A Complete Breakdown of the Cost to Build a Salon App

Are you wondering how much does it cost to create a salon app? Well, that’s a valid question to think about if you are going to make a huge investment.

The salon app development cost can be from $20,000 to $100,000+ based on different factors including timeline, complexity, features & much more.

Whether you are looking to expand your salon or are a new entrepreneur with a fresh idea, you should know what it costs to build a salon app.

The cost of an app developed for a salon largely depends on features, design, and choice of platform used.

However, don't worry because you don't have to spend a lot to get started!

This is a step-by-step guide, and we will take you through all the main influencing factors of the development cost, thus empowering you to make informed decisions.

By the end, you will have a good understanding of what to expect and how to budget for an added-value salon app. Let's dive in!

What is a Salon App?

Wondering about “What is a Salon App?”

A salon app is basically a mobile application meant to support salons to manage all appointments, customer relations, payment, and much more, under one roof.

These applications provide clients with the advantage of booking an appointment or viewing services along with making payments online; it simply makes the entire process seamless.

It has made a difference for salon owners. It streamlines their business, reduces no-shows, and gives them insight into their customers' preferences.

Because the beauty and wellness industry continues to grow, businesses seek to create a salon app.

With the trend shifting towards mobile solutions, this makes it easier for customers to relate to salons and owners to scale their operations nicely.

Average Cost to Build a Salon App

So, how much does it cost to build a salon app? “

The cost of developing a salon app can be anywhere between $20,000 to $100,000+ depending on many factors such as features, design complexity, and the type of platform you choose.

Here's a quick breakdown: 

If you have your eye on developing a salon app, teaming up with the most trusted mobile app development company would provide you with value for money spent and ensure your application will meet business requirements.

The cost to build a salon app depends on several factors. So, start planning ahead!

Cost Breakdown of Salon App Development Cost

When you wonder to yourself, how much does it cost to make a salon app? You will see quickly that many factors can influence the price.

Every choice you make about what features and designs you include can affect the cost to build your app.

Now let's take a closer look at how these features break down your budget.

1. App Features and Functionality

The key factor in determining the price of developing a salon app is the features you have in mind.

If it is just a simple booking app, the cost to make a salon app is going to be on the lower side.

However, if you want to incorporate advanced features such as a payment gateway, loyalty programs, customer reviews, etc., you will be paying more overall.

Consider what's important to your app and how it fits into your business model.

The more functionality you add, the higher the cost to create a salon app.

2.  Design and User Interface of App

While analyzing the cost to build a salon app, one must also include UI/UX design.

A clear and intuitive interface can make quite a difference in the experience of a user.

It will cost more to build a salon app by hiring professional designers to develop an app that is refined, yet easy to use.

This is one place you cannot be tightfisted about because of the adverse impact that bad design could have on user satisfaction and retention.

3. App Platform Choice: iOS Vs. Android

The high cost to develop a salon app is affected greatly depending on whether you are targeting iOS, Android, or both.

Development on both sides costs more and increases the time it takes to make a salon app.

Developing with both platforms means there should be a different code and there should be testing conducted on both ends to reach to be in the store on app store and Play Store which will increase the cost.

However, cross-platform development is cost-effective, but somewhere one has to compromise with quality.

4. Location of App Development Team

One of the less talked about factors in deciding ‘How much does it cost to build a salon app?’

If you hire developers from an Android or iOS app development company based out of the USA or Western Europe, the cost can be significantly higher as compared to working with a team in countries like India or Eastern Europe.

The rates can vary greatly depending on the region, so it is necessary to factor this into your budget when asking “How much does it cost to create a salon app?”

5. Maintenance and Upgrades of Application

After your salon application is developed, the work is not over.

The updates for the bugs, fixing, and new features to ensure seamless functionality must be undertaken from time to time.

There is an ongoing maintenance charge involved in developing a salon application. This can vary about how frequently you may need to update the application.

Remember that an application is just the starting point, and maintaining it is a never-ending investment.

6. Third-Party Integrations

Many salon apps require integrating third-party services such as payment gateways, booking systems, and marketing tools.

Third-party integrations may increase the cost of building a salon app.

The complexity of the integrations determines the increase in the cost to make a salon app.

For instance, if the salon app requires integration with payment systems such as PayPal or Stripe, it would require more setup, testing, and security measures.

