Flutter App Development Cost in 2024 : Guide to Estimate App Budget

Choosing Flutter for developing your app is a great choice! Being Google’s open-source UI software development kit, it has emerged as a leading cross-platform framework for developing mobile apps with stunning visuals and smooth performance. As per a study conducted by Statista on ‘Cross-Platform mobile frameworks used by software developers from 2019 to 2022’, Flutter secured the first rank, beating the likes of React Native, Xamarin and Ionic.

If you are planning to build a flutter app for your business, there are many associated costs of Flutter app that you need to be aware about for proper Flutter pricing planning and setting your Flutter app budget efficiently. This is your ultimate Flutter app development cost guide that will help plan your next Flutter app budget accurately.

Quick Estimate on Cost to Develop a Flutter App

The estimated Flutter app development cost can range from $20,000 to $200,000.

However, this is just a ballpark figure, as each Flutter project is unique, and many factors influence the overall Flutter app development costs. Your Flutter project cost can be less than the mentioned range or even higher depending on your project scale, security, and other factors.

Want to get an accurate estimate for your Flutter app? Let’s dive in!

How Flutter Helps with Mobile App Cost Optimization?

Certain characteristics and features of Flutter make it one of the most scalable, secure, robust, and cost-effective frontend frameworks for developing appealing app solutions.

Here is a list of the Flutter features that make it the right choice for your app project:

1. Open Source & Free License

When prospective clients come to us with their Flutter project requirements, they often ask, is Flutter free of cost? Technically, yes. Flutter, as a platform, is open-source and free to use. Hence you don’t need to pay any Flutter license cost for using it in your app development project. However, there is an associated cost to hire Flutter developers to work on your project.

2. Code Reusability

Flutter allows developers to reuse 90 percent of the code across all supported platforms. This reduces Flutter app development cost & time significantly.

3. Reduced Flutter Testing Cost

Flutter is one of the few frameworks that come with proper testing support built-in. It provides developers with various testing methods like Unit Testing, Widget Testing, Integration Testing and more. Also, since Flutter has a code reusability feature, the overall app testing cost and time reduces significantly.

4. Native vs Cross Platform Benefit

Flutter development cost is any day going to be more cost-effective than Native app development for Android (Kotlin, Java) or iOS (Swift, Objective-C). Besides, it’s not like you are trading off cost for some major performance lag since Flutter is a performance-driven framework.

How to Calculate Flutter Project Costs?

As a C-level executive, senior developer, or any position where you’re responsible for coming up with an estimate for your Flutter project, you need to know and understand the various factors that contribute towards the overall expenses. Here is a step-by-step guide for you to calculate Flutter project costs with ease –

Define Project Scope

Clarify your project requirements including the features, functionalities, and requirements. Break down the project into specific tasks and deliverables. Doing so will help you, as well as your Flutter development company, to gain a clearer understanding of what needs to be developed.

Identify Development Resources

Determine the resources you will need for the project’s success. This will include – developers, designers, project managers, QA testers, and many such profiles. Consider whether you will hire an in-house team, offshore Flutter development team, or outsource the project to a Flutter development company.

Estimated Development Hours

Break down the project tasks into smaller components and estimate the number of hours needed to complete each task. Consider factors such as complexity, customization, and integration with third-party services.

Calculate Flutter Developer Rates

Determine Flutter developer hourly rates based on their expertise, experience, and location. Rates can vary depending on whether you want to hire freelancers, in-house developers, remote developers or outsource the project entirely.

Think About Design

Depending on your project’s scope and scale, you might also need some UI/UX design work. Hence you should calculate your design costs separately with factors like multiple screens, level of customization, and complexity of the design.

Include Backend Development Costs

If your Flutter project requires backend support, factor in backend development costs such as database management, backend developers, API integration, and implementing server-side logic.

Consider Third Party Integration Costs

If your project involves third-party services like payment gateways, analytics tools, or cloud services, you need to factor in all the costs associated with these services. Consider subscription fees, transaction fees, and other additional charges.

Look for Testing and Quality Assurance

Allocate budget for testing and quality assurance activities which include unit testing, integration testing, user acceptance testing, and bug fixing. Estimate the testing hours and include them in your Flutter project cost calculations.

