Want to know the cost of blockchain project development? You’re on the right page. We will share with you the exact factors and resources that affect the cost of building a blockchain Project. Before we get to a number, we must understand the logic behind it.
In translation, we shall first understand what types of blockchain projects can be built. Then we will see which tools & languages are used for developing a blockchain app. We’ll also help you conclude what’s better- hiring freelancers or a development team for your next dApp.
The rise of blockchain hinges on two key trends: wider adoption of cryptocurrencies and a surge of practical applications in finance and retail. Additionally, Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) is poised to fuel market expansion.
By offering pre-built solutions, BaaS empowers small and medium businesses to leverage the power of blockchain and smart contracts without the burden of building their own infrastructure. This simplifies entry and accelerates innovation across industries.
Source: Fortune Business Insights
There are 3 types of projects in a nutshell:
These types of projects are made to increase your target audience and to make sure that your company is keeping at par with the latest technologies.
FOMO literally means Fear Of Missing Out. This acts more like a marketing tactic than an actual project.
FOMO projects should be avoided by companies that are unsure about blockchain technology or are unprepared for it. This might lead to a bad impression on the company, and they might never retry again.
Opportunistic solutions are software/ applications that are custom-built to solve very specific problems that are already known.
Often it has to do with bookkeeping, recordkeeping, or smart contracts. Thus, this might be a lucrative way for the company to get good clients.
However, there is a challenge to opportunistic solutions. The challenge is that firms risk losing control over the data or the contract as they are integrated into the blockchain. Thus, the data will be stored across many different devices.
Decentralized apps or dApps run on a peer-to-peer network of computers and devices instead of a single computer or device. These are outside the purview or control of a single authority.
Apps like Uber, Lyft, and Facebook run on a specific server, giving the parent company complete control over their apps. However, in the case of dApps, it is not running on any particular server, so the organization can’t have absolute control.
Read more: How do you develop a dApp, and which technologies are used for it?
Developing a blockchain app can set you back anywhere from $40,000 to a whopping $300,000 or more. The final price tag depends on various aspects like your app’s niche, user interface design, and even if it involves an initial coin offering (ICO). While complexity is a major cost driver, here’s a breakdown of estimated costs based on different development levels to give you a starting point.
Complexity | Description | Estimated Cost |
---|---|---|
Simple App | Basic functionalities, limited features. Examples: Simple voting system, basic supply chain management. | $40,000 – $60,000 |
Moderately Complex App | More features and functionalities. Examples: Decentralized marketplace, dApp with user authentication. | $100,000 – $200,000 |
Highly Complex App | Highly intricate features, integrations with other systems. Examples: Cryptocurrency exchange, Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform. | $250,000+ |
Factor | Freelancer/hour | Outsourcing/hour |
Turnaround time
Front-End Developers UI Designers Blockchain Developers Tools Hosting Miscellaneous Maintenance Total Cost | 50 hours
$61-$80 $20-$40 $100-$200 $1500/month $100 – $1000 $2000 $3800 – $7000 $16450 – $27500 | 30 hours
$40-$70 $40 $70-$200 $1000 (starting from) $200+ $1500 Variable $3000- $20,000 |
From this table, it is clear that outsourcing is clearly the better choice if you want to build a blockchain project. Although outsourcing might have a larger cost bracket, it takes up way less time. In addition to that, you don’t need to worry about managing hosting solutions, tools, hiring developers, etc.
Outsourcing will allow you to focus more on marketing and how to improve your application overall. In addition to that making, all the freelancers coordinate with each other is very difficult. Outsourcing bypasses that problem.
Idea Usher has an experienced team of expert developers and designers who can help you create beautiful blockchain projects.
Hire ex-FANG developers, with combined 50000+ coding hours experience
Whenever you are building anything, there are costs associated with various factors of the build. There are: materials, tools, labor, etc. Blockchain technology is not an exception to this. These can be hosting solutions, infrastructure services, choice of the P2P network, the native currency, development tools, and programming languages.
