The Impact of App Platform Selection on Development Costs

MentorMate was recently selected for an interview with Clutch, the online authority on mobile app development companies, as part of a series of expert interviews on mobile app platform selection and the cost to develop an app.

Clutch sat down with Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Stephen Fluin to pick his brain on topics such as how price quotes are determined, what the biggest cost drivers are, and whether iOS or Android costs more to develop:

In general, we treat them about the same. When it comes to developing for iOS versus Android, the net total, end of the day cost is going to be about the same. What we say internally is that the differences between one developer to the next are going to be greater than the differences between iOS and Android. Developers tend not to be fungible and all equivalent. Some are faster than others. A fast Android developer is going to do an Android app faster than a weak iOS developer and vice versa. A fast iOS developer is going to do an iOS app faster than a weak Android developer.

 

The interview also dove into different mobile app platform options, and what factors inform the platform decision:

Some of the first questions we ask when onboarding a client are, “Who are your customers?” “Who do you want your customers to be?” Then, depending on the demographic, the income bracket, the industry, and whether it’ll be used personally or professionally, we’re going to see different device needs.

For example, in the engineering industry, we see almost exclusively Android. Whereas in the medical space, we see almost exclusively iOS. We tend to see higher income individuals preferring iOS. We tend to see lower income individuals preferring Android. But, it’s also the number of people you’re trying to hit. So, if you’re trying to hit 60 percent or 70 percent market share in terms of mobile users, at that point you probably need both iOS and Android. It’s always going to come down to what the users are holding in their hands.

 

Read the full interview with MentorMate’s Stephen Fluin at Clutch.