Factor in Contingency

Always keep room for what-ifs and worst-possible-case scenarios! Any project can be susceptible to scope creep, unexpected changes, or unforeseen challenges during the development cycle. Generally, it is a Flutter best practice to keep at least 10-20% of the overall Flutter project budget as a contingency for the project.

Calculate the Overall Flutter App Development Cost

Once you have estimated all such costs and made provisions for them, add them together to calculate the estimated Flutter project cost. This can help you compare and contrast different vendor prices to avail the best deal for your project.

Factors Affecting Flutter App Development Costs

Are you having trouble coming up with an estimated Flutter budget for your project? Do you need help understanding various factors that affect Flutter development costs? Here is a quick list to get you started:

Flutter Cost Factor #1
Flutter Platform Choices

The primary Flutter app development cost factor is platform choices for your project. Are you looking to develop a mobile app for Android and iOS platforms? Do you need to extend your solution to desktop software and web apps?

Since Flutter 3 is capable of developing apps beyond the realm of mobile, the possibilities have become endless. While that can sound overwhelming, you just need to figure out the associated Flutter cost of the package you are looking for.

Flutter Cost Factor #2
Project Complexity

Flutter app development costs can greatly vary depending on the complexity and features you need for your app. Flutter app costs can range from $20,000 to $250,000 per the project’s complexity level.

• Low Complexity Flutter App Cost: $20,000 – $55,000
• Medium Complexity Flutter App Cost: $55,000 – $100,000
• High Complexity Flutter App Cost: $100,000 – $250,000

Flutter Cost Factor #3
UI/UX Design

What kind of app design does your Flutter app need? Are you developing a simple admin panel or customer-centric service app? How much priority and importance do you need to give to the look and feel of your Flutter app? All these considerations will directly impact the Flutter app development costs as the billable hours of your Flutter developers will increase or decrease depending on the complexity of your app design.

Flutter Cost Factor #4
Complexity of Features

Selecting the right features to be a part of your mobile app is challenging and crucial for reducing your Flutter app development cost. The complexity of your app features will directly impact your overall Flutter app cost estimations.

A complex feature takes more time to integrate than a basic feature, so the development costs increase accordingly. Here is a basic time estimation for integrating features of different complexities to give you a better idea:

Simple Flutter App Cost Breakdown as per Features

Basic App Cost Breakdown as per Features

Complex/Custom Flutter App Development Cost

Flutter Cost Factor #5
App Categories

Another important factor to consider when deciding on your Flutter app development budget is the app categories your app is most suitable in. Some app categories are more competitive, with thousands of apps available in their niche, whereas some are comparatively more relaxed and easier to get in. You can check the iOS app store categories on the official Apple Category Page and Android app categories on the official Android App Category Page.

Similarly, some app categories require complex app development skills like gaming, watchOS apps, AR and more, whereas others require basic Flutter development skills like Tools, Weather, Productivity and more.

Here is a Flutter App Development Cost Breakdown for different app categories:

Flutter Cost Factor #6
Backend Development

Flutter can only power the frontend of your mobile application. To create a full-stack mobile app solution, you also need a backend framework that works behind the scenes and handles many app functionalities.

Your backend handles data connectivity, storage, interaction with other apps, and other important functions that make your app users. Hence you need to consider backed development when figuring out the estimated cost of developing a Flutter app.

Factors to consider for your Flutter app’s backend development:

Flutter Cost Factor #7
App Security

Level of security that needs to be added to your Flutter app depends on the type of Flutter app you are developing. If you are trying to develop a basic to-do list app, it barely requires any user data or authentication features; hence the security measures can be minimal.

But suppose you are developing an enterprise Flutter app that requires storing sensitive user data and financial information. In that case, you need an additional layer of security alongside your web app firewall protection. For this, you can explore the RASP approach, which enables you to integrate a more customized security solution.

Also, Read – What is Runtime Application Self Protection (RASP)

Flutter Developer Hourly Rates and Other Cost Factors

So far, we know Flutter is an open-source framework and that many development factors need to be considered while setting your Flutter app budget. However, we need to also look at the main factor that affects the overall cost of any technology – Flutter developer costs and availability.

