What it really costs to build an app in Nigeria

Most quotes for an app cover one number: the build fee. That number matters, but it is only part of what the app will cost you. Here is the full picture, so you can budget properly and compare quotes fairly.

1. The build fee

This pays for design, development, testing and launch. What moves it up or down is not the number of pages. It is the number of moving parts.

• Who uses it. An app for customers only is simpler than one for customers, staff and an admin, each seeing different things.
• Money. Taking payments, deposits or subscriptions adds work, because it has to be right every single time.
• Connections. Linking to WhatsApp, SMS, a bank, a delivery service or your existing records adds work for each link.
• Where it runs. A web app that installs from a link is usually the fastest way to start. An Android app on the Play Store adds a little. An iPhone app adds more.
• Poor network. If your users often have weak signal, the app has to keep working and sync later. That is worth it, but it is extra work.

Ask for one fixed price for a written scope, paid in milestones. If a developer can only give you an hourly estimate for a small business app, the scope is not clear yet.

2. Running costs

These are the monthly and yearly costs of keeping the app alive. They are small next to the build fee, but they never stop, so plan for them from day one.

• Hosting and database: where the app and its data live.
• Domain name and business email.
• App store accounts: Google charges a one-time $25 fee to register as a Play Store developer, and Apple charges $99 a year.
• Messages: SMS and WhatsApp notifications are charged per message.
• Payments: Paystack and similar providers take a small fee on each transaction. Check their current pricing page before you set your prices.

3. Maintenance

Apps are not finished at launch. Phones update, browsers change, payment providers change their rules, and your customers will ask for new things. Budget a monthly amount for fixes and small improvements, or agree a support plan with your developer. An app that nobody looks after starts breaking within months.

4. The costs people forget

• Content: product photos, prices, descriptions and policies. Someone has to write and upload them.
• Moving your old records in, if you are replacing notebooks or spreadsheets.
• Training your staff so they actually use it.
• Telling customers it exists. The best app in the world does nothing if nobody opens it.

5. How to spend less without cutting corners

• Start with the one thing that matters most. For many businesses that is taking orders and payments. Everything else can come in a second phase.
• Start with a web app. It works on every phone, installs from a link, and can become a Play Store app later.
• Pay in milestones tied to things you can see: approved designs, a working test version, launch.
• Ask to see the screens before any code is written. Changing a design is cheap. Changing built software is not.

Questions to ask any developer

1. What exactly is included in this price, and what is not?
2. Which running costs will I pay, and roughly how much each month?
3. Whose name will the hosting, domain and store accounts be in?
4. Will I see and approve the designs before you build?
5. How will you test it before launch, and on which phones?
6. What happens after launch if something breaks?

At Pathforge, every project starts with a free call and a written proposal with one fixed price, valid for 14 days. Running costs are billed to you directly, so the accounts are yours from day one.