eCommerce Mobile App Development Cost Breakdown

January 28, 2025 23 min read
ecommerce app development cost

Did you know eCommerce sales reached about $6.3 trillion in the US alone in 2024? Smartphones were responsible for over two-thirds of the online shopping orders in 2024. And why not? After all, with mobile apps your users can access their favorite brands and browse through their products quickly.

You can adopt the mobile-first approach to your businesses and enhance their shopping experiences. It provides instant gratification, maximum convenience and on-the-go access. So, what’s stopping you from getting a mobile app for your eCommerce business?

The eCommerce mobile app development cost can put a break on your dreams to increase sales and returns. What if you knew the actual cost of translating your idea into a mobile application?

We will deep-dive into the eCommerce app development solution costs and identify the best ways to make it budget-friendly. By offering a detailed cost breakdown, we will help you make an informed decision.

A Glimpse into the eCommerce Industry

According to recent research conducted by the Bank of America, your target market in low-income category with an annual income of $50,000 or less has also increased their online spending.

  1. eCommerce turnover in Europe alone will reach 958 billion Euros. This is an 8% increase from the previous year’s turnover. This staggering figure indicates the significant growth of this industry globally.
  2. Additionally, the total number of eCommerce users is expected to reach 3.6 billion by 2029, which means you will notice a 49.1% increase in user penetration.
  3. If you notice earlier e-commerce businesses, they included simple transactions and online catalogs. However, things changed as businesses like Amazon and eBay came into this structure. Today, you will find that businesses have embraced hyperpersonalization, mobile-first commerce and advanced technologies.
  4. With time, eCommerce has been segmented into different niches, including B2B and B2C commerce. These niches cater to the diverse needs expressed by your target market.

You would have noticed a significant increase in mobile commerce as it is convenient and accessible. To gain more conversions for your eCommerce business, you must prioritize user engagement and satisfaction. This can happen when you take a mobile-first approach.

From enhancing user experiences to ensuring immediate transactions, you can ensure maximum sales with a mobile-first approach.

Having discussed the need for mobile commerce and the significance in e-commerce sales, we will now take you through the factors responsible for the eCommerce mobile app development cost.

Factors Impacting eCommerce Mobile App Development Cost

You need to understand the factors that impact the overall budget while deriving estimates for eCommerce mobile app development.

factors impacting ecommerce mobile app development cost

#1. App Complexity

The complexity of your application can indicate the overall cost of developing the application. A basic application includes a simple product catalog and a basic checkout process that costs less. You can develop these applications using fewer resources. If you are a small business, you can use a basic application to get your business started and work on your visibility.

However, you need to include advanced functionality to scale the application. As the apps grow complex, you can include features like AI-backed recommendations, multi-currency support, real-time inventory updates and an analytics dashboard.

As the complexity increases, the development timeline and resources will also increase. The complexities in your application can also increase when you integrate CRM and ERM. The cost will depend on the skillset and total resources you need to build the application.

Complexity

Features

Cost Estimate

Best Suited For

Basic

Includes simple features like product listing, user login and checkout. Developed in 2-4 months.

$20,000 to $50,000

Startups and small businesses

Moderate

Advanced features like search, multiple payments and basic analytics are used in this application. Developed in 4-8 months

$50,000 to $100,000

Growing or medium-scale businesses

Complexity

AI recommendations and third-party integrations are included in this complexity level. Developed in 8+ months

$100,000 to $300,000

Large scale businesses

#2. Platform Selection

When it comes to cost implications you cannot ignore the importance of the right platform. Along with ensuring maximum reach and conversions, the platform can guarantee you stay in your budget.

You can choose to build a native application using iOS and Android platforms. You can go with either option or choose both if your budget permits. With a native approach, you can improve the app’s performance. Native applications can also ensure device-specific feature integration for seamless experiences.

If you are prioritizing experiential solutions with robust performance, you can use the native development approach. However, this platform can increase costs as you need specific expertise and resources to build the solutions.

