When consulting about app development, many enterprises only ask for a flat total price without understanding that the full cost falls into four major categories: labor man-days, third-party service fees, hardware & qualification expenses, and operation & iteration costs. Below is a full breakdown of every expenditure based on our company’s standard rate of ¥1,500 per person per day.
I. Core Cost: Labor Development Fees (70%–85% of total budget; uniform rate: ¥1,500 per person per day)
Roles involved in the full app development lifecycle include UI/UX designers, Android developers, iOS developers, back-end developers, test engineers, and project managers. All roles follow Beijing’s market standard rate of ¥1,500 per person per day.
Cost = Number of working man-days for the role × ¥1,500
1. Pre-development Demand & Product Planning Stage
This phase covers demand sorting, competitor analysis, feature list drafting, interactive prototyping, and project scheduling—all indispensable to avoid large-scale rework later.
- Product Manager
- Simple apps: 3–5 man-days
- Mid-tier shopping mall / local life service apps: 5–8 man-days
- Complex social apps / vertical industry merchant platform systems: 10–20 man-days
- Project Manager: Onboard throughout the entire development cycle, responsible for client communication, progress control, and demand change management. The required man-days equal the overall project timeline.
Calculation Example: Product planning for a simple utility app (5 man-days)
Cost = 5 × 1,500 = ¥7,500
2. UI/UX Visual Design Stage
Services include finalized interactive prototypes, full-set page visuals, icons, motion graphics, and back-office management system interfaces. More pages and custom motion effects translate to more man-days.
- Simple apps (15–20 pages): 5–8 man-days
- Mid-tier commercial apps (30–60 pages, including products, payment, and membership modules): 10–20 man-days
- Complex platforms (multi-user roles, merchant portals, visualized data dashboards): 30–50 man-days
Calculation Example: Design for a multi-merchant shopping mall app (25 man-days)
Cost = 25 × 1,500 = ¥37,500
3. Client-side Development (Dual Android + iOS Versions)
Two development approaches yield drastically different man-day requirements; native development involves the heaviest workload, while cross-platform development cuts man-days by roughly 30%.
Native Development (Separate codebases for Android and iOS)
- Simple utility app (single OS): 12–18 man-days; combined for both OSes: 25–38 man-days
- Mid-tier e-commerce dual-version app: 50–80 man-days
- Complex social / multi-merchant dual-version app: 100–160 man-days
uni-app Cross-platform Development
A single codebase compatible with both operating systems, requiring only 65%–75% of the man-days needed for native dual development. It is the top choice for enterprises with limited budgets.
Calculation Example: Cross-platform development for a mid-tier shopping mall app (60 man-days)
Cost = 60 × 1,500 = ¥90,000
4. Back-end Development + Admin Management Backend
This layer processes all app data, user permissions, orders, payment interfaces, and databases—the core logic of any app. Man-days for the standalone admin backend are calculated separately.
- Simple utility app back-end: 10–18 man-days
- Shopping mall back-end with order, membership, and distribution modules: 30–50 man-days
- Multi-merchant back-end with real-time IM communication and big data analytics: 60–100 man-days
- Matching admin backend: Basic version (12 man-days); complex version with multi-role access permissions (30 man-days)
Calculation Example: Back-end development for a shopping mall app (40 man-days)
Cost = 40 × 1,500 = ¥60,000
5. Testing, Joint Debugging & Launch Deployment Man-days
Covers functional testing, compatibility testing, performance stress testing, Android app store submission, Apple App Store review, and server deployment.
- Simple apps: 7–12 man-days
- Mid-tier commercial apps: 18–30 man-days
- Complex platforms: 40–60 man-days
Calculation Example: Testing, joint debugging and launch for a shopping mall app (20 man-days)
Cost = 20 × 1,500 = ¥30,000
II. One-time Fixed Expenses (Excluded from labor man-day fees)
These cover third-party platforms, qualification certificates, and one-time server fees.
Enterprise Qualification Certificates
- Apple Developer Account: USD 99 per year (approximately ¥720)
- Computer Software Copyright Registration: ¥1,000–¥2,000 (mandatory for app store launch)
- ICP Filing Service: Free agency service provided by our team (compulsory for shopping mall and paid apps)
Domain & Server One-time Fees
- Domain name: ¥120 per year (we provide free assistance with domain resolution management)
- SSL Security Certificate: ¥500–¥2,000 for commercial certificates (prices vary for single-domain and multi-domain certificates)
One-time Integration Fees for Third-party Interfaces (Excludes subsequent metered charges)
- WeChat / Alipay Payment Integration: Man-hours for integration are included in back-end man-day costs; a 0.6% transaction fee shall be borne by merchants for all subsequent payments.
- SMS verification code, map service, Tencent IM, push notification, real-name authentication: Integration work hours are counted toward back-end development; annual usage fees for these interfaces are settled separately each year.
III. Annual Recurring Operation Costs (Mandatory post-launch annual expenditure)
Cloud Server Rental Fees
- Small utility apps: ¥3,000–¥6,000 per year
- Shopping mall / local life service apps: ¥5,000–¥15,000 per year (fees rise as user volume expands and server capacity is upgraded)
Annual Third-party Interface Fees / Metered Charges
SMS services, instant messaging, facial recognition, map APIs, and OSS file storage are charged based on actual usage. Small and medium merchants generally spend ¥1,000–¥10,000 annually.
Annual Basic Operation & Maintenance Service Fee
This fee excludes new feature development; it only covers bug fixes, system compatibility adaptation, server maintenance, and app store version updates. Industry standard rate: 10% of the total initial labor development cost per year.
Example: If total initial labor development investment amounts to ¥200,000, the annual O&M fee is ¥20,000.