How Much Does it Cost to Develop an App Like Starbucks?

Do you enjoy sipping coffee at Starbucks? What about developing an app like it?

Just imagine your restaurant delivering an excellent coffee and it has an engaging atmosphere, the staff running like clockwork. It may sound like a dream, right?

Well, you can convert this dream into reality by serving customers, effectively.

Do you want to develop a coffee app like Starbucks? Then you might be wondering about its costs.

Relax! We got you covered. The right cost to develop an app like Starbucks can vary from $15,000 to $100,000. This cost is impacted by many factors and elements.

Here, we are discussing it all, let’s proceed together.

Starbucks: Brewing the Future of Coffee

Before you proceed to know the complete breakdown of its costs, let’s learn more about Starbucks.

Starbucks Corporation is an American Multinational chain of coffeehouses as well as roastery reserves. The brand operates the largest coffeehouse chain and is one of the most recognizable brands in the world.

The major reason behind Starbucks’ excellent service is delicious food and seamless user journey. In the current era, more and more people prefer contactless payment methods, and a new trend is to have a digital menu.

Starbucks offers both that make its app enjoyable and engaging. With the increasing craze over coffee, the competition in the field is too enhancing.

The secret behind Starbucks’s success is most importantly its service. Its app adds to the growth of the brand and helps to provide an engaging user experience.

Along with this, the United States and China came top in the ranking countries with a wide number of Starbucks stores in 2023. The current downloads of the app are 10M+ on the Google Play.

This represents the app’s popularity around the globe and provides you with an opportunity to enter the market. Now, are you still confused about app development?

Well, the following section can help.

Why Develop an App Like Starbucks?

Puzzled about ‘how to develop a restaurant app like Starbucks?’

Let’s consider ‘why’ before addressing to ‘how’.

Well, the following reasons can encourage you.

♦ Increasing Market Demand

Growing market demand is one of the most important reasons to develop an app like Starbucks.

The revenue of the coffee market is projected to reach US $10.47 billion in the year 2024.This revenue is expected to reach a market volume of US $17.35 billion by the year 2029.

Hence, you can have this opportunity to successfully enter the coffee market.

♦ Improves User Personalization

You should build an app like Starbucks to connect with the target users and enhance customization. Additionally, creating an app enhances client relations by providing them with ways to connect with the brand.

This app tracks users’ purchase history and preferences. Along with this, it enables the brands to provide recommendations based on their purchases.

♦ Provides Competitive Edge

Creating an app like Starbucks can put you ahead of the competition. You can have a user-friendly mobile experience by developing a coffee app.

Apps create a strong brand identity of the brand and offer a seamless user experience. This assists in creating a strong brand position for the app in the competitive market.

♦ Encourages Users to Purchase More

By developing an app like Starbucks, you may encourage the users to make more orders. These apps are designed to improve customer experience among the users.

This automatically enhances the brand image and creates awareness among the target users related to the coffee product.

♦ Provides a Source of Revenue

To build a restaurant app like Starbucks can assist you in having a source of income where you can post ads, and provide loyalty programs to ensure engagement.

Thus, it can become an income source that may add to your list for driving revenue. However, you should balance the ads as well as networks for promoting the products and services.

♦ Enable Faster and Convenient Order Process

To provide coffee that satisfies users’ taste is not only sufficient. You must serve the order as soon as the user demands the same.

Developing an app like Starbucks can assist you here. Through the app, users can order their favorite coffee even while working or driving and later can collect it from the nearest store.

These were some of the common reasons to go after the app development process.

Well, after learning the reasons, the next question that might pop up is “How to make an app like Starbucks?”

Here, along with the technologies adopted for its development, features are necessary to consider. Let’s look for the same in the following section.

Top Features of the Starbucks App

To develop a restaurant app, features play a significant role. Through functionality, users can connect with the app and the brand. This enhances users’ relations with the brands.

Let’s consider the list of coffee app features below.

1. Registration and Authentication

Your app must have an effective registration process. It should be simple and easy to operate.

Additionally, it should have a proper authentication process to ensure the safety of the users’ data. Registration is an important medium for knowing users’ preferences and their taste in coffee.

2. Coffee Item Listings

Now, another important feature is to list the menu and have a digital menu listing all the varieties in one place.

You may add an option for a search tool within the listings, where the users can find the item they are looking for within the app. This will save them time to go through the list and search for their favorites.

