How Much Does It Cost for Taxi App Development Like Uber?

Building an on-demand taxi booking app like Uber requires a good budget. As there are already big companies competing with each other for high revenue bars, it will be a bit challenging for you to build your own taxi booking app. 

However, if we follow a comprehensive approach to build it, we can succeed towards expected outcomes. The complexity of the app will determine how much it would cost to design an app similar to Uber. Particularly, there are many moving elements and a lot of complexity in the process. 

This article serves as a comprehensive how-to for creating an Uber-style app. We'll start by looking at what makes Uber so successful and all the factors that affect the price of developing an Uber app. 

So that you may better understand how to recuperate your original development costs, we'll also discuss how to commercialize an Uber-like service. 

And as a result, there are three parts to the response to the question of how much it costs to create taxi applications like Uber. 

Let’s get started -  

Components of Uber-Like App Development 

The on-demand taxi booking applications share three components with practically all other on-demand apps: the admin panel, the driver side, and the customer side. 

Understanding the many app kinds that would combine to create a single on-demand app is crucial when discussing the creation of on-demand taxi applications or how to create an app similar to Uber in Android or iOS. 

1- Passenger App 

The app screen that travelers interact with is this one. It includes every step, from downloading the app to selecting a location, scheduling a trip, figuring out the cost, getting in touch with drivers, paying for the journey, and ultimately rating and reviewing the drivers. 

• Registration 

The app's ability to sign up and log in using existing IDs and social media accounts is a crucial feature. 

• Taxi type selection 

Just like in Uber, giving users the option to select the kind of car they wish to travel in will immediately raise demand for your service. 

• Booking 

This, of course, makes it possible for riders to book their choice of ride using your app whenever and wherever they choose. 

• Push notifications 

Users may easily be informed about ongoing discounts on the app and other important changes by using push notifications. 

• Feedback 

This enables customers to about their riding experience along with the rating for drivers and the facility they chose to travel. Moreover, feedback helps other customers to know about the type of ride and drivers. 

• Ride history 

This feature enables users to look up their past rides in case they wish to use the same driver for a future trip. 

• Price calculator 

Riders should be able to know the overall price of taking a ride from their location to destination, and the app should display different costs for every ride type. 

• Payment 

Payment integration is a very crucial part of a ride booking app as it offers flexibility to the users to pay for a ride using their preferred choice. It includes top digital wallets, UPI, credit/debit card, and other modes. 

• Calling 

The inclusion of a calling option will enable people to connect with drivers directly from the app. 

• In-app messaging 

The ability to talk within the app enhances both the overall riding and driving experiences. With the aid of this feature, they may share real-time information and benefit more from it. 

2- Driver App 

The focus of this app is to provide crucial features to the drivers through their own panel. There are certain additional Uber app features in the driver section of the application, even though both passengers and drivers share many aspects in common. 

Since Uber taxi app has got a higher percentage of drivers, the company has personalized the panel with user-friendly features. Have a look: 

Here are must-have features in the driver panel of ride booking app: 

• Active/inactive status 

Drivers have the option to use this feature to indicate their availability and display their status. 

• Profile editing 

Drivers will be able to update their profile, including details on the car they are driving, their level of experience, etc. 

• Calling 

If necessary, the calling capability will enable the drivers to contact the riders directly from the app. 

• In-app messaging  

The in-app conversation functionality enhances both drivers' and passengers' overall experience. With the aid of this feature, they may exchange current information. 

• Navigation 

With the integration of GPS-enabled navigation features, the drivers will be able to find the riders by tracking their location after accepting their booking request. 

• Estimation 

The drivers should be aware of the expense of the journey, just as it is vital for the passengers to do so. 

• Reports 

Drivers can see full information about their daily journeys and earnings under the reports function. 

3- Admin Panel 

A web application development is often used to save, administer, and then examine all of the actions taking place on the admin side of the on-demand taxi booking app. Here are some of the features: 

• Vehicle management 

The administrator has access to all data concerning the automobiles registered with the business. 

