How much does it cost to make an app like Reddit?

With many different social discussion forums available on the internet right now, Reddit boasts its cult following of Redditors. Looking at figures provided by Reddit in 2019, the platform saw more than 430 million monthly active users worldwide. With 47.87 million US app users, (ahead of Whatsapp and Snapchat), Reddit also maintains its place as the 6^th most popular social networking mobile app in the US, according to Statista. With a whopping 2.2+ million subreddits, the platform serves as a communal hub for millions of people worldwide.

When you have a loyal following, major success is bound to come, so it is only natural that the Redditor in you would want to build a similar application. Like any other good thing in the world, certain aspects are lacking here as well, like the slightly intolerant audience towards Ad placements, etc., or the overflow of content, which can make it hard for an individual to find like-minded people.

Considering all of this, it would be of excellent service to the question and answer communities if you build a user-driven app like Reddit, which brings us to the vital question: How much does it cost to develop an application like Reddit? Surprisingly, a lot less than any of your favored cost for social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Now, of course, you wouldn’t be building an exact copy-paste version of the official Reddit app. Before we discuss what goes into making an app similar to Reddit, it is crucial to keep in mind that two factors determine the total cost of your application:

• The hourly rate of the developers
• The number of hours they put into developing

Moving on, we will discuss the estimated cost of creating an app like Reddit based on the features and functionality.

FEATURES:

BASIC AUTHENTICATION:

The most straightforward login strategy is called basic authentication. We should go over how user authentication (at its most fundamental level) works:

• The user provides their credentials.
• That information is moved ahead to an authentication server.
• The server at that point will work to match the information together.
• Upon a match, the server approves the users attempt for access.

Cost: The implementation of this primary feature takes about 20 to 25 hours. It can cost you between $800 to $1200. It varies depending on the security level you want to implement.

 PUSH NOTIFICATIONS:

User engagement may happen in any part of an application performing authorization, notifications, networking, and more. User engagement tools usually are utilized, such as push notifications in consumer applications.  Push notifications cost depends on the complexity of the notifications. Implementing customized notifications costs more than implementing the basic ones. The more you invest in your users’ needs and their usage pattern, the better response you receive to your push notification. Still, here is an estimated amount that can be considered.

Cost: The development of push notifications can take around 12 to 16 hours. The development cost would be $400 to $600.

SEARCH:

The search function allows your users to look for the products and services they are specifically looking for. Users’ search inquiries may provide helpful information concerning user interests and behaviour.

Cost: The implementation of a search feature can take an approximate time of 12 to 15+ hours, and cost in between $600 to $800.

PROFILE COMPLETION/EDITING:

Profile completion contains the information provided by the user, including, bio, interests, age and photos etc. In contrast, profile editing is when the user makes any changes or alterations to their data stored in the server.

Cost: This is a too delicate feature which can require 200 hours to develop. It can cost approximately $1150 to $3000 but will continue to increase as the app’s user database grows.

PAYMENTS/IN-APP PAYMENT:

Numerous applications use in-app purchases as a device to build their revenue. Implementing a payment feature takes 50 to 65+ hours.

Cost: Integration of in-app purchases can range anywhere from $2000 to $5000.

STREAMING FEATURES:

Streaming features are typically pretty complicated and quite time-consuming. It can take up to 70+ hours and are expensive to develop. So far, Reddit’s stream time limit is only 45 minutes unless extended by the viewers.

Cost: This development process can take up to 120+ hours—$ 2000 to $3000.

ADS:

Banners or screen pop-up advertisements are utilized for the marketing of various services or products. The hours and cost can vary depending on the type of advertising.

Cost: A basic banner integration can take between 8 to 12 hours of development and cost between$1000 to $2000.

ANALYTICS:

Analytics keep track of the performance of applications to measure efficiency and success by producing real-time analysis. Analytics help you collect user data, their activities and engagement with your app. Its cost can vary depending on the tool (MixPanel, Firebase etc.) you use.

Cost: Implementing this feature can be done in 2 to 6 hours, costing between $100 to $200.

UI/UX:

Making an excellent UI interface is a complex function that adds to the development expenses of your venture. UI/UX is one of the most significant factors that decide your application’s success since it directly impacts the consumer experience and improves user maintenance. The expense of UI/UX primarily relies upon the number of features you wish for to be your application.

Cost: One of the essential parts and also one that can take up to 500+ hours to complete. Will cost around $5000 to $1000.