The cost to hire a Flutter developer or build your Flutter development team is crucial to your project’s success, and the time taken to do so is vital to its urgency. Hence, you need to know the average Flutter developer’s hourly rates and different hiring approaches to ensure you get your hands on the best talent at the best price and at the right time.

1. Developer Hiring Approach

How you hire your Flutter developer will directly impact acquiring them. Depending on your project requirements and current team structure, there are three broad methods to hire Flutter developers:

1.1 Cost of Hiring Flutter Developer – Outsourcing and Outstaffing Approach

If you have no technical resources in your team and want an app development company to take over the entire project, you can outsource the Flutter project to them.

Alternatively, if you have an existing team of Flutter developers but need additional resources to complete your project, you can leverage IT Staff Augmentation services to add remote Flutter developers to your team.

1.1.1 Flutter Developer Cost – Project Outsourcing

Suppose you hire an app development agency to handle your Flutter app project. In that case, the costs associated with this approach will depend on the company’s engagement models and the Flutter developer’s hourly rates.

Outsourcing your Flutter project has its benefits and limitations that you should know about:

1.1.2 Flutter Developer Cost – Developer Outstaffing

If your company is from a technical background and has a project that your current team is proving short of talent to handle, you can always outstaff Flutter developers from a trusted IT company.

By hiring a Flutter developer via the outstaffing model, you get a full-time dedicated app developer who works on your project at your preferred hours. They work as an extension to your existing team and help you with your Flutter app project.

You can hire top-level Flutter developers or Project Managers to lead your team or junior Flutter architects if you’re short on development talents.

Outstaffing your Flutter project has its benefits and limitations that you should know about:

1.2 Cost of Hiring Flutter Developer – Freelancing Approach

Another approach to hire a Flutter developer is to take the freelancing route. You can hire individual Flutter developers from freelancing platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr or LinkedIn.

If you are a small business that is starting and wants to create a basic app for your internal business operations, you could hire a freelance Flutter developer who can build a basic Flutter app for your needs.

Hiring freelancers for your Flutter app project can be cost-effective but has many limitations or challenges. Here are the pros and cons of hiring Flutter developers as freelancers:

1.3 Cost of Hiring Flutter Developer Team – on In-house Payroll

Lastly, you can always hire a Flutter app developer team on your payroll to develop your Flutter projects. This option can prove to be extremely expensive and time consuming. You should only take this route when you have multiple app projects coming your way regularly.

Hiring the Flutter developer team will lead to many fixed costs like Flutter developer salaries, office rents, yearly appraisals, infrastructure and more.

2. Skillset and Experience level of Flutter Developer

The cost of hiring a Flutter developer will vary depending on what kind of developer you need to hire. If you have a basic Flutter app requirement, hiring a Junior Flutter developer or a team of Flutter developers will be sufficient.

However, if you are working on an enterprise-grade application, you might want to hire senior Flutter developers or project managers to handle the project. Here is a cost breakdown of Flutter Developers as per their position:

3. Flutter App Hourly Rates as per their Location

Another key consideration that has a major impact on Flutter app developer cost is where your developer is from. Based on their geographical location, their overall cost of living differs. Based on this, the minimum wages and hourly rates are determined, setting a market average for that country.

Flutter App Developer Annual Salary Comparison

Here is a quick side-by-side Flutter developer cost comparison as per salaries in different countries:

• Flutter Developer Salary in UK: $57,000 – $60,000
• Flutter Developer Salary in US: $120,00 – $140,000
• Flutter Developer Salary in Germany: $52,000 – $58,000
• Flutter Developer Salary Canada: $42,000 – $45,000
• Flutter Developer Average Salary in India: $2000 – $13,500
• Flutter Developer Salary in Ukraine: $35,000 – $38,000

Flutter App Developer Hourly Rate Comparison

Here is a quick side-by-side salary comparison of Flutter App Developer Hourly Rates:

• Flutter Developer Hourly Rates in the UK – $50-$75
• Flutter Developer Hourly Rates in the US – $70 – $140
• Flutter Developer Hourly Rates in Germany – $23 – $38
• Flutter Developer Hourly Rates in Canada – $35-$65
• Flutter Developer Hourly Rates in India – $20 – $45
• Flutter Developer Hourly Rates in Ukraine – $35 – $80

Fixed/Additional Mobile App Development Cost

Irrespective of what technologies you choose, there are some fixed-mobile app development costs you will incur and need to include when calculating Flutter app development cost estimates.