3. Table Reservation

One of the important restaurant app features to include is table reservation where the user can book a table at the outlet at their convenience.

This feature can become a blessing if you have limited seating at your outlet or facing an issue with limited restaurant seating capability.

4. Push Notifications

Push notifications are among the important processes for engaging users in the long run. These are the short messages sent directly over mobile phones to create awareness among users.

This feature enables the users’ informed as well as engaged by assisting them to know the latest promotions and discounts.

5. GPS Location Feature

Do you want to know the current location of the user to help them fetch their favorite coffee? Well, then the GPS location feature will be of your help.

Additionally, the more people can see your restaurant on the way, the chances of their engagement over the platform will automatically enhance. This feature helps users to find you at ease.

6. Chatbots

You should include AI chatbots within app development. This can help you to address users’ queries and encourage them to buy their favorite coffee.

These chatbots can avail the users of any offers and help them to book their favorite coffee order. This feature enables you to resolve users’ queries on time.

7. Order Booking and Payment

Users can book their favorite coffee via the app and have an option to get it over a remote place or can avail it while driving to their office or home.

This feature enables the user to pay via the app. You can include a payment integration process within the app to help users pay via different options.

8. Gamification

A gamification feature should be inserted in your coffee app for a happy customer experience. With this feature, you can increase engagement and may introduce a system of achievements.

Additionally, via this, you can offer in-app currency transfers that will encourage them to remain loyal to the brand in the long run.

9. Order Tracking

Another feature you can include is order tracking to get awareness about your ordered brewed coffee.

This means users can simply adjust their routine around the delivery or service. It assists in identifying exactly where their order is currently placed.

10. Order History

Through checking order history, users can check when they have placed their last order, its delivery timing, and what they have ordered previously.

This feature will help you to analyze the users’ order patterns to create a recommended list based on their preferences. Here you can approach them based on their last ordered item.

11. Social Media Integration

With this feature, you will help the users to share their ordered coffee with friends and relatives over social media platforms.

Thus social media integration can be an important restaurant app feature to be considered while developing a coffee app like Starbucks.

You can include the above-mentioned features to ensure user engagement over the coffee app.

Now, let’s come to “How much does it cost to develop an app like Starbucks?”

You can consider the following cost breakdown structure here.

What’s the Cost to Develop an App Like Starbucks?

Till now, you learned about the reasons to develop an app like Starbucks, and its related features. Now, it’s time to know the right cost to develop a clone like Starbucks.

An estimated cost to build a restaurant app like Starbucks can vary from $15,000 to $100,000. This cost is further impacted by many factors such as complexity, design, third-party design, and others.

Well, to identify the exact cost of developing a restaurant app, an idea of such factors can help you to reach an accurate budget plan.

Let’s study factors impacting mobile app development costs in the following section.

Factors Affecting the Cost of Building an App Like Starbucks

To decide the accurate cost of creating a coffee app like Starbucks, let’s study all the factors impacting it.

The list below comprises different attributes and elements that you should know to decide the right cost pattern.

A] Unveiling the Complexity of App

App’s complex features play an essential role in its development process as well as in identifying the exact cost to invest in it.

More complex apps will lead to more cost however, less complexity will require fewer resources to build an app successfully.

Cost estimation under app complexity can vary from $3000- $10,000. You can check the given table for more information.

B] User Experience and Interface

The user interface is the foremost thing to consider as it delivers the first impression of the app.

UI/UX app design with custom animations, complex UI elements as well as highly polished design will require more resources.

However, an app design with a simple design will require fewer resources. Here the cost estimation can be $5,000 to $15,000. The given table will help you learn and know the actual UI/UX design cost for your coffee app.

Also Read: Restaurant App Design

C] Choice of Platform

The type of platform you select for your coffee app has a high impact on the cost to make a restaurant app like Starbucks.

Deciding whether to hire Android App Developers or to hire iOS App Developers, can be among the difficult task to consider.

You must be puzzled about the platforms or whether you should go for a native app or react. Estimated cost can be from $2,000 to $10,000. Well, the following table can help you with the right cost over deciding on the platform.

D] Tech Stack

The type of technology and database selected for the app development can be comprised of programming languages, tools, as well as platforms used for building an app.

Here Tech Stack comprises frameworks, tools, languages, and platforms. It can have a massive impact on the performance, cost, and maintenance of a coffee app.

