你知道，開發一個App要花多少錢嗎？
Do you ever have an idea for that million-dollar app? Something so simple it’s crazy that it doesn’t exist and one so obviously good that it’s guaranteed to be the next Uber. Of course you sometimes think that way, everyone does. The problem is that very few people actually take steps to get the thing actually made.
你對耗費百萬美元的app（應用程序）有概念嗎？一些很簡單的事也會讓人爲之瘋狂，它並不存在的，但明顯很好，被確保成爲下一個優步（打車軟件）。當然有時候你會這麼想，每個人都會。問題是很少有人能真正採取措施去實踐。
I have an idea for an app — a social network for airports. Need a charger? Just ask and see if someone has one they aren’t using. Flight delayed? Get a group of people together for a game of cards. Got time to kill? Swing by the bar that’s offering a free drink. It’s something I know will work but, like everyone else, I haven’t done much about it other than tell my developer friends and hope they say, “I’ll build it for you!”
我曾想開發一個與機場航班相關的社交app。需要充電器？只需要問問看是否有人有閒置的。航班延誤？那就召集一羣人一起打牌。想打發時間？去免費提供飲料的酒吧晃晃吧。我知道我能實現這些事，但和其他人一樣，我除了跟做開發的朋友說了這個想法，並希望他們對我說“我來幫你做吧！”之外，並沒有做更多的工作。
It’s not that it’s not a great idea (it’s a GREAT idea), but I don’t even know where to start. I don’t know the first thing about building an app. Nor am I particularly interested in learning how to code so I can do it myself.
並不是說這不是一個好想法（其實是一個很棒的想法），但我甚至不知道從哪裏開始。我不知道開發app的第一步要做什麼。我對學習寫代碼也不是特別有興趣，所以難以自己完成。
How much does it cost? How long will it take? Can I just pay someone to do it for me?
會花多少錢？要花多長時間？我能付錢讓別人幫我做嗎？
What you can expect
你能期待什麼
Enter Gigster, a company that specializes in helping technically illiterate people outsource work to world-class developers. According to Gigster, the best way to figure out the total cost of building an app is to start with an MVP.
進入Gigster，這是一個專門幫助技術不通的人把工作外包給世界一流開發者的公司。根據Gigster的說法，要弄明白開發一款app總共要花多少錢，最好的方法是從MVP開始。
No, I’m not talking about Steph Curry. MVP stands for Minimum Viable Product. Basically, the simplest (and cheapest) version of a product to test the validity of the idea so you can see if it works before betting the farm.
不，我並不是在說史蒂芬·庫裏。MVP是指最小可行性產品。基本上，用一款產品最簡單（也是最便宜）的版本來測試想法的正確性，這樣你就能在孤注一擲前檢驗下是否可行。
Back when they were first getting started, Gigster calculated the estimated cost of the MVP for a bunch of popular apps by building a version of the app themselves in order to get a reasonable pricing baseline. They outlined the technical specs of apps like Uber, Airbnb, Tinder, and Yelp, then calculated the cost of the MVP based on the time and talent required to build and integrate the key features.
回到一開始的時候，Gigster通過自己開發一款app的版本，計算出一些流行app最小可行性產品的大概花費，以便得到合理的價格基準。他們列出像優步、空中食宿、Tinder（手機交友軟件）、Yelp（點評軟件）等app的技術規格，然後建立在具體時間和性能上，計算出開發和整合關鍵功能的MVP的花費。
Based on their data, building the MVP version of “Yelp for Music Festivals” will cost between $30-$38k and take 3 months, while “Airbnb for paddleboards” is in the $37-$41k range.
根據他們的數據，建立“音樂節版Yelp”的MVP版本會花費3到3.8萬美元，3個月；而“衝浪板空中食宿”會花費3.7到4.1萬美元。
Keep in mind that this is the cost for the most basic version of an app. For a polished beta, Gigster says expect to pay an additional 50% of the cost of the MVP. And a launch-ready product can cost about 3 to 4 times the amount of an MVP, hence the importance of proving the concept and raising money.
記住這些花費是app的最基本版本，對於一個優化的測試版，Gigster認爲MVP的費用會增加50%。一個可發佈產品的MVP會進行3到4次，因此證明概念和籌集資金是非常重要的。
So if you’re building “Tinder for Wiccans,” you’ll likely spend around $37k for the MVP, plus an additional $18k for the beta version, for a whopping total of $56k (just for the iOS version). If you choose to go with an Android version, that’ll run you closer to $52k.
所以如果你想開發“巫士Tinder”，你將會爲MVP花費3.7萬美元，加上附加測試版本的1.8萬美元，總共是5.6萬美元的龐大開支（只是iOS版本）。如果你想要開發安卓版本，將會花費你將近5.2萬美元。
The difference in price between iOS and Android has less to do with the fact that Apple is clearly sitting at the popular kids’ table, while Android is in the bathroom, getting a swirly. The price for this dev work all comes down to the sheer number of hours required to build the product and developing for iOS takes longer than for Android. Hence, bigger price tag for you.
iOS和安卓之間的價格差異並沒