When you take the cross-platform approach, you reduce the cost of development. Moreover, you work with a single codebase that cuts down on the development time and resources as well. However, you may not achieve the optimization or experience you get with native applications. It is best suited if you want to widen your reach or speed up the development time.

#3. UI/UX Design

An intuitive UI/UX design is pivotal in attracting and retaining your users via mobile applications. Such designs allow users to navigate through the app easily, find the products and checkout swiftly. With a user-centric design, you can improve conversions, fostering loyalty.

You need more resources and a development timeline to ensure a relevant design for your users. To improve the design outcomes, you can choose between custom and template designs.

Custom designs are tailored to meet your branding needs. They allow you to add intricate features while including personalized layouts. However, you may need to spend more money and hire resources for the custom designs.

Template designs allow you to use pre-defined layouts to get started with the store design. If you have a restricted budget, you can choose this approach. It allows you to implement a polished or professional appearance; however, you may not get options to customize the layout.

The cost of a custom-designed solution is about $10,000 to$50,000. On the other hand, you get a template design for $1,000 to $5,000.

You need to invest about $5,000 to $15,000 to get wireframes and prototypes for the app design. By investing in intuitive design solutions, you can drive more users to the application and increase conversions.

#4. Integration with Third Party APIs

Third-party integrations can improve your app’s functionality. For instance, adding a payment gateway can ensure multiple payment options for your user. At the same time, you don’t need to create a code or invest in resources to include this functionality.

Similarly, by integrating APIs for CRM and other features, you can improve the app’s functionality. You will need to pay for the APIs. It is possible you need specialized resources in case you wish to customize the integration.

With advanced integrations, you may need to invest in more resources and timelines, thus increasing the budget. Simple APIs like social login are quick to implement. However, complex APIs like advanced analytics tools can increase the cost by adding more resources and timelines.

You may also need to invest in maintenance and updating the APIs to ensure compatibility with the platform.

Here’s an approximate cost breakup by integration type.

Integration Type

Cost Estimate

Example

Payment Gateways

$2,000 to $10,000

PayPal and Stripe

Shipping APIs

$3,000 to $12,000

UPS, FedEx

CRM Tools

$5,000 to $15,000

Salesforce, HubSpot

Social Media API

$1,000 to $5,000

Facebook, Twitter

#5. Security and Compliance Requirements

Security and compliance are critical in an eCommerce application where you will store millions of user data. You need to remove the vulnerabilities while reducing the risks to ensure a maximum user base for your business.

You must adhere to global data standards like GDPR, CCPA and PCI DSS to ensure maximum security of the payment details and other personal data shared by the users. You will pay with reputation damage and legal hassles in case you don’t comply with these regulations.

You should also ensure encryption and SSL certification to keep your application secure. These elements will keep the user’s confidence in your application and improve your credibility.

Here we will take a look at the costs you are likely to incur for data compliance and security.

Compliance and Security

Cost Estimate

Description

Data Compliance

$5,000 to $25,000

Compliances like GDPR, CCPA, PCI DSS

SSL Certificates

$50 to $1,500 annually

Ensures secure communication between the app and server

Encryption

$1,000 to $10,000

Maximum data protection while app is in transit and rest

Average Cost to Develop an eCommerce Mobile Application

The broad range of eCommerce mobile app development is between $50,000 to $300,000+.

#1. Breakdown by Platform

You must know how much you are likely to spend when developing an iOS or Android-only application. At the same time, you should also know how much you can save by developing a cross-platform solution.

Platform

Timeline

Estimate

Benefits

Native (iOS or Android)

4-8 months for each platform

$50,000 to $150,000

  • Offers best performance. Ensures device-specific optimization

Cross-platform 

4-6 months

$30,000 to $100,000

  • Cost-efficient development
  • Wider reach

#2. Breakdown by Features (Core + Advanced)- User Registration, Product Catalog, etc.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the costs involved in creating the different features for your eCommerce mobile application.