LOCATION OF DEVELOPMENT TEAM:

The location of your application development team is a crucial factor impacting the product’s final cost. The expense of making an application in the UK will vary from the payment of application development in the US and different regions.

The North American region is one of the costliest areas for application development. Companies in this location will probably charge more h higher costs like $150 to $250, while you can locate a freelance developer for $50 per hour. In comparison, India and Indonesia are the least costly alternatives with costs going from $10 to $70 per hour.

AVERAGE HOURLY RATES OF THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM MEMBERS:

BUSINESS ANALYST:

A business analyst person is responsible for gathering all the necessary information regarding the product, identifying any business-related problems. Their job includes analyzing the market and competitors and defining project specification etc.

• US: $110-$205/Hr
• Asia: $30-$42/Hr

UI/UX DESIGNER:

Your graphic designer will bring the aesthetic aspect of your application. Any application is barely complete without good design. The designer focuses on analyzing similar apps and user preferences etc.

• US: $79-$163/Hr
• Asia: $25-$36/Hr

MOBILE APP ENGINEER:

You will require one or more than one iOS and/or Android developers, depending on the platform you choose to release your app on. The developers will build and publish the application with all the specifications.

• US: $110-$187/Hr
• Asia: $20-$42/Hr

QA ENGINEER:

Quality assurance engineers, as the name suggests, are responsible for checking for the quality and stability of the app by performing multiple tests.

• US: $77-$169/Hr
• Asia: $15-$36/Hr

PROJECT MANAGER:

Project managers work with the rest of the team to ensure that the final product is publishable and meets all requirements. They also make sure that it is ready in time. They serve as catalysts for the entire team.

• US: $133-$233
• Asia: $35-$48

MAINTAINANCE COSTS:

One of the significant factors to consider when planning to make an application is the maintenance cost. The most common and easiest way is to allocate 15% to 20% of the initial app development cost on maintenance annually. Maintenance costs usually include bug fixing, new OS versions, different updates, new features, improving performance, etc. App maintenance is crucial since it keeps your product updated and stabilized, so don’t just delete your developer’s contact number since you’ll be needing their services even after your product is ready. It is an ever-going process, which is why every software company has post-release support terms and policies.

HIDDEN COSTS:

Hidden costs are those costs that are not generally included in the initial or in the process of application development like the costs of maintenance, support, and upgrades, etc.

IT SUPPORT COSTS:

You can’t make an outstanding application without IT continuous technical support services. As mentioned above, it is a significant part of sustaining any application. The solitary issue is that support expenses can increase over the long haul. Some examples:

• App update submissions
• iOS and Android updates
• API maintenance
• Bug fixing

FRAMEWORK COSTS:

Framework costs incorporate costs for app hosting, data delivery, and data storage. These services require redundancies and load balancers for security servers and back-up. The entirety of this adds to both the expense and complexity of a task. Few examples are:

• Servers
• Content delivery networks
• Data storage
• Image data
• Development tools, libraries, and support

ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS:

Administrative services can furnish you with consistent access to information so you can refresh your application’s content and oversee users without reaching out to the IT division. The expenses of such administrative services are difficult to anticipate and, for the most part, rely upon the type of mobile app you’re creating. These costs add up, and you’ll need to pay them on an ongoing premise. Some examples of such paid services are:

• Content management tools
• Dashboard emulators
• Functional services management
• Dynamic updates
• Analytics/event collectors
• Access controls
• Data segmentation

FUNCTIONAL COSTS:

Functional costs are the expenses of executing an application’s functionality. To make a specific functionality work, you may have to purchase an assistance service that might transfer a virus to enter and spread itself in a method called delivery mechanism. The number of services utilized by applications differs, and often the list is never-ending. Concerning the expense of these services, it could be hundreds or even a larger number of dollars every month. Here are a couple of examples:

• SMS notification
• Push notification
• Social media integrations
• Email

CONCLUSION:

Developing an app like Reddit can cost anywhere between $20,000 to $50,000. Depending on the complexity and nature of the features and functionality. It may come off as extremely expensive, but it’s worth the money invested if developed correctly. In the coming year, Reddit will more than double its revenue by $261.7 million, according to emarketer. Building an app like Reddit is a great initiative in this era of tech-savvy people since its popularity based subreddits /r/science and /r/programming still reigns ahead of all other communities on the internet.  It goes to show the massive potential of such apps. The app also serves as a great communicating and networking place for like-minded people, especially in COVID-19 times, where the internet is more or less the only place left for a vast number of people to socialize.