Mobile App Maintenance Cost in 2024 - A Definitive Guide [Updated]
Mobile technology has taken over our lives as billions of smartphone users across the globe use mobile apps for easy online shopping, communication, creating content, accessing information, and playing games. But users do not think twice before uninstalling if these apps have performance issues. As a result, businesses do not want to compromise on timely updates, user-friendliness, and maintenance. Companies can communicate better with their consumers when their applications are maintained frequently. Application maintenance requires long-term investments to achieve higher ROIs and better UX.
Despite knowing the benefits of maintenance, many businesses often neglect the importance of app maintenance and support for their mobile apps. There are several reasons why businesses neglect maintenance. One of them is limited clarity about mobile app maintenance costs in india. This definitive guide will assist you to understand the cost of mobile app support and maintenance service, its importance and how Expert App Devs can help as your support partner.
How Much Does Mobile App Maintenance Cost?
The average cost of mobile app maintenance in 2024 is approximately 20.7% of your initial development cost.
To maintain your app efficiently and ensure it is engaging, you need to look at daily and monthly active users.
It will give you an insight into the uninstalls, the bugs the users are facing, and other app engagement.
You may have launched a successful app if your uninstalls are low, and DAU and MAU are high. Upkeeping the app is all you need to do in the maintenance activities. However, if these figures don’t match the required numbers, you might need to rethink your maintenance strategies.
Recurring app maintenance cost to consider in 2024
Let’s look at recurring costs you cannot avoid while deciding on the package.
- The cost associated with servers ($20-$60/ month*)
- Licenses (As per pricing plans)
- Payment Gateways: $150* approximately (includes transactions)
- Push Notifications: Depends on the subscription cost as discussed with the provider
- The frequency with which new content addition (Based on frequency)
- Situations that require immediate action (Emergency charges)
- Performance reports from analytics (Based on packages)
- ASO: Depends on the tools used for the purpose
- APIs: Subscription and plans
- Over all $220 to $500 expect to spend per month
Other Mobile App Maintenance Costs to Consider
Apart from the recurring costs, there are certain important items to be included when devising the mobile app maintenance package. It can impact the overall cost of the maintenance and support plan.
| App Maintenance Overheads | Description |
| Analytics | Mobile app maintenance involves monitoring and measuring several aspects of app usage and engagement- uninstalls, time spent, crashes, glitches, etc. You need to invest in advanced tools that can measure the instances perfectly |
| Bug Fixes and Updates | App crashes might need fixing. While monitoring the apps, you may notice bugs that need to be removed. These fixes and updates must be added to the maintenance cost of the mobile app. Your bug-fixing costs may average at $1k approximately. It can go up depending on the complexities and fixes involved. |
| Third-party Licenses and Subscriptions | Apart from the ones mentioned in the recurring expenses, you might have specific subscription plans for third-party products and apps. You may need to add them when defining the final cost of upkeeping the mobile app. |
Factors that Impact Mobile App Maintenance Costs
It’s a myth that maintenance costs more than developing the app. The mobile app maintenance and support costs aren’t always severe. The maintenance costs are directly related
- The number of times the app undergoes maintenance.
- The quality and sophistication of the application.
Here are the major factors that impact app maintenance costs:
1. App Complexity: If you have an app with extensive and advanced features, your upkeep costs will go up. For instance, you need to ensure all the features and functionality are updated.
| App Complexity | Average Cost |
| Simple | $8k* |
| Medium Complexity | $12k* |
| Complex application | $60k |
2. Development Approach: The maintenance and support requirements differ for native and cross-platform apps. As a result, you will notice a difference in the costs of maintaining both app types. As part of app maintenance, developers must ensure that they are adhering to the app store policies for the respective operating systems.
| Development Approach | Cost of Maintenance |
| Native App Development | iPhone- $11k minimum Android $10k minimum |
| Cross Platform Development | $8k minimum |
3. Designs: The maintenance cost depends on the designs. If the experience and interface design don’t match the standard guidelines, you might need to spend more on maintaining the application. If the learning curve is steep or you notice frequent friction in interactions, you might have to spend more on managing the designs.
4. Hiring Model: maintenance cost also depends on whether you opt for in-house or outsourcing models. If you are outsourcing, you will save on the hiring and infrastructure costs involved.
READ: How to Reduce App Development Costs Without Compromising Quality?
READ: How Much Does it Cost to Maintain an App?
Reasons to Work with Mobile App Maintenance Team
An expert mobile app maintenance and support team can help you maintain a bug-free and high-performing mobile application. You will be more relevant to your end users with regular updates. Monitoring their usage can help you realize why they uninstall and the reasons for abandonment.
You can observe, develop, revamp and modify the components that form an application to ensure a better UX. With the expert, you can monitor the exact metrics that define an app’s success and check whether your app fits those places.