7. App Security and Data Protection

If you're creating an app where users are going to add personal information, such as payment details, then securing it is a priority.

This can add additional cost to the development if you want advanced encryption of data, secure data storage, or compliance with data protection laws (such as GDPR).

It'll cost you more to implement now, but it saves you from the potential problems that might come your way in the future.

We believe we are clear about how much does it cost to create a salon app in the first place, now let’s talk about some hidden factors that can affect the overall salon app development cost.

Hidden Factors that Affect the Cost to Build a Salon App

Besides the above-given factors, while developing a salon app, a variety of hidden factors play with your actual cost.

Knowing about these factors might help one to ensure the pricing of your project.

► Complexity of Features

You may ask, how much does it cost to make a salon app?

The price will depend on how complex the features you would like to add are.

If you want to offer features such as personalized recommendations, real-time appointment scheduling, or even AR try-ons for hairstyles, the price will certainly be higher.

In case, you only want basic booking functionality, then you can keep your costs low, but for more advanced features, that is going to cost a pretty penny.

► Server and Hosting Costs

To have a functional salon app, you'll need good hosting and server infrastructure.

Something you may not consider is that the server you use is going to affect performance and security as well as cost.

Cloud services such as AWS or Google Cloud charge according to usage so the cost for these will be dependent upon how many users your application has.

A robust server setup is necessary, though you must factor in the ongoing costs for a smooth experience.

► App Maintenance Frequency

While calculating how much does it cost to create a salon app, maintenance frequency can be easily overlooked.

Once launched, your app will require periodic updates to patch bugs, update security measures, and add new features.

If your app is often updated based on customer feedback or changes in trends in the salon industry, it will increase the total cost in the long run.

► App Store Fees and Distribution

While asking, "How much does it cost to build a salon app?", never forget the App Store fees.

The two players, Apple and Google, charge for distribution on each of their respective platforms. The flat fee or even percentage may depend on what platform they're on.

These distribution fees can increase the cost of establishing a salon application, especially if one targets value-added services or a subscription model.

► App Scalability

As you begin to consider how much does it cost to develop a salon app, you are likely to immediately consider the initial features that should be included.

Scalability is another factor, which is hidden from you and can really play into your budget.

If you want to scale up your application in the future with additional features or increased user traffic, you will need a scalable architecture for the backend.

The process of designing an application with future growth in mind involves more development and infrastructure costs upfront.

As we believed, you are done with “How much does it cost to create a salon app?”. Now, it’s time to know how to reduce the overall cost.

Let’s get to know about it in the next section:

How to Reduce the Cost to Develop a Beauty Salon App?

When you want to cut the cost of developing a salon app, there are many ways you can achieve this without compromising on quality. Here are some tips for more affordable development.

If you want to make it more affordable, here are some practical tips:

♦ Start with Basic Features

Starting with some of the most basic and essential features is one of the finest ways to reduce the salon app development cost.

Consider key functions such as scheduling, booking appointments, and customer profiles.

If you use all the features right off the bat, like in-app payments, loyalty programs, and advanced analytics, costs can go through the roof.

Starting simple can help you manage the overall cost to create a salon though it still gives your customers a good experience.

♦  Use Open-Source Tools

Cut down development costs by using open-source tools and libraries.

These tools and libraries are usually free to use and can save a lot in terms of development costs to build a salon app.

Instead of building everything from scratch, open source allows you to quickly integrate things like payment systems, messaging, or even calendar scheduling.

This will save you time and money while allowing your development team to target custom features that distinguish your salon app without raising the cost to develop a salon app.

♦ Opt for One Platform First

While developing your salon app, it's often tempting to launch it on both iOS and Android. This will, however, make the cost to make a salon app significantly expensive.

You can lower the development time and expenses by choosing only one platform as the first choice. Once it becomes successful on one of the platforms, you may expand it to the other.

This approach phased out reduces the upfront cost of building a salon app, meaning you can concentrate your resources on the most important platform first.

♦ Recruit Developers from Low-Cost Regions

The salon app development cost will differ significantly based on the region where your developers are from.

If you are recruiting a team from expensive regions such as the U.S. or Western Europe, be prepared to pay a premium.

