How Much Does it Cost to Make an App like WhatsApp?

WhatsApp was introduced as a mobile app that provides free calling and messaging services to users all around the world, using the internet connection. WhatsApp was launched in 2009, and today, it has two billion monthly active users, making it the most popular messenger app.

WhatsApp is considered a cost-effective alternative to SMS gateway service, and it relies solely on an Internet connection. WhatsApp ensures the security and privacy of user data with end-to-end encryption, a secure communication method that prevents third-parties from accessing data. It also offers features, such as status updates, story updates, and sending and receiving pictures, videos, gifs, etc. It provides instant feedback to the users regarding their messages, informing the user either the messages have been delivered to the receiver or the receiver has read them.

If you have decided to make an app like Whatsapp, the first step is to estimate how much it will cost to make an app like WhatsApp. Developing an app with features similar to WhatsApp’s features will cost you around $50,000- $60,000.

Cost Breakdown of Core WhatsApp Features

To develop an app like WhatsApp, you need to know what features to include and how much each feature will cost. You can pick and choose the features you prefer.

• Registration
• Instant Messaging
  • End-to-end Encryption
  • Group Chats
• Multimedia File Transmission
• Status
• Voice & Video Call
• Geolocation Integration
• Contact Information Sharing
• Additional Settings
• UI/UX Design

Registration

To register your profile on WhatsApp, you need to provide your credentials such as name, phone number, and country. Once you fill in the information, WhatsApp sends you an authorization message. This message containing the verification code is read and submitted automatically.

Time: 50 – 55 hours

Cost: $4000 – $4200

Instant messaging

Whatsapp is a messenger app; hence it is no surprise that it has an incredible instant messaging feature. Whatsapp uses a specific button that allows users to start chatting and shows you a list of users’ contacts to choose from. The contact list needs to be integrated for this feature to work. Whatsapp not only allows you to send text messages but also lets you send pictures, videos, voice notes, documents, and so on.

Unlike other social media apps, WhatsApp doesn’t have the option to log out, making it easier for the user to access the app. This way, users don’t have to worry about forgetting the password and losing their account. The app asks for a user’s mobile number for profile identification since mobile numbers cannot be replicated.

• End-to-end Encryption

There is a reason why WhatsApp is the most famous messenger app. WhatsApp provides private and secure communication to its users. The messages you send on WhatsApp are sent with end-to-end encryption. It is the feature that makes WhatsApp different from other social media apps such as Skype, Twitter, and Instagram that do not provide the encrypted messages feature.

In simple terms, this means that messages sent via WhatsApp are not stored on its server. They are temporarily placed in the server until the receiver reads it, and then they are removed from the server’s temporary storage. WhatsApp ensures that the only people who have access to your messages are you and the person you sent the messages to. However, other social media apps such as Instagram and Twitter allow their developers access to your messages as they do not provide end-to-end encryption.

If you want to build an app like WhatsApp, security should be your utmost priority.

• Group Chats

Whatsapp lets users form groups to communicate with several people simultaneously. Group chat allows you to send messages, texts, videos, gifs, etc., in a WhatsApp group.  The maximum capacity of a WhatsApp group is 256 members.

Group chat also has the option of making voice calls and video calls. However, only four people from the group can be included in a call at a time. To avoid getting confused between two or three groups, WhatsApp gives you the liberty to change the name of the group.

Time: 150 – 220 hours

Cost: $16000 – $18000

Multimedia File Transmission

WhatsApp offers multimedia file transmission that allows the users to send and receive different types of files using the app. These files are:

• Videos
• Images
• Voice Notes
• GIFs
• Documents
• Location
• Contacts

Each of these files has a different file extension. If you want to create an app like WhatsApp, you’ll need to incorporate all these files in your chat feature. You can do this by delivering multimedia files to an HTTP server before sending it to the user with an encoded thumbnail.

Time: 30 – 35 hours

Cost: $4000 – $4500

Status

WhatsApp allows users to set a status with a 700 character limit. It provides several pre-written statuses to choose from and the option to write one for yourself. The purpose of WhastaApp status is to inform your contacts about your current situation. E.g., if you’re busy, and you want your contacts to know that you can’t talk at the moment, you can just set your status to “busy” to let them know.

Time: 8 – 10 hours

Cost: $500 – $1000

Voice & Video Calls

WhatsApp uses VoIP or ‘voice over internet protocol‘ to allow users to make voice calls. VoIP requires a user’s device to be connected with Wi-Fi or cellular network data. WhatsApp allows users to voice or video call people living anywhere in the world without any charges or fees.

However, there’s one limitation, i.e., You can only call people who use WhatsApp.

Time: 150 – 200 hours

Cost: $12000 – $16000

Geolocation Integration

Whatsapp offers geolocation feature that makes it easy for users to find each other by sharing their locations. Using this feature, you can send your current location as well as your live location for a specific time limit that ranges from 15 minutes to 8 hours. The live location will show your friends exactly where you are going, making it easier for them to track you if you’re on the move.

To integrate this feature into your app, you need to use Google Play Location Services API (for Android) or Apple’s Core Location framework (for iOS).

Time: 15 – 20 hours

Cost: $1200 – $1600

Contact Information Sharing

WhatsApp features a user-friendly option to share contact information. You can send someone a contact’s information directly from your address book using WhatsApp. This makes the process a lot easier than manually sending a contact’s information. This feature requires the app to integrate the user’s address book.

Time: 40 – 50 hours

Cost: $3200 – $4000

Additional Settings

Whatsapp offers numerous other settings such as turning notifications on or off, changing the sound alert for specific contacts, disabling your last seen, turning off read receipts, and so on.

Time: 80 – 100 hours

Cost: $6500 – $8000

UI/UX Design:

For any app, the design is crucial as it is one of the main factors influencing user experience and user satisfaction. WhatsApp’s UI/UX design offers a pleasant and smooth user experience, which eventually increases user retention. The app’s design is simple yet efficient. At the bottom bar of WhatsApp, Chats, Status, Contacts, and Settings are listed.

Time: 50 – 60 hours

Cost: $4000 – $5000

Conclusion

Based on the estimations discussed above, it should take about 500 – 800 hours to develop an app like WhatsApp. However, the app development cost depends on the hourly rate of the developers and the structure of the development team.

Cosidering the hourly rate of the developer/development team to be $80, it will cost you around $40,000 – $65000 to make an app like WhatsApp. The cost may vary depending on the complexity of features and functionality of the app. Nevertheless, if you find these cost estimations confusing, talk to one of our consultants and get a free quote today.