Whether you’re a casual jogger, a frequent gym-goer, or have your own unique exercise routine, chances are you’ve used a fitness app. These tools not only keep users motivated but also provide valuable insights into their fitness progress. The fitness landscape has seen a significant shift, with home-based workouts becoming the dominant trend in 2022 and continuing to be popular in 2024.
The worldwide fitness app industry, which was valued at $8.99 billion in 2023, is expected to reach $56.29 billion by 2030, a remarkable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.84%.
There’s a clear surge in the demand for fitness apps, but what about their profitability? When packed with essential features, user-friendly interfaces, and appealing designs, fitness apps have the potential to generate significant profits. If you want to join the leading fitness technology companies, you must create a mobile application.
You’re at the perfect spot if you’re wondering about the expenses involved and are thinking of entering into the world of mobile app development.
This article is composed by Saniya Tahir and Co-authored by Yahya Khan, the CEO of TopTech. For the past 4+ years, toptech has been helping entrepreneurs, start-ups, and companies to double their revenue with a strong and exceptional digital experience.
This comprehensive guide will assist you in determining the financial implications of developing a fitness application.
Factors Affecting the Development Cost of Fitness Apps
The elements influencing the cost of developing a fitness app are thoroughly explored here:
Features and Complexity
Features directly affect the development expenses for fitness applications. While more sophisticated fitness apps offering real-time coaching sessions, personalized workout plans, social networking features, or wearable integration will result in more extraordinary development expenses due to increased complexity, simple apps with basic functionality such as workout tracking and nutrition logging tend to cost less to create.
Platform Selection (Android, iOS, Cross-Platform)
The running cost of your fitness app depends much on the platforms you choose. Building separate applications requires more time and resources, and native applications for iOS and Android app development cost more. Nevertheless, they ensure the best user experience on each device.
UX/UI
User engagement depends on a clear and aesthetically pleasing design, so even if development expenses are higher, the success of applications and user pleasure greatly return the benefits. Custom animations, interactive components, and a user-friendly interface all help to improve user experience and hence justify additional design cost spend.
Integrating Wearable Devices
While integrating fitness applications with wearable devices like smartwatches or fitness trackers adds complexity and expense, it allows users to synchronize data and thus extends the app’s usefulness.
When considering wearable device integration, development teams should prioritize compatibility, data synchronization, and user experience.
AI and Machine Learning
Using machine learning and artificial intelligence for tailored suggestions, exercise programs, or predictive analytics would probably complicate and raise expenses in the app’s design and development process.
Skilled professionals are needed to create algorithms, model training, and artificial intelligence deployment; thus, more time and money must be spent creating them than expected, increasing expenditures during the development phase and post-launch maintenance costs.
Offline Access and Mobile Workouts
Data storage solutions and on-the-go workout options are two more development issues that must be carefully managed when users want to download workout routines to perform them without an internet connection. These help to determine general development costs.
Support and Maintenance
After development, constant post-launch maintenance and support become very vital. Post-launch expenses include constant upgrades, bug repairs, and compatibility modifications with new devices or operating system versions; part of this continuous maintenance effort includes good customer service and user feedback response.
What Stands Behind the Basic Fitness App Price?
Features constantly depend on the kind of exercise program you follow. Every fitness app has a list of fundamental tools to offer you a clue.
Basic Features
Login and registration:
To enable people to register fast and easily, you should provide various login choices. You might, for instance, combine sign-up using Google and Facebook. Such a basic action will increase your registered user’ count. To provide consumers with options, you should also provide email and password or phone number sign-ups. Given that users sometimes lose their passwords, the forget password function is also quite essential. No password recovery indicates they probably will give up on the app.
| Basic Fitness App Features | Average cost |
| User Registration | $3,000 |
| Activity tracking | $5,500 |
| Social sharing | $3,500 |
Workshops:
You should provide a list of exercises for users to select from. Users may get routines including warm-up, cross-training, yoga, and more. Exercises and video replay should be available so users can see the method. Users should be allowed to begin and end a program as well. At the conclusion, users may see the workout’s length and burnt calorie count.
Dietary Guidelines:
Users must have a collection of ready-made meal ideas along with their suggestions. For certain dinners, it’s also typical to provide a grocery list so that consumers may purchase the required goods. Users also want to be able to submit their meals and fresh ideas, noting specifics such as carbohydrate, fat, and protein counts.
Monitoring Fitness Programme:
The program must log users’ activities in steps, running distance, calories burnt, and more. Every tracking characteristic influences the development cost of a fitness app.
User Profile:
Users should provide their information including weight, height, and exercise objectives. Uploading the picture and changing a password is also wise.
Push notification:
You should send push notifications to users to remind them of the planned exercises. You should also remind users to track their meals or drink water.
