The Ultimate Guide to Mobile App Development in 2025: Trends, Frameworks & Costs
26 min read
18 Feb 2025
Clara
Mobile App Development
Mobile application development is designed for a very broad market, in which you can take advantage of existing needs.
Nowadays, many find investing in the mobile market profitable. It is no wonder that, in the last decade, smartphones have become the devices most used and in demand by users.
Not only is it a totally useful device, but it is also possible to take it with you anywhere comfortably.
App development is designed for a very broad market, where you can profit according to consumers' needs. Understanding the reasons for the excessive growth of mobile applications is key to understanding where we are headed as a society.
Yes, mobile app development is becoming more and more important and is constantly growing, and in the next few minutes, you will understand the reasons.
Mobile application development is the computing process in which an application is created from scratch that will fulfill a specific function for the user, adapting to the characteristics of certain devices.
Yes, depending on the complexity of the application, its functions, and the requirements needed to operate it, there will be smartphones that will or will not be suitable for its installation.
However, in today's app market, the vast majority are tailored to the largest possible number of smart devices. However, this may change over time and with updates.
Going deeper, application development applies a set of skills and procedures in software writing (programming) and is applied to wireless and portable devices.
History of Mobile Apps
When smartphones first came onto the market, mobile app development was at such a basic level that each app had to be tailored to the operating system and processor each phone had.
Nowadays, it's crazy to think about that, but the reason why it was so difficult to develop mobile applications years ago was because there were no dedicated languages, or the existing code was almost non-existent. Therefore, there were no libraries where you could take source code to use in different projects.
However, with the rise, growth, and demand that new smartphones began to have, the need to create base codes on which to base projects and then be able to reuse them so that they were compatible with other processors and devices, was increasingly greater.
This is how C#, JavaScript, and Swift are currently used for mobile application development. Programming languages that make the task easier and work well together, take advantage of the features of a mobile device.
Mobile phone applications are very important for companies because of various reasons like, enhancing their exposure, more customer acquisition, enhancing customer experience, etc. Below, we will look into some of these benefits for companies in 2025:
In 2024, the time spent on smartphones globally was 4 hours on average. Embarking on building a mobile app allows you to increase your digital presence. Mobile applications are visible in stores (Google Play Store, App Store) and they are also accessible via search engines.
Depending on the search terms typed by mobile users, your mobile application can be suggested and attract the attention of consumers. This means downloads by potential customers.
Launching a mobile app is also an opportunity to do a great promotional campaign. In addition to visibility among mobile users, other people can hear about your business and become interested in it. This is an indirect benefit.
Of course, responsiveness allows websites to be adapted to mobile devices. That said, the experience remains inferior compared to a mobile application.
First, your customers will access your mobile application more quickly. Then, navigation will be easier, compared to a site. A mobile application is entirely designed for smartphones. It allows for fast and intuitive navigation. Offering a personalized experience to your customers is the best way to increase your credibility.
If you are an e-commerce, the purchasing journey will be faster and you will reduce cart abandonment. Currently, on average, 70% of carts are abandoned by users. And importantly, M-Commerce represents more than 50% of the online shopping market share.
Mobile applications offer several useful features for communication. They ensure you stay connected with your customers and prospects, thanks to the various technical advantages of mobile applications. Below are some of the ways you can communicate with your users:
As you may know, permanent and quickly accessible communication is one of the first ways of building loyalty.
Attracting customers is great, keeping them is even better. Users go through a website as we go through a catalog page. That said, downloading a mobile application is the first link between the customer and your company.
Even when the user doesn’t open the app, it will be visible from the moment the person looks at their smartphone screen. A daily reminder of who you are, and what you offer. And as mentioned before, push notifications, as well as in-app messages will help build customer loyalty.
Your company's brand image remains the most important. Associate your brand with a perfect mobile experience. By having a mobile application developed, you show that:
Features of Mobile App Development
While there are applications dedicated to computers, and in fact, these were the first before mobile applications, concerning mobile development, it still works through traditional code.
However, the difference lies in that these applications seek to take advantage of the characteristics, components, and functions of the smartphone.
For example:
In short, you can manage and use everything conveniently from your smartphone. That is the most important feature that must be met.
