People are becoming more fitness conscious than ever. Everyone wants to stay fit and look great, so blogs, apps, and videos related to health and lifestyle are becoming more popular these days. They either spend most of their time at the gym or work out at home using fitness apps.
According to Statista, by the end of 2022, it is estimated that 86.3 million people will use health or fitness apps in the U.S. alone.
With mobile usage skyrocketing, the numbers and use of fitness and health apps like workouts, activity trackers, heartbeat trackers, etc., are also inclining and the ongoing COVID-19 is fueling this increasing rate. Not only apps but the trends of fitness wearables have also increased tremendously.
And if you are a business owner having a business related to fitness and health and planning to develop a fitness app, then it is never late to start. Now is the right to get started. So, in this article, you will get answers to “Why develop a fitness app?, How much does it cost to build a fitness app?, What features to consider?” and so on.
Why develop a fitness app?
As stated earlier, the usage of fitness apps is increasing more than ever. When the Covid pandemic hit hard, people became more health-conscious, so they started their own workout routines using fitness apps to boost their immunity power. They have now realized the importance of regular exercise. And this boomed the fitness and health industry. So, more and more apps emerged in the market.
The other reasons for developing a fitness app are:
- More convenient for people since they don’t have to commute to a fitness center or a gym.
- Cost-effective since people can now easily workout using fitness and health apps.
- People can embed a workout routine into their daily lives easily.
Plus, here are some statistics that show why you need a fitness app.
- In 2020, the fitness app’s revenue increased by 84%, more than ever.
- Since 2020, the users of fitness are skyrocketing (boost by 45%)
- In 2020, the market size is valued at 4.4 billion and it is estimated to increase by 21.6% annually from 2021 to 2028.
These are the reasons for the usage of fitness and health apps escalating.
Types of fitness apps
There are different types of fitness apps. So, what you need depends on you and your requirements.
Before starting the development process, figure out your target audience and select a type based on it. You don’t want to bet on something your users won’t use.
So, let’s start with the list of types of fitness apps to help you make the best decision.
Activity trackers
These types of fitness apps track your heart rate, the calories you consume, the distance you walked and run, and so on.
Example: Fitbit
Workout apps
These types of fitness apps help users with their daily workouts. These include videos, guides, and so on.
Example: Fitplan
Personal training apps
These types of apps help users to perform different exercises for them to stay fit.
Example: Fiit
Diet apps
These types of apps help users to create and follow a diet plan to be in great shape. These apps track calorie consumption and improve your nutritional intake.
Example: Lifesum
Yoga and meditation apps
These types of apps include videos and guides about yoga and meditation to improve mental and physical fitness and avoid stress, depression, anxiety, etc.
Example: Glo
How to create a fitness app?
You are planning to develop a fitness app, but what is the starting point? If you select a type of fitness app to develop, then what?
So here are some major steps you need to take.
Market research and target audience
You need to conduct market research and analyze your competitors. You need to see if there are any similar apps in the market. If there are, then what makes your app unique to them?
Next, you need to identify your target audience. So, who are you targeting?
Without identifying your target audience, how will you know if your app will fulfill their needs and solve their problems?
So, you need to conduct market research, analyze competitors, and do a feasibility study to make sure that your app is the right one for the users.
Identify your needs and features
Now, define your needs and requirements. It includes project scope, goals, objectives, etc. Plus, you need to know the platforms you are targeting. Is it Android or iOS, or Web?
Then, your next step would be to list the app’s features. Without it, you cannot expect to develop an app. These features help you stand out from the competitors and attract your target audience.
So, what are some features you need to consider?
Tutorial
This is a feature to onboard first-time users. You tell them how to use the app. And it may be an optional functionality to include in your app.
Registration and login
The users need to register to use the app’s services. It allows users to log in through their social media accounts to avoid a lengthy registration process.
Dashboard
This helps users to see their daily, weekly, or monthly goals, how much they have achieved, recommendations, etc.
