How Much Does Video Conferencing App Development Cost?

The result of unprecedented demand for video conferencing app development has led to an event where the top ranking apps in Play Store and App Store are Skype, Zoom, Google Classroom, Google Hangouts, Telegram, Whatsapp, and other virtual meeting and virtual conferencing apps.

As per Statista’s report, Video Conferencing apps have exhibited market penetration of about 65% in 2022 where Zoom is the leading video conferencing software with a market share of about 55% along with 36.5 million global downloads. These growing entries of video conferencing app development raises questions around quotes on video conferencing app development cost.

Well, If you are here to find an answer to “how much does it cost to develop a video conferencing app”, here’s an article that covers every aspect of video conferencing app cost, factors associated with the development cost, video conferencing app monetization strategies etc.

[You might also want to read, video streaming app development cost and features]

Overview of Video Conferencing App Development Cost

Practically, the cost to develop a video conferencing app like zoom varies from $30,000 to $200,000 and above based on numerous criterias. Factors such as development platform, technology stack, app features, app design and planning, video conferencing app development team size, etc, contribute directly to your video conferencing app cost.

Now, let’s begin with understanding the various video conferencing app features and how they impact your overall budget.

Basic and Advanced Video Conferencing App Features That Affect The Development Cost

Even though the premise of a mobile video conference app lies in basic texts and calls, there are a number of features you can experiment with to make an app that stands apart from the crowd. Let’s check out the top video conferencing app features required to build a video conferencing app.

Messaging (personal and group)

The primary feature of an online virtual meeting app is text messaging or chats. Irrespective of which application you pick, you will find the option laying the premise of the category. Under the text messaging feature, you can add words, emoticons, gifs, etc.

You can also think of adding and taking benefits of the localization feature by giving users the feasibility to change their preferred language.

[Explore, How to mobile app conversion through localization]

Generally, in conference and meeting apps, you get the option to either do one-to-one messaging or group text.

Calls (personal and group)

The second must-have feature of an online virtual meeting app is the call functionality: voice and video where you can offer both one-to-one calls or a group call.

Although if you are starting with an MVP version of your video conference app, you can just add a direct call feature without any complex integration. Else, with a full fledged video conference app, you may take it up a notch by adding virtual backgrounds, voice change, AI-based face stickers, etc.

 Add contacts

The next MVP feature that is present in every video conferencing app is the ability to add contacts. For the ease of the users, it is suggested for businesses to add contacts by username, email id, and phone number.

Create groups

The option to create a group is also of prominence in the enterprise and casual business setup. Users now tend to have conversations with multiple people at the same time. This, in turn, leads to the need of having an application that would let them add multiple people in the conversation without any lags.

Search filter

For a majority of users, conference and meeting apps have become the only mode of communication. This has led to a reason to reconnect with people and even the inbox getting bombarded with new groups and connections.

The solution to this organizational problem lies in giving users a search functionality to find their contacts or look for groups and even messages.

Screen sharing

Screen sharing has today become one of the most prominent features while developing a video conferencing app. In a business setup, when users have to collaborate with multiple people on a single project, the functionality helps in keeping everyone on the same page by making discussions fruitful.

Media sharing

If you are looking to create an engaging video conference app, make sure you give your users the option to upload media, of multiple formats, and download them (in different sizes). It is also essential to ensure that the media transmission is end-to-end protected.

You can even add high-level encryption methods in the app, however, that will directly increase your video streaming and conferencing mobile app development cost.

With these common features listed, let’s now check out the advanced feature set required to develop a video conference app.

Virtual hand raising

Unmuting and speaking out views on a specific topic is also quite troublesome. Therefore, virtual hand raising is an advanced feature that allows participants to express their views or feedback just by tapping on a virtual hand emoji.

Auto recording

To create a video conferencing app like Zoom, implementing an auto record feature is essential. This advanced feature helps speakers to record HD quality video that offers crystal clear audio and video that can be shared with the people who missed the meeting. Other than that, the participants can also see the recordings later in an offline mode.

Mute and unmute

In a large enterprise setup, the feature of muting and unmuting selected participants or people allows the meeting organizers to unmute or mute a few selected participants.

In-app chat

In-app chat feature allows all the participants to drop a message or instant text within an ongoing call. The instant chat facility allows the participants to drop important information or instruction without having to unmute themselves. This is yet another decisive factor when it comes to knowing the cost to develop a video conferencing app like Zoom. Read this blog to learn about the cost of building an AI generator like Synthesia.

