Today, there’s a growing demand for businesses to build Uber-like clone applications. For most of the taxi apps, a likewise model with slight modification yields the best results. Our agenda here is to determine how much it costs to make an app like Uber.
Why Uber is Popular?
In 2012, Uber became a blessing for most of the riders. They can now book a private cab simply with their fingertips without much effort. Apart from this, what makes it outstanding is the fact that it gives job opportunities to several taxi drivers. It has around 80 million frequent users and operates in 77 different countries. It is also cheaper and convenient than traditional taxis.
Uber has provided a groundbreaking solution in its industry making it a huge success. Its popularity paved a way to create apps like Lyft, Gett, and Hailo with the hopes of copying its success and they eventually did.
But what about its cost?
It is not possible to determine the exact cost of making an app like Uber as it depends on several factors that we shall discuss shortly. The cost depends on various things like the architecture of the app, development charges, features, location of development, and several other factors. Let’s discuss them to determine the cost.
Cost of Uber Like App Depends On Several Factors
1. Features
Uber app basically serves two different functions for drivers and the passengers. So, the features of these two variants are also different. However, there are some common features as well for both the variants. Let’s see the features of both:
For Drivers
- Register: A registration involves verification and permission from higher authority for working as an Uber driver.
- Booking: Drivers will be able to book or cancel bookings for a ride. They can also view their passenger location plus the booking history.
- Push Notification: Drivers get notification of booking data, order updates, and completion of the order.
- Navigation: They can use Google Maps to get the optimum routes and directions of destinations.
For Passengers
- Register or log in: Passengers can create an account for the app using social media accounts and link payment processing account to it.
- Booking interface: It shows a screen for entering the address to call a taxi, choose the type of cab and set a location of pickup.
- Tracking: To track the location of a driver in real-time.
- Price calculator: To check the price of a ride from one point to other before booking.
- Payments: To pay cashless via credit cards and receive the invoice of it.
Apart from these, both get the features of messaging, ratings and reviews, and booking history.
2. Technology for Development
The app like Uber has three main criteria and they form the foundation of a taxi booking app. They are the server, mapping, and payments.
First of all, you need a server for storing data of user requests, driver routes and other important data. The backend of the app can be created using programming languages like Node.js, Python, Java, PHP, or Ruby on Rails.
The next is the need for a GPS. For both Android and iOS, OpenStreetMap API can be used. Alternatively, one can also choose platform specific tools like Google Maps and Google Locations Service for Android. For iOS, it is MapKit or Core Location.
Apart from server and GPS, payments also play one of the major roles in a taxi booking app. Uber supports PayPal and credit cards for in-app payments. One can choose gateway adapters like Braintree, Paytm, Stripe and PayPal mobile SDK as well.
3. Backend
The Backend of any app plays a vital role in determining its cost. It is the foundation for connecting all the elements together to form a unified app. The core of the app can be built using programming languages like JavaScript or Python and integrated with the interfaces. The data can be stored in a database system like PostgreSQL and it should also be scalable.
4. Platform
You can make a native app for both Android and iOS or cut down on the budget to create for a single platform. Though creating two apps for both the platform is a favorable option, it largely depends on your target audience. The backend and functionality for both remain the same. However, the tools and frameworks for both platforms are different.
Determining the Cost of App like Uber
| Android | iOS | |
| Development Costs | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Backend Cost | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Design or Frontend Cost | $11,000 | $9,000 |
| Quality Assurance Cost | $7,000 | $6,000 |
| Total in Approximation | $30,000 | $35,000 |
Final word:
If we sum up all the factors, we can say that an app like Uber for a single platform can approximately cost you around $30,000 to $35,000. However, if you wish to build an app for both platforms, it can cost you around $65,000 or more.