Feature

Description

Cost Estimates

User Registration

Email, phone and social media based login

$2,000 to $5,000

Product Catalog

Product listing with complete details

$5,000 to $10,000

Search and Filters

Advanced search with all the filters, such as price and category

$3,000 to $8,000

Shopping Cart

Can allow users to add/remove the products

$3,000 to $7,000

Payment Gateway Integration

Integrates with multiple payment gateways like PayPal and Stripe

$3,000 to $10,000

Order Management

Tracks the orders and offers detailed status updates

$5,000 to $12,000

AI-backed Recommendations

Personalize the suggestions to meet the user’s requirements

$8,000 to $20,000

Real-time Inventory Support

Ensures complete synchronization of stock availability

$5,000 to $12,000

#3. Breakdown by Region

Let’s take a look at the breakdown of the cost estimates by different regions. The hourly rates will match the expertise and local market conditions, allowing you to calculate the best estimates.

Region/Location

Cost Estimates

North America

$100 to $200

Western Europe

$80 to $150

Eastern Europe

$30 to $70

South Asia

$15 to $40

Southeast Asia

$20 to $50

South America

$30 to $60

You will get premium quality with close collaboration at a high cost when you outsource to the North American or Western European markets. In east Europe, you get the perfect balance between quality and affordability.

South Asia offers the lowest rates, supporting the needs of startups working on a tight budget. With closer time zones and better pricing, South America is a great market for outsourcing.

#4. Breakdown by Development Phases- Frontend, Backend, Testing and QA

You will need separate resources and timelines for the different development phases. Here is a detailed cost breakdown of these phases.

Development Phase

Description with Timeline

Cost Estimates

Requirement Gathering

Knowing the business goals and feature requirements. Takes about 1-2 weeks to build the solution

$2,000 to $5,000

UI/UX Design

Wireframing and prototyping. It helps create the app’s visual. Takes about 2-6 weeks to build. 

$5,000 to $20,000

Frontend Development

Develop the user interface for the application

$10,000 to $30,000

Backend Development

Setting the servers, database and APIs for logic development

$15,000 to $50,000

Third-party Integrations

Add the payment gateways and shipping APIs as necessary

$5,000 to $25,000

Testing and QA

Test the application to reduce the bugs and errors

$5,000 to $15,000

Maintenance and Updates

Continuous support, bug fixes and feature enhancements. 

$2,000 to $10,000 per month

Custom eCommerce Mobile App Development

You can create an application tailored to your business needs with a custom mobile application. With pre-built templates, you can start developing the application immediately. However, a custom application can help you incorporate the features and functionality that reflect your brand’s image.

You may need to invest more time and resources when you build a custom scalable application for the competitive eCommerce landscape.

Why Custom Mobile App is Beneficial to the eCommerce Industry?

You need features that help you achieve your eCommerce goals. With an off-the-shelf solution, you may not be able to achieve all your objectives. That’s why you need a custom mobile application.

Here are the benefits associated with a custom eCommerce mobile app solution for your business.

#1. Improves Loyalty

You can personalize the recommendations, reward programs and other features to meet your customer’s requirements. You can create a more intuitive and seamless user experience, which fosters repeat purchases. Eventually, you will notice an increase in customer loyalty.

#2. Personalized Solutions

You can analyze the user behavior and their preferences to create a more personalized product. These insights can also help you offer user-centric product recommendations and relevant promotion messages. It can also help you create a unique journey for your user.

#3. Builds a Brand

You can create a product that reflects your brand’s image and identity with a custom solution. It will also help strengthen the brand’s credibility and visibility in the market. Moreover, it can also help you make reliable amongst your target market.

#4. Faster Checkout

When you create a custom solution, you can streamline the payments and make it personalized to suit your needs. You can use the payment methods that support your target market’s needs.

Moreover, it can also help add the forms that are suited to your purpose, removing irrelevant details. As a result, you can reduce the abandonment rate for the cart.

#5. Increased Engagement

Adding features like push notifications and gamification can help you keep the users engaged. It would ensure that the user uses the application frequently.