There are various types of mobile applications for all kinds of needs or functions. It all depends on the developer and whatever their priority is, or what benefits they want to provide to the user in question.
They are the most expensive type of applications, but also the most stable. They offer a huge number of options, functions, and customization depending on whether the device is Android or iOS.
That is, depending on the type of user and their OS, they can download applications that are specifically for that OS. In this way, they offer you options that other applications would not have because their customization layer is much smaller.
This is achieved through integrated development environments, also called IDEs, and of course, through dedicated programming languages depending on whether it is Google Android or Apple iOS.
When it comes to profitability, hybrid applications are the order of the day. This is thanks to the fact that their development costs are much lower, and they can be ready in less time.
However, they do not allow for the level of customization or full use of features that native apps do. This is a point to consider if you like exclusive features and benefits.
On the other hand, they offer a host of benefits for users of different operating systems. And that's the important thing, sometimes it's not about exclusivity, but about actually meeting the needs of a large majority of users. And the main reason for success and on which most mobile applications are based.
These applications are carried out through languages such as CSS, JavaScript, and HTML.
Also known as Progressive Web Application (PWA), this is a web application that behaves like a mobile application. And you might ask, in what sense? Well, you can basically do everything you do in an application.
A clear and simple effect is that Facebook and Twitter have mobile applications, but these offer the same possibilities in their desktop version. This is achieved thanks to Service Workers, which provides the functionality of a common smartphone app.
Web applications that offer special services or functions such as notifications, offline services, and applications in their BETA state, are some of the characteristics that identify a progressive web application.
Alone, they do not create an application. They only represent the source code or base, which other programmers can use to create mobile applications.
The reason these libraries exist is to make application development easier, being able to take a stable code base and start from there to speed up the process. Very useful when trying to develop something new without having to write everything from scratch.
Mobile Calculator Dev
To create a mobile application, it is necessary to carry out a prior analysis of the conditions, requirements to be met, objectives, and needs to be satisfied. Without this, an application will not have a real purpose, and therefore, will not have the success planned.
If you want to create a mobile application, consider the following steps for its development:
This is key and the most important thing before development. What is the intention or purpose of the application? What needs will it satisfy in users? Also, you should study if there are no other applications that are already doing the same thing you plan to develop, and if so, what are the strengths and weaknesses of said application.
This is with the intention that you can create a new product or service and solve the failures of other applications.
You will also need to define your target audience. That is, who is the app intended for? Children, teenagers, adults, the elderly?
In short, everything related to the project premises, its development, and post-development.
Once your mobile app has some objectives set, it's time to decide who will be in charge of its development. It can be you, you can hire a freelance developer or a dedicated agency like Zyneto.
It all depends on what your needs are and if whoever is in charge can meet each of the requirements and requests.
Here, it would also be ideal to define whether you will need a marketing campaign to promote your app once it is ready. Especially in the beta version, when it is still possible to make the necessary changes and suggestions provided by users.
Although your product is already defined with objectives to meet, it is necessary that when the user can finally use the application, their experience is pleasant.
Because?
There's no point in your application fulfilling its purpose if the process is arduous, complicated, far-fetched, and unintuitive. And if it also has errors or bugs resulting from poor programming, it's even worse.
Remember to take care of these details! They can make the difference between the project being successful or not.
With all of the above in mind, it's time to start developing. Whoever is going to be in charge of your development, needs to have a DevOps mindset.
And what is that? You might ask…
DevOps is a working methodology that is increasingly being applied in the world of software development in general. This methodology is based on practices that seek to guarantee the best quality in the product to be developed. For example:
There are software and programs that facilitate the development of applications through automatic processes. This not only makes the work easier but also prevents human errors and allows the work to be completed much sooner.
Therefore, whenever you can, use these processes in your development. At Zyneto, our process includes DevOps, you can read about our DevOps service here.
Cloud services are very useful due to their large storage capacity, and they allow you to store very large data and download it when you need it, even for future projects that are not directly related to the current one under development.
Cloud services are a tool that is becoming more important over the years due to the need for storage space. Every day, applications are becoming more and more important because their development is much more complex and they have a much greater number of functions.