• Billing and invoice 

With the help of this function, the admin may quickly observe how much money is produced each day on the platform and how many rides are taken each day. This aids in more research. 

• Compliant control 

Recall the comments that users leave? Everything is shown in this section - so that the administrator is informed of how well users are responding to the app. 

• Role management 

The administrator using this feature can oversee both driver interactions and ride assignments. 

• Vehicle tracking system 

Users' and drivers' safety is a top priority. The admin may therefore track the car with the aid of this capability. 

• Promotion & discount management 

The administrator controls all current discounts, coupons, and promotions in the app from this location. 

There are a number of shared features throughout the three app parts that assist determining how much it would cost to develop an iOS or Android app. 

The article's following section discusses such features and provides an estimate of the time and cost needed to develop them for an app like Uber. 

Considerations for determining cost of taxi/ride booking app development like Uber 

The different development stages are when most of the expense to design a taxi booking app like Uber is incurred. For an Uber-like app to succeed, you must adhere to a rigorous and professional mobile app development process. 

1- Choosing the right tech stack 

You must choose the suitable technology stack and technique for constructing your taxi app before you begin the development process. Cross-platform app development is now popular since it enables you to create an app for iOS and Android with a single codebase for half the cost of native apps. 

To simplify your decision-making process, we will prefer to utilize, 

• Java or Kotlin with Android Studio for native android app. 
• Obj-C or Swift with Xcode for native iOS app development. 
• React native or Flutter with Dart for cross-platform app development 

On average, it would cost: $40000-$50000 

2- UI/UX design process 

It's a good idea to go with native mobile app development since it makes your app more accessible to your target audience. But do we really want to be found out? If you don't pay attention to your mobile app design, the majority of users will remove your app after their first interaction with it or never install it after reading user reviews that criticize the design. 

UI/UX design will cost around $2300-$3500 

3- Features & API integration 

Any app development process must have features, and taxi booking applications are no exception. The program gets more useful as we add more sophisticated features to it. Additionally, integrating APIs to add new functionality raises the overall cost of development. 

• Payment integrations: $6000-$8000 
• Navigation & GPS: $2500-$6000 
• Ride handling automation (booking, tracking & managing): $3000-$5000 
• Data security & cloud integration: $10000-$12000 
• Dashboards (Riders, drivers & admin): $8000-$12000 
• Communication (Call, message & notifications): $4000-$6000 

4- Backend development 

Any software for booking cabs will contain a sizable database of users, riders, and other crucial pieces of information. For handling such big data pools, your cab app must have dependable and durable cab management software. 

Your backend developers must be able to provide secure connections to all data sources, dependable connections to all payment systems, and other communication channels to do this. An efficient backend system will also be able to relate heterogeneous data to the user and driver interface of the app. 

Integrating backend development will cost around $7000-$9000 

5- Testing & QA 

QA and testing are essential for any mobile app. Without thorough testing, you won't be able to identify any bugs, lags, or performance problems with your apps until a user complains about them.  

A problematic app throughout the launch phase and the first month would cast doubt on the dependability of your services generally. As a result, an app must undergo extensive testing & QA before being released on the app stores. 

Average cost of testing & quality assurance will be $2200-$3000 

Final estimation for the cost of Uber-like app development 

The location you choose to outsource app development to has a significant impact on the price you'll have to pay. For instance, the average hourly cost of development in the USA is between $150 and $200. The same services are offered by businesses in Europe for $50 per hour. 

We can calculate the price of developing an Uber app by dividing the required development hours by 50. The price to design an Uber app for one platform (Android or iOS) is between $50,000 and $150,000. Adding a second platform will increase the price by at least two times. 

How VLink can help you? 

The need for taxi app development is rising quickly as this fast-paced society embraces the affordable and practical means of transportation. The aforementioned information will be useful for businesses wanting to create a taxi app at a fair pricing. 

VLink can assist you in creating a cutting-edge taxi-hailing app with outstanding functionality that exceeds customer expectations. 

In order to guarantee that you have a solution with excellent quality in your specified time frame, we have a specialized team of designers, developers, QA engineers, and support personnel that will assist you throughout the taxi app development journey.