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How Much Does App Development Cost to Build an App Like Amazon?

  • Writer: Vaibhav Karanwal
    Vaibhav Karanwal
  • 6 days ago
  • 4 min read

Updated: 22 hours ago


How Much Does App Development Cost to Build an App Like Amazon?

Amazon is a big project; if you want to bring an app like Amazon, it is a little tough. Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce companies all over the world. It has many advanced features. So, if you are working at app development, you have to know about the complete breakdown of the cost. 


Breakdown of the Cost for Building an App 

In the blog, we discuss the app development cost in India. We will know about the features, factors, duration, and the team that needs to be hired. Before talking about the cost, let's talk about what the Amazon app is and what its features are. So, Amazon is an e-commerce app that allows 


  • People for searching

  • Product details and images

  • Read reviews 

  • Creating a wishlist and a cart 

  • Secure payments

  • Tracking 

  • Customer support 

  • Personalized recommendation


The Amazon app provides different features to different people as sellers, delivery partners, and admins.


Key Features that You Need

If you want to build an app like Amazon, you have to work on many features of app development. It has different versions for sellers, delivery partners, and admins. This makes it a very complex app. 


1. User Registration & Login

 In the app, you have to need Email, phone, or social media login options.


2. Product Search and Filters

In the app, a smart search bar is a must, and filters for using price, brand, ratings, etc.


3. Product Pages

 In the app, Images, descriptions, specs, prices, reviews, and ratings are given in the product pages.


4. Shopping Cart

The shopping cart is for adding, removing, or saving items according to the user's wishlist.


5. Secure Checkout and Payments

As such, Amazon has payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, and credit/debit cards; you also have to work on it.


6. Order Tracking

Order tracking is used to see order history and delivery updates.


7. Push Notifications

Push notification is used for updates about orders, offers, and promotions.


8. Admin Panel

The admin panel is used to manage products, users, payments, and reports.


9. Seller Dashboard

The seller dashboard is used for vendors to add and manage their products.


10. Customer Support

Customer support is help for chat- or email-based help.


Who Do You Need to Hire?

If you want to create apps like Amazon, you have to need a team that helps you to create the app. You have many options, such as hiring the team or freelancers.


  • The Project Manager coordinates the team and manages the timeline

  • UI/UX Designer designs how the app looks and feels

  • A Front-End Developer builds the parts users see

  • A back-end developer works on the server, database, and APIs

  • Mobile Developers build the app for iOS and Android

  • A QA tester finds and fixes bugs

  • A DevOps engineer helps with deployment and server management


If you want to hire a team, the agency provides you with a team, but they cost more. Hiring freelancers might be cheaper, but it is complicated to work with them.



Factors that Affect App Development Cost

The app development cost in India depends on several things, such as design features, platforms, and many other factors. Here is a brief study of these factors.


Features and complexity

If you want in your app, more features. Then, your app has more work that costs more. A simple shopping app is less costly than our Amazon e-commerce app.


Designs 

Your app is a layout cost, but custom designs and animations cost more.


Platform 

Your cost depends on your platform, also. If you want to work on app development for Android or iOS, it costs less, but if you build for both Android and iOS, it takes more time and money.


Location of developers

The cost is very dependent on the developers' location. The developer is in the US, and the UK charges high, but in some other countries, such as an app development company in India, costs are less.


Region

Hourly Rate (USD)

India

$20–$40

Eastern Europe

$40–$70

Western Europe

$70–$100

USA/Canada

$100–$150+

Time to Market

If you need the app quickly, the developer takes on more cost and does overtime.


Estimated Cost to Build an App Like Amazon


App Version

Estimated Cost (USD)

Development Time

Basic MVP (Core eCommerce)

Basic MVP (Core eCommerce)

$25,000–$40,000

3–5 months

Mid-Level App (More Features)

$50,000–$80,000

6–9 months

Full Amazon-like App

$100,000–$250,000+

9–14 months

This estimation cost includes UI and UX designs, front-end and back-end development, testing and integration, etc.


How much does an e-commerce app cost?

These depend on features, complexity, and many other aspects. A basic e-commerce area has a product listing card, a payment gateway, and tracking costs. $10,000-$25,000; a mid-level app with better UI and UX costs $30,000-$80,000, and an e-commerce app such as Amazon costs $100,000 to $250,000 and more. After that, some additional costs also include hosting, maintenance, updates, and marketing. It depends on the developers' location; for example, Indian developers charge $20-$40 per hour. While a team from the US and Europe may charge hundreds of dollars per hour.


Feature Set

Basic App

Advanced App (like Amazon)

Development Time

1–3 months

9–14 months

Estimated Cost

$10,000–$25,000

$100,000–$250,000+

Platform

Android or iOS

Android + iOS + Web

Design

Basic UI/UX

Custom UI/UX with animations

Core Features

Product catalog, cart, payment, orders

All basic features + reviews, chat, multi-vendor, real-time tracking

Admin Panel

Basic control panel

Full dashboard with analytics & control

Security

Basic SSL encryption

Advanced security + 2FA + fraud detection

Maintenance Cost (Yearly)

$2,000–$5,000

$10,000–$30,000+


What is the difference between a Mobile App and a Web App?

Mobile applications are software applications. Mobile applications can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store based on iOS and Android. It is easy to use. It offers fast performance, access, and other features like a camera, GPS, etc. Mobile apps provide better user experiences and speed. The application runs with no need for a solution. It is accessible via a web application and depends on connectivity and limited access. 


Conclusion

Amazon is a big project. The creation of an e-commerce app is not easy. If you want to work on app development like Amazon, the cost depends on many aspects of creating an e-commerce site and ranges from $40,000 to $200,000 and more. If you want an e-commerce platform like Amazon, work on core features, and the result will be growth. The app needs time, money, and planning that be the full app. App agencies invest between $80,000 and $200,000. If the investment takes on higher costs, the revenue generated is huge. 


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