How Much Does It Cost to build a Chat App like SnapChat

Snapchat is a social media, popular, widely used among teenagers application. 2011 was a year when it firstly appeared. According to the Statista report, Snapchat ranks the fifth globally, is currently being used by ever more 300 million people in a fun, creative way.

Snapchat is a messaging application that means the messages editing, images, videos, stories sharing, filters or drawings adding. It is a highly-secured application in which photos, images, videos are self-destructed after being viewed. The application has achieved its vast success due to self-destructiveness.

“S- terminology” used within application

• Snap is a video or picture sent through the mentioned application.
• Story is a picture or video that can be shared.
• Snap lens is animated effect that can be added to a photo or video during a snap.
• Snapback. It is a user's reply on a snap.
• Score is an amount of content that has been sent and received.
• Snapcode is a unique code that applies to the user’s profile as an easy way to find somebody or to be found.
• Snapchatter is a person who uses application.

Popular Snapchat’s special characteristics

Taking photos, videos

Taken photos, videos have an ability to be self-destructed within application. A great diversity of tools can be applied to edit content.

Adding friends

New friends are added by making use of phone numbers, contacts, usernames. Following ways are provided to update the contacts:

• By adding located nearby snapchatters.
• By scanning a snapcode from another user’s appliance.
• By using phone “Address Book” in order a person who has an account, a verified phone number can be added.

Stories

These are videos, photos that can stay at the command during 24 hours only. The following actions can be applied to the Story:

• Creating a story. Story icon can be tapped next to download icon from the Camera screen and the story will be created.
• Sending a story. It can be done by tapping the send icon or simply selecting “My Story”.
• Viewing a story. It can be easily seen by tapping “Story” icon. When stories shown under recent category are viewed, they will disappear in 24 hours.

Discoveries

These are collections of editorial entities like Daily Mail, Vice, Cosmopolitan, CNN, MTV etc. with their diverse stories. All they can be easily found on the Discover screen. They contain loads of interactive content to be swiped, read, shared, tapped, etc. News will disappear in 24 hours.

Lens

This is a comic, funny, visual animated effect that can be applied to the face. The face can be distorted by being overlaid on your video, photo.

Stickers

These involving, catchy images are used to be added to the photos or to the videos while chatting. It looks like an inconsiderable feature, but it should be taken into consideration while planning the scope.

Video/audio calls

Video, audio calling is possible after updating 2.0. version. The special thing about calls is simultaneous sending images and calling.

Geofilters

Mentioned feature is used for creating a graphical overlay to the snap. It depends on a current event and a certain location. Geofilters appear at thousands of places around the world if location services and filters are enabled.

Reveal some principal stages how to create a Snapchat twin

1. Find IT team

Professional IT team in order to create an app like Snapchat is required. It should consist of:

• UI/UX designer.
• 2-3 Developers for Backend.
• 2-3 Developers for Android platform.
• 2-3 Developers for iOS platform.
• 2 QA specialists.
• Project manager.

If your project scope enlarges, it is required to hire more people.

2. Thinking of MVP

MVP describes an original project structure (website, web app, etc.) with limited specific characteristics/features based on the business idea. Vital features should be considered in order to reduce the risks, to save time and money.

MVP helps in bringing early customers whose feedbacks are essential for best user experience creating, and there is a chance the application will be noticed by investors.

3. Platform choosing

Creating a chat app like Snapchat requires selecting the platform as a key success factor. It should be thought of the goals, potential target audience.

iOS:

• Solid occupied market share in Europe, in the USA.
• More profits can be brought averagely.
• Publication is time-consuming, difficult, demanding.

Android:

• It occupies 64% of the global mobile market.
• Designing an app is time-consuming process.
• It brings profits from in-app ads.

4. Select a pricing model

Fixed price

It is suitable to different projects with well-documented requirements, work package, static budget, predetermined delivery period to the desired end product without possible changes. Estimation is calculated based on the scope, complexity, time, people involved.

Time & Material

It suits the projects where requirements usually change rapidly, there are diverse workloads, no defined scope, an indefinite duration for development. This type provides flexibility: specifications can be defined, changed can be implemented at any stage. Team, work packages, resources can be settled based on a simultaneously optimising time, cost of the evolving requirements.

Dedicated team

Company provides experienced IT team, equipment, diverse resources based on the client’s specification requirements. Every team member receives a basic monthly salary.

Client takes charge of the project: manages resources, plans work scope. Team shares views on the applying widely used software methodologies while product development, concerns in company’s goals achievement.

Rough estimation

An overriding issue how much does Snapchat cost will be likely appear if there is a first-rate idea to work out an equally successful product similar to Snapchat app.

According to the Statista survey data, the mobile development average rates per hour are shown below:

• from $60 to $250 (North America);
• from $60 to $150 (United Kingdom);
• from $40 to $120 (Western Europe);
• from $20 to $100 (Eastern Europe);

Frontend part for iOS will cost min $14.760 and/or $15.920 for Android. Backend will cost around $1.980, design (wireframing, UI/UX) will cost around $4.500.

We have provided a rough estimate based on statistical average rates that may not cover all possible expenses. If you have an idea, we can prepare more accurate estimate based on your own idea.

Also, you can read: How to estimate a project?

Drawing a line

Being a full-featured mobile application for having fun with a vast idea of communicating, brings fresh lines of approach to the online process of communication. It is widely used among some adults, teenagers with an emphasis on the vital, informative messages, allows to share mood, feelings, impressions.

Unique terminology appliance, popular app features are highlighted, snapchat cost rough estimation, step-by-step guide that helps to find out how to develop an app similar to Snapchat application are provided. Do not hesitate in making request our company in order to turn an idea into a digital solution by providing with rough estimate in one business day to simplify product development summary, to give a basic understanding of some aspects of the end solution.