Payments:
Users may choose to purchase exercises or nutrition programs, pay for a subscription, or make in-app purchases based on a monetizing approach. Therefore, integrating a secure payment gateway helps to simplify and ensure the payment process. Braintree, PayPal, Stripe, and other payment gateways help developers make online payments viable.
| Features | Backend Development (Hours) | iOS & Android Development(Hours) |
| Registration and login | 29 | 32 |
| Workouts | 42 | 106 |
| Nutrition | 45 | 100 |
| Fitness Routine Tracking | 40 | 78 |
| User Profile | 44 | 62 |
| Payments | 14 | 35 |
| Push Notification | 14 | 14 |
| Total Time | 228 | 427 |
Platform
What is the cost of a fitness app? The answer to this question is majorly based on “the platform”. Software development finds three somewhat well-known platforms: Web, Android, and iOS.
Since iOS and Android applications need separate programming languages, you must double the cost of one app if you want to develop both at once.
But Flutter app development can create cross-platform solutions for iOS and Android, therefore cutting up to 50% of the final cost. The negatives are that the technology itself needs to be more appropriate for complicated goods, and Flutter experts are somewhat sought after.
Design
Designing an appealing UI/UX with limited time and money is a difficult task.
Still, because consumers want to utilize simple applications, design is vital for success. UI/UX designers need at least 120 to 150 hours to produce a design for one platform, iOS or Android.
Remember that the most comprehensive UI/UX design is done for one platform—mostly iOS—and then modified for the second platform, Android. Therefore, Android design takes 60 times the time needed for iOS design.
| Design elements | Average cost |
| Wireframes and Prototypes | $1,200 – $2,000 |
| App design | $4,000 -$8,000 |
Testing
Any technological project depends on quality assurance services. QA engineers run the applications to discover flaws and correct them. Project complexity determines the price to test your fitness app. QA engineers must spend at least 530–630 hours testing our fundamental edition of fitness software.
DevOps
DevOps services help close the gap between developers and the IT operations team by reducing development time. From development to production, DevOps experts automate the code flow and assess appropriate technologies. The development of a fitness app requires DevOps between 100 and 130 hours.
Hiring Approach
You have three basic recruiting choices when seeking experts who will meet all your project needs. Let’s review them to see which fits your situation the best:
Contractuals:
This is the least expensive choice and is appropriate for small technological problems. Conversely, even after getting your prepayment, such professionals can decide to stop working with you and go on another project. Besides, you have to confirm their eligibility.
In-house staff:
By assembling an in-house team, you can maintain contact with every member of your team, so communication is of the first quality. Still, you handle recruiting and project management, covering a lot of costs—including office rent, hardware purchases, wages paid, and many other items. This choice thus has the greatest cost of all.
Outsourcing:
Outsourcing your project would relieve you of all the administrative tasks and pay, especially for the amount of work done. Your outgoings may, therefore, be much reduced. There is no need to do exhausting interviews with possible colleagues as the team includes experts with confirmed high competency and are ready to start working with you. The time-to-market is thereby reduced, while the quality of your application stays first-class.
Developers worldwide charge varied hourly fees. For instance, the USA and Australia have the most costly software development companies. Conversely, Baltic software developers charge more reasonably. Therefore, the location of developers and the selected recruiting strategy influence the ultimate expenses of creating a fitness application.
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| Region | iOS & Android Developer Rates |
| North America | $90-$130 |
| Central Europe | $35-$75 |
| Australia | $45-$70 |
| India | $20 |
Tech Stack
The development of a fitness app requires a scalable technical stack. Developers create iOS and Android applications using two separate programming languages, Swift and Kotlin.
The selected tech stack influences the running expenses of a fitness app development. If you choose a seldom utilized product or technology, the absence of such experts on the market causes the developer charges to soar.
Here’s a ballpark tech stack to help you develop a fitness app:
ios
Programming language: Swift
Networking: Alamofire
Android
Programming language: Kotlin
Networking: OkHttp 3
Backend
Programming language: Node.js
Framework: Express 4
Database: MySQL
API: Swagger
Tools
Signup: Amazon SES, Amazon SNS
Payment: Braintree
Push notifications: FCM
Storage: Amazon S3
Cost to Create a Fitness App
Features like quality assurance services, UI/UX design, DevOps tools, and project management are the key factors that influence the cost of creating a fitness app. However, it’s important to note that these costs are not set in stone. Depending on your specific requirements, the cost could range from roughly $ 50,000 to $ 150,000 or more, offering a degree of flexibility in your financial planning.
Launching an MVP version of the fitness app and gathering initial user feedback is a strategic move. This allows you to make informed decisions about further investment in the project. The Minimum Valuable Product, with its simple yet functional features, allows you to gauge consumer demand and progressively enhance the app’s capabilities to attract more users.
MVP is also a positive indicator for investors whose emails are inundated with business founders without anything to offer. Stated otherwise, your chances to acquire assets with an MVP increase.
How should one figure out the expenses for creating a fitness application? The time needed for all the development components—back-end, iOS or Android programming, QA services, UI/UX design, DevOps, and project management—must be included. Next, you have to multiply the time by the team’s hourly rate.
