Today, fitness apps belong to the most popular type of healthcare mobile services. It means they can become an excellent source of constant income. However, there is still a question of the price, that is: how much does it cost to make a fitness app? We’re well versed in the matter and ready to cover the issue for you.
So, what app development budget do you need to have?
Fitness app development strategy
Pricing depends on a thoughtful strategy. You need a plan to create fitness apps, and a good one.
Therefore, considering how to develop a fitness app for affordable money, take into account the following points:
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The application type. There are a lot of types of healthcare fitness apps, you just need to choose the one you like most. Though, we’ll discuss the list of possible fitness program variations below.
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Functionality. Complex functionality leads to a higher cost for developing a health fitness app. On the other hand, a greater number of different features allows you to attract more users and earn more money. So maybe the game is worth the candle, what do you think?
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Development approach. Answer the questions: do you plan to develop a fitness trainer app compatible with a specific platform (say, Android)? Or do you want your application to work on all devices? If the second option is correct, which development method do you prefer: native or cross-platform? Cross-platform development is much cheaper since it doesn't require writing code for each OS separately. And the cost to build a fitness trainer app will be lower as well.
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Choosing fitness app development companies. Of course, in order to make a fitness app of high quality without overpaying, you need to hire skilled experts at a moderate rate. Further, in the article, we’ll give you some useful tips on the matter in question.
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Advertising. It's not enough to build a fitness mobile service, you should promote it, make it popular! Alas, any advertisement requires money.
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Support. You may think: “I want to make my own fitness app, then I’ll have everything I need!“ But when your idea is implemented, you realize: it’s only the beginning! You need your app to remain popular even as time goes by, right? Your dream’ll come true if you’re ready to take care of your mobile service by supporting its work, adding new features, and doing all the rest of it. Therefore, when planning the budget, be sure to consider the cost of application support either.
Now you have a strategy to develop a fitness trainer app but let's discuss each item on its list in more detail.
Types of fitness applications
Let's start with application types because this is the first factor influencing fitness app costs.
# 1. Workout applications
Workout apps are focused on sports training and remain very popular right now. They come in different formats:
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Personal workout apps, targeted at users who prefer to do sports at home. These services offer sets of exercises of varying complexity: video lessons, audio tips, 3D models, text descriptions, and much more. It's up to you which format of information to choose, just make sure your user would be able to easily figure everything out.
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Workout scheduler apps, aimed at fans of gyms. Such a fitness app provides a user with features, which help him plan his sports activities, register personal successes, etc.
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Fitness tracker apps, compatible with wearable devices (fitness bracelets, etc.). These apps help a user control the progress of his training sessions (he can easily count the completed sets, the “passed” steps, etc.). Among other things, the program is useful for synchronizing personal devices with specialized equipment of smart gyms so that a gym-visitor has a chance to see all the data relevant to the exercises on his own screen. It's a very popular type of mobile service, and that’s understandable: users value applications, which simplify their lives.
# 2. Healthy eating apps
The task of the next application on our list is to enhance the positive impact of physical exercises (ineffective without a good diet, as you know). The service can exist independently or supplement the workout app. Thanks to it, the user controls his water schedule, counts the calories consumed, makes up the menu, and so on.
The development price varies greatly in the case of the diet app, it all depends on the complexity of the project. Let’s say, a simpler option is to allow users to enter data on food products (composition, calories, etc.) on their own. The sophisticated version already has an extensive (and updated) nutritional database.
Another valuable feature of these applications is a barcode scanner to enable customers to analyze the products they buy. Despite the higher cost, such a mobile solution would attract additional users, which means you’ll have better earnings. And it's up to you to decide what is preferable in the long run.
# 3. Activity tracking apps
The mobile app of the sort isn’t intended to control the workout process, its main purpose is to monitor any physical activity of a person; it includes a pedometer, sleep quality analysis, calorie counting... People looking after their health find such indicators important in many ways.
Fitness mobile apps' features
Of course, each fitness app type should have its own set of features. But we may always fantasize a little bit… why not?
So, if you want to develop a fitness application, think about…
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User profile. When it comes to developing fitness apps, the user profile contains information of the same nature, including age, weight, height, gender, etc. This data would help you analyze the user's achievements correctly.
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Tracking different physical and vital signs. Your users would need an activity tracking app helping them in measuring the number of steps, counting the sleep hours, monitoring the pulse and arterial tension, and so on. You can implement the tracking feature even without connecting to external devices: HealthKit and Google Fit will provide you with the information on a series of health indicators. The data obtained is enough, and the user’ll be able to monitor his activity properly.
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Training database. Your application would only benefit if it helps the user to achieve the goal (whether it’s losing weight or gaining muscle mass) by offering him examples of exercises. Ideally, these should be video tutorials.