Factors Impacting Custom App Development Cost

The custom eCommerce mobile app development cost depends on several factors. You will need to understand the importance of these factors before you proceed with hiring the team or developing the application.

factors impacting custom ecommerce app development cost

#1. Scope of Project

The scope of the project determines the features, platform selection, complexity and customization options. If you are planning advanced features with AI-based functionality, you may need to increase the budget.

The total scope of the budget can help you estimate the overall application development cost.

#2. Team Composition

The cost of developing your application depends on the team you hire for the application. The total resources, location-based hiring and engagement models can help you determine the application development cost.

If you hire a developer from North America for a fixed cost, it will be more compared to a fixed-cost developer from India. Similarly, if your development team comprises more than a designer and developer, it can increase the costs.

The total number of resources is directly proportional to the cost of developing a custom mobile application.

#3. Development Timeline

The total time taken to build the mobile application can also influence the cost of development. If you need to accelerate the development timeline, you need to increase the budget. To speed up the deployment, you need a larger team plus additional working hours. all this will increase the budget.

At the same time, if you are ready to wait to release the mobile app, you can reduce the cost of development significantly. With a well-defined timeline and controlled costs, you can ensure the best quality solution.

#4. Testing and QA

Depending on the type of testing solutions and tools you use, you might need to adjust the cost estimates. Comprehensive tests can take a lot of your money. If you plan to consider manual testing services, you need more resources with an increased timeline.

If you plan to automate the testing, you need specific tools for the purpose. You must ensure compatibility across operating systems and devices for the best outcomes. This will also increase the testing budget.

#5. Maintenance and Support

It is important to consider the budget for maintenance and support for regular updates and bug fixes. It will also help ensure the long-term success of the application. You must allocate a specific budget for maintenance.

Hidden Costs to Consider While Planning Estimates

It is easy to overlook certain expenses when you estimate the cost of developing the eCommerce solution. Let’s discuss the hidden expenses to consider while planning the cost of development.

#1. Hosting

When you build an application with a large user base and extensive catalogs, you need to host the solution on AWS and Google Cloud. By choosing the hosting server, you can define the cost of the application. You will incur these costs on a monthly basis.

#2. Third-party Services

You can increase the app’s functionality by integrating the APIs. From payment gateways to shipping, there are several features you can add with these API solutions.

#3. App Store Fees

This is an important inclusion for your eCommerce mobile app development. You must publish the applications on Google Play and Apple Store to increase the app’s visibility. You must ensure to add the upfront and annual fees for the particular stores.

#4. Licensing and Compliance

It is important for your application to adhere to compliances like GDPR and PCI DSS to ensure your app is risk-free. By adding the legal and technical costs for compliance management, you can ensure the proper cost estimate.

Tips to Optimize the Development Costs

You can reduce or optimize the development costs to ensure the app development doesn’t break the bank. These strategic measures can help you reduce the cost of development efficiently without compromising the app’s quality.

#1. Create an MVP

Build a minimum viable product with core features to validate your app’s idea. Using this approach, you can understand if the user is interested, gain feedback from the user and iterate the development. This will help you eliminate unnecessary features and ensure a successful app development.

#2. Use a Pre-Built Template

You can use a pre-built template to get started with app development, and save time. Customizations can ensure you are creating a unique application. However, if you want to optimize the application development cost, you can start with the template. As the app user base grows, you can move to a custom application.

#3. Incorporate Best Project Management Practices

With efficient project management, you can reduce the inefficiencies and ensure timely delivery. By implementing agile methodologies and setting clear goals, you can avoid scope creep and manage open communication.

#4. Select an Experienced Partner

If you want to reduce development costs, you need an experienced partner by your side. They would have efficient processes and methodology, which can reduce errors. The right resources can help optimize resource allocation and manage costs.

Cost of Hiring Mobile App Developer for Build eCommerce App

While planning the cost estimates for eCommerce mobile application development, you should consider the hiring costs.

Begin the estimating process by choosing the engagement model for the team selection. We will first take you through a comparison of in-house vs dedicated and freelance teams. This will give you a rough idea on how to estimate the budget for hiring.

