Who would have thought that traveling would be so easy? With a few taps, you get a ride to your destination. Absolutely a lifesaver. All thanks to Uber for relieving us from the hassle of finding a taxi. Because it is budget-friendly, convenient, and not everyone can afford to buy a vehicle, the demand for taxi-apps like Uber is increasing.
Currently, it has 93 million active users and a global market value of $72 billion. Seeing the success of Uber, the services like Ola Cabs, Easy Taxi, etc., emerged in the market. For a business owner, entrepreneurs, investors, etc., it is an opportunity. That is why many of them think of developing such apps. And why not? The stats are enough to persuade anyone.
And if you are also thinking of developing, then stay tuned. We will guide you through the features and total cost to build an app like Uber.
Who needs Uber and why?
- The passengers
- Looking for a convenient ride.
- The drivers
- Looking for ways to earn money.
- Business owners, startups, and entrepreneurs
- Absence of local Uber-like apps
- Increasing demand of such apps
In this article, we will look from the perspectives of startups, business owners, and entrepreneurs looking to build an app like Uber considering passengers' and drivers' needs and try our best to get rid of every confusion you have.
First, let's understand its working mechanism.
How does Uber work?
First, the passenger requests a ride for the nearby vehicles registered on Uber. Your contact details and real-time location is shared with the drivers. Also, you will get to know the exact cost.
Then, the drivers within a range get the request. He has the option to either accept or reject the request.
When a driver accepts your request, the real-time map will let you know and track his/her location.
After reaching the destination, the user pays for the ride. You can either go for cash or online payment.
Finally, the user gives ratings and reviews to the Uber driver.
The working process looks simple, but there are mountains of features to consider when building a Uber app.
What to consider?
Features
Without considering what features make an Uber-like app, it will be impossible to plan your next step and start the development process.
Like Uber, you have the option to consider these three different apps:
- Passenger
- Driver
- Admin Panel to manage the passenger and driver apps.
Passenger App
The important features you can include in the passenger app are:
Registration: Generally, the users should be able to register using Gmail, Facebook or their personal phone numbers.
Profile Management: To save and edit name, payment options, phone number, and other contact details.
Booking: Interface to enter your location and destination, ride type (car, taxi, or bike), and get confirmation from the driver.
Routing and tracking: To track the driver's route in real-time and see the estimated arrival time.
Fare calculator: To calculate the total cost of the ride before the confirmation.
Payments: Integration of the payment options.
Push notifications: It can be SMS, email, or push notifications. It helps to update the passenger about the confirmation from the driver, arrival time estimation, etc.
Calling/Messaging: To keep in touch with the driver through the app.
Ratings and reviews: To give reviews and ratings to the drivers. It motivates the drivers to provide the best experience to their customers.
Cancellation: To cancel the ride.
Maps: To see the real-time map.
Driver App
Important features you can include in the driver app are:
Registration: To register to the system before using the service.
Profile Management: To save and edit contact and payment details.
Push Notifications: To get updates about the booking details, locations, routes, reviews, ratings, etc.
Accept and reject: To accept or reject the booking.
Price calculator: To calculate the cost of the ride.
Maps: To see the real-time map.
Calling/Messaging: To contact the passengers directly from the app.
Reports: To see the earnings on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis and view the riding history.
Waiting time: To earn extra cash when a passenger is late to the pickup location or cancels after booking.
Forward dispatch: The drivers can accept the next booking during the current ride.
Admin Panel
Admin panel is a central hub
- To add or delete users
- To verify the users
- To keep track of drivers and passengers data
- To manage and monitor payments, locations, booking, notifications, and payouts
- To generate reports
- To make discounts and other offers
- To check the ratings and reviews.
- To provide support to drivers and passengers.
Revenue models for the Uber-like app owners
Without any revenue, it is impossible to generate profit, maintain the app, and provide better services to the users and the stakeholders. So, here are some possible ways to generate income from the platform.
Fees from passengers: Taking commissions from the total cost of the ride.
Fees from drivers: Taking commissions for using the system.
Fees from trip cancellation: Taking fees as a penalty from the drivers or passengers if a confirmed booking is canceled.
In-app ads: Charging third-party users for promoting their business within the app.
What affects the development cost of an Uber-like app?
You shouldn’t think that the cost to build an app like Uber will be the same everywhere. If that is what you are thinking, then you are making a horrible mistake. The development cost depends on various factors.
Here is a list of factors that affect the development cost.
Features
Apart from the features mentioned above, there might be more, like booking a ride in advance, fair split, etc. So, the total cost will vary depending upon your requirements.
The more the features, the more the total development cost and vice versa.
Regions
The development cost varies depending on geographical areas. Here is a list of the average base hourly rate of software engineers in different countries in 2021:
- USA: $46.32
- Germany: $56
- UK: $71
- Sweden: $67
- Ukraine: $37
Platform
The development cost also varies depending on the mobile platform: Android or iOS. Because the app developed for one operating system will not work in another.
So, it is best to target a platform: Android or iOS, or both.