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Push Notifications. When it comes to fitness apps, such a feature becomes especially important. Say, if somebody hasn’t been using your program for a while, you have a reason to remind him of his omission: tell it's time to measure his pulse, visit the gym or perform another similar action.
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A game element. If you want to make a fitness app able to become your source of money, you need not only to attract new users but also keep those who have already downloaded your program. And socially-game elements are the best way to achieve the desired goal (as you know, people enjoy all kinds of entertainment). Show your imagination and come up with interesting gamification options. How about the idea to build a fitness app with conditional levels of progress, each of which characterizes a certain user's achievement? And, of course, be sure to reward those who have reached a new level (through bonuses, discounts, etc).
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Integration of social networks. Today, such a feature is a must-have option since almost all people are constantly using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other resources. We’re absolutely sure users will be happy to share the results of their sports achievements in social networks.
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Diet features. A feature helping to follow the diet would complement any app for fitness, even one focused on workouts. The simplest version (say, an elementary calculation of caloric content of food) won’t affect the app cost greatly; moreover, it’ll attach weight to your service. Ultimately, you’ll be in the pocket!
Of course, this is far from all the features you might need. Though, functionality largely depends on your financial limitations. In order to decide what else should be added to your mobile service, consult with the app developers you’ve chosen, they’ll help you compare your budget with your requirements.
How much does it cost to make a fitness app?
We think we won't be mistaken in assuming you want to create a fitness app in the most economical way (eliminating unnecessary costs as much as possible).
And if it’s true, we offer you to follow the simple plan below which includes a few significant steps. Such as…
#1 The fitness app idea
Of course, if your imagination runs wild and you come up with a really cool fitness app idea, the price of such a program won't be too low. On the other hand, the unique and demanded application has a chance to join market leaders, and your costs will pay off with interest.
So don't stint ideas, pay maximum attention to this stage.
#2 Self-dependent market research
The next stage is also very important. Why? The answer is quite obvious: in order to make your own fitness app, you need to know what a typical user is expecting to get today. And if you don’t have the means to hire a professional company, try to conduct self-dependent market research. Your task is to find out:
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What is your target audience?
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What does your future user expect?
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What type of fitness mobile service is the most profitable?
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What are your competitors? Whom should one beware of among them?
#3 The list of requirements
A list of requirements implies a set of features. You cannot create an app without imagining which result you want to get.
You can start with minimal functionality (to build an MVP model) and then gradually expand it by analyzing user behavior. The advantage of the MVP approach is that you can focus on the user's wishes instead of your assumptions and add those features which the client really wants.
#4 Hiring fitness app developers
The stage of the actual health and fitness app development process (we mean writing code and so on) is the key and expensive one. And your task (and it’s not easy!) is to find contractors who are well-versed in IT but don't ask for vast amounts of money. We guess the good option is outsourcing to Ukraine.
When choosing fitness app development companies, think about the following points:
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Ideally, your activity tracking app must support all devices. Make sure experts you've hired are skilled to build fitness mobile service working on different platforms (both iOS and Android).
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Provide a laconic and appealing app interface. It’s especially significant to pay more attention to UI/UX if you have a minimum budget and cannot allocate a lot of money to create a fitness app with complicated functionality.
#5 Promotion
Now that the development process has already been completed, it's time to think about the app promotion. If you’re limited in means, use simple methods, such as social networks, push notifications, discounts, etc.
The goal of this stage is to attract a maximum of users to fitness and workout apps. After all, these very people are going to bring you money. Without them, your application would remain a worthless investment.
#6 Ways to monetize
In addition to thoughts on the fitness app costs, you need to think of ways to earn money. The best option is a freemium model when you allow using mobile apps without a fee, but tempt your customer with special paid features (or extended functionality).
However, a freemium model itself isn’t enough to help you make good money (especially on a permanent basis). Here are some tips to enhance the effect of monetization:
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In-app purchases. Quite an obvious step, but sometimes it brings benefits. What can you offer if we are talking about fitness tracker apps? In fact, anything: paid sets of video fitness lessons, sports bonuses, etc.;
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In-app ads. Yes, advertising is sometimes annoying, but it really helps if approached properly. Find advertisers whose products are somehow related to the fitness area and offer them your application as a promotion platform.
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Sponsorship. Such a monetization option won't fit every type of application, but various fitness apps are just the case when sponsorship is fully justified. The essence is simple: a certain sponsor invites users to receive a prize (bonuses, discounts, even money) when they reach a particular pre-specified goal (the number of steps covered during a workout, for example). Everyone is happy: the sponsor advertises his product, the user gets a bonus, and the application owner has his percentage as an intermediary. Not bad, right?
So, we told you a great deal about the cost to develop a fitness trainer app and gave a couple of tips on how to get things done without overpayment. Want to know more? We're more than happy to answer your questions!
And by the way, we have extensive experience in developing top lifestyle apps for iPhone and Android, so we can be useful to you in this respect either.