In-house Team vs Dedicated vs Freelancer

Let’s take a look at each model individually before we draw a comparison table for the three.

#1. In-house Team

Your in-house team comprises strategists, developers, designers and testing specialists. They will work as your full-time employees and will be on your payroll.

With in-house employees, you can enjoy direct communication and collaboration with the team. As they work in your organization, you have good control over the process. They are well aligned with your company’s culture and goals.

However, you may need to pay a bit more in terms of salaries and benefits. Additionally, they have restricted scalability, which comes at a cost. You may take a longer time to get the right talent for the in-house team.

Overall, you should go with this hiring approach if you want to hire for the long term and manage a full-fledged team.

#2. Dedicated Development Team

This option works when you want to hire a team for a specific project. It is an outsourcing solution, where you can get the team for a fixed time period and cost.

As the team is hired for a definite period and requirement, it is flexible and scalable. Moreover, with outsourcing, you can access the global talent, and get the right skills for your project. Lastly, it helps you lower the in-house overheads.

However, you may need to have clear communication to ensure the team is aligned with your goals. Make sure to use the different time zones to your advantage for the best outcomes.

It is best suited when you choose to go cost-effective with eCommerce app development. You can also use this approach when you want expertise for specific technology along with long-term support.

#3. Freelancer

When you hire individual developers for a short period or hourly basis, it is a freelance model. They would be hired for specific projects or tasks, depending on your needs. It can become a cost-efficient hiring for you. additionally, you can find the resources easily on the Internet. It is ideal when you have specific tasks or short-term needs.

However, you may find issues with the accountability or reliability of the freelancer. You are likely to face coordination challenges as well with the freelancer. It is best if you are a startup or small business with a limited budget.

Factor

In-house

Dedicated Development Team

Freelancer

Cost (Monthly)

$15,000 to $50,000+

$8,000 to $30,000

$3,000 to $10,000

Setup Expenses

High as you need to pay for infrastructure.

Low, as you outsource your needs

Varies, depends on the individual you are hiring. 

Expertise

Medium to high

Very high, as you can access diverse skills

Depends on the freelancer

Scalability

Limited

High and team can be easily adjusted

Low to medium 

Communication

Best, direct and in-person

Medium to high, depending on the communication process and alignment with needs

Medium, depending on the freelancer’s availability

Project Control

High

Medium

Low

Factors impacting the cost of hiring

You must consider all the factors influencing the hiring costs when selecting the team for your project needs. Let’s understand the crucial factors to make more informed selection decisions.

#1. Experience of the Team

When developers have extensive experience with a proven track record, they will ask for higher rates. While you pay higher upfront costs for an experienced process, you can reduce the overheads by saving time.

On the contrary, when you call for freelancers or junior developers, you might enjoy lower hiring costs. However, if you have asked freshers or junior developers for complex tasks, you may add to the timeline.

You should choose the team or individual’s experience depending on your tasks/goals and the budget.

#2. Location of Developers

The location of the developer impacts the cost of the developer significantly. As the living costs are higher in Western Europe or North America, the hourly rates are higher.

However, the hourly rates and living costs are lower in South Asia and Eastern Europe. You may get the same quality in these regions for a competitive price.

#3. The Skillset

Your hiring cost can depend on the skillset you need for the eCommerce mobile app development. For example, a Swift developer may cost more compared to a Flutter developer.

As you seek specific technology expertise, you may notice a direct impact on the costs. The cost of your resources depends on the demand of the skills.

#4. Engagement Model

Cost of hiring resources depends on the engagement model as well. If you choose the freelancer model, it can be cheap but you may need to invest more time and effort in handling the resources.

If you outsource to an agency, you can enjoy competent pricing while ensuring better results. In-house can increase the cost of hiring while giving you complete control of the project.

