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Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

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Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

#1

Post by sendos »

There is an app that I would like to code up, but if the cost is not too prohibitive, I'd like to outsource it.

I searched the web for info on good iPhone dev shops and prices, but couldn't get good answers, so I thought I'd ask HN.

Of course, it all depends on the app. How complex, etc. Assume a moderate app, with, say, up to five different views, storing of some user data, and using the location framework.

Nothing too complicated. I think it might take me a month or more to code, but it should take a more experienced iPhone coder maybe two weeks.

Am I looking at $5,000, $10,000, $20,000, more?

Some info:

1) I don't want bottom-of-the-line developers. I don't mind paying extra for good developers

2) I don't mind paying up to several thousand dollars. My take is that if I can't make that money back from the app, I would prefer to have wasted money than 1 or 2 months of my life.

Besides the price, do you guys know of good iPhone dev shops? I take it that the standard procedure is to look on elance.com, odesk.com, etc, but I've never used them and I'm not sure how to use them to find a good developer.

I'm in the SF Bay Area, so a good local dev shop would be great, even though I wouldn't mind a dev shop from elsewhere.

Re: Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

#3

Post by gte910h »

This is what I do for a living (in Atlanta though).

Depends a lot on the complexity.

For non-game apps: Some smaller, simple apps are 2-3k, more complex stuff runs in the 10-15k range. Past that you're doing something A> Really Hard, B> New, C> On the edge of what Apple allows or D> Heavily involved with a complicated server component.

I'd happily send you a fixed fee quote for your app if you'd like (see profile for an email address to contact me).

One thing to see: See if they'll set you up on your mac getting you compiling and signing for submission to the store. Lots of overseas shops don't get you through that last part, and it is pretty tricky to do right.

Re: Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

#4

Post by dotBen »

Too many variables to be able to suggest a total rate (depends on how much work there is, in addition to the other factors listed).

You are probably looking at the equivalent of $100-200/hr for good development, with the higher end for people located in SF.

If you are going to out-source development, and you have a design/product background, I would build out a product spec and even a draft list of stories into Pivotal Tracker. It will help you define with your contractor what you want but also help to estimate total job time -- and that will help you arrive at a budget, based on the above hourly rate.

[If you don't have a design/product background (or are not a developer yourself) then the success of outsourced is probably going to be mixed]

I also tend to shy away from fixed bid because it doesn't work with an agile approach. You may not know completely what you want and as you get building and can get a better picture, being able to add extra components into the mix will cause friction with a fixed bid contract.

Better to agree a budget so that everyone is clear what the limits and goal posts are.

Re: Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

#6

Post by gte910h »

dotBen wrote: post #4

Too many variables to be able to suggest a total rate (depends on how much work there is, in addition to the other factors listed). You are probably looking at the equivalent of $100-200/hr for good development, with the higher end for people located in SF. If you are going to out-source development, and you have a design/product background, I would build out a product spec and even a draft list of stories into Pivot…

>I also tend to shy away from fixed bid because it doesn't work with an agile approach. You may not know completely what you want and as you get building and can get a better picture, being able to add extra components into the mix will cause friction with a fixed bid contract.

Fixed bid works just fine with an agile approach. You just start with a very small core project, then iterate upwards with follow on projects.

This is especially important for the Apple App Store because there is no other way to know if your app will be approved.

Fixed bid is sometimes more expensive due to the "risk eating" the developers are taking off your hands, but agility isn't usually the issue with developers who are otherwise good.

We counsel clients to start with a small fixed bid project then use hourly or follow on projects to change the program to a particular place they want to go.

Re: Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

#7

Post by tarouter »

I remember having read this story about a girl who outsourced her app to canada for 800$ and earned upwards of 8000$ selling it. The app was about a popular game played by girls. I know I'm being too vague but I specifically remember this - 1) Canadian developer 2) Was developed for 800$ 3) It was a popular game app for girls I hope that provide some useful data points to consider. It was published in one of hacker/entrepreneurship related websites/blogs which probably many of you frequent and might have seen the story. Anyone got a link?

Re: Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

#8

Post by jrockway »

gte910h wrote: post #6
dotBen wrote: post #4

Too many variables to be able to suggest a total rate (depends on how much work there is, in addition to the other factors listed). You are probably looking at the equivalent of $100-200/hr for good development, with the higher end for people located in SF. If you are going to out-source development, and you have a design/product background, I would build out a product spec and even a draft list of stories into Pivot…

>I also tend to shy away from fixed bid because it doesn't work with an agile approach. You may not know completely what you want and as you get building and can get a better picture, being able to add extra components into the mix will cause friction with a fixed bid contract. Fixed bid works just fine with an agile approach. You just start with a very small core project, then iterate upwards with follow on projects…

I like this advice. Usually developers are wary of fixed-bid, because the client tends to want to tack on a bunch of "oh, and"s, and they end up spending a lot of hours working for free. People commissioning software, on the other hand, are worried about whether or not 0 to working prototype will take more hours than they are willing to pay for.

Your system seems to keep everyone in their comfort zone. No uncertainty for either party. (Except the usual, "will they pay my invoice?" and "why isn't he replying to my email!?" that is implicit in any business transaction.)

Re: Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

#9

Post by faramarz »

gte910h wrote: post #6
dotBen wrote: post #4

Too many variables to be able to suggest a total rate (depends on how much work there is, in addition to the other factors listed). You are probably looking at the equivalent of $100-200/hr for good development, with the higher end for people located in SF. If you are going to out-source development, and you have a design/product background, I would build out a product spec and even a draft list of stories into Pivot…

>I also tend to shy away from fixed bid because it doesn't work with an agile approach. You may not know completely what you want and as you get building and can get a better picture, being able to add extra components into the mix will cause friction with a fixed bid contract. Fixed bid works just fine with an agile approach. You just start with a very small core project, then iterate upwards with follow on projects…

This is especially important for the Apple App Store because there is no other way to know if your app will be approved.

This is HUGE! Do you believe a company can flourish just as an App store app. or is that just too risky. Would love to hear your personal opinion.

I'm working on an enterprise solution, and it's reliance is completely on Apple's code-of-conduct.

Re: Ask HN: How much does it cost to outsource iPhone app development?

#10

Post by Mankhool »

I got a very rough quote from a Toronto firm to do a location based app for web, iPhone and Android for approximately $370,000. I just talked to a Vancouver developer who charges $120/hr. As others have mentioned there are numerous variables, but most developers will usually be happy to do an initial free consultation to learn more about your project so that they can at least ballpark a figure to you.
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