1. Server Expenses

One of the most important expenses you need to consider if your app needs to process and store user-generated data. For handling user data, you need stronger and more reliable servers. If your servers are weak, they won’t be able to handle increased traffic, ultimately leading to longer response time in loading content for users.

Generally, standard servers that are recommended for any app are:

2. Charges of App Deployment to App Stores

Next fixed expense in your app development project will be the app deployment charge on your selected platforms. For iOS, you need to pay a $99/year subscription for deploying your app on Apple App Store, whereas you only need to pay a $25 one-time fee for Google Play Store. The client and not the agencies generally bear these expenses.

3. App Maintenance and Updates

Any app needs an effective maintenance and update plan to ensure smoother performance and relevance of your app in the current market scenario. Regular maintenance checks help your app clear bugs, crashes, and other vulnerabilities. Updating your app helps your app stay relevant to the latest app design trends.

4. Third-Party API Integrations

Your app needs to rely on third-party vendors and services to provide an unparalleled customer experience to your app users. Such integrations generally cost a recurring subscription fee, which must be considered when calculating overall app development costs.

Also, Read – How Much Does It Cost to Develop Mobile Apps

Tips to Reduce Flutter Development Cost

That was an exhaustive list of Flutter app development costs, wasn’t it? Before you chew your nails and worry about spending heavy dollars, here are some effective and simple tips and tricks to reduce your Flutter app development cost significantly:

1. Removing features that don’t serve any true purpose

When conducting a competition analysis, we often find similar patterns or features that are available on most apps we study. Hence, we also need to make it a part of our app. This approach can cause your app bulk size to increase, leading to additional costs and reducing the chance of users downloading your app.

Hence, features should be prioritized as IMPORTANT, ADD-ONS, CAN REMOVE. Doing so will help ensure you don’t waste your development time or increase your Flutter app costs due to a lack of planning.

2. Clarify project requirements and specifications

Suppose you dump your project on an app development company without giving them a proper pre-text or idea about what your app project is about. In that case, there will be more back and forth coming up with an ideal Flutter app development roadmap, impacting the overall budget.

You should have a clear RFP document ready before you go looking for Flutter developers to hire.

Also, Read – How to Write an RFP for Mobile Apps in 2024

3. Have a test-driven development strategy

Testing is an essential aspect of any mobile app strategy. However, the most common mistake developers make when integrating testing is that they test their Flutter apps after its ready for deployment. Doing so causes many errors to pop up simultaneously, which can be complicated to solve in the later production stages.

A better approach is to include testing as a continuous effort from the initial development stages to the final deployment stage. This results in solving the Flutter app issues at the root before its dependency causes errors down to the dependencies as you move forward.

With Flutter, testing becomes easier, too, as it comes with inbuilt support for Unit Testing, Widget Testing, Integration Testing and more.

How can Aglowid help you with Flutter App Development?

Aglowid is a leading mobile and web development company that specializes in providing managing IT services, IT Staffing solutions as well as Strategy and Consulting Services.

We cover the whole suite of IT solutions to ensure your project gets all the right talents, integration support, and customized development services needed to scale and fulfill your requirements. We have been working on Flutter app projects for the past 5 years, helping clients build their ideal cross-platform apps, with utmost transparency, agile development, and the most cost-effective rates.

Why Aglowid for Flutter App Development Services?

• 40+ Dedicated Flutter Developer Profiles
• Transparent Pricing with Pay-As-You-Go Modules
• Cross-platform app Development Expertise
• Risk Mitigation Strategies
• Flexible Engagement Models with No Long-Term Lock-Ins
• Native to Flutter Migration Specialists

Wrapping up

This is the ultimate Flutter App Development Cost Breakdown for your Flutter app project. Consider all these points when developing your custom Flutter App or setting your Flutter App Development Budget. If you want a professional Flutter app development company to look into your project and give you a proper cost estimation, contact our team at [email protected].