about how you’re going to host and maintain your app once it’s launched on the app store? If not, now’s the time to consider it.Read on to learn more about the cost of hosting and maintaining an app, from server costs to customer support. This information will help you to plan ahead and budget accordingly.

Do You Need a Server for Your App?

Generally speaking, you do need a server to host your mobile app, whether you’re developing one for iOS devices, Androids, or Amazon Echo products.The server is key because it hosts the content that users will access through your app. Without a good approach to hosting, you’ll have a hard time providing app users with a good experience.

How Much Does it Cost to Host an App?

The cost of hosting an app can vary quite a bit. On average, most people spend anywhere from $70 per month on the low end to $320 per month on the high end. The specific price you’ll pay for hosting depends on a lot of factors, including the following:

App Type

This is one of the first things to consider when calculating the cost of app hosting. After all, if your app is very complex and feature-heavy, it’s going to need a more robust hosting platform than a basic app.If you’re working with a development team or agency (which is highly recommended, unless you have an extensive background in the tech and development world), talk to them to see what they recommend when it comes to hosting for your app. They’ll be able to provide professional insight based on their past experience and will let you know what type of hosting you should invest in to support your app (and your customers).

Server Type

Next, you’ll need to think about the type of server you need to use to host your app.Do you want to use a shared server? A dedicated server?With shared hosting, your app is hosted on the same server as several other apps, as the name suggests. With dedicated hosting, your app has the entire server to itself.Dedicated servers allow for more privacy and may run more efficiently than shared servers, especially as the app starts attracting more and more users. At the same time, though, shared servers are much less expensive than dedicated servers.If you’re working with a tight budget, a shared server may be a better choice. If you are anticipating a lot of users right out of the gate, though, you may be better off opting for a dedicated server.

Hosting Tenure

Most app hosting plans are time-bound. In other words, you’ll need to renew your contract and sign up for a new hosting plan after a certain period of time.Keep in mind that long-term hosting plans tend to cost less per month compared to short-term plans. At the same time, though, if you’re not happy with your long-term hosting service, you’ll have to wait a long time before you can switch to a new one. This is why it’s important to do your homework before making a decision.

Application Licensing

Many people assume that application hosting costs also include the cost of licensing to use specific software. That’s not always the case, though.Sometimes, you might need to pay for both the license and the hosting service before you can start using them. Do your research to find out if this applies to you before you commit to working with a specific hosting service. That way, you won’t get hit with any not-so-fun surprises when the bill arrives.

APIs

An Application Programming Interface (or API for short) is an intermediary tool that allows 2 applications to communicate back and forth with one another. An easy way to understand an API is to think of a waiter in a restaurant. The waiter is an intermediary between you and the kitchen to figure out what you want to eat and bring it out to you as quickly as possible.APIs streamline the app development process and make it easier for apps to integrate with one another. They provide a lot of benefits, but they may influence the complexity of your app and your overall hosting costs, too. Your development team can provide more insights and factor this information in when helping you to make the right hosting decisions.

How to Choose an App Hosting Platform

There are lots of app hosting platforms you can use for your business’s app. If you’re not sure which platform you want to work with, here are some factors to consider:

Hosting Type

Make sure the hosting platform that you’re considering offers the type of hosting that you need for your app. For example, if you’ve decided that dedicated hosting is important to you, you’ll need to verify that the hosting platform offers that option.It’s a good idea to double-check the features and perks you get with each level of hosting, too. That way, you won’t invest a lot of money in a type of hosting that doesn’t offer the features your app needs to perform well and provide your customers with a good user experience.

Cost

Of course, you’ll need to think about the price of your app hosting service, too.Does the hosting service require monthly payments? Do they allow you to pay for the entire year (or longer) upfront?Take note of the pricing breakdown and consider which option will be most cost-effective for you. Remember to factor in the length of the contract and any penalties you’ll have to pay if you cancel early, too. Look at all the fine print so you don’t get taken by surprise.

Reviews

Don’t forget to read reviews for different hosting platforms, too. This is an easy way to see what other people like and don’t like about a specific platform, and it allows you to make an informed decision for your app and your company.If possible, look at a variety of reviews from different, third-party sites. By taking this approach, you can get a more well-rounded view of each platform.

How Much Does it Cost to Maintain an App?

Ideally, you’ll be just as dedicated to app maintenance as you are to the app development process.If you don’t have a plan for how you’re going to keep your app working properly, now is the time to start thinking about it. After all, how are you going to make sure it’s profitable long-term if you don’t have any plans for updates and customer support?Before we dive into the details of app maintenance, let’s break down the average cost of maintaining an app once it’s built. As a general rule, it’s a good idea to budget about 20 percent of the initial app development cost for maintenance. If you spent $50,000 on an app, for example, it would likely cost around $10,000 per year to keep it up and running.

Factors That Affect App Maintenance Costs

The specific maintenance costs for your app will vary depending on many factors, including the following:

App Complexity

In the same way that app complexity will have an impact on your app hosting costs, it will also have an impact on your app maintenance costs. If your app has lots of features, that means there’s more room for something to go wrong or for customers to run into trouble.You’ll need a more robust maintenance and customer service interface in place if your app falls toward the more complicated side of the spectrum. That way, you can address issues right away and prevent customers from getting frustrated and deleting the app altogether.

Development Team Location

Of course, the location of your app development team will influence the price of maintenance, too. A developer hourly maintenance fee in Central Europe might cost somewhere between $25 and $60 per hour, for example, and a developer fee in the U.S. might cost more like $50-$150 per hour.Take note of the way your development team charges for app maintenance and support, too. Do they charge a flat, fixed cost for the whole year or month? Do they charge by the hour and allocate a certain number of hours per month?Learn the answers to these kinds of questions early on so you know what to expect when something (inevitably) goes wrong with your app.

Services Needed

Maintenance costs are also influenced by the types of services needed. Similar to the point made above about app complexity, more labor-intensive services will be more expensive than simple fixes. Here’s a list of some of the most common app maintenance services you might find yourself requesting:

• Bug fixes and updates
• iOS and Android operating system updates
• Publishing new content
• Push notification management
• Improvements based on app analytics
• Hosting platform maintenance
• Upgrades from third-party services/integrations
• API maintenance

Consult your development team to find out which of these services you’ll most likely need to utilize for your app. They can also give you estimates of how much each one will cost. That way, you’ll have a general idea of what to expect when the time comes.

Start Developing Your App Today

There’s a lot more to developing an app than hiring a team and sharing your vision. You’ll need to factor in all kinds of costs to make sure the app continues to run as smoothly as possible and provides your customers with a great experience.Now that you know more about the costs of app hosting and maintenance, are you ready to move forward with developing your app? Keep this information in mind so you can create your budget properly and prepare for the future.If you need help with any stage of the app development process, from the prototyping phase to the launch phase, we’re here for you at Alpha Bravo Development. Contact us today to learn more about our app development services or to get a quote.