Social Media App Development Cost: A Comprehensive Guide 2023

Undeniably, checking our social media is the foremost and the last thing we do in a day. Social media has turned into a necessity helping us stay updated with what’s going on in the world. The dialogue around social media may be biased depending from person to person. However, it has helped unite people on a global level during catastrophes, and individual rights, and to raise a voice against social injustice. Amidst that, Social media apps are on the rise more & more entrepreneurs are pondering over the question “How much does it costs to build a social media app?”.

From sharing our thoughts, and staying up-to-date with the latest gossip and news, to dating someone, social media apps have given us numerous advantages. This is why entrepreneurs and startups are tussling with new ideas and the associated social media app development cost. In fact, even angel investors are enthusiastic about creating the next Facebook or Instagram.

With the stunning success and ever-growing stardom of this most promising market, nobody wants to miss the opportunity to become part of the fastest-growing digital-savvy world.

Is it the right time to develop a Social Media app?

According to reports, more than 90% of millennials are social network users, and 80% of companies use social networks for marketing. With the power of growing social networking the expected user base of social media is around 4.89 billion worldwide.

In fact, the US e-commerce market is expected to surpass $50 billion in 2023, as mentioned by Business Insider.

During the Pandemic, people confined themselves to their own four walls. Social media helped them stay connected with their family, friends, and even neighbors via text, chat, video calls, etc. In fact, social media became a source for singles to find a date and younglings & aspirers to learn new skills.

No matter where in the world someone resides, they were able to stay in touch with their friends and family. Charities and NGOs use social media regularly to raise awareness of certain issues and and took revolutions like “Black Lives Matter” post the incident of George Floyd.

Considering the current statistics, it is fair enough to say that the global usage of social media apps will likely rise in the coming future. So, the question is how much does it cost to develop a social media app in 2023? 

Talking about the figures, the typical cost to build a social media app can get you between $30,000 to $1,00,000+. 

The cost of social media app development depends on multiple factors such as:

• Design
• Complexity of features
• Compatibility with devices
• Security
• Testing
• Maintenance etc.

If you’re looking to shape up a new idea and turn it into an opportunity amongst the best social media apps? In this article, we’ll be covering the social networking app development cost in a structured manner. Apart from that, we have also covered the latest social media app cost by features, trends, and types of social media applications, to choose from.

Latest Social Media Trends and Statistics 2023

Let’s get started with some eye-opening statistics of the growing popularity of social media apps with some quick social media trends. Here are the key statistics of the social media market that you need to know.

Top Social Media Apps of 2023

Social media has turned into an inherent part of contemporary society. Right now, an estimated 4.9 billion people around the world are social media users. It’s a gigantic number that truly explains the extent to which social media is a part of our life.

To give a better idea, we have listed the top social media apps that have sustained the largest user base in 2023. These are:

1. Facebook

With a user base of 2.91 billion people, Facebook is the topmost contender in the list. It is amongst the first social media platforms that pioneered the idea into mainstream. The platform has been renamed to Meta, however, its popularity is still sustained by its older name.

2. Youtube

Started off as an idea to create a platform for archiving videos, it truly stands out amongst the top social media apps. Youtube allows anyone to upload personal videos and content for the world to consume. The platform is so powerful that it has created a series of content creators that made an entire career out of it. Currently, Youtube has a user base of around 2.56 billion people.

3. Whatsapp

A much more well-versed version of applications like Ebuddy, BBM chat, etc, Whatsapp is the best social media app used peer-to-peer messaging service. The service utilizes the power of the internet across the world to connect people via contact numbers as the identity. Whatsapp has been one revolutionizing social media platform with an existing user base of 2 billion.

4. Instagram

Instagram has been a part of the social media ecosystem for a while. However, it has gained a lot more prominence recently. The platform allows users to upload pictures and videos that can be seen by everyone or a group of people based on the privacy settings. Instagram is also a part of the Meta ecosystem with a user base of 1.47 billion.

5. WeChat

WeChat was amongst the first standalone applications to cross over $1 billion users in 2018. It is a Chinese mobile application developed by the minds behind PUBG i.e. Tencent. Currently, the platform consolidates a total strength of 1.26 billion.
 

Type of Social Media Apps to Develop in 2023

 If you are looking for the best mobile app development companies for your app idea, the very step is to define your goal and find your niche, clear vision, and get to an ideal app category. Let’s find out the different social media app categories, get started with identifying the target audience, and list out competitors.

App Type	Features	Examples	App Cost
Social Networking App	Share ideas, photos and videos, posts, and inform others about online or real-world activities and events with people in their network.	Facebook, LinkedIn	Around $115,000
Media Sharing Networks App	Users can share photos, videos, and live videos.	Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube	Around $70,000
Social Content Publishing Platforms App	Blogging	WordPress, Medium	Between $35,000 to $50,000+
Discussion Forums App	Start a discussion, ask questions, and get answers from experts.	Reddit, Quora	Between $20,000 to $80,000.
Content Sharing Networks App	Bookmarking apps	Pinterest, Flipboard	Between $5,000 to $11,500
Consumer Review Networks App	Let users share their reviews about brands, products, services.	Yelp, TripAdvisor	Around $15,000

 

Whatever the app you’ve selected for your business, make sure, it satisfies the below criteria -

Social Media Application Development Cost Based on Features

The cost of developing a social media app greatly depends on app features and functionalities. When you’re creating a Social Media app, it's more reasonable to start off with an MVP with basic app features and gradually adding more complex features to it. 

MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is created from the collection of real data from users' feedback.. To stand out from its competitors and play safe, launch an MVP version of the social media app to gather feedback or make future investments in your app idea. 

The primary advantage of MVP is that things get simpler. You spend less money to build Social Media Apps skeleton before actually launching it. With MVP, you can track and analyze user reactions, and make informed decisions without investing much of your money. Sounds safe!

Social Media App Cost: Must-Have Features 

Here’s a list of must-have app features for your social media app development. 

Social Media App Development Cost: Advanced Features 

Building an ordinary social media app with limited features and functionalities is not worthy To stand out in the era where apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter are already ruling the app market, one has to be disruptive and novel. It becomes crucial to develop a social media app that has all existing features such as AR filters, filters, location-based personalization, etc. Adding to it, the app also requires innovative features such as metaverse integration or new ideation of features never seen before.

To develop a social media app, here’re some advanced features you can add to your overall Social Networking Application Development Cost. Let’s move to its development cost/time in 2023. 

Feature	Description	Back-end develdevelopment	iOS development	Android development
Filters	Integrate various filters and effects to the photo or video. To add AR filters to the social media app.(Deve lopers use ML Kit and ARCore.)	5+ hours	80+ hours	80+ hours
Editing	Crop and rotate images, create a collage, remove unnecessary objects, and more. (Developers can integrate editing feature FFmpeg)		60+ hours	60+ hours
Location-based content	Users can add their location to the photo or video. (Developers can use Google Places to add location-based content features.)	10+ hours	10-15 hours	10-15 hours

 

Social Media App Development Cost: Additional/Hidden Costs

Here are some additional features of an app that affects the overall Social Media Application Development Cost. It includes the Admin Panel and Design.

Feature	Description	Time
Admin panel	User Management Features like add, remove, block users, and help in making informed decisions.	Around 135+ hours.
Design	Creating an attractive UI/UX design with user-friendly and spontaneous app designing.	Around 150+ hours.

 

Total Time of Social Media Application Development

Considering all the app features mentioned above, we took a round breakdown that includes all the factors that contribute to Social App Development Cost. Let’s get to the overall development time required to build compelling social networking applications by features.

 

Feature	Back-end development	iOS development	Android development
Basic features	300 hours	600 hours	600 hours
UI/UX design		150 hours	150 hours
Quality assurance	120 hours	120 hours	120 hours
DevOps services	40 hours	35 hours	35 hours
Advanced features	14 hours	150 hours	150 hours
Admin panel (one for all platforms)	130 hours
Frameworks and libraries integration	30 hours	40 hours	40 hours
Project management	80 hours	90 hours	90 hours

 

Outsourcing Social Media App Development - Finding the right agency

Building a social media app is not easy. It requires expert hands that include social media app developers, Project Managers, Back-end developers, designers, testers, etc. To develop a social media app for iOS and Android, hire a top mobile app development company to develop an intelligent app for your business. Here are the top reasons why you should outsource your app development.

Team	Function	Cost/hr
Project manager	Assembles the team, assigns duties, divides schedules and resources to ensure timely completion of the assigned app.	$20+
Developer	Creates maintains and executes the source code to develop mobile apps.	$30+
Back-end developer	Maintains secure transparent communication between the application, the database, and the server and ensures the app runs flawlessly.	$25+
Designer	Works on the app interface, making an app look good. Defining app specifications, designing visual designs, and creating a fully-functional app.	$15+
Tester	Develops test cases and prioritizes testing activities. Tracks and monitors app design, functions, and working uses.	$20+

 

Total Social Media App Development Cost: By Region

How to calculate the total cost of social media application development? The final cost of developing a social media app can cost you between $90,000 for iOS or Android and $150,000 for iOS and Android (at the rate of 50/hr). 

 

Region	Total Cost	App development Rate/Hr
Eastern Europe	$150,000+	$50/h
North America	$300,000+	$100/h
Western Europe	$250,000+	$90/h
Australia	$300,000+	$100/h

 

Conclusion

With this, we have come to the end of this article - How much does it cost to make a Social Media App? We have included all the factors that contribute to the overall Social Networking app development cost.

• The type of social media app and your target audience.
• Main features and functionalities to focus on.
• Add-on features based on the complexity of the app.
• The need for an app development team to build a social media app at the best price/quality ratio.

Creating a social media app can be demanding and enjoyable. A well-organized approach to app development can promise you a successful social media app. So, where to start?

If you have a great app idea, tap the top mobile app development companies to evaluate your business demands and recommend the best solution with an accurate pricing model and get exactly what you desire with a social media app.

• How much does it cost to build an app like Facebook?

  The cost of developing an app like Facebook depends on the complexity of features, number of platforms, number of platforms, type of development (in-house, outsource…) etc.  However, the prices can range anywhere from $35,000 to $1,000,000.

• How do you start a social media platform?

  A social media platform can be started by following four simple steps i.e. Market Research, Social Media features, Selecting Website, and Running Demo Test.

• How to build a social media app?

  To build a social media app, the following tech stack is required based on frameworks as per requirement and technical accumen. The tech stack comprises programming language, networking, database, chat feature, APIs, push notification, geolocation, storage, and search.

• How much does it cost to maintain a social media app?

  The social media app development cost is one thing while the cost to maintain it depends on the scale of the build and the number of users associated with it. However at the earliest stages, the cost for maintaining the app can range from $250 to $500 monthly. On the other hand, a successful social media website such as Facebook with billions of users can cost millions to maintain.