One of the most draining budget considerations while crafting a mobile app is the app designers costs. Having even a slight design flaw in your app can heavily impact user engagement, retention, and hits the overall stakeholder success. But really, how much does it cost to hire an app designer? This article goes into the cost factors involved, an average price range, and what you should budget, expecting professional app designing.
App Designers Cost by Engagement Model
Three general kinds of payment models apply depending upon what kind of app designer that you had engaged.
1. Hourly Rate
You pay for the actual hours worked. Hourly rates are best for small tasks and when you are not entirely certain about the final scope of a project. Rates can vary from $20 per hour for entry-level to around $150 per hour at the expert levels as both have different work experiences.
Pros: Flexibility, Transparent Billing
Cons: Difficult to provide clients with a total upfront price for a project
2. Fixed Price
Charged flatly for the whole project upon agreed deliverables. Normally charged for small to mid-size projects.
Example: Designing a food delivery app with fixed price charges could be about $5,000-$10,000.
Pros: Cost predictability
Cons: Less flexible, potential for scope creep
3. Monthly Retainer
For one-off jobs or a project that will be building up slowly, a monthly code could keep the design active. The charges can be somewhere between $2,000 and $10,000 per month, it will be depending on the designer’s experience and the workload on them.
Pros: Long term partnership with iterations ongoing
Cons: Higher commitment upfront
Factors That Effect App Designers Cost
There isn’t a fixed price for app design. Several factors determine the final costing of the app:
1. Complexity of the App
The more complexity the app will have, the higher the design cost will be. A simple to-do app will cost very less than an e-commerce or fintech app with a lot of screens, animations, and user flows as they have more functionalities then the simple ones.
| Complexity Level | Description | Estimated Design Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 5–10 screens, minimal UX | $1,000 – $3,000 |
| Medium | 10–25 screens, custom UX | $3,000 – $8,000 |
| Complex | 25+ screens, animations, workflows | $8,000 – $25,000+ |
2. Platform Requirements
Designing for iOS, Android, or both will affect the cost. While many designers work towards universal designs, more interface adaptation between different operating systems translates to added workload for them.
3. Experience and Location
There are price points that differ between freelancers, agencies, or in-house team. A senior-level designer who is in the States or probably Europe would charge vastly more than an Indian or Eastern European freelancer who has practically the same skill set.
- Freelance App Designers: $25-150 per hour
- UI-UX Design Studios: $5,000 to $50,000+ in a project
- In-House Designer Salary: $60,000 to $120,000 Annual
4. Number of Screens
Most designers set their price according to the total number of screens. Each screen takes time to design, test, and iterate upon. This means more screens, more cost.
5. Revisions and Feedback Cycles
The design is not a one-time activity. If your project goes through dozens of revision cycles, expect to pay more — especially if pricing is hourly or milestone-based.
Additional Costs to Consider
Besides the previously mentioned app designers cost, there may be other expenses eating your budget:
- User research: Might include the cost of surveys, interviews, and persona creation.
- Prototyping tools subscription: Figma, Adobe XD, or InVision.
- Branding and logo design: Sometimes those are independent of app design.
- Design system creation: Another service that might stand as its own expense for launching a coherent set of UI elements and components.
How to Reduce App Designers Cost Without Compromising Quality?
Here are some suggestions to keep expenses low while not compromising the user experience while under the budget constraint:
- Prepare well-written requirements: By setting clear goals, giving references, and presenting user journeys, you can avoid going through so many revisions.
- Start with an MVP: Launch with the bare minimum of screens and functionalities that you need, then grow from there.
- Use design templates: Using UI kits so that most time and cost will be saved.
- Hire an offshore designer: Consider talented resources in countries with lower hourly rates.
- Combine services: Some agencies provide discounts when you pair up design + development services.
Final Thoughts on App Designers Cost
Good app design is not a luxury; it is a necessity. While the app designers cost can range from a couple of thousand dollars to tens of thousands, the ROI from an intuitive and beautiful-looking application makes the cost worthwhile.
When one hires a designer, both skill and fit should be taken into account. Usually cheaper isn’t the better one, and the priciest one doesn’t promise your success. Look at portfolios and discuss time frames and milestones before you go on with anybody.
The design aspect, whether it is for a simple utility app or a multipurpose platform, is often traditionally not budgeted for, and this sometimes inadvertently kills the user acceptance of that app and its long-term success.
