The Ultimate Guide to Calculating Hosting Expenses for Your Mobile App - (2024)

Are you planning to develop a mobile app? One of the crucial aspects that you need to consider is the hosting expense. In simple words, hosting expense refers to the cost of storing and serving the app’s data and content on a server. It’s essential to calculate the hosting expense accurately to ensure that your app runs smoothly without any technical glitches.

In this post, we’ll explore how to calculate the hosting expense for a mobile app and provide some real-time use case examples. Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Estimate Data Storage

The first step in calculating the hosting expense for a mobile app is to estimate the amount of data that needs to be stored. This includes both static and dynamic content. The amount of data storage required can vary depending on the app’s functionality and features.

For example, if you’re developing a classified app that allows users to upload images and videos, the data storage requirement will be higher than a news app that only displays text content. Similarly, if you’re developing an app like Airbnb that allows users to book accommodations and experiences, the data storage requirement will depend on the number of listings and their multimedia content.

Step 2: Estimate Traffic Volume

The second step in calculating the hosting expense for a mobile app is to estimate the traffic volume. It’s essential to consider the number of users and the amount of data that each user accesses. The traffic volume can be estimated based on the app’s expected usage patterns and the number of downloads.

For example, if you’re developing a taxi booking app, you need to consider the number of rides and the amount of data that each ride generates. If your app handles a 1000km ride per day, with each ride covering 10km, you’ll have 100 rides per day. The traffic volume will depend on the number of users and the amount of data that each user generates.

Step 3: Choose a Hosting Provider

The third step in calculating the hosting expense for a mobile app is to choose a hosting provider. There are several hosting providers available, each with their own pricing model and features. It’s essential to choose a hosting provider that meets your app’s requirements and provides good value for money.

For example, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a popular hosting provider for mobile apps. AWS provides a range of hosting options, including virtual private servers, dedicated servers, and cloud hosting. Similarly, DigitalOcean is an affordable hosting provider that provides virtual private servers with flexible pricing.

Step 4: Calculate the Hosting Expense

Once you have estimated the data storage and traffic volume and chosen a hosting provider, it’s time to calculate the hosting expense. You can do this by multiplying the estimated data storage and traffic volume by the hosting provider’s pricing model.

For example, if you estimate that your classified app requires 50 GB of data storage and expects 100,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 5 MB of data per day, and the hosting provider charges $0.05 per GB of data storage per month and $0.0005 per MB of data transfer, the monthly hosting expense would be:

Data storage: 50 GB x $0.05/GB = $2.50/month Traffic volume: 100,000 users x 5 MB/user x $0.0005/MB = $25.00/month Total hosting expense: $2.50 + $25.00 = $27.50/month

The hosting expense for a mobile app can vary based on the app’s functionality, features, and the number of daily active users. Proper estimation of data storage and traffic volume is necessary to select a suitable hosting provider that provides good value for money.

Let’s take a look at some real-time use cases to understand how app development and hosting costs can vary based on the app’s functionality and features:

1. Classified App: A classified app that allows users to post advertisem*nts for buying and selling various products. Estimated development cost: $30,000. Estimated data storage: 5 GB. Estimated traffic volume: 20,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 5 MB of data per day. Hosting provider: Amazon Web Services. Estimated monthly hosting expense: $500.
2. Accommodation Booking App: An app that allows users to find and book accommodations. Estimated development cost: $150,000. Estimated data storage: 100 GB. Estimated traffic volume: 50,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 10 MB of data per day. Hosting provider: Microsoft Azure. Estimated monthly hosting expense: $2,000.
3. Taxi Booking App: A taxi booking app that allows users to book a cab and track the ride. Estimated development cost: $100,000. Estimated data storage: 20 GB. Estimated traffic volume: 100,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 10 MB of data per day. Hosting provider: Google Cloud Platform. Estimated monthly hosting expense: $1,500.
4. Rental Property App: An app that allows users to find and rent properties. Estimated development cost: $200,000. Estimated data storage: 150 GB. Estimated traffic volume: 70,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 15 MB of data per day. Hosting provider: Amazon Web Services. Estimated monthly hosting expense: $3,000.
5. Social Networking App: A social networking app that allows users to create profiles, share posts and interact with other users. Estimated development cost: $50,000. Estimated data storage: 10 GB. Estimated traffic volume: 100,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 10 MB of data per day. Hosting provider: Amazon Web Services. Estimated monthly hosting expense: $1,000.
6. E-commerce App: An e-commerce app that allows users to browse and purchase products. Estimated development cost: $100,000. Estimated data storage: 50 GB. Estimated traffic volume: 50,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 5 MB of data per day. Hosting provider: Microsoft Azure. Estimated monthly hosting expense: $1,050.
7. Gaming App: A gaming app that is expected to have a high number of daily active users. Estimated development cost: $250,000. Estimated data storage: 20 GB. Estimated traffic volume: 500,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 100 MB of data per day. Hosting provider: Google Cloud Platform. Estimated monthly hosting expense: $5,100.
8. News App: A news app that displays text and images. Estimated development cost: $20,000. Estimated data storage: 5 GB. Estimated traffic volume: 10,000 daily active users, each accessing an average of 2 MB of data per day. Hosting provider: DigitalOcean. Estimated monthly hosting expense: $50

As we can see, the app development and hosting costs can vary significantly depending on the app’s functionality and features. Proper estimation of data storage and traffic volume requirements and choosing a suitable hosting provider is necessary to ensure that the app is hosted reliably and cost-effectively.