On-Demand Application Development: Complete Guide, Features & Cost

On-demand apps have become an integral part of consumers’ lives, ranging from grocery delivery, pharmacy to streaming live shows. Consumers prefer spending a dime on these apps because of the convenience they get, be it in terms of time or express delivery. 

These apps have become PROBLEM SOLVERS for a common man because it acts as an intermediary between the company and the user. Entrepreneurs can see massive growth in the on-demand economy because consumers crave instant gratification of products/services. 

Research from PWC states that the market size of on-demand apps globally is expected to reach $335 billion by 2025. The market will become bigger and bigger because these on-service applications can satisfy users’ needs whenever they want. 

The proliferation of smartphones and ever-changing consumer preferences push business owners to create on-demand service apps. 

In this blog, we’ll cover everything about what on-demand apps are, common features an app should have, a detailed checklist to create a similar app and its cost. 

What is On-demand application development?  

An on-demand application can be a mobile app or website that allows customers to request services whenever they want. 

You can find on-demand apps in any field, ranging from education, healthcare, beauty, cargo, food delivery, etc. 

These apps are on the rise because consumers can’t compromise with delays in products/services. On top of that, convenience is another driver that urges consumers to rely on such apps. 

They order products using these apps because they crave instant satisfaction. For others, it can be time-saving with access to a wide range of products. 

On-demand apps connect various service providers to customers. There is a certain fee that customers need to pay in exchange for the service. 

Examples of on-demand applications include Uber for booking a cab, Airbnb for reserving accommodation, and Swiggy for ordering food.  

Note: An on-demand application draws people’s attention if it’s easy to navigate and has a simple user interface. 

What are some popular examples of on-demand applications?  

Let’s discuss a few examples of popular on-demand service apps-  

1. Instacart 

Instacart, an on-demand food delivery app (preferably popular in North America) allows customers to place orders for online groceries and receive them at their doorsteps within less than an hour. 

It saves their searching time as they can browse the items, select them and add them to the cart. At the same time, it saves traveling time because they don’t have to spend countless hours visiting the stores in person. 

2.UberEats  

Uber Eats is another example of a successful on-demand food delivery application. It connects foodies with restaurants in one place. 

Customers can enjoy their favorite meal at their doorsteps and restaurant owners can increase their reach by delivering the right food to the right customer at the right time. They do have Uber drivers who can handle the food deliveries. 

3. Netflix  

Netflix is an on-demand video streaming platform meant for entertainment purposes. Users can get access to a wide range of original series, films, documentaries, and more shows. 

They just need to subscribe to any of their plans (basic or premium) and can enjoy the exclusive content on-demand. 

4. Saucey  

It’s an on-demand alcohol delivery app that delivers a wide range of alcoholic beverages (wine, beer, spirits, alcoholic mixers) to customers. 

They can get the alcohol delivered within a few minutes. Users can either get instant alcohol delivery or they can schedule it at their convenience. 

What are the common features of an on-demand application?

Before developing a fully-fledged on-demand application, you should have a clear idea as to who are the target users for this app. 

Consider the parties involved in that, supposedly you develop a beauty or taxi app, then there are mainly 2 parties involved – one is a service provider, and the other is the customer. If you deal in food delivery applications – then a third party is involved, that’s the restaurant. 

While creating an on-demand service app, keep a list of features handy with you for different app categories – customer app, service provider, and admin panel. 

Features of on-demand application for customers  

A customer-facing side of the app involves features related to browsing products, placing an order, making a payment, etc. Let’s discuss key features step by step –  

1. Sign-up process/ Registration  

This feature allows the users to register to the app using any of these methods – Google sign-up or log in through Facebook or Twitter accounts. You can even allow users to manually create their account through e-mail ID and password.  

2. Notifications  

An important way to hook the users on the app is by sending regular updates related to order delivery, payments, or completed orders. This way, they won’t miss any reminders from your side. 

3. Geolocation  

Geolocation is a must-have feature to track product delivery from the order confirmation stage to the delivery stage. 

