Flutter Application Development Cost, Time, and Benefits

Cross-platform mobile app development is gaining traction as businesses are looking for new ways to accelerate their mobile projects. In this age of digitization, agile development and processes are essential to remain competitive in a tech-driven industry. A few years back, businesses had to rely on native tools and SDKs to develop Android and iOS mobile apps from scratch. Nevertheless, the advent of several cross-platform mobile frameworks like Flutter, React Native, Ionic, and PhoneGap have made the process faster and more efficient. With the availability of these frameworks, enterprises can save their valuable time and costs by developing a single application that would work effectively across multiple platforms. 

Flutter is one such tool that enables developers to build high-quality applications for multiple platforms like Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows using a single codebase. It is an open-source framework, developed and launched by Google, that runs on Dart, a client-optimized programming language for cross-platform development. Flutter’s intuitive interface, ease of programming, and rapid development capabilities make it an ideal tool for cross-platform mobile app development. 

Let’s discover the significance of Flutter app development services, explore its benefits and features. Subsequently, we’ll analyze estimated cost and time required for Flutter application development. 

Also read New Features and Enhancements In Flutter 1.9 With Dart 2.5

 

Benefits of Flutter Application Development

Flutter has become increasingly popular for cross-platform mobile app development. Its unique features like hot reload and an extensive widget catalog enables developers to proactively build complex mobile applications for multiple platforms. Given below are the key features and benefits of Flutter app development services.

Rapid Development

Flutter significantly reduces the application development life-cycle. It speeds up the pace of development and lets you develop native apps simultaneously for multiple platforms. For instance, you can develop an app for both Android and iOS platforms using the same codebase. Consequently, developers can build a cross-platform application faster as they do not have to rewrite the code from scratch. At the same time, Flutter development services bring significant cost savings since you can develop two apps at the price of one, that too in a reduced timeframe. 

Code Reusability

Code reusability is the most significant aspect of Flutter that makes it an ideal pick for cross-platform mobile app development. With Flutter, developers don’t need to write code from scratch while developing for multiple platforms. Instead, they can use the same codebase to develop applications for native mobile platforms. In other words, the same code can be optimized for making an application work effectively across multiple platforms. Flutter app developers can develop a single application and then deploy it on multiple operating systems. The same code can also be used for future optimizations. 

Hot Reload

Hot Reload or Hot Restart is a unique feature in Flutter that facilitates faster development by enabling developers to view code changes in one quick reload. Performing hot reload enables the host machine to check the edited dart code and recompile the application’s memory with recent code changes. In doing so, developers can proactively monitor the impact of various code changes and optimize the application programming accordingly. 

Intelligent Code Completion

The intelligent code completion feature speeds up the programming cycle by providing personalized code suggestions. It is a newly introduced feature in Flutter 1.9 that uses machine learning algorithms powered by TensorFlow Lite engine to accelerate code completion. The feature examines the Dart code and is capable of predicting the next few characters as the developer continues to write code. 

Flutter App Development Time

As you already know, Flutter accelerates the development process and reduces time-to-market. Since you can build a multi-platform app using a single codebase, it significantly reduces the development time. Besides, the availability of features like hot reload and intelligent code completion facilitates seamless programming and yields faster code completion. Taking all these factors into account, one can develop a simple cross-platform application (with basic features) using Flutter in approximately 250 hours. On the contrary, it can take up to 400 hours to develop a simple iOS application using native tools and swift programming. 

Flutter App Development Cost

It’s quite evident that Flutter development services are more cost-effective, not to mention the less time required for application development. A majority of Flutter app development companies have fixed hourly costs. Since the development time is reduced considerably, Flutter development services significantly reduce the overall project costs. Although it is impossible to predict the exact cost of a Flutter mobile app project, you can always come up with a rough estimate. 

Calculating Estimated Cost of Development

The average cost of development for a Flutter-based mobile app depends on the following factors:

• Type of application
• Complexity of features
• Supported platforms
• Number of integrations (if required) 
• Number of available resources
• Location of developers

An application can be divided into three categories i.e low, medium, high based on complexity of features. A low-complexity application with basic features can cost you between $15,000 to $25,000. For example, with the given budget, you can develop a cross-platform fitness app that provides workout tips and diet plans. A medium-complexity application will cost you between $25,000 to $35,000 while the cost of developing a full-fledged Flutter-based application can go up to $50,000. 

Of all these factors, geographical location of developers significantly contributes to the overall project costs. Flutter developers in the US, Canada, and Western European countries can charge you up to $50-60 per hour for their services. On the contrary, you can avail these services at just $20-30 per hour by hiring Flutter app developers based in South Asian countries. 

You may also be interested in reading A Technical Comparison of Flutter and React Native

 

The Bottom Line

Flutter is a relatively new mobile framework that supports an object-oriented programming language i.e Dart for cross-platform development. Many developers may not be familiar with the code syntax as it’s different from JavaScript, Python, and other popular languages. However, Dart is comparatively easier to learn and master, not to mention the availability of a comprehensive guide and vast community support. Now coming to the use cases, Flutter app development services are best suited for startups and small-to-medium enterprises that want to develop a feature-rich cross-platform application at a limited budget. 

Why Choose Oodles Technologies For Flutter Mobile App Development?

We, at Oodles Technologies, provide end-to-end Flutter app development services to address varied project requirements for cross-platform mobile app development. Our team of developers holistically analyzes your project requirements and formulates effective strategies to build custom mobile applications with cross-platform compatibility. We have established ourselves as a seasoned Flutter app development company that nurtures skilled professionals with years of experience in mobile app development.