What is Custom Software Development and How Much Does it Cost

The process of designing, developing, deploying, and supporting software for a specific group of users, functions, or organisations is known as custom software development.  

Custom software, is tailored to a particular set of requirements put forth by a business and therefore the cost of custom solutions can vary greatly. Read on for an in-depth analysis of custom software development and its associated costs. 

The Cost of Custom Software Development 

Many custom software projects, in our experience, cost between $50,000 and $250,000 to design and construct the application. 

It’s a wide range, and it’s probably not very beneficial if you’re ready to set a budget. That’s because software can range from a simple phone calculator to a large-scale enterprise billing system with millions of users. No two custom-built applications are identical. 

To help you figure out where you fit on the spectrum, we’ve listed the criteria that have the greatest impact on project costs. 

1. UI/UX Design 

The Ui/UX design has a lot to do with the cost of the software solution being developed. It also is an important factor that contributes to the overall success and popularity of the software solution. Custom software design consists of both UI and UX, and the software solution being developed must meet industry benchmarks to turn a profit. However, different UI/UX design levels come at different price points, making Design a primary factor affecting custom development cost.  

2. User Authorization features

User Authorization and user credential storing come at an added cost. If you software solution to be developing an software solution using any of the cross-platform software solution development frameworks available, including Custom, adding a user authentication feature will affect your overall development cost. Software solutions that do not require role-based authorization are cheaper to build. However, authentication features offer the user a more personalized experience and even boost brand perception levels. 

3. Software solution Complexity and Functionality 

If you use work time as a metric to estimate the cost demanded by your partnering custom software solution development company, software solution functionality and complexity are also factors to consider. As you include more features in your software solution, the time to incorporate those features adds up, and so do resources consumed, thus adding to the cost.  

If you plan to have an MVP created before you get into full-scale development, you can get a decent idea of which features you want and which are not essential, thus helping manage costs during development crunch times. 

As an industry best practice, software solution development initiatives are bifurcated into three categories: high complexity, medium complexity, and low complexity. The factors that determine software solution complexity levels are discussed below- 

• Deployment Architecture: When choosing backend development, you have the option of choosing either Baas (Backend as a Service) or custom backend development. While BaaS is the cheaper option in the short term, custom backend development can offer you levels of robustness and extensibility that BaaS cannot match up to.  

• Admin Panel: If your software solution development requirements include a feature-filled admin panel, software solution complexity increases resulting in higher development costs. 

• Third-Party Integrations:  To enhance your software solution’s UX, third-party plugins are exceptionally effective. However, they come at an additional cost. Integration of such plugins is a time and resource-intensive task that costs more. 

• Legacy integration:  If you wish to incorporate your legacy software solution into the current software solution you have developed, then such integration will add to the overall development cost. Suppose you wish to create a new software solution with its functionalities from scratch. In that case, it will cost slightly less than a legacy integration, given that legacy integration is considered a task of mid to high-level complexity. 
   

4. Software solution Development Team 

Striking the right balance between costs and efficiency is essential while building your software solution development team. You can hire developers at a nominal cost but with no assurance of code quality or software solution extensibility.

Search the web and visit sites like Clutch that offer genuine customer reviews for a better perspective. Remember to check whether your prospective custom software solution development partner has a track record of successful projects completed within timelines and budgets. 

5. Maintenance and Support 

The cost of developing an software solution continues even after it is launched. Now you have reached the point where you need to maintain your software solution and even incorporate upgrades to remain relevant. Software solution maintenance carries its costs. It is advised to choose a custom software solution development partner that maintenance and support services as a bundled deal. 

Software solution maintenance costs come under three headers: 

• Design changes 
• Updates 
• Bug Fixes 

IN terms of numbers, efficient software solution maintenance can cost up to 20% of your software solution development costs. 

6. Add-ons 

Software solution Add-ons are essential today, given that it is the age of social media. Suppose you incorporate add-ons that tap into your social media feeds. 

7. Location of Development Partner 

Choosing an offshore development partner always makes more financial sense.  This is one of the major reasons why companies prefer custom software development. 

8. Software solution Type 

Components like functionalities, security requirements, and user segmentation/are factors that decide your software solution’s category. E.g., There is a great difference between building an software solution for a food delivery service vs. building a calculator or a voice recorder. A food delivery service would require multiple plugins and add-ons, thus affecting custom software development costs. 

9. Device Hardware Access 

We already know that costs of a Custom development initiative go up as software solution complexity increases. In that vein, if your software solution requires access to your device hardware, then the code written will cost more. Creating an IoT software solution will cost a lot more than a native software solution.  

In Summation 

The cost of custom software development services is determined by its intended use, resulting in a list of required characteristics. For example, depending on its complexity, establishing a CRM system could take up to 1500 hours of work and cost up to $150.000 or more. At 1100 working hours, an e-commerce solution would cost roughly $110.000. The overall cost is also determined by the platform you select: cloud, desktop, or mobile app. An ordinary iOS or Android app would cost roughly $60.000 after 850 hours of labor. While a booking app would cost around $70.000 after 950 hours of work. 

Hopefully, the basic figures we provided in this post will help you obtain an idea of the money you’ll need to complete your project.