If you ask us, our answer is both platforms. Since there are users who use Android as well as iOS, we can't miss either of them.
Technology stack
The development cost may vary depending on the technology stack you use.
Uber's technology stack includes:
-
Application and data: jQuery, Python, Node.js, React, NGINX, Java, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Amazon EC2, Kafka, Swift, Go, Objective-C, Backbone.js, Cassandra, Apache Spark, Hadoop, Apache Thrift, RIBs, AresDB
-
Utilities: Google Analytics, Elasticsearch, PayPal, Twilio SendGrid, Twilio, Mixpanel, Optimizely, Crazy Egg, TensorFlow, Heap, Braintree, HackerOne, Ludwig
-
DevOps: Grafana, Sentry, Terraform, RequireJS, Prometheus, Puppet Labs, Nagios, Zookeeper, Graphite, Jaeger, Brunch, uberalls, Zap, M3, Makisu, Kraken by Uber, Peloton
-
Business tools: G Suite, Asana, Zendesk, Mattermost, OneLogin, iDoneThis, Delighted
Development team
The development team's expertise, experience, and size also affects the overall development cost of building an app like Uber.
The development team may include:
- Project Manager
- UI/UX Designer
- Android and iOS Developer
- Back-end Developer
- Quality Assurance Engineer
However, the number of members you need in a team depends on the project's size and schedule.
Type of your company
Last but not the least, your company type also affects the total development cost. If you are a startup, then the budget plays a crucial role.
However, for an established company, the budget might not be a big problem for developing the app.
Total development cost estimation
Considering all the functionalities mentioned above, below is the breakdown of the total development cost.
Every cost you see here is based on our region (Asia), i.e.$30 per hour.
The development cost is estimated based on our development team's experience and skills. However, it may vary depending on your needs and the requirements of the app.
Total development cost to build the passenger app.
| Features | Android(hr) | iOS(hr) | BackEnd(hr) | Cost($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration | 45 | 50 | 43 | 4,140 |
| Profile Management | 39 | 43 | 25 | 3,210 |
| Booking | 81 | 87 | 39 | 6,210 |
| Routing and Tracking (Maps, GPS, etc.) | 42 | 51 | 71 | 4,920 |
| Fare Calculator | 21 | 21 | 26 | 2,040 |
| Payments Integration | - | - | 40 | 1,200 |
| Push Notifications | 29 | 30 | 24 | 2,490 |
| Calling/Messaging | 12 | 12 | 12 | 1,080 |
| Ratings and Reviews | 44 | 44 | 26 | 3,420 |
| Total | 313 | 338 | 316 | 29,010 |
Total development cost to build the driver app.
| Features | Android(hr) | iOS(hr) | BackEnd(hr) | Cost($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registration | 43 | 46 | 26 | 3,450 |
| Profile Management | 40 | 47 | 27 | 3,420 |
| Notifications | 32 | 32 | 22 | 2,580 |
| Accept and Request | 52 | 52 | 32 | 4,080 |
| Reports and History | 47 | 47 | 26 | 3,600 |
| Status | 32 | 34 | 20 | 2,580 |
| Total | 246 | 258 | 153 | 19,710 |
Total development cost to build the Admin Panel.
| Features | Android(hr) | iOS(hr) | BackEnd(hr) | Cost($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dashboard (includes every feature mentioned above) | - | - | 300 | 9,000 |
Other development costs.
| Features | Hours | Cost($) |
|---|---|---|
| UI/UX Design | 220 | 6,600 |
| QA | 199 | 5,970 |
| Total | 419 | 12,570 |
The overall development cost will be $70,290 (Android+iOS+BackEnd+UX/UI+QA).
How can you be successful like Uber?
If you are planning to be successful like Uber, then you can think something out of the box. You should consider selling your unique point. Doing the same as Uber might not work if you don't have a local Uber-like service. Otherwise, it might be challenging.
So, here are some possible ways you can bag success, like Uber.
- Investors, sponsorships, and in-app ads are some of the options. With the help of these, not only you, but it will be a win-win situation for passengers and drivers as well. Read further to know how.
- You can add new ways for drivers to earn money. It means more commissions to you.
- For example, monthly rewards for the best drivers based on ratings and reviews. Moreover, it will encourage more and more people looking for ways to earn money to use the service.
- You can make the cost of the ride affordable and convenient compared to other taxi-app services for the passengers. This way, more users will use your app. But, how?
- You can consider in-app ads, sponsorships, investors, and commissions to cut down the fare price.
The more the users, the more revenue you can earn and the more successful you will be.
Why choose Truemark Technology?
Truemark Technology has been in the field of software development for many years.
If you need any help making your Uber-like app a reality, then feel free to contact us. Plus, we provide a free consultation service to help you answer all your queries.
Benefits of working with us:
- Affordable without compromising on quality
- Daily and weekly standups
- Design mockups
- Weekly meetings and presentations
- Implementation of best industry practices
For us, customer satisfaction is above everything, which is reflected in our work and dedication towards the projects. So let's have a chat and work together.