Profile management and settings
This helps users to manage their profiles, like usernames, contact details, payment details, etc. It also includes customizing, daily routines, diet plans, seeing weekly, monthly, or all-time stats, etc.
Tracker
This feature helps users to track their heartbeat rate, the distance they walk and run, the calories they take, body temperature, weight gain and loss, and so on.
Videos and audios
This feature enables users to listen to and see videos related to exercise, workouts, yoga, meditation, etc., from experts or others.
My list
This helps users to add their favorite content to the app.
Calendar and reminders
This helps users to schedule their routines and live sessions. And the reminders help them notify them about their scheduled events.
Chat
This helps users and experts to communicate directly.
Connectivity
This helps users to connect their apps to wearables and track their activities on the go.
Push notifications
This helps users to notify users about any updates, offers, etc.
Workouts and nutrition
This helps users to access their workout and diet routines.
Subscribe
This helps users to subscribe to the newsletter for updates through email.
GPS
This helps users to track the distance they walked or run.
Payments
This helps users to have access to easy payment methods.
Hire a development partner
After you know your needs and the app’s features, you need a development partner to help you. As a business owner, outsourcing your app development is the best solution.
Why?
Because you need a quality and the right app to attract users and boost your sales and revenues.
Market research and competitive analysis are something that lay a path to the app’s success. And you might not have too much experience, skills, and time doing them. But, a development partner, with years of experience, will know what you need exactly and develop an app that caters to your business needs and solves the users’ problems.
Moreover, outsourcing helps you reduce app development costs because you will have access to the global market. You will have tons of expertise to choose from that provides quality development services at an affordable price. Example: Truemark Technology.
And, as a business owner, you have other obligations you need to attend to, like meeting with your clients, setting new goals and objectives, scaling the business, and so on. If you value your time, then you should outsource your project to a reliable development partner like Truemark Technology, which has 5+ years of experience in software development.
We will help you in
- Conducting market research and feasibility study.
- Creating user stories, journeys, etc.
- Estimating thoroughly with no hidden fees.
- Designing wireframes, prototypes, and UI/UX
- Identifying the core features
- MVP development, and
- so on.
Design and development
Once you select the right development partner, the only thing left is to start the development process, which will begin right away after you sign the contract.
In this phase, the development team first starts with the MVP development with the core features. They design various wireframes, UI/UX designs, etc. Only after your approval, do they implement them, which is an important process in Truemark Technology. Until and unless the client is satisfied with the designs, we never begin the implementation process.
Testing
Testing is an integral part of the development to ensure the app’s quality and performance. We always test each feature after implementation to make sure the result is as expected and the app is bug-free. We practice unit and integration testing so that the app is in top-notch condition.
Revenue models
Revenue generation is an integral part of a business. So, let’s talk about the revenue models.
How do fitness apps generate revenue?
- Subscriptions: Your users will pay you monthly or annual fees to use the app. This is a common revenue model for any app.
- In-app purchases: Your users will pay you to access some content on your app. You can include different premium diet plans, workout routines, etc., to attract users to purchase them.
- Advertising: Within your app, there will be tons of advertisements that will help generate a passive income.
- Sponsored content: Your app will promote the content of third-party businesses. In return, you will generate income, and the users will get discounts and offer through your app.
Factors affecting the development cost
You decide to develop a fitness app, but the overall development cost depends on many factors. And the total expense fluctuates, either decreasing or increasing.
So, what are the factors that affect the development cost?
Region
One factor is the developers or the company’s location you are hiring. Based on the region, their charge varies.
Here is an average hourly rate of development services based on different regions in 2022:
- North America: $55
- Latin America: $50
- Eastern Europe: $37
- Western Europe: $66
- Asia Pacific: $28
- Africa: $31
Below is an average hourly rate of developers in different regions in 2022:
- The U.S.: $46.32
- UK: $93
- France: $54
- Sweden: $52
- Poland: $44
- Ukraine: $41
- Mexico: $61
- China: $28
- India: $29
- Nepal: $28
Skills and experience
The higher the developers’ experience and skills, the more they charge. So, the senior developer’s price is way above than junior level.