The estimated tech stack implementation cost can vary from $10,000 to $20,000. Let’s check out the following table to know more.

E] Third-party Integration

Third-party integration is another factor that can impact the overall cost to build an app Like Starbucks.

This may lead to high costs due to licensing fees as well as integration efforts. If your coffee app requires to be comprised of such elements then it can increase the overall cost of app development.

An estimated cost to integrate API in the coffee app can be from $5,000 to $15,000. You can consider the given table for more information.

F] App Maintenance

If you are ignoring app maintenance for your coffee app, then it can be among the mistakes to avoid while developing a restaurant app.

Thus, undertaking app maintenance services should be considered here. Considering them you should mold the cost to build a restaurant app like Starbucks.

Here’s the table to check. The range for estimated app maintenance cost can vary from $5,000 to $10,000.

G] Development Team

The selection of the team plays a vital role in developing a restaurant app like Starbucks. Here, two factors should be valuable such as location and expertise of the team.

Hire mobile app developers with high skills who are able to connect with you as and when required for your project.

Here is the table to be considered before analyzing the accurate costs to hire app developers.

After learning about the factors impacting Starbucks like app development cost, you must be struggling to find the right time to develop it. Aren’t you?

Then let’s check the section beneath.

How Long Does it Take to Create an App Like Starbucks?

Another important resource other than cost is time.

How long does it take to develop a mobile app?

Along with identifying the cost to develop a coffee app like Starbucks, the right time undertaken to create such an app can be analyzed from the table given below.

Here the total duration can be 9-14 months depending on the complexity of features, app design, maintenance, and others.

Well, after investing an amount, you might be expecting to earn it back, right?

Let’s learn some of the important monetization strategies for earning money while creating a restaurant app like Starbucks.

Monetization Strategies to Earn Money from Creating an App Like Starbucks

With the right app monetization models, you can find effective strategies to cover the cost invested in developing a coffee app like Starbucks.

You can check out the given table for more information.

► In-App Purchases

In-app purchases are a highly reliable revenue stream suitable for monetizing different types of applications. Within such a strategy, users should be allowed to buy additional features, services, and content in the app.

► Crowdfunding

This type of monetization strategy is useful when you are new to the market. This strategy can assist you in generating high capital for your business. It will invite more public offers and can help you to invest high capital in the app development process.

► Advertising

Another significant monetization framework can be advertising which can become the permanent source for earning high revenue. This strategy can offer both free as well as paid versions of your app.

► Data Monetization

Data monetization comprises collecting the user’s data within the app and then creating the reports to sell. When you develop an app, automatically it increases the scope of large data collection. Then you can sell out this data in exchange to gain monetary benefits.

► Subscription Model

You can launch different pricing-based subscription models that will be totally based on customers’ preferences and their growing demands. Here you can provide different subscription models based on users’ preferences in order to encourage them to proceed with the investment.

These were some of the monetization frameworks that you can use for recovering coffee app development costs like Starbucks.

Well, are you still wondering about the right cost to invest?

Connecting to the right team of developers can help here.

Partner with Nimble AppGenie to Develop an App Like Starbucks

Are you dreaming of investing in developing a coffee app, but confused about which team to select?

Nimble AppGenie has the right offer for you. With us, you can select the team of developers that suits your project.

We are the best Restaurant App Development Company, focused on delivering the right app based on your demand and after analyzing market factors.

Our team is skilled in advanced app development techniques and knows how to adopt the current market terminologies to make your app lead the dynamic industry.

Conclusion

To determine the right cost for your coffee app development like Starbucks, you should know and learn different factors such as complexity, size, app design, choosing the right platforms, and selecting the development team.

Additionally, by developing a coffee app like Starbucks, you can address current market demands related to coffee, increase user engagement, improve user personalization, and encourage users to purchase more.

Time is another important factor to be considered here. Additionally, you can cover the cost of developing an app like Starbucks by implementing the right monetization strategies such as crowdfunding, advertising, data monetization, subscription models, etc. Connecting to an experienced company can help here.

FAQs

Niketan Sharma

Niketan Sharma is the CTO of Nimble AppGenie, a prominent website and mobile app development company in the USA that is delivering excellence with a commitment to boosting business growth & maximizing customer satisfaction. He is a highly motivated individual who helps SMEs and startups grow in this dynamic market with the latest technology and innovation.