Host tracking

While in a physical meeting, the focus always remains on the speaker, host, or lecturer. You can notice his or her emotions or body language and can be in sync with the speaker. In the same way, you can add this human touch experience in your video conferencing app with a feature known as speaker tracking.

The video conference system can actively track the body movements of the speaker by zooming in and ensuring that the focus always remains on the speaker, thus keeping the participants engaged.

Noise block

Meetings through video conferencing apps require utmost attention. Noise from the background, keyboard typing sound, regular traffic, or any other kind of disturbance can be extremely disturbing to your users.

By implementing a noise reduction feature, you can help your users keep all distracting noises at bay and continue meeting underway.

You can also leverage acoustic block technology to avoid unwanted noise. This kind of technology will complete a virtual boundary around the meeting area, ensuring that sounds beyond the fence or the border are blocked.

Virtual background images

To create a video conferencing app like Zoom, you can add an advanced feature of virtual background that allows the participants to display an image or a single-colored screen in the background. This kind of background image setup makes the calls more interesting and keeps the participants engaged.

While we have covered all the basic and advanced features required to build an intuitive video conferencing app, we are yet to discover the cost factor.

Here’s an estimated time and cost breakdown of video conferencing app development based on the above mentioned features.

Although features play a primary role in estimating the cost to develop a video conferencing app, the choice of technology stack also plays a considerable role. Let’s throw a quick glance at the required technology stack to create a video conferencing app.

[you might also want to read, how to choose the right technology stack for mobile apps]

Commonly Used Technology Stack for Video Conferencing Applications

For iOS or Android video conference app development, you will require the following set of technology stacks to ensure a rich and intuitive user experience. Here’s a set of commonly used technology stack required to build a video conferencing application. Please note that the set may vary based on your project requirements.

• Coding: Kotlin, Java, Objective C, and Swift are some of the programming languages that you can utilize for coding a native app. You can also choose React Native or Flutter for building a cross platform video conference app.
• UI and UX: Utilize tools like Photoshop and Google Sketch to build a perfect UI and UX for your meeting app like Zoom.
• Push Notification: Integrate the feature of push notification into your video conferencing app by utilizing services like Firebase, Apple Push Notifications, and Twillo.
• Data Analytics: Use the top data analytics solutions from Google, Amazon, and Microsoft to gain actionable insights from your customer’s data.

[Check out, the ultimate guide to Data Science and Analytics for businesses to gain more insights]

• WebRTC: Utilize third parties APIs like RTCDatachannel, RTCPeer connection, and Mediastream for facilitating real-time communication on the web and mobile devices.
• Frameworks: Leverage the best frameworks like Symphony, Laravel, Laminas, and Angular.
• For application and data: we rely on ClearDB, we use Confluence as a business tool, RequireJS for DevOps, and ClickTale, App Annie for utilities.

With this, we have seen the two most prominent cost-impacting features of video conferencing app development. A few significant factors also contribute to your app development budget.

Other Factors Impacting Video Conferencing App Development Cost

To get detailed insights on other cost associating factors, don’t miss out reading, mobile app development cost in 2023. Now, let’s glance through the other important factors that affect the cost of building your video conferencing app:

Video conferencing app development team size

Your outsourced development team size will also affect the cost of building the video conference application. You need to outsource a strong team of project managers, web video app developers, qualitative analysts, UI/UX designers, and testers.

Video conferencing app development team location

The cost to hire the video app development services entirely depends upon the location of your outsourced company. Here’s an overview of various hourly app development rates based on specific regions.

Video app development platform

The video app development platforms also define the overall application budget. The Android operating platform system costs more with its device compatibility than the iOS platform. You can also choose between native or cross platforms.

[For detailed insights, check Android vs iOS: which platform to choose for mobile app development]

Video conference app design

Minimal video app design with all exclusive necessary features will definitely cost more than simple inclusive app designs.  The elements like cloning, background filters, whiteboard, admin controls on attendees, call recordings will eventually increase the cost of development. Therefore,  have a clear idea about the application design.

While the above discussed factors might have given you a cost overview, make sure to get in touch with a skilled on-demand app development company to discuss your app requirements, the preferred technology integration and  how serious you are in terms of security, etc., to get an accurate quote on your video conferencing app cost.

