• Gohar Aslam
• App Development
• 19 January, 2024

Entrepreneurs and small businesses often possess amazing concepts for social media apps. However, the most pressing problems they face occur in the development process. A poor development process can increase your financial costs and be a stumbling block for your goals. Moreover, the success of a social media app depends on numerous factors, including the expertise of the development team, the development time, and other factors influencing the social media app development costs. 

Every entrepreneur and business owner asks the most pressing question: how much does maintaining a social media app cost? This article assesses the social media app development cost to help you make informed decisions. Read the article to know more. 

What is the cost of building a social network app?

The cost of building a social media app depends on numerous factors:

• Usually, the cost to build a basic social network app can range from as low as $30,000 to $60,000.
• A more complex app can cost you between $60,000 and $70,000.
• A highly advanced social network app can climb to $100,000. 

Factors influencing the social media app development cost include the UI/UX design, feature complexity, development team size, and the app platform.
Similarly, a development team’s location is vital in deciding the final cost. The following are the hourly rates of development teams based in various locations globally. North America: $100-$150, South America: $30-$50, Asia: $18-$40, and Europe: $60-$95.

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Key Features of Social Media App

Here are some of the standard features of social media apps. To create a social media app, you must understand these features because they can significantly influence its development costs.

Account Creation

This feature involves allowing users to access the app by verifying their identity. Signing up for a social media app is a primary feature. Typically, it includes options for email verification, phone number verification, or third-party login methods such as using Google or Facebook credentials. The primary purpose is to make the process hassle-free for users with minimum account setup stages.

Profile Setup

Profile creation and editing are standard features in all social media apps. Users can create personal profiles and add details such as name, profile picture, bio, and other vital information. Moreover, the edit feature allows users to update or modify their profile information.

Messaging

In-app messaging facilitates communication between app users. This feature enables users to send and receive messages within the app. It can include text, multimedia messages, and real-time chat functionality.

Photo and Video Uploading

Another key feature of social media apps is that users can upload and share photos and videos within the app. This feature often includes options for adding captions, filters, and other editing tools.

Search Feature

This feature allows users to search for other users, content, groups, communities, or specific topics within the app. Moreover, users can include filters, sorting options, and suggestions based on user activity.

Push Notifications

Push notifications on apps encourage real-time response and initiate immediate engagement. Users receive real-time notifications for activities such as new messages, likes, comments, or friend requests. Consequently, this feature helps keep users engaged and informed about relevant updates.

Additional Features

It is a general category that may include additional, more advanced features based on the specific goals of the social media app. For example, features like live streaming, event creation, groups or communities, analytics, and privacy settings, amongst others, can be added to an application if and when needed.

Social Media Sharing

This feature allows users to share content on various social media apps. Users on one social media app can connect their profiles with other social media platforms. Hence, it facilitates cross-platform sharing and content integration.

Types of Social Media Apps

Before building a social media app, it is necessary to analyze various types and decide which type serves your business goal and target audience. The social media app is also a key factor influencing your social media app development cost. 

Leading Social Media Apps

Social media developers need to be knowledgeable about the leading social media apps in the market because it can help them make informed decisions about their social media app project. Following is a list of the top social media apps based on popularity.

• WhatsApp
• Facebook
• Instagram
• X (formerly Twitter)
• TikTok
• Snapchat

Key Features of Top Social Media Apps

The social media apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat have gained massive popularity and user engagement worldwide. Here is a brief description of the top features of these social media platforms. Consider including one or more of these features in your app, and check how it can impact your social media app development cost.

See our latest relevant exploration How to create an App like WhatsApp?

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Development Process of Social Media Apps

A social networking app development company typically follows a development process to make a social network app. The following explains each stage of the social media app development process. 

1. Ideation

During the ideation phase, the development team collaborates with the client to conceptualize the social media app, defining its purpose, target audience, and unique features. The team identifies user needs through market research and analyzes the competitive landscape. Given these points, our team lays the foundation for a definitive project brief that outlines the app’s significant functionalities and goals.

2. Wireframing/Prototyping

The development team converts the ideas into visual representations and interactive prototypes in the wireframing and prototyping stage. Wireframes outline the app’s layout and user flow, serving as a sketch for development. At the same time, the prototypes provide an actual technique for testing and validation. It also allows early user feedback and the app’s design and functionality refinement.

3. Design

The design phase transforms the wireframes and prototypes into a visually attractive and user-friendly interface. Particularly, it involves creating the aesthetics and functionality of the app, including user interface (UI) elements, branding, and design consistency. The designers ensure the social media app’s visual aesthetics synchronize with the client’s vision.

4. Development

The app begins to materialize in the development stage as the coding and programming work starts. The chosen technology stack is applied, and features are developed. Additionally, the developers integrate third-party APIs for functionalities like authentication and sharing.

5. Testing

The QA team thoroughly inspects the social media app for bugs, usability issues, and overall performance. On the whole, unit, integration, and system testing are conducted to identify and rectify problems. 

6. Deployment

After the testing phase, social network developers deploy the app to app stores or relevant platforms, making it accessible to users. The deployment phase marks the transition from development to the live environment, where users can start engaging with the social media app.

See our latest relevant exploration How to Evaluate Mobile App Development Costs?

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