Whenever it is possible to work with open-source software or tools, it will be a great advantage for any development. Not only because it allows for a large number of libraries that can be used to make work easier, but also because it is supported by an experienced community.
Regardless of whether it is you or a single programmer who is in charge of the project, it is necessary to have good communication both with what you develop and with the material and/or libraries you use to develop.
If it is a work team, communication is vital, both between them and with the client, since they work together, they know how the development process is going, what elements are missing, what others may be failing, and so on.
Communication is vital in every project, and mobile app development is no exception.
The application does not need to be in beta or “finished” for errors or things to be identified. Testing should be done at every stage of the application’s development, from its source code to everything else.
This will allow development to be much more efficient, and the resulting product will be of better quality, with good performance and an interface with a good user experience.
Having applied all of the above, and with a project in its final phase, it is time to offer a BETA version, so that users can make use of it and make suggestions and recommendations.
This is to finalize the details and ensure that the final product is what was expected and even more. Once the test has been passed and all the details have been fixed, the application will be ready for official release and for everyone to enjoy.
A mobile app development framework is not just about optimizing development time and costs, but also about selecting the right system for the target products and feature sets. In the long term, the framework should also match your development preferences, as you will use a learned framework across multiple projects.
Below, we analyze the leading app development frameworks. You will learn about their areas of application and technical features. To help you make a decision, we also compare the strengths and weaknesses.
The goal: is to provide you with comprehensive and structured information to select the optimal framework for your project requirements.
Do you want to have an app developed yourself and are still looking for a development partner?
An app development framework as a software toolkit that consists of ready-made components, libraries, and tools - of course, to set up your value chain with as little friction as possible.
So let's take a moment to think about what we want to achieve with frameworks:
Mobile App Development Framework
Below we present the best frameworks with their strengths and weaknesses.
React Native, developed by Facebook, is one of the most popular and well-known frameworks for cross-platform development. You can use a single code base to create apps for Android and iOS.
Flutter, a product from Google, has established itself as a game changer. It uses the Dart programming language and is characterized by its rendering engine. It can be used to quickly and cheaply develop native iOS and Android apps.
Apple's SwiftUI is, of course, the framework for developing native apps for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. The declarative syntax simplifies the development process.
Ionic uses established web technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create apps that run on multiple platforms.
Framework7 – flexible open source framework focused on leveraging web technologies and creating apps for Android, iOS, and the web.
Vue Native combines the simplicity of Vue.js with the functionality of React Native. It is ideal for developers who already have experience with the Vue.js framework.
Decide based on the requirements of your project and your level of knowledge or that of your development team. This is crucial for the decision of your app development framework:
Which platforms should be supported?
How important is performance?
What expertise does the team have?
How big is the planned app?
Do you want to have an app developed yourself and are still looking for a development partner?
Web Dev Agency
Often, a mobile application development project involves significant issues: an investment of several thousand dollars, or even tens/hundreds of thousands of dollars, loyalty and growth objectives, human resources mobilized, time, etc.
Given these issues, the choice of the agency that will develop your new application is crucial. A bad choice can lead to catastrophic consequences: several months lost, financial loss, loss of earnings, legal dispute, etc.
We will see together what criteria to take into account when choosing the agency that will develop your future mobile application.
Choose an agency that has a team specialized in mobile development and not a generalist digital agency that uses one team for a multitude of services. Why?
Reputation is a deciding factor in choosing an agency.
Do you prefer an agency that has been around for several years with solid references and a full portfolio or a newly created agency that has no references and a team that is new to mobile development? The answer is obvious, you would prefer the first category of agencies.
Here are some things to consider:
During your search, you will request quotes from several agencies. While cost should be a factor when making your choice, never choose an agency just because it offers the lowest quote. You may regret it.
If you receive a quote that is significantly cheaper than others, this is often a bad sign in this sector of activity. It could mean, among other things, that the agency in question has not taken the right measure of your needs.
On your side, make sure you have enough resources to work with a serious agency and make your project a success. It is better to wait a few months to gather the funds necessary for the success of your project than to obtain a result far from your expectations with the wrong service providers.
Finally, the quote must be detailed. It must include the cost and time to complete each feature.
