How Much Does It Cost To Build A Shopify App in 2024
Last Updated | September 10, 2024
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Building an online business can be a challenging task if you have a very basic shopping ecommerce platform for your customers. This means, if you want to succeed online and gain an amazing customer base, you need to build something exciting and interactive, like a Shopify app. Now you must be thinking about finances, so in this article, we will tell you how much does it cost to build a Shopify app.
This depends on a lot of factors involved, such as the category of your item, kind of business, number of businesses, the themes you choose, things you need, things you want, and many other similar things that will affect the cost to build a Shopify app.
So we will discuss how much does it cost to build a Shopify app in all possible scenarios.
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Shopify App
| Cost Category | Price Range | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Basic App | $3,000 – $10,000 | Simple apps with basic features (e.g., inventory management, product customizer). |
| Mid-Level App | $10,000 – $30,000 | Apps with more advanced functionality (e.g., multiple integrations, analytics, or automation). |
| Complex App | $30,000 – $100,000+ | Fully custom apps with complex features like AI, machine learning, or custom integrations with other platforms. |
| App Design Costs | $500 – $5,000 | Depending on the quality of design and user experience required. |
| Maintenance & Updates | $500 – $5,000/year | Ongoing costs to keep the app updated with Shopify changes and user feedback. |
| Shopify App Approval | Free | Shopify doesn’t charge for app submission, but the app must meet their guidelines. |
| Developer/Agency Fees | $30 – $150/hour | Rates for hiring developers or agencies to build the app. Costs vary based on location and expertise. |
| Marketing & Support | $1,000 – $10,000/year | Costs to promote your app and provide customer support once it’s live on the Shopify App Store. |
Explanation of Key Terms:
- Basic App: An app with limited features, usually solving one specific problem.
- Mid-Level App: More advanced apps, offering multiple features or integrations.
- Complex App: Apps with extensive features, designed for businesses with complex needs.
- Maintenance & Updates: After the app is built, you’ll need to keep it up-to-date to avoid bugs and compatibility issues.
- Developer/Agency Fees: The cost of hiring professionals to build and maintain your app.
These are approximate costs, and actual prices can vary depending on your specific needs and who you hire to build the app.
Cost Vs Benefit – Is Building Your Own Shopify App Worth It
Why Choose Shopify?
If you have already made up your mind and know about Shopify, then it is amazing, and you can skip it, but if you are still unsure, then there are multiple reasons why you should build a Shopify app.
First of all, there are millions of people around the world who use Shopify store development services.
Secondly, apps have the ability to store data that can be further used to generate detailed analytics of the process of sale.
Read Also Best Shopify Theme App Extensions
Lastly, the apps are more easily accessible to your clients, which would increase purchasing behavior.
Further, a custom Shopify app is scalable, and it can be advanced and modified according to new and upcoming products and services. These apps are also highly customizable, and you can get exactly the thing you are looking for.
Which Factors Would Affect the Cost Of Building A Shopify App
The final cost would depend on many factors depending on the project. Few of them would be done easily, while few would require a lot of time and effort from the developer, and it would affect the cost drastically as well. If you want to know the entire cost of building an app, you must also learn about these factors.
Some of these factors also require external Shopify app building cost, and these things are necessary for your app to function. We will discuss all of these in detail.
App Requirements
This factor mainly affects the cost of the app because as the requirements would rise, the price rises as well. Some functionalities and designs required by the clients are hard to create and take a lot of effort and time from the developer. These will eventually cost extra on your wallet and would add up to the final price of the project.
Professional Development Services
If you do not have much knowledge about app development, then you must hire a developer for it, or you have to go ask a professional Shopify development company to do it for you. If you would go for a professional agency like Folio3, they would comparatively charge high for these e-commerce apps, but you’ll get quality work.
Time Required and Hourly Rates
The cost can also depend on the time required and hourly rates. The reason being many developers charge hourly rates. The app development process can take up to 10 months and would cost you a lot and 300+ hours, and average hourly rates. The rates can average between $25 to $150, depending upon the capabilities and experience of your developer.
You can also contact the companies to know how much does it cost to build a Shopify app if you use their services. Here is a breakdown of a basic Shopify app:
| Features | Timeline |
| Setting Up the App | 4 to 5 hours |
| Building the Dashboard | 16 to 20 hours |
| Choosing Designs | Around 40 to 50 hours (Depending on some factors) |
| StoreFront script tags to fetch dates from the backend | Anywhere between 8 to 14 hours |
| StoreFront JS to handle use cases in the scope of the app | At least 28 hours, maybe more |
| Settings Page | 15 or 16 hours, depending upon functionalities |
| Stats page | 18 to 20 hours at least |
| Deployment AWS/ DIGITAL OCEAN | 8 hours to 10 hours |
| QA | 10% to 15% of the total project |
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A basic Shopify app costs around $5000 – $15000.
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The more time the app requires, the more cost would be incurred.
Type Of App
The type of app can also affect your cost. If you want to know how much does it cost to build a Shopify app, then you must first decide what kind of app you want to build. There are basically two kinds of apps:
- Custom Shopify Apps
- Public Apps
Custom Apps
These apps are specially designed by your developer for you, and these costs are significantly high compared to public apps. In custom apps, you have the freedom to add all the functionalities and options you want, and you can design them exactly to your choice. You have to go to a professional for this or a Shopify app development company like Folio3, which is also an amazing Shopify theme development company.
Below is a chart that will give you an idea of how much it would cost to build a custom app for your business.
| Type of Setup | Time Taken | Cost in USD |
| Basic | 1 month | 5000-10000 |
| Complex | 3 months | 15000-25000 |
| Advanced (For big organizations) | 6 months or more | 25000-75000 |
Public Apps
These apps are available on the Shopify app store, and these are available to every Shopify merchant. These are available on the Shopify store and are used by many merchants. These apps are not much customizable, and you can only perform a limited number of operations on these apps.
How Folio3 Can Help You To Reduce The Cost
As you might have got the idea from the above-mentioned building cost for Shopify apps, you might have to spend a fortune on building your customized Shopify app. But do not worry; Folio3 is here to provide you with cost-effective solutions for your Shopify app development. Folio3 is a top Shopify development company that has satisfied customers from all over the world.
Read Also Building a Shopify App
You can go to the Folio3 website and head to the Shopify app development services section, and there you can read about their experience, and you can learn more about their services. You can drop your contact details, and they will contact you back within a few hours. You can get a quote according to your demands and choose the plans that suit you the best and save you the most money.
Conclusion
To conclude, we can say that the answer to the question of how much does it cost to build a Shopify app depends upon the functionalities and custom developments you want in your app. But to give you a normal idea, it would cost at least $5000 to build a very basic Shopify app, while it costs around $15,000 – $20,000 to build an app according to the demands of the client.
You can also learn how to create a basic Shopify app, and then you can save a lot. The above-mentioned prices are just for an idea, and you can get this done in much lesser or greater depending on many factors, but we hope that now you do have an idea about how much does it cost to build a Shopify app.
FAQs
How much did it cost to build Shopify?
Shopify’s initial development in 2006 involved a modest budget of under $200,000. However, substantial ongoing investments in infrastructure, development, and marketing have significantly increased its overall cost.
How much does it cost to setup a Shopify store?
Setting up a Shopify store can cost between $29 to $299 per month for subscription plans. Additional costs include themes, apps, domain registration, and potentially professional design services.
Is making Shopify apps profitable?
Creating Shopify apps can be profitable, especially if they meet a high-demand need and provide value to merchants. Success depends on market fit, app quality, and effective marketing.