Estimated Cost of Hiring Developers for eCommerce Project

Developer Type

Hourly Rate

Best for

Junior Developer

$20 to $50

Suited for basic applications or smaller projects

Mid-level Developer

$40 to $80

Suited for projects with moderate complexity

Senior Developer

$70 to $150

Suited for advanced features and large-scale applications

Specialist

$100 to $200+

Suited for AI, ML and AR technology needs

E-Commerce App Development Team Costs

Here is a detailed table outlining the cost of key members of the development team along with region-wise estimates.

Role

Location

Hourly Rate

Skills

UI/UX Designer

North America

$50 to $120

Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch

Western Europe

$40 to $100

Eastern Europe

$25 to $50

South Asia

$15 to $40

Mobile Developer

North America

$80 to $150

Swift, Kotlin, HTML, React Native, Flutter, Xamarin

Western Europe

$60 to $120 

Eastern Europe

$30 to $70

South Asia

$20 to $50

Backend Developer

North America

$90 to $160

Node.Js, Python, Ruby on Rails 

Western Europe

$70 to $140

Eastern Europe

$40 to $80

South Asia

$25 to $60

Business Analyst

North America

$60 to $120

Excel, SWOT analysis, SQL, User stories, Agile frameworks

Western Europe

$50 to $100

Eastern Europe

$30 to $60

South Asia

$20 to $50

QA Engineer

North America

$40 to $100

Selenium, Appium for automated testing 

Western Europe

$30 to $80 

Eastern Europe

$20 to $50

South Asia

$15 to $40

Project Manager

North America

$70 to $150

Scrum, Agile methodologies, Jira, communication tools

Western Europe

$60 to $130

Eastern Europe

$35 to $80

South Asia

$20 to $50

Marketing Specialist

North America

$50 to $100

PPC, SEM, SEO, HubSpot

Western Europe

$40 to $80

Eastern Europe

$20 to $50

South Asia

$15 to $40

eCommerce Mobile App Cost Estimator

You can use a mobile cost estimator tool to get an approximate budget for building the eCommerce mobile application. You can input the app features, platform choice and design complexities to get an estimate.

You can create a tailored project with the relevant features with the mobile cost estimator. This will also help avoid unnecessary expenses and overestimating the budgets.

How to Use Estimators in Cost Planning?

You can use the cost estimators in multiple ways to plan the budget and ensure the best spending.

  1. Start by defining the requirements for your project. You must list the core features you wish to include in the app, such as user login and product catalog. You should also define the advanced features, such as AI recommendations and AR viewing of the product.
  2. Select the platform for the mobile application. You can go with native or cross-platform development. Choose the platform that fits your budget requirements.
  3. Next, add the design preferences for the application. You can go with custom development or template-based design.
  4. You should also consider the hidden costs and development time in the estimator.

Once you have added these details, the estimator will give you the cost of app development. You can add or change these factors till you get an app that matches your needs and budget.

Top Three Estimators for eCommerce Mobile App Development Cost

Here are the top three estimators you can use to calculate the cost of e-commerce mobile app development.

  1. AppCostCalculator: It gives you a detailed breakdown of the design and development costs. You can also get industry-specific feature-wise cost breakdown.
  2. BuildFire: It has an intuitive interface, and is designed for small/medium businesses. You can easily customize the app type and business model to derive the cost estimates.
  3. Clutch App Development Cost Too: You can use real-world data to get regional costs and feature-wise breakdown for the application idea.

Conclusion

You can engage more users and ensure better loyalty with an e-commerce mobile application. The most concerning part about developing the mobile app is the cost. We took you through the different factors that impact your cost estimates throughout this guide.

You must define the platform, understand the app’s scope and select the features to make an insightful budget decision. You should also consider whether to go with an off-the-shelf solution or a custom application during the planning phase.

Your cost estimates are also influenced by the hiring costs, including the approach or engagement model you choose. If you want to lower the costs without compromising the quality, you should choose a good partner.

Expert App Devs has the experience and skill set needed to build the e-commerce mobile application. We will walk you through the cost estimates while considering all the different factors.

Our team will help you through all processes, including validation and development. Connect with us to transform your idea into an engagement solution that drives maximum conversions.

Jignen Pandya-img

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.

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