A good development agency is one that maintains regular communication and keeps you updated on the progress of your project.
You should also be able to easily reach the agency if needed, and they, in turn, should be willing to accept and implement your input at any point during the development process. Be sure to address this when communicating with the agencies on your shortlist.
Include regular meetings in your contract to monitor the progress of your application.
The goal is to find a partner, not an implementer. When talking to the shortlisted agencies, pay attention to their attitude: do they value your project? Do they make suggestions? Etc.
Feelings and gut feelings are important factors. If you feel uncomfortable with one of these agencies from the beginning, it is unlikely to improve over time. Trust your instincts.
Conduct several interviews and don't just focus on the technical aspects of your mobile application. Your goal is to get to know your potential provider better and determine whether they match your values.
User experience design (UX design) is a key factor in the success of your app. Take a look at some of the work of the shortlisted agencies to get an opinion on the quality of their designs.
After publishing your application on the stores (Google Play, App Store), it is normal for bugs to appear. Make sure that a free maintenance period is included in the contract that binds you with your mobile development agency.
In addition, your application may collect user data (emails, names, first names, addresses, numbers, etc.). It is essential to avoid any risk of hacking or misuse of this data. Do not hesitate to discuss these issues with your agency.
Finally, some agencies offer security updates, this involves updating the various technologies and modules that make up the application to correct possible security flaws.
The best development agencies are very rigorous in their project management methodology. This allows them to make the most of their human resources, meet project delivery deadlines, and avoid bugs and other technical issues as much as possible.
Be sure to ask questions about the project methodology of the shortlisted agencies. If an agency's answers are not clear and detailed, run away.
Now that you know the criteria for choosing the right mobile agency, you know why you should choose us.
More seriously, do not hesitate to contact us as part of your mobile development project. We will be happy to discuss your future application with you.
The cost of developing a mobile app can range from $1,000 to $120,000 or even more. That’s quite a difference, isn’t it?
There is no fixed price for developing a mobile application. It's like the price of houses, it varies depending on a multitude of factors: location, surface area, materials used, architecture, etc.
It's the same principle for a mobile application, its price depends on several factors that we will see together.
The more features your app has, the more time it takes to create it. So comes a hefty bill.
In addition to the number, the complexity of the features impacts the development time. It is not the same as developing a Flashlight application and a marketplace application with a sophisticated matching system.
Let's take a look at the approximate development time and cost required for some basic features:
|
App Functionality |
Functionality Description |
Approximate time |
Approximate time(based on $50 per hour) |
|
Login |
Login with email Login with a social network Forgotten password Logout |
28 – 42 hours |
$1400 – $2100 |
|
File upload |
Upload photo Upload video Video player Photo player |
20 – 30 hours |
$1000 – $1500 |
|
Profile information |
Set region Add info (first and last name, em ail, etc.) Add photo |
23 – 29 hours |
$1150 – $1450 |
|
Editing profile |
Edit profile Change password Change email Add/remove credit card |
47 – 62 hours |
$2350 – $3100 |
|
Research |
Basic search with suggestions |
13 – 18 hours |
$650 – $900 |
|
Messaging system |
Conversation details Online/offline status “Writing” status Read, sent status Sending media and documents |
160 – 170 hours |
$8000 – $8500 |
|
Push notifications |
Users can receive push notifications |
25 – 32 hours |
$1250 – $1600 |
|
Administration panel including Role Management functionality |
View user list Edit user Delete/block user Create user |
66 – 90 hours |
$3300 – $4500 |
|
Administration panel for payment management |
View Payments Refunding a Payment |
23 – 44 hours |
$1500 – $2200 |
Regarding application development planning: more than 80% of mobile applications take more than 3 months to be created and 40% of applications are created in more than 6 months (Outsystems Survey, 2018-19).
Knowing that the average daily rate or cost per day of a developer in the US is billed between $500 and $1000. You can easily get an idea of the minimum budget to plan for. To help you, we will take some examples:
|
Mobile Application Complexity |
Average Daily Rate |
Cost |
|
Easy application (1 to 3 months) |
$500 |
9,000 – 27,000 |
|
Medium complexity application (3 to 6 months) |
$500 |
27,000 – 54,000 |
|
Complex application (+6 months) |
$500 |
+54,000 |
*For our example, we have taken a daily rate of $500.
