You’d have observed that several brands in Nigeria are taking their businesses online via websites and going mobile. Coupled with the fact that the number of smartphone users in Nigeria is growing massively, and more and more people are downloading apps on play store and apple store, this, therefore, stirs up the need for you to also incorporate a mobile app for your brand.
But then, the next question that comes to mind is how much does it cost to build an app in Nigeria? This is an excellent question to ask at the outset of your plans to build an app for your business, as it helps you prepare your budget ahead of time.
However, you also need to understand that there’s no standard or fixed pricing for building an app in Nigeria, although “everything has a quoted price.” As a result, the cost of mobile app development in Nigeria can be as low as N100 000 ($243) and as high as several million.
It can be likened to building construction, whose price isn’t fixed but depends on several factors such as type of building, purpose, size, building location, etc. Likewise, the cost of developing a mobile app in Nigeria depends on several factors such as Time requirement, Complexity, Platform Type, Developer Type, etc.
This article will look at the several factors that mobile app developers use in costing app development in Nigeria.
And also, note that whatever price you’d get in Nigeria will always be cheaper than what you’d be charged by other developers in other parts of the globe like in The US, Canada, Japan, India, China, etc. as you’ll get to find out later as you read on.
First and foremost, let’s take a look at app development costing worldwide.
Cost Of Mobile App Development Worldwide
It is worth noting that mobile app developers usually charge on an hourly basis. According to a report by CLEVEROAD, the average cost of building a basic app is around $70 000 to $100 000; a medium app cost around $120 000 to $170 000 while a complex app cost around $200 000 to $250 000 using an estimated average of $40 per hour. This information is shown in the tables below.
Table 1: Price per hour
Country / Region Android ($ / hr) iOS ($ / hr)
North America 50 - 150 50 - 150
Australia 35 - 150 35 - 150
United Kingdom 25 - 75 25 - 75
South America 22 - 55 22 - 55
Europe 25 - 50 25 - 50
Indonesia 13 - 35 13 - 35
India 13 - 25 13 - 25
Price Quote Of App Types By Developers Worldwide
Table 2: Costing per app type using average of $40 / hr
Type of App Development Timeframe Price Quote ($)
Basic 13 - 26 weeks 70 000 - 100 000
Medium 26 - 43 weeks 120 000 - 170 000
Complex Over 43 weeks 200 000 - 250 000
Table 1 above shows the range of prices per hour that app developers charge in various parts of the world. Also, table 2 shows the price quote for each app type considering the number of hours involved.
From the data provided above, we can see that the minimum cost of building a basic app is about $70 000 (roughly N28.8 million). On the other hand, the minimum price of building a complex app is $200 000 (approximately N82 million).
Now, let’s take a look at an app development costing in Nigeria.
Cost Of Developing An App In Nigeria
Mobile app developers in Nigeria can charge as low as N2 000 per hour or as high as 20 000 per hour depending on the factors mentioned above; we would now discuss the various factors that influence the cost of mobile app development in Nigeria.
1. Time Requirement
One principal factor that is always considered when it comes to app development costing is the development timeline, which is greatly hinged on the complexity level of the mobile app in question.
You need to understand that not all apps are the same in terms of the time required for building them. Also, several categories of apps are based on purpose, such as games, music, social media, finance, news, health and fitness, products and services, education, books, etc.
All these apps can be further classified based on the timeline for development so that we now have basic, medium-level, and complex-level apps. Basic apps have simple functionalities and usually require less time to develop.
The timeframe is generally between 500 to 800 working hours. Medium-level apps have more advanced features than the basic ones and typically take between 800 to 1200 working hours to develop.
On the other hand, Complex level apps contain the most sophisticated functionalities compared to the two types, as mentioned earlier, and the development timeline is usually 1200 working hours and beyond.
With that said, mobile app developers in Nigeria can charge between N120 000 to N10 million for an app depending on the timeline or complexity level.
Do you want to create a mobile app for your brand?
Skillseeds limited is a leading mobile and web app development company in Nigeria. Our team of experts is always ready to help provide your business with the best software solution.
2. Development Agency Vs. Freelancer
Needless to say that, you’ll need an app developer to create a mobile app for your business in Nigeria. But there are two options that you can choose from. You can either choose to hire a mobile app development company or a freelance developer.
But which of the options do I opt-in for? You might ask. Well, either of the two options has the potential of delivering a suitable app for your brand but there are specific benefits that are accrued to each.
For instance, If you want to create a simple app with a minimal budget, you might consider hiring a freelance developer. But there are certain demerits of hiring a freelancer; firstly, mobile app development is not a one-person show.
Besides just writing the programming codes, there are other vital aspects of the development process: Analysis, UI/UX design, Quality Assurance (QA) / Software Testing, and Project Management.
Therefore, if you choose to work with a freelance developer, you’d also need to hire freelancers for every other aspect of the project. Although working with a freelance developer can help you save money, you won’t get premium-quality most of the time. Moreover, there is usually an extended delivery period due to the need to hire additional professionals at each project stage.