However, by engaging with developers in regions of Eastern Europe or India you will greatly reduce the cost to develop a salon app by still obtaining quality results from these engagements.

These countries provide qualified developers at several percentage points lower, so taking that approach would be reasonable and cost-effective.

♦ Outsource Non-Core Features

To cut on cost, it will be worthwhile outsourcing some non-core aspects of your salon app like designing, marketing integrations, or even testing.

In short, the cost to develop a salon app could just explode trying to handle everything in-house. So why not get specialists who can handle this job for you at a lesser price?

Outsourcing will free up your resources to focus on key functionalities such as booking, which is most impactful for your customers while keeping the overall cost to make a salon app in control.

♦ Do Not Overcomplicate the Design

A perfect design is important for UI/UX, but it does not have to be complicated.

Clean and intuitive design is often enough to engage users, which helps decrease the cost to build a salon app.

Instead of spending money on intricate animations or high-end graphics, look for simplicity and usability.

A simple design will allow users to easily navigate through your application and will also reduce both the cost of developing your application initially and maintaining it in the long run.

Development Process of a Salon App: Cost Breakdown

Creating a salon application is one process that encompasses several broad stages. Therefore, when developing a salon application, most of the tasks fall within these stages as shown.

Each stage cost contributes to the overall expenditure in making a salon application and knowing their respective costs might help a person's budget:

1] Planning & Research (10%)

Before you plan into development, thorough planning and research are the need of the hour.

During this stage, you’ll define your app’s core features, target audience, and goals.

This phase includes discussing app functionality and design with your team or developer.

Well, the cost to build a salon app can be affected and this stage is about 10% of the total budget as it focuses on strategic planning.

2] Design and UI/UX Development (15%)

Now, focus on designing the User Interface (UI) as well as the User Experience (UX) where your app's look and feel is developed.

Clean intuitive design is essential for staying the engagement of users.

The cost to create a salon app affected at this stage is around 10% -15% since professional designers make your app user-friendly and even pleasing to the eye.

3] Backend and Frontend Development (40%)

This is the development stage where most work is done.

Developers will actually create the functionality of the app, coding both frontend and backend, which includes all the servers, databases, etc.

This is one of the most time-consuming and expensive stages, accounting for about 40% of the cost to develop a salon app.

It is here that the main features of the app will be implemented and integrated into the system.

4] Feature Integration (10%)

After the development of your basic app, integrating third-party features such as a third-party payment gateway, scheduling facilities, and marketing capabilities come into play.

Those above integrations make your salon functional.

During this stage, around 10% of total Development cost is incurred as in this process the outside functioning of the services works at its best.

5] Testing and Quality Assurance (15%)

Testing is the most important phase of developing an app.

It is during this phase that your app gets thoroughly tested for bugs, performance, and user experience issues.

This ensures that everything is running smoothly before launching.

The cost to make a salon app also depends on testing and quality assurance. To test quality assurance purposes is approximately 15% to make sure that your app will run perfectly across all types of devices and platforms.

6] Deployment and Launch (5%)

Once the app has passed through all tests and is fit for the user, it means the time for deployment and launching on the app stores.

At this stage, it entails submission to the App Store or Google Play, setup of backend infrastructure, and checking whether everything works as expected.

It is more of final checking and submission and hence costs around 5% for building a salon app to deploy. Make sure to work on some marketing ideas to increase the app downloads.

7] Maintenance and Upgrades (5%)

Maintaining an application after its release is an ongoing process.

This comprises updating features in the app, repairing bugs, and keeping updated with the changes in the operating system.

Maintenance can usually cost around 5% of the initial development cost; however, this may differ depending on how frequently you want to update your salon app.

By breaking the cost to develop a salon app into these steps, you will better be able to understand how each piece of the process contributes to the overall expense and plan ahead for your project.

Now, as we are done with this, we are going to talk about the popular salon clone app development cost.

Popular Salon Apps & Cost to Clone Them

If you are thinking about building a salon app for your business, then cloning one of the popular and successful salon apps is a cost-effective way to get started.

Below are some of the most popular salon apps and the cost to clone them. This will help you make the right decision when starting your salon app development journey.

1. Fresha

Fresha is one of the most popular appointment management, payment, and customer relationship management apps in the beauty and wellness industry.

A clone app of Fresha would be cheaper, between $8,000 and $30,000, in general.