The level of complexity of the application as well as the number of screens influence the time needed to design the mockups, and therefore, the final price. For information, here are the tasks of the UX designer:
On which platform (iOS/Android) do you want to deploy your app? This choice will directly impact the cost of the project. Why?
Developing an app for iOS requires different tools and programming languages than developing for Android.
Generally, there are two different approaches you can take in mobile development:
Hybrid development is generally less expensive than native development. That said, each type of development has its pros and cons. Don't hesitate to ask your provider for advice.
Your app’s backend infracture and administration interface is another factor in cost consideration and below we explain how.
In mobile app development, the backend is a platform for exchanging data between an application and a database. The backend is also responsible for the calculations and processing of an application.
The workload on the backend is usually a function of the number and complexity of features in your app.
A light application, for example, may not require any backend, unlike a carpooling application, which requires significant work on the backend, because it involves a lot of processing and calculations.
The administration panel, also called the back-office, is a very useful tool for managing the content, users, and statistics of an application.
There are ready-made templates, however, it is very difficult to find one that fits your application. It is often more interesting to create a custom admin panel to meet the specific needs of your business.
The location of your provider is a factor that greatly influences the final price of the product. The cost of creating an application in the United States will be different from the cost of development in India and other regions.
Here is a table listing the average regional hourly cost of the different stakeholders in mobile development:
|
Dev Title |
United States |
Latin America |
Eastern Europe |
Asia |
|
Business Analyst |
$91 – $170 |
$37 – $46 |
$33 – $52 |
$25 – $35 |
|
Backend Architect |
$164 – $242 |
$50 – $60 |
$42 – $64 |
$29 – $40 |
|
Project Manager |
$110 – $193 |
$46 – $55 |
$37 – $58 |
$29 – $40 |
|
Junior Developer |
$87 – $92 |
$29 – $37 |
$21 – $35 |
$15 – $20 |
|
Intermediate Level Developer |
$110 – $116 |
$25 – $43 |
$29 – $46 |
$20 – $29 |
|
Senior Developer |
$128 – $135 |
$37 – $46 |
$37 – $58 |
$25 – $35 |
|
Lead Developer |
$146 – $155 |
$42 – $51 |
$37 – $58 |
$25 – $35 |
|
Junior QA |
$64 – $67 |
$25 – $32 |
$21 – $35 |
$12 – $20 |
|
Intermediate Level QA |
$82 – $87 |
$29 – $37 |
$25 – $41 |
$17 – $25 |
|
Senior QA |
$119 – $140 |
$33 – $42 |
$33 – $52 |
$21 – $30 |
|
Graphic Designer |
$66 – $135 |
$33 – $42 |
$29 – $46 |
$21 – $30 |
*Hourly rates of specialists are estimates according to Accelerance.
You generally have two options for choosing your provider:
Depending on the option you choose, the cost will be impacted. There are reasons behind the pricing structure of these different development options.
Hiring a freelancer is probably the cheapest option, but it is also the riskiest. The freelancer works alone, if he falls ill for example, your project will suffer.
There is also another risk with freelancers. Since they frequently work for multiple clients at once, your app won't be the only project they focus on.
A freelancer can offer a lower price than agencies because he does not have to pay the many charges that agencies pay: a head office, a multidisciplinary team, subscriptions to professional tools, etc.
Mobile development agencies typically have dozens of applications designed.
Compared to freelancers, it is easier to access previous work and reviews from past clients.
The other characteristic of agencies is project management. Typically, project management within agencies is much more rigorous than with freelancers.
The cost of mobile development can vary from agency to agency, so it is advisable to request several quotes before choosing the mobile development agency that is right for you.
One of the last things to consider is the cost of maintaining an application. It is common to allocate 15% to 20% of the initial development cost of the application to maintenance each year.
Application maintenance is a necessary evil, it may include the following:
The price of maintenance also depends on the number of features you want to add and their complexity.
Therefore, cooperation with your provider does not end immediately after the product is deployed. It is an ongoing process of collaboration and exchange.
Future Trends in Mobile App Development
The mobile application development industry is currently thriving with interesting new projects and opportunities. This scenario leads to strong competition between different organizations looking for ways to provide a compelling app experience to their users. Companies should keep their fingers on the pulse of this ever-evolving technology.
Let's take a look at the key trends that are expected to shape the future practice of mobile app development in 2025.
More and more users are downloading and using various mobile apps on both Android and iOS devices. According to Statista, the number of mobile users is expected to reach almost 7.5 billion by 2025. Needless to say, there are lucrative opportunities for talented mobile app developers in the coming years.
As 5G networks continue to roll out around the world, mobile apps are expected to leverage this emerging network standard to become more responsive. Of course, the increased speed of 5G is the main focus of attention, but the lower latency is arguably the biggest innovation of this technological innovation.
Everything from mobile video games to self-driving cars benefits from low latency, so when considering 5G to determine the possibilities for future mobile app trends, one must take advantage of wireless networks. At the core of these new opportunities is consuming more data in a more responsive way.
The Internet of Things (IoT) benefits greatly from the lower latency of 5G networks. Controlling remote IP-connected devices from a mobile device becomes more responsive. The concept of the smart home has not caught on, but today 5G offers the potential for greater adoption in this area.
The manufacturing world and the Industrial IoT (IIoT) have already started to use this technology on a large scale. Mobile application developers have a huge field of potential applications for mobile software in the IoT sector. The automotive, healthcare, and gaming sectors offer a variety of interesting use cases. By combining 5G and IoT, the use cases of these apps become more functional and compelling.
The manufacturing world and the Industrial IoT (IIoT) are already making extensive use of this technology. Mobile application developers have a huge field of potential applications for mobile software in the IoT sector. The automotive, healthcare, and gaming sectors offer a variety of interesting use cases. By combining 5G and IoT, the use cases of these apps become more functional and compelling.
The still proverbial metaverse has proven to be a reservoir of opportunities for companies using AR and VR technology. The gaming and entertainment world offers promising opportunities for new metaverse mobile apps that leverage AR and VR technologies. Other meaningful applications for AR and VR technologies can be found in healthcare, engineering, and education and training.
Progressive apps (or instant apps) can be accessed through a web browser and usually work like a regular mobile app once deployed. This use case allows developers to provide an app experience to their users without forcing them to install a separate package.
Progressive apps continue to be of interest to companies looking for a cross-platform app development option to bypass Google Play Store and Apple's App Store policies.
The market for wearable devices such as smartwatches continues to grow slowly. Demand for apps that provide health telemetry information or track exercise data is largely driving this growth. The expansion of 5G network availability is even contributing to the responsiveness of such types of mobile apps.
There are interesting opportunities for companies that choose to partner with wearable manufacturers who want to develop a mobile app for their devices. Several wearable manufacturers provide APIs that make it easy to create an app for their devices.
With the help of AI and chatbots, mobile apps are increasingly learning about their users' preferences and are able to provide a personalized user experience. For this reason, we can expect to see more innovative AI apps like Siri, Prisma, and Google Now being developed.
Apple's more compact programming language Swift was introduced in September 2017 and promised less code and fewer bugs. In the future, more new apps will be developed with Swift. The switch could be worthwhile for existing apps and pose a risk.
The importance of cloud-based apps is steadily increasing. The need to integrate cloud technology into your app development strategy will become even more important. Known benefits include streamlined operations and reduced hosting and device costs. Using cloud technologies is crucial if you want your application to work across multiple platforms.
Zyneto has many years of experience and a dedicated mobile app development team. Our service does not just include DevOps which ensures a smooth project from ideology to after-launch support.
It doesn’t matter how complicated or simple your project might be, contact us now to discuss your possibilities and expert opinion.
A mobile app developer uses tech stack (programming languages and development skills) to create mobile apps on different platforms (PWA, Android, iOS) for mobile devices.
The technologies used for mobile app development are iOS SDK or Android SDK and programming languages such as React native, Flutter, Objective-C, Swift, Java, or Kotlin.
The main difference between mobile apps and web apps is that mobile apps are natively installed on smartphones while web apps can be accessed from the web via desktop or mobile browsers.
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