On the flip side, working with a development agency or company will save you the stress of looking for additional experts for the job. An app development agency typically consists of developers and experts, including business analysts, project managers, programmers, QA engineers, and UI/UX designers.
The business analyst serves to analyze your brand and gather requirements for the project. And the Project manager helps to plan, execute and oversee the entire app development process.
The programmers or developers are usually two or more and carry out the actual development of the app in terms of writing the codes for every feature and functionality of the app.
The UI/UX designer takes care of the entire graphical interface design as well as user experience design. At the same time, the QA engineer ensures proper testing of the prototype at every stage of the app development process to ensure a bug-free app before the final market release.
Suppose you were to hire these professionals separately. In that case, you’d also have to pay them individually, and each of the professionals that make up the team also charges on an hourly basis, as shown in Table 3 below.
But your mobile app development company of choice will cover all these services and therefore incorporate them in the overall billing of the app.
Table 3: Cost of hiring various freelance professionals in Nigeria
Professionals Price Rate
(Naira/hr)
Business Analyst 2000 - 15 000
Project manager 2500 - 20 000
Programmers 2500 - 50 000
UI/UX Designers 2000 - 15 000
QA Engineers 2000 - 12 000
3. Number And Complexity Of Features
There’s a relationship between the number of features, complexity, and time requirements for costing a mobile app in Nigeria. The higher the number of features and functionalities an app will have, the more time it will require for development.
Similarly, the more complex the app features, the more time it will need to develop such an app; altogether, this implies a higher development cost.
Let’s take a look at some essential features typically used in mobile apps.
Some Essential Features Frequently Used In Mobile Apps
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Registration and Login
If you want your prospects or app users to register and log in before using your app, then you’ll need to include these two features in your app. You can also have alternative sign-up options such as signing up with social media accounts like Facebook, Google, etc.
This will require your users to give your app permission to utilize specific information from their social media accounts. These two features usually take between 20 – 25 hours to develop.
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Push Notifications
Push notifications is a feature that allows you to share information with your prospects and customers in real-time. You can send updates to your users in form of simple texts as well as using images. This feature typically takes 12 – 15 hours to develop.
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In-app Purchases
If you are looking to sell your products or services, such as subscriptions, courses, eBooks, etc., via your app, then you’ll need to incorporate a payment gateway to handle that. This feature usually takes 20 – 30 hours to implement.
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Search
The feature enables your customers to search for information about your company products and services within the app; this feature usually requires 12 – 15 hours to integrate.
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Other Devices Connectivity
If you want your users to share content from your app to other devices via Bluetooth, or you want your app to connect with other hardwares such as accelerometers, barometers, and gyroscopes, etc. Then you’ll need to implement this feature, which usually takes between 16 – 24 hours to implement.
More Complex App Features includes:
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Maps
Suppose your business deals with transportation, like Uber, Taxify, and Airbnb. You’ll need to incorporate a map feature into your app, usually Google Maps. Some other businesses like restaurants and schools might also need the map feature.
The map feature helps your users or customers to locate your business quickly. The app feature can be integrated between 32 – 48 hours.
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Payment System
Your users can pay for your products or services on the app through various channels such as credit cards, Payoneer, Paypal, Cryptocurrency, Google and Apple wallets, etc. The feature usually takes between 50 – 65 hours to integrate.
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Video/Audio Streaming
Suppose your business deals with streaming media content (videos and audio) like Netflix, Twitch, HBO GO, etc. Then you’ll need this feature. The feature enables your users to access your videos or audios in real-time as well as download them. This feature between 52 – 72 hours to implement.
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Chat
Do you want your users to chat with your online representative, or do you want to implement a forum where your customers can chat and comment about your product and services and more? Then, you’ll need to integrate this feature into your app.
The app feature might be accompanied by other elements like emojis, auto-delete, file transfer, chat history, an offline mode, as the case may require. Hence, it can take longer to implement, usually between 50 – 80 hours and more.
4. Platform Type
There are two major platforms on which your mobile app can function: Android and iOS. First, you need to decide whether to focus on android or iPhone users alone or both. But this will be dependent on the nature of your business and your audience or customer persona.
Generally, according to recent reports from statcounter, 87.43% of Nigerians use android phones, 7.75% use iOS, while 3.67% use unknown operating systems. So you might want to go for the option(s) that allows you to cover a broader range of customers.
On the other hand, if you want your mobile app to run on only one platform (either Android or iOS), the cost is less than having the app run on both operating systems.
Bottom Line,
Mobile app development in Nigeria doesn’t have a fixed price. However, you probably wanted to get information beforehand to help you prepare a reasonable budget for your brand, and I believe that at this point, you are well informed about how to go about it.
Nonetheless, if you need more information about developing a mobile app for your brand, you can get in touch with us now!
SKILLSEEDS LIMITED is a leading mobile and web app development company in Abuja, Nigeria. Our team of experts is always ready to help provide your business with the best software solution. Contact us now!