Below are estimated times and costs for creating a simple fitness app. We must know the project requirements to determine reasonable pricing.
| Type for Work | Backend Development | IOS & Android Development |
| Features | 269 | 438 |
| Framework and Libraries Integration | 35 | 36 |
| UI/UX Design | 120 | |
| Quality Assurance | 217 | 343 |
| DevOps | 36 | 62 |
| Project Management | 124 | 218 |
| Total Time | 681 | 1206 |
Therefore, to design a fitness app, you must budget at least $95,000-$130,000 for one platform ( iOS or Android) and $155,000-$200,000 for two platforms (dependent on $50/h cost).
| Platform | Time | Cost |
| Total for one app (iOS or Android) | 1830-1920 hours | $95,000-$130,0 00 |
| Total for two apps (iOS and Android) | 3050-3900 hours | $155,000-$200,000 |
Cost Due to Complexity
| Complexity | Features | Cost |
| Simple | User Login/RegistrationActivity TrackingFitness Routine TrackingUser profilesSocial Sharing | $80,000 |
| Medium | Basic FeaturesPurchases & PaymentWorkout TutorialsOnline VideosWearable DevicesNutrition Tracking | $180,000 |
| Advanced | Basic FeaturesAI AssistantOffline AccessGamificationLive-Video Content | $250,000 |
Real-Life Example: How much does a real Fitness App cost?
- Peloton
The workout app Peloton gives people access to hundreds of programs. Classes are chosen by users depending on the sort of exercise and the teacher. To begin and keep their workout program, users of this Workout app will get useful information, video guidance, and exercise instructions. It covers a wide spectrum of sports, including cross-training, yoga, cycling, and Tabata.
Features:
- Live exercise sessions
- Integration of wearable devices
- Activity Sharing
- Workout programs
Platforms: iOS; Roku TV; Amazon Fire TV.
Estimated Cost: $100,000 and $150,000.
Credit: Peloton/techcrunch
- Strava
Strava is a fitness tool mostly meant for recording and sharing different outdoor sports like swimming, cycling, and running. Professionals in the creation of fitness apps say Strava allows users to track their routines using GPS technology, track performance, and interact with the worldwide fitness community. Strava is accessible to a large audience as it is available on both iOS and Android devices.
Features:
- User Registration
- Activity Tracking
- Social Features
- Wearable Device Integration
- Push Notifications
- In-App Purchases
Platform: Android, iOS
Estimated Cost: $70,000 to $100,000
Credit: Strava
Better Me
Credit: BetterMe Review/USMagazine
Designed for both physical and mental well-being, BetterMe is a suite of holistic wellness applications that allows users to develop customized self-care plans. The application allows users to create objectives, customize a health program, and measure their development over time—just like personal coaches in real life.
Designed to ease the juggling act of modern life, BetterMe provides a convenient solution for managing food, exercise, and mental rest.
Features:
- Wellness tracker
- Exercise schedule
- Mental fitness
- Nutrition Tracking and guidance
- Fasting tools
- Meal Planning
Platform: Android, iOS
Estimated Cost: $100,000 to $150,000 for MVP (depending on the features).
6 Ways to Reduce the Fitness App Development Cost
Minimal Viable Product
Reducing the cost of fitness app development without sacrificing quality calls for wise decisions and strategic planning. Beginning with a minimal viable product (MVP) is one smart strategy.
Start Simple
Starting with simply the key elements allows one to test the market reaction and progressively expand upon the app depending on user comments. This method not only helps to make data-driven changes but also helps to save first expenses.
Appropriate Tech Stack
Another very important consideration is selecting the appropriate technological stack. Choosing cross-platform development technologies such as React Native or Flutter would help to save expenses as they let one codebase be applied on both iOS and Android systems.
Outsourcing Project
This saves time and money and removes the need to create applications for every platform independently. Another reasonable choice is outsourcing to an app development business in an area with reduced development prices. Nations including India, Ukraine, and others have reasonable prices without sacrificing the caliber of the output. To prevent any misconceptions, nevertheless, it’s crucial to guarantee good communication and explicit conditions of the contract.
Good Project Management
Good project management guarantees cost reductions. By means of agile approaches, one may better control the development process, therefore saving time and money spent on every stage. Frequent reviews and iterations help to avoid later on expensive rework.
Scalable Architecture
One such tactic is to give scalable architecture top attention. Creating an app with scalability in mind guarantees that adding extra users or features has no incremental cost. This method not only helps the app to be more flexible for future expansion but also helps to reduce expenses over time.
Start Your Fitness App Development with TopTech
At Top Tech, we provide premium app development tools for creating outstanding fitness applications. Our staff knows the subtleties of fitness app development expenses, guaranteeing our customers get the most value for their money.
We pride ourselves on our transparent pricing and unwavering commitment to guiding our clients through each phase of the development process. Since 2017, We are employing best industry practices and the latest technology to cater to every project.
Our web and mobile apps have undoubtedly changed the business scenario of our clients, maximizing their potential and revenue.
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