With an expert, you can proceed with frequent maintenance and upgrade the app regularly to match the newer requirements and adopt the new platform policies.
Other reasons to work with a mobile application maintenance expert are as follows:
- Upgrade your operating system to the latest version
- Upgrade the user interface accordingly
- Incorporate technical aspects on the go
- Continuous improvement and upgrade
- Cut unnecessary expenses
How Important is Mobile App Support and Maintenance?
We have given you a complete breakdown of the mobile app maintenance costs. However, most of us contemplate whether we need maintenance and support services. Proper and regular maintenance curbs the uninstalls and app abandonment rate. If you want to be sure whether your mobile app needs a maintenance team, here are all the reasons just for you.
1. Adapt to changes in multiple device types
With each new model of mobile and tablet hardware systems, the physical specifications and features are not always the same. It becomes obsolete if an application is not updated to take advantage of the new OS and hardware.
2. Enhance the user interface
A successful mobile app depends heavily on its look and feel. Using mobile app support and maintenance services can be a good idea if you want to enhance the app UI. A pleasing and functional interface, or at least one that is not outdated, is necessary to keep users engaged. Trends in aesthetics and functional designs keep changing, so it's not surprising that aesthetic trends change, too.
3. Keep up with evolving operating systems and software library updates
iOS and Android versions are updated almost every year. If your app fails to adapt to these updates, your existing app will not function as it did previously, which can be annoying for users or lead to them abandoning it entirely.
Software libraries are used by app developers instead of coding from scratch. As a result, they need to ensure that any updates within the concerned libraries are updated in your app software.
4. Manage downtimes effectively
Information technology is subject to frequent downtimes that can't be avoided. When applications are regularly and timely maintained, such downtimes can be identified before they become major problems. Implementing a scheduled maintenance plan ensures prompt and efficient solutions in such situations.
5. Maintain a high level of security
Even the best security protocols and encryptions can only last for a limited period of time due to hackers and cybercriminals finding security loopholes to exploit. A vulnerable app that contains sensitive data could be a cause of irreversible harm. Security can be ensured by regular app maintenance.
Tips for Effective & Long-term Maintenance of the Mobile App
Your users will have an excellent app experience if you follow best practices. Here are a few suggestions:
- You should monitor your app and look for new features and improvements to make your app more valuable.
- The user interface of your app should be updated regularly based on trending styles and usage habits since they are important to its success. You will find happier existing users if your app keeps up with trends.
- Checking the performance of your app is essential. Carefully observe load time, lag, and performance issues, and monitor analytics reports for updates. You should analyze customer usage patterns, track engagement and conversion rates, and know your retention and churn rates.
Do not miss any issues or bugs by scheduling regular app maintenance. Keep your app updated and notify your users ahead of time when your system will be down.
Read: Top Real Challenges That Increase The Mobile App Development Costs
Types of Maintenance Services for Applications
Emergency Maintenance
An emergency involves all sudden errors or problems that cause the system to malfunction and needs immediate attention. Emergency maintenance is necessary whenever a company faces an unpredictable but critical problem with its mobile app.
Perfective Maintenance
New or changed user requirements are discovered as the application is used by the target users. Feedback received here is considered as part of the perfective maintenance process. Once changes are made, active app users receive a perfect user experience thanks to the changes made in the source code.
Adaptive Maintenance
Adaptive maintenance involves updating application systems to stay abreast with changing hardware or software environments. This is the application's environment, which refers to its influences and working conditions. This maintenance service ensures that the app is stable and functional in the new environment.
Preventive Maintenance
The primary goal of preventive maintenance is to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of errors occurring. However, it aims to reduce the complexity of an application and make it more understandable and maintainable.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance is concerned with removing residual errors and faults in daily application functions. Regarding design, logic, and coding errors, residual errors are mistakes. Often these errors are discovered through bug reports.
Having a budget for different types of app maintenance is crucial for app owners. To budget for app maintenance, you'd need to take into account a variety of factors. Let us discuss these in detail.
How can Expert App Devs help?
App maintenance services ensure that businesses continue offering highly scalable, adaptable, and secure mobile applications to their customers. Expert App Devs offers app development maintenance services in India that help you step up with technology and business changes. We offer service for a multitude of operating systems and devices that are out there on the market.
We have an experienced team of maintenance engineers with hands-on knowledge of the latest technologies. Not only that, but we are a leading Application Development Company and this makes us fully equipped to redesign and optimize mobile applications on the go.
Our app maintenance plans include multiple tiers that include bug fixing, audits, development environment, and server management. If you have a legacy app, we have also covered you. Get in touch with us to modernize and upgrade your app with scheduled maintenance.
Jignen Pandya
Vice President at Expert App Devs
Responsible for creating a sales funnel, attracting top-of-the-funnel customers, and converting the target market.