App’s complexities and size
Like the developers’ experience level, the app’s complexities and size also affect the development cost. The more complex the project is, the higher the price.
Platforms
The development cost varies depending on the platforms you want to build the app for. For Android, iOS, or Web, your expense fluctuates. However, you can go for hybrid development, which is cost-effective, and the app runs on multiple systems.
Development team and technology stack
Now, let’s talk about the development team and technology stack to develop a fitness app.
You need a group of experts to implement your idea and develop a quality app. So, the development team comprises:
- Business analyst
- Project manager
- Android developer
- iOS developer
- UI/UX designer
- Frontend developer
- Backend developer
- Quality Analyst (QA)
The technology stack includes:
- Programming languages: Java, Swift, Kotlin, Python, ReactJS, NodeJS, etc.
- Frameworks: React Native, Flutter, etc.
- Payment gateway: PayPal, Stripe, etc.
- Database: MongoDB, Oracle, MySQL, etc.
- Storage: Amazon S3, etc.
Here is the technology stack overview of MyFitnessPal, one of the most used and popular fitness apps.
- Application and data: JavaScript, jQuery, React, NGINX, Java, CloudFlare, Bootstrap, CSS 3, jQuery UI, Ruby, Amazon CloudFront, Rails, Swift, Objective-C, Scala, C lang, Shell, Passenger, Groovy.
- Utilities: Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Twilio SendGrid.
- DevOps: New Relic
- Business tools: WordPress, Google Fonts, G Suite
How much does it cost to build a fitness app?
Finally, onto the main question- how much will be the overall development cost?
Below is an average estimation of fitness app development. The hourly rate is based on the Asia region, i.e., $30/hr.
| Features | iOS (hr) | Android (hr) | Backend (hr) | Total ($) |
| Tutorial | 16 | 16 | 14 | 1,380 |
| Registration & Login | 40 | 40 | 32 | 3,360 |
| Profile Management | 60 | 60 | 48 | 5,040 |
| Dashboard | 80 | 80 | 65 | 6,750 |
| Connectivity | 45 | 45 | 25 | 3,450 |
| Payments | 30 | 30 | 30 | 2,700 |
| Push Notifications | 25 | 25 | 20 | 2,100 |
| Tracker | 88 | 88 | 45 | 6,630 |
| Videos and Audios | 30 | 30 | 20 | 2,400 |
| Admin Panel | 70 | 70 | 35 | 5,250 |
| GPS | 80 | 80 | 48 | 6,240 |
| My List | 60 | 60 | 50 | 5,100 |
| Chat | 15 | 15 | 15 | 1,350 |
| Search and Filters | 81 | 81 | 50 | 6,360 |
| UI/UX Design | 105 | 105 | – | 6,300 |
| Project Management | 200 | 200 | 180 | 17,400 |
| Testing | 300 | 300 | 300 | 27,000 |
| Total | 1,325 ($39,750) | 1,325 ($39,750) | 977 ($29,310) | $108,810 |
The average cost for developing a fitness app will be around $108,810.
However, as stated earlier, the more complex the app is and the features it has, the higher will be the development cost and time.
In Conclusion
With the ongoing situation because of COVID-19, we can tell you for sure that the fitness and health industry is going to boom more than ever. So, people becoming even more fitness freaks is just a matter of time and the number that you saw, in the beginning, will skyrocket at a supersonic speed. Therefore, developing an app whether or not you own a business is worth the risk.
If you are planning to build a fitness app, then Truemark is here to help you. With 5+ years of experience in software development, we have a 100 percent success rate. We have worked on numerous projects and with clients from all around the world. Check out our portfolio section to know more about our projects and achievements.
We have development teams with years of experience that will help you achieve your milestone. We help businesses thrive with the right software that resonates with their brands and needs. So, contact us for a detailed estimation. Plus, we provide free consultation services to ensure you are at the right place for any development service you need.
Cover Image Credits: Pikisuperstar from Freepik
