How Long Does It Take to Develop An App?

By Grit Daily Staff Grit Daily Staff has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team
Published on March 27, 2023

From a few weeks to around two years, here are seven answers to the question, “Can you share your story and time frame for when you developed an app?”

  • Made an MVP in a Matter of Weeks
  • Used the .NET App Framework in 4 Months
  • Development Can Take Seven Months
  • The App is Never Finished
  • From User Journey to Coding, Around Half a Year
  • Built MVP in Four Weeks and a Complex Product in Six Months
  • Took Under 2 Years

Made An MVP In a Matter of Weeks

As an app developer, I’ve found that the time to develop an app can vary depending on the complexity of the project. Some apps can be built in just a few weeks, while others can take several months or even years to complete.

For example, we recently developed an AI tool that allows entrepreneurs to create better pitches for investors. While the beta version of the app was ready within a month, we know that the process of training the AI and improving the quality of feedback will be an ongoing effort that could take months or even years.

Additionally, we know that there will always be room for improvement and refinement as we continue to gather feedback from users and iterate on the app’s features.

Luciano Colos, Founder and CEO, PitchGrade

Used the .NET App Framework In 4 Months

Yes, I developed an app in my college days. It took four months to complete it. Today, people can develop the same app in a week. I used the .NET Framework and C# programming language to build an app. But I must say, one of my friends and my professor helped with it.

I first researched the best idea for app development and analyzed the demand of people. I came across the idea “Online court.” The country I belong to has many court cases pending, so I thought of developing an app that could help advocates, judges, victims, and even the accused track the dates.

Judges and advocates could update the app with the next hearing date and other important dates. They had a dashboard on the app to manage their cases. I followed the below steps for app development.

  1. Downloaded Visual Studio for Windows
  2. Created a new project
  3. Configured my new project
  4. Chose Android and app
  5. Selected C# for coding

Yogesh Kumar, Digital Marketing Manager, Technource

Development Can Take Seven Months

Developing an app can be a complex process that requires careful planning, design, and development. The time it takes can vary depending on the complexity of the project and the resources available.

At Ein-des-ein, we have extensive experience in developing apps for various industries and have seen projects take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to complete. One particular project that stands out is when we were tasked with developing a custom AI-based app in the healthcare industry. The client had very specific requirements, including AI photo analysis, real-time data tracking, and integration with third-party APIs.

Our team worked tirelessly to ensure that all features were implemented correctly while maintaining high levels of quality throughout the development process. The project took around seven months to complete from start to finish. During this time, our team worked closely with the client, providing regular updates and conducting testing at every stage of development.

Michael Chepurnyak, CEO and Founder, Ein-Des-Ein

The App Is Never Finished

At Codific, we have developed many apps, both our own, such as Attendance Radar and for other organizations, large and small.

In our experience, the app is never finished. This has two reasons. As users start using the app, you receive feedback from them; there will be design changes and features that are requested. The product roadmap will change. But even if there are no new features to be developed, we still have to regularly update the app for security updates and compatibility updates with changing environments, especially if the app has a lot of integrations with other apps and systems.

So, how long before you have an MVP (minimal viable product)? Well, as short as possible. Instead of building all features and hoping the users will like them, launch them with the core features and iterate based on the feedback from users. We usually have the first version out in a week or so, and the final version…well, the final version doesn’t exist!

Dag Flachet, Co-Founder and Professor, Codific

From User Journey to Coding, Around Half a Year

It took me about six months to develop the app. I started out by creating a basic flowchart that mapped out the user journey. I then researched and developed the user interface and designed the user experience.

After that was done, I moved on to the coding phase, which took the longest time. I wrote the code for each feature, tested it extensively, and eventually released the app to the public. It was a challenging but rewarding experience, and I’m proud of the result.

Michael Chen, Growth Director, Notta

Built MVP In Four Weeks and a Complex Product In Six Months

As a serial entrepreneur, I’ve built several digital products. One time, I was working on an MVP of a recruitment app. We built it in just four weeks with the help of one designer, two developers, and a project manager.

At a different time, I worked on software for an interactive event kiosk, which was much more complex. It took us about six months to release it to the public, and we had three to four developers, a designer, and a project manager on our team. In my experience, the time it takes to develop an app varies based on its complexity, team size, and technology.

Leszek Knoll, CEO, Brainhub

Took Under Two Years

We started developing our platform after struggling for years with one-size-fits-all inventory management systems online. As store owners ourselves, we quickly realized that each business needs a personalized approach to inventory management.

So we set out in 2020 to trial our platform with a group of beta testers. We worked with these Amazon sellers for 1.5 years, using their feedback to refine our algorithms and improve the analytics capabilities of our fully customizable software-as-a-service.

By 2021, we were launching a tool that had helped 7- to 8-figure e-commerce sellers excel in their sales through effective inventory management and coaching.

Chelsea Cohen, Co-Founder, SoStocked

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