Customers can get an idea as to where the product has reached and when they will get it. Through real-time tracking, customers can have a piece of mind. You can integrate location services in iOS through the core location framework and Google location APIs in Android.  

4. Payments 

By adding multiple payment methods, you give freedom to users to make secure payments through any of their preferred payment choices such as PayPal, credit card, debit card, etc. The payments must be secure and end-to-end encrypted so no one can hack them.  

5. Ratings and reviews 

Through feedback, customers can share their experiences while using the app. This will help the future customers to make an informed choice. Thus, you can see which of your customers are satisfied and service providers can see whether they meet quality benchmarks or not.  

6. Help desk support  

Customers can reach out to help and support desk within the app if they face any problems. Such on-demand assistance increases your company’s reputation and enhances customer satisfaction. 

To provide continuous support to your customers, you can integrate an AI-powered chatbot within the app.  

Features of on-demand application for service providers 

Here are some important features you can include while developing the on-demand app for service providers- 

1. User registration 

Service providers can sign up for the account by either logging through social media accounts or doing manual sign-up. Post that, they can enter the required brand information. 

2. Push notifications  

Just like a customer receives regular updates, service providers also need to be informed as and when the customer places an order. 

3. Total earnings  

The service provider can track the total earnings made from each order. This is an essential feature to include as customers receive orders using the app so they should know how much revenue is added to their earnings dashboard.  

4. Accept/Reject service request  

Service providers can either accept/reject the order request. It depends on them whether they have more capacity to take future orders or not. 

5. Toggle between online and offline  

Service providers can toggle between the online/offline buttons. They can enable the online mode when they’re ready to take orders. They can switch to offline mode when their working day is over. 

Features of creating an on-demand service application for admin  

An app administrator ensures that everything works smoothly between customers and service providers. 

Let’s talk about the important features you should include in your on-demand app development process –  

1. Intuitive Dashboard  

The admin for the on-demand app can track and manage the activities of service providers and customers. 

2. Manage users  

The admin of the app should have access to the customer’s order details, payments, cancellation charges, or any rewards or offers.  

3. Manage service providers  

Here, admins can track the activities and monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. They can see their rates, how customers like it, and any bonuses they earn during a certain period.  

4. Detailed reports  

The admin can see detailed insights about customers and service providers such as accepted orders, canceled requests, total earnings of service providers, and how many repeated customers they have. 

This feature can extract hidden gems that you won’t even know and it’s impacting your business operations. Thus, you can fine-tune the app and make strategies to increase user engagement. 

5. Charges  

Admin manager can change the rates and tweak the commission charges as per the current demand. If the current demand for a product/service is more, then they would increase the commission charges and vice versa. 

What are the steps involved in on-demand application development? 

To create a successful on-demand service application, you should keep a few things in mind such as who is your target customer, what customers struggle with, and how your app solves that problem.  

Let’s discuss a quick walkthrough of how to create an on-demand application –  

1. Perform market research  

The first step involved in creating an on-demand app starts with doing market research. Mobile app market research involves defining your business goals, identifying your audience problems, and doing a competitor analysis to see how you can make your app stand out. 

Identify who your target audience is. Know your audience demographics such as age, location, budget, interest, preferences, etc. You need to gather every minute detail about your audience so you can give them a personalized experience. 

Based on this analysis, you can decide about the app design and features. 

Ultimately, your goal is to create a 10x better product than your competitors. 

2. Select a niche for on-demand app 

The next step is about deciding a niche for your on-demand app. Don’t get lost in a niche that your competitors are in. Find the one which has a demand in the market and people love doing that. 

You can find plenty of on-demand app development services such as food delivery, home services, healthcare, flight booking apps, video streaming apps, etc.  

3. Decide the core features of your application  

After picking the niche for your on-demand app, you can create a bunch of features that you think are important for solving audience problems. Here are some features you can start with – 

• User login

• Ratings and reviews

• Customer support

• Payment gateways

• Push notifications

• Geolocation

4. Select the right technology stack 

The next step involved is deciding the technology stack (programming languages, database, cloud services) for on-demand app development. The objective isn’t to create visually appealing apps, but rather make them functionally effective. 