Let’s take a look at these in detail:
You will need IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) providers to give you access to the infrastructure that you require.
There are various IaaS providers, such as AWS or IBM Cloud IaaS. These are a few big brands that can help you greatly with your projects. This is especially helpful for startups as they don’t need to invest in an in-house infrastructure build.
The size of the development team is another factor that affects the cost of blockchain app development. A larger team will typically require more resources, which can increase the cost.
Additionally, the location of the development team can also affect the cost. Developers in regions with higher living costs and salaries will typically charge more for their services than those in regions with lower costs of living.
Building a P2P network from scratch can be a difficult task, and you have to get capable networking engineers and cryptography experts on your team.
FYI: network engineers specialize in managing and developing P2P networks, while cryptography experts deal with encrypting and securing your data on the network.
Also, you will need skilled front-end developers to make your projects more appealing to the users. These are the wizards that make your work look better and sharper in every way.
Whichever blockchain network you choose, you have to buy some cryptocurrency native to that particular network. So, if you are working with the Ethereum blockchain, you have to buy ETH or some other cryptocurrency that works on the same chain.
This again will cost you money. As ETH and other cryptocurrencies’ value against USDT keeps fluctuating, it is difficult to predict the exact amount of ETH you are going to require. But, you can check it out on crypto exchanges like Robinhood, Coinbase, etc.
Some of the tools that cost money while making the blockchain projects may also cost money. Let’s look at the various tools used by companies to make blockchain projects:
Investing in a good hardware wallet is also very important as it will help you store the cryptocurrencies you bought offline and some of the data. Hardware wallets go for cheap and can start from as low as $119. Ledger is a company that has many hardware wallets you can choose from according to your requirements. Although not mandatory, it will be a good addition to securing your data/ crypto on the network.
Proper testing and deployment of a blockchain app is crucial to ensure that it works correctly and securely. Testing and deployment require specialized tools and infrastructure, which can add to the overall development cost.
Depending on the industry and jurisdiction, blockchain apps may need to comply with regulatory requirements, such as data privacy laws or financial regulations. Compliance can involve additional development work to ensure that the app meets these requirements, which can add to the overall development cost.
Once the app is deployed, ongoing maintenance and support will be required to ensure that it continues to function correctly and securely. This ongoing work can add to the overall cost of development.
Sure, the complexity of a blockchain application directly impacts its development cost. Here’s a breakdown of this relationship:
Development complexity varies depending on features like multi-currency support, security measures, and integration with other blockchain platforms. Simpler wallets incur lower costs, while feature-rich ones require more development time and expertise, increasing the price.
Exchanges involve complex functionalities like order matching, secure trading systems, and integration with various payment methods. Regulatory compliance also adds to the development workload. Expect significantly higher costs compared to basic wallets due to the intricate functionalities involved.
While the core ICO functionality can be built, additional features like investor portals, KYC/AML verification, and legal documentation significantly impact cost. Consulting fees for legal and financial expertise also factor in.
The cost depends on the level of detail, technical complexity, and the desired level of expertise in the writer. In-depth whitepapers with comprehensive technical explanations require more involvement from experienced blockchain professionals, leading to higher costs.
Striking a balance between functionality and cost is crucial. Focusing on core functionalities in the initial MVP helps manage development expenses. However, including too few features might hinder user adoption.
The complexity of the application’s logic and the chosen blockchain platform significantly affect cost. dApps with intricate functionalities and smart contract interactions require more development resources, pushing the price upwards.
Smart contracts are the backbone of dApps and require careful coding to ensure security and functionality. The level of complexity directly impacts cost. Simpler contracts with well-defined functions are less expensive, while intricate smart contracts involving extensive logic and interactions necessitate more development time and expertise, thereby increasing the cost.
Choosing a fully decentralized approach often requires building custom infrastructure, leading to higher costs. Conversely, partially decentralized solutions can leverage existing blockchain platforms, potentially reducing development expenses.