[If you are also interested in video streaming or OTT apps, you might want to explore the comprehensive guide to OTT platform development.]

Now, once you are done with the features and technology stack, there’s a chance you might want to discover ways to earn money through your video conferencing app.

Video Conference App Monetization Models

The end goal for any business app owner is to earn money on the back of the efforts that they put into the development of their dream application. To that extent, let us look into some of the ways businesses can earn money from their application.

There are multiple options for a video conferencing application to make money:

Introduce a premium plan

In a video conferencing app, the option to add subscriptions only works on an enterprise level. So until you have businesses as your target group, it would be a good option to work around a Pro plan.

This can work on multiple levels – you can ask users to pay if they want to add more than 50-100 people, offer them a suite of background options, or fix a time bridge on the call – meaning, ask users to pay when the set time limit crosses.

In-app advertisement

While a reliable video conferencing app development company may strictly advise not to use in-app video advertising in conferencing applications, you can make use of the white spaces for showing image-based advertisements.

The above mentioned practices are primary modes of making money through a video conferencing app, however, You may also check top mobile app monetization strategies for detailed insights.

Video conferencing is here to stay since the streaming market is very lucrative, and that is why businesses struggle with cut throat competition.

Video conferencing app development requires skillful integration of APIs and rigorous testing so that it can run flawlessly on all devices, be it mobile or web. This is probably why you need a technical partner to back you up in your journey.

How Can Appinventiv Help You With Video Conferencing App Development?

Appinventiv is popular for its top notch on-demand app development services for creating corporate video conferencing apps, excelling in the development and integration of features that converts an ordinary app into a top-ranked app on the stores.

The expert team at Appinventiv can help you to level up your professional and personal business app requirements with social media integration, in-app payment integration, instant alerts, Geo-location and data analytics. So don’t wait any further,  Contact our video conferencing app development expert  and get started with a top ranking app.

FAQs on Video Conferencing App Development

Q. How much does it cost to develop a video conferencing app?

A. A. If you are planning to develop an app like Zoom, then you can expect the expense or budget to be around $30,000 to $200,000 and above based on the above mentioned parameters. You must also know that the charges for cross-platform app development differ from native apps. Therefore, consult a reliable on-demand app development company to get a precise cost breakdown estimate.

Q. How much does it cost to create an app like Zoom?

A. The cost to develop a video conferencing app depends on the main factors like features, the complexity of the app, design, and the hourly rate of the development team.

Overall, it is not possible to determine the exact cost to make an app like Zoom. The estimation can only be done considering the app’s complexity level, functional requirements and the time taken to build it. On average, the video conferencing app development cost can somewhere fall around $50,000 to $150,000.

Q. How much time does it take to make an app like Zoom?

A. To make a video conferencing app, you must also know how long it takes to create a  mobile app. Building one would require a substantial amount of time, rock-solid market study, persistence, and complete smart planning.

The development process involves a lot of integrations in designing, creating a beta version, testing, and overall creating a robust video conferencing app.

Q. What is the team structure required for building a video chat app?

A. In order to build a video conferencing app like Zoom, there needs to be a lot of effort and strategies. However, the video conferencing app development company should include a team of experienced in-house professionals who have experience in working with similar kinds of apps. The team would include:

• Project Manager
• Back-end Developers
• Android video conferencing app / iOS App Developers
• UI/UX Designers
• Q&A Specialists

Q. How do businesses benefit from developing business video conferencing apps?

A. Here are some of the business benefits of video conferencing app development:

• Great interaction and communication: Video call meetings boost transparency in communication with next-level interaction and a superior level of engagement of all participants enabling a high-quality face-to-face conversation.
• Newer opportunities: A video chat application opens new doors for incoming revenue.
• Quality support: Video conferencing apps like Zoom helps customer support teams or marketing executives to get connected with the customers and keep them engaged. Video-based communication helps improve brand credibility and service quality.

Q. How to make a meeting app like Zoom?

A. The development process of video conferencing apps like Zoom includes these below-mentioned steps:

• Prototyping the app idea
• UI/UX design
• Backend development
• Integrate third-party APIs
• Develop beta version
• Testing and final launch

However, consult an experienced on-demand app development team for detailed insights on this.

THE AUTHOR

Dileep Gupta

DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER