How Much Does It Cost to Make A News App?
With many things happening every day around the world, it’s easy to miss out on something important. Just two decades ago, people had to wait for newspapers to arrive at their doorstep every morning. They had to rely on television and radio to catch up on the news. But now things have changed. You just need to download an app, and news from all over the world will be on your fingertips. Anyone can access global information anywhere and at any time. Today’s most popular news apps are Google News, Apple News, BBC News, Flipboard and SmartNews, among many others.
Why should you make a news app?
Whether you own a news channel, or you just like investing in different apps, making a news app can be very profitable. Smartphone users have been increasing at an astonishing rate. Statistics show that around 3.5 billion people worldwide use smartphones, and an average adult in the US spends around 3 hours of their day on mobile apps. Furthermore, a 2017 research report by Ipsos MORI found that users spend about 31 minutes each day on news apps.
Thus, you can generate a tremendous amount of revenue by monetizing your app. One way is to offer subscriptions. You don’t need to charge a fee from all your users, but you should definitely go for a Freemium model. Give all your users the basic features of the app and give them the option of purchasing advanced ones.
How Much Does It Cost to Make A News App?
Developing a top-notch mobile app can be costly. But if your app is up to the mark, you’ll start making a profit in no time. There are various factors to consider when developing any mobile app. You need to decide which operating system(s) you want to make your app compatible with. Typically, Android development costs a bit more than iOS development. Still, as there are more Android users out there, it is worthwhile to develop your app for both platforms.
It is also essential to decide whether you want to develop the app in native or in hybrid. If you have the time and resources, native app development is recommended. A native app for Android with minimum features can cost you around $15,000 to $20,000, and a similar app for iOS will cost approximately $12,000 to $17,000.
Development costs significantly vary according to location and type of developer. If you hire freelancers and small companies from Asia, you’ll be done in much less. However, we recommend building a strong business relationship with a reputable firm. The main advantage is that such a firm won’t hang you out to dry after the app is launched. Instead, they will make sure that you earn a return on your investment. Learn more about our products and what we do, here.
Now, let’s talk specifically about the cost of making a news app. There are many features that we need to consider when calculating it. Attracting users can be tricky, and a lot of testing and research is required. However, there are seven features that you must have in your app.
Seven Essentials
- A catchy UI/UX
If you want to retain your users, you must have an attractive interface. There are many apps out there to present the news, but you have to come up with an innovative way. Use catchy fonts, colours, and designs to captivate your users and provide them with the best news reading experience. You can also leave some design options up to the users so that they customize it according to their likings.
- Newsfeed
The newsfeed is always on the home screen of the app. Users can browse it at their own pace. Make sure your newsfeed offers content relevant to the user. You can do this by allowing them to set specific topics or people as keywords. This way, only articles mentioning those keywords will show up in the feed. Users can follow politicians, events, particular sports or particular industries in this manner.
- Search, Filter and Sort
These features are vital for any news app. Out of the hundreds of articles showing up on their feeds, users should be able to search certain ones. They must be able to set filters by location, time, type of article and source etc. An option to sort news articles on the basis of time should also be available. This will ensure that users do not miss out on current happenings.
- Headlines
You must also have a headlines section for users who do not have the time to browse the whole newsfeed. The headlines will show only the most important news. These will be items which are trending all over the internet at a particular time.
- Social Media Integration
Another feature that users love in any app is social media integration. They want to log-in through different social media sites instead of making a new ID. This way, they can share news articles directly on their profiles.
- Bookmark and Save
If users see news articles they want to read but don’t have the time, they can place a bookmark on it and come back to it later at a convenient time. Furthermore, no one has access to the internet all the time. There may be times when people are on the subway or in the countryside where there is a poor connection. For times like these, users can save news articles to their device when they are online.
- Push Notifications
Lastly, to complete the whole user experience, your app should give notifications when headlines or important news articles relevant to the user are posted. This will keep the users engaged with the app and won’t let them forget you.
Wrapping it up
A news app with all the features mentioned above will cost you around $25,000 to $35,000. However, these are just suggestions, and the features you want in your app are totally up to you. News apps are a need of the time and can prove to be very profitable. Be sure to run your idea by us here, so that we can give you an accurate quote for the total cost of development.