The salon app development cost of Fresha like app depends on factors such as calendar system integration, CRM functionality, and the ability to manage multiple services.

2.   Booksy Clone App

Booksy is another popular app through which one can book beauty and wellness appointments.

If someone is wondering how much will it cost to develop an app like Booksy for salons, then its general cost ranges between $10,000 to $30,000.

The cost to develop a salon app will depend on features such as review systems, appointment scheduling, or user profiles.

3. Vagaro Clone App

Vagaro is one of the popular apps for salon management, salons, spas, and fitness centers.

The cost to develop a salon app similar to Vagaro may lie in the range of $20,000 to $50,000 depending on the feature complexity, such as scheduling appointments, POS systems, and marketing tools.

4. StyleSeat Clone App

StyleSeat is a salon app through which beauty professionals manage their bookings, clients, and payments.

Developing an app like StyleSeat would cost you $15,000 to $30,000.

The cost to make a salon app like StyleSeat depends on integrations you choose, payment gateways, and other marketing tools.

5. DaySmart Salon Software

DaySmart is user-friendly salon scheduling and management software free for salons.

If you want to make a salon app like DaySmart you must be ready to spend money as the cost to develop a salon app like DaySmart can be from $12,000 to $40,000.

Generally, the cost depends upon your goals, such as the desire for multi-location support, a more advanced reporting features among others.

So, we believe we share some top salon booking apps and the cost to clone them. Time to talk about how to make money from your app.

Monetization Strategies to Incorporate in Your Salon App

Monetizing the salon app opens up streams of revenue while enhancing the services you offer.

With an effective strategy, you can ensure your app will stay profitable and sustainable.

Let's get down to some of the best strategies of monetization that make maximum use of your potential by providing value to the customer.

• In-App Booking Fees

Another common way of monetizing a salon app is by collecting a small fee for each booking done via the platform.

This can generate revenue without much hassle while providing convenience to the users in the form of online scheduling.

Be it a flat rate or percentage of the cost of service, this can be one of the ways of getting guaranteed income.

• Subscription Model

Offer premium features, such as personal recommendations or early access to booking, via a subscription-based model.

Customers can pay a monthly or yearly fee to avail themselves of advanced services.

This model also yields recurring revenue and increases loyalty since it provides value-added services to the customers.

• Commission on Product Sales

Add a marketplace in your app from where users can buy their beauty products like skincare, hair care, or salon merchandise.

By charging a commission on every sale, you are generating more revenue while providing the customers with the ease of getting the salon-recommended products.

• Advertising

Allow other businesses that have something to do with beauty and wellness to advertise on your app.

You can monetize it by advertising on the interface of your app with banners or publicity ads in pop-up form. This is a good source of monetization when your app has an adequately sized user base.

• Booking Fee for Service Providers

Charge service providers a small commission or booking fee for each appointment secured through the app, in case your app services many beauty professionals.

This way, it can remain profitable even though you offer free bookings to your users.

• Loyalty Programs

You should give loyalty points to all the bookings made from the app. Users will get the opportunity to redeem it as a discount or free service.

Charge a small fee to the user for access to premium loyalty benefits. Design a tiered loyalty program to get a steady income.

Remember, to get an app in your budget, you will need an expert by your side, that’s what our next section is about:

JPLoft: Your Budget-Friendly Partner for Developing a Salon App

Want to Create a Salon App? Well, let us help!

JPLoft is considered the best salon app development company to design and develop a salon app and maintain it as per your given budget.

Whether you want basic booking functionality or you want all the advanced features, including a payment gateway and customer management, we offer affordable solutions as per your requirements.

Our development process is smooth thanks to our experienced team in creating a user-friendly yet feature-rich app.

Choosing JPLoft makes you not only get a quality app but also a worthy and cost-effective partner that helps scale up your salon business.

Conclusion

A salon app is a good investment for any salon that wants to streamline their work and also enhance the customers' satisfaction.

An appropriate feature, design, and development strategy will help you build an app that comes within your budget yet will provide you with services that the customers would need

Whether you need to create a simple app or a more advanced version, knowing the cost to build an app for a salon will assist you in making the most prudent decisions for your business.

With expert partners such as JPLoft, you can achieve your goals in creating an app without going over budget.

Take your salon business to the next level today!