How much does it cost to develop an iPad app?

We’re in the business of connecting entrepreneurs who have great mobile app ideas with developers who can shepherd those apps to the marketplace.  We entertain all sorts of questions put to us by those hoping to turn their app ideas into profit, but by far the most common one we hear is this:  “How much will it cost to develop my mobile app idea?”  It’s the first question out of everyone’s mouth, but unfortunately the answer is neither simple nor precise.

So how much does it cost to develop an iPad app?  Regrettably, the only right answer is one that never seems to make anyone happy:  “It depends.”  It’s a lot like asking how much it costs to take a family vacation.  Were you hoping for a month at the beaches and casinos of Monte Carlo or a weekend with a pitched tent in the backyard over s’mores and ghost stories with the kids?

You’d think that by narrowing down the available platforms to just the iPad, the initial outlays might be a little more consistent than the rest of the app market.  Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.  Of course, there’s nothing to stop you from downloading the iOS software development kit and developing an artisanal app yourself, in which case the out-of-pocket development costs would be zero (ignoring, of course, the value of your time …).  However, even in PadGadget’s excellent run-down of iPad development costs, which includes most of the mitigating conditions like design, coding, graphics, content, testing, and project management, development costs can still range from $6,000 to a quarter of a million dollars, far too broad a differential to have any real meaning.

The lesson here is that no one can tell you how much developing an iPad app might cost until they know precisely what the app in question is intended to do.  The good news is that services like ours are designed to do exactly that, so if you’re looking to develop an iPad app, drop us an e-mail or give us a call at 877.983.APPS (2777).