For creating the front side of things such as user interfaces, we use React, Angular, and Vue frameworks.  

Our dedicated development team uses Ruby on Rails for handling backend or server-side things. For creating iOS apps, our software developers use Swift as their go-to programming language. 

While we use Kotlin for creating scalable Android apps. For developing cross-platform apps, we use Flutter or React Native frameworks.  

Cloud platforms such as AWS and Google Cloud will be primarily used to meet scalability requirements. 

For third-party integrations, the following tech stack is used –  

• Stripe and PayPal for payment processing. 

• Twilio and Firebase for messaging functionality.  

• Geolocation services can be integrated using Google Maps API.  

5. Hire an on-demand app development company 

Partnering with an app development agency is a game changer for your business as you get access to technical experts who’ve already worked in this field. You can get long-term support and maintenance services if your application faces technical glitches or bugs. 

On top of that, hiring on-demand app developers saves you time and money. You’d have full control over the app development process. This way, you can use that saved time for doing strategic activities.  

6. Create the MVP version of the product  

Don’t jump to create a fully-fledged app. Instead, spend some time on creating MVP which is the sure shot way to validate your app idea. By creating a minimal version (addition of core features), you can get feedback from users as to whether your business idea is feasible or not. 

Once you get the feedback, you can tweak the app features and enhance its functionality accordingly. You will save your funds for this project in the long run as you won’t spend extra time and money on adding unnecessary features that your customers won’t love.  

7. Create the final app

Here, you need to create a final version of the app and launch it across various platforms (iOS, Android, and web). Test the app to resolve any bugs and issues that affect the app’s performance. 

Once the app is free from bugs, you can deploy it on stores such as the App Store in the case of Apple and the Play Store in the case of Android. 

How Much Does it Cost to Build an On-demand Service App?  

The cost of developing an on-demand service application ranges between $30,000 -$150,000 and more than that. This is a rough estimate as development cost varies depending on how many additional functionalities you add. 

The cost might vary depending on various factors such as the hours required to develop an app, the number and complexity of features you add, the location of the development team, and more. 

Now, different apps are developed for end users, the cost might rise. It also depends on the case whether you want to develop a basic app or a complex on-demand service application. The cost varies in both cases. 

The on-demand app development cost might increase if you add third-party integrations with your apps such as payment gateways, and geolocation services. Additionally, if you develop an app for a single platform, then the development cost would be higher. 

Alternatively, if you create a cross-platform application, then it would be cost-effective for you. If you go with the MVP version, then the cost would be a little less than developing a full-fledged app. 

How Much Time Does It Take to Develop an On-demand Application?  

There is no fixed tenure in creating an on-demand service delivery application. The timeframe differs depending on how complex the application is, the design of the app, the features you add, and the size of the development team.   

On average, it would require 3-4 months to create a simple on-demand application. While the timeline might increase if you plan to develop a complex application (somewhere around 6 to 9 months). 

At the same time, you can’t skip the old-school development process which usually starts with market research, designing, development, testing, etc. 

Wrapping up  

Creating a successful on-demand service delivery application requires time and effort, but once you step foot in it, you can get a massive return on your investment. 

A user-friendly and intuitive on-demand app with a visually appealing UI/UX design enhances your user engagement. As the on-demand economy has become million dollars, a business like yours can take a competitive edge out of it. 

The above guide has given you an idea of how you can create a compelling on-demand app like Netflix, UberEats or Saucey.  

But if you don’t have adequate tech expertise in creating such applications, partnering with an on-demand app development agency can be a profitable option for you. 

As a premier app development company, we deal in creating user friendly on-demand applications such as fitness, delivery, travel, and entertainment that provide timely deliveries to your customers. 

Recently, we helped Careem, a cab-for-hire organization, by creating user-friendly and engaging mobile apps for Android and iOS. These apps allow hotel owners and guests to book a ride instantly at their convenience.  

Their business grew by leaps and bounds, and Uber decided to acquire it because of its technological advantage.  

If you too want to mark a presence in the digital world, then tell us your business requirements and we’d love to convert your business idea into reality.