NFT marketplaces involve functionalities like token minting, auction mechanisms, and user management. The complexity of these features and the level of customization desired directly affect the development cost.
The Ethereum network is the industry standard when it comes to blockchain projects. This is because it has a lot of miners, which makes the system more decentralized and secure. (Miners are computer systems that continuously try to solve the same problem; whichever system does it faster wins. And gets a little bit of ETH as a reward).
In addition to that creating your own P2P network will be much more expensive than just using ETH, which is basically open-source and mostly free. This allows you to spend less time, energy, and money on the P2P aspect of your project.
Other free networks that can be used to create blockchain projects are:
Blockchain developers in the United States will cost you an average of $100 per hour. That too, with costs even going as high as $200 per hour. The cost varies depending on several factors, viz. their experience, the particular project, and the location.
A blockchain developer should be capable of using networks like Ethereum, Polkadot, Cardano, etc. Also, he/she must be familiar with tools like Web3.js, Truffle, Remix, Infura, etc.
In contrast, outsourcing will help you save on expenses here. You can get developers who charge starting $30-$80. Idea Usher already has a team of experienced blockchain developers who can help you facilitate and speed up your blockchain project with a price tag that you will be comfortable with. We also have front-end developers, UI/ UX designers, and all the tools you will require for your project.
To know how much it costs to build blockchain projects, we must look at the fundamental steps involved in the process, and how much each of them is roughly going to cost you.
To give the app a structure and a good user interface, you will need UI designers and front-end developers in your team, which will cost you anywhere between $20-$40 per hour and $61-$80, respectively.
We have already discussed the cost of blockchain developers, which ranges between $30-$200 depending on many factors.
Depending on which P2P network you choose to deploy your project into, the cost might vary. Most networks are open-source, but the native currency is going to account for a part of the capital. Also, the tools you are going to use can cost money, just like Infura.
On average, maintenance costs around 30-35% of the total cost. This includes regular updates and upgrades.
Third-party tools for hosting, notifying, storing, numbering, and collaborating for iOS development also cost a substantial amount of money.
To answer the question “How much does it cost to build blockchain projects?” we must first look at the primary factors that account for the cost.
The infographic given above will give you an understanding of how much it costs to build blockchain projects. Whether you talk about freelancer cost or outsourcing cost, these factors are valid for both.
To market your blockchain project properly, you need to look at some of the SaaS marketing tips such as:
If you follow these basic marketing tips and maintain a vibrant social media presence, you should generate clients faster and more effectively.
Now that you are well aware of how much it will cost to build blockchain projects, you will have to decide on multiple things, such as what kind of app you want to build.
Building blockchain projects is not enough. You also need to market it correctly. Then, you can enjoy a good return on investment that went into development once you acquire a good user base.
A thorough estimation is always required when approaching a project as complex as blockchain. You also need to analyze your direct competitors for the features they have incorporated into their applications and improve upon the same.
This will give you a considerable edge over their products and will add value to your consumer base. When it comes to balancing cost and quality, Idea Usher is the best option for you. You can contact us to get an exact quote on your blockchain solutions.
Hire ex-FANG developers, with combined 50000+ coding hours experience
A. Developing a blockchain can range from $40,000 to millions, depending on factors like complexity, type (public vs private), and developer rates.
A. Blockchain development requires specialized skills and robust infrastructure to ensure security and scalability. This expertise and technical foundation come at a premium.
A. Yes, building a blockchain from scratch requires a deep understanding of cryptography, distributed computing, and consensus mechanisms. You can also enlist the help of a blockchain development company like IdeaUsher.
A. Ethereum blockchain development costs vary based on project complexity but generally fall between $40,000 and $300,000+ due to factors like smart contract development and gas fees.
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Ronit Banerjee is a finance and tech Geek, who is an investor himself and remains closely in touch with the economic and financial news. He has also worked on web and app development projects and writes about them with great enthusiasm.
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Idea Usher is a pioneering IT company with a definite set of services and solutions. We aim at providing impeccable services to our clients and establishing a reliable relationship.
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