How do I estimate the cost of building an Android app?

Question

I am new to Android development. I have developed an app in Play Store and then I got approached by a client in Facebook to build a translation of a religious word as an app. He said he will give me $50 for the app and gave me the website too from which I have to parse the content. I used the the content and gave him 5 prototypes at every 15 to 20% of progress. I had completed it in 3 weeks of full work and had sent him the work with 99% of it completed. Only the icon has to be provided for the app.

Then I sent it to my friends for testing the app and they said to me that $50 is too less for the work. They told me of the developer fees per hour. They asked me to calculate the rate as $5/hr and it will cost to a minimum of $100. So I just asked the client of the hourly developer rates and asked his opinion of giving me $100 and didn't demand him.

He said he can't and I said I can give him for $50. But he said it's too unethical to discuss the new rates once the rate is fixed and said he doesn't need my app at all. He asked me to delete my project files and he doesn't care about the work and broke off.

I have the app with 99% work completed and now its vain and 0% percent as the content of translation I used was a copyrighted one and I can't publish it. It's not about the money much but the client treated my work like trash and it worries me a lot.

But I used the app as a framework and made Bible and sold it for ($125). So as someone new to freelancing, how can I know if I am being underpaid?

If I had accepted the client for the work with less and if the app grows then how can I approach him?

Due to outsourcing how can I calculate the cost?

Answer 1

1. You are not charging enough: listen to your friends! You should have looked around for jobs similar to what you do and found out how much others were being paid. Don't feel that your work is worth much less because you are a newbie, because the client will take it when you release it to him and earn much, much more.

2. The client is correct in saying you can't raise the price after starting work. You can only raise the price if the client is asking you to add in more work that you did not previously agree upon before. That is how contracts work, all over the world.

3. If you have a good product, don't sell it outright. Put it on the Play Store so it will keep on making you money forever.

Answer 2

The client is right. You can't raise the cost of a project halfway through; that is unethical. That's probably why clients go away. That is not business at all.

Try find some cost estimation sites and do calculate. Most of those sites have $50 - $75 per hour, and I personally charge $35 to $40 per hour. But for you, I think it is better to start with $20 per hour. That is good for a start and building some kind of customer base.

And again, never try to increase your fee in the middle of a contract. Word is word in business, and once you agree on something (especially if you sign a contract), you take full responsibility.

Answer 3

Read other topics here about how to calculate your hourly rate.

At the beginning try to calculate how much money you need for living in 1 month. The divide it to 4 weeks and that is money you have to earn in 1 week. You may further divide it with 40 to get your hourly rate.

And this is the MIN hourly rate only IF you work 40 hours a week. Many freelancers will double or triple their hourly rates because you can hardly work 40 hours a week as a beginner and you need to earn your living somehow.

Also $5 per hour may be low for USA or UK, but for example, even in my country this rate produces a good monthly wage. So try to calculate your rate and compare it to your friends' advise

Answer 4

Cost estimation is the most complicated part of any project so developer/entrepreneur should do a lot of research on requirement and other aspects related to cost and come up with some flexibility because the exact cost can not be decide on prior basis.

The most important suggestion here is before start working on a project take care that 30% amount is paid as advance.

Answer 5

Estimation of any kind of mobile app is very tough task as well.

if you are doing estimation of small project let suppose any website so firstly you have to do the adding of features like category of website and as per the requirement you to add the per hr and basic feature cost .

It's a lengthy and tough task you have to do research about it before doing cost estimation of any project.

May be it's useful.

Thanks

Answer 6

1. You Should Asked for 30% or 40% Payment as Deposit before initiating work. That's how freelancing business goes.
2. Once decided you should not raise the amount , whatever the situation is.
3. Do some research about final cost estimation before giving the estimate to client.