How much should I charge?

Just to clarify is this you developing an app for someone else to market or are you going to release it on the play store yourself?

 

I am not a developer but surely people wouldn't spend more for an app because of the developer's qualifications.

When I buy an app all "I" care about is how well the app is made, how buggy it is and whether it does what it says on the tin.

I don't think many people will research the developer at all.

Above applies of course by you developing the app and releasing it yourself on the play store.

If however you develop an app for someone else - then yes, credentials matter a lot more but unfortuantely so does the price.

You can be Andy Rubin himself but if the app is just horrible / unuseable then you won't get a single dime for it.

 

This is not a definitive answer but just a few points to consider. By no means am I a techie or had experience in this area, just thought i'd share some views.

You could simply decide by doing a simple Cost vs Benefit, profit / loss or break even.

Things to consider when deciding how much to charge

- How much will it cost you to make the app?
This includes any software that you have to buy, any materials, etc
Obviously, this depends. If the software was worth like $10,000 then that's unrealistic to charge one client for that.

- How much time will it take to make the app?
How much do you feel you need to charge per hour?

 

Your time is worth money. Period. You don

 

Think about it from the consumer's perspective. How much is the app worth to them? This is extremely important. Eventually your app is going to be pirated. There for, if the app isn't worth 5 dollars to the consumer and that's how much you are charging they will just pirate it. If the app isn't worth anything to the consumer then they will also pirate it. I'd suggest pricing it as low as you can get away with.

 

On the contrary, if users pirate it mean your apps do SERVE some needs that they want isn't it? It is just that you do not get compensated monetary gains for your effort but maybe on a more higher level of "emotional satisfaction" you make their daily lives better. It has been a long time since we reflect on satisfaction that goes beyond monies *sigh* but then of cuz we need to put bread on the table so I would say we can only hope the conscience of those users who pirate our apps to come back and pay for it.

 

Also consider whose going to buy your app. What Target Market. What are they spending now? How much is my competition charging? What does your app really do?

 

OP, if you already have an idea how long it will take you, why not figure out what people in the job you're wanting to work in would make doing work for that length of time? Shave a little bit off since you're still in school (%15 strikes me as a round number to shave off, but I'm picking it arbitrarily), and go from there.

 

$42

 

If I read your post correctly, it sounds like someone is going to hire you to write app for them, right?

In this case, charge them a freelance rate. I would say about $20/hr given you do not have real-word experience to show for. Remember that any college student can make about $9/hr working in-campus mobbing floor, $20 is reasonable for first programming job.

Again, don't let them know about odesk, where they can hire experienced programmers oversea for about $15/hr.

 

The way I read it, you are building an app for an entity and that app will be used by that entity. As was stated earlier, a contract is very important, but just as important is a scope of work. Lay out all the deliverables and document them in the scope of work. Make sure your contract states that you will deliver the components listed in the deliverables section of the scope of work. What happens very often is that someone, like yourself, enters into a contract with an "idea" of what the client wants. Then the client (or yourself) have a brilliant idea and suddenly they are expecting you to deliver that brilliant idea also. This is known as Scope Creep and can mean the difference in making a profit and losing money on a project. If the client wants something beyond the scope of work, you and they agree to an added cost for the change and that is tacked onto what your original price was.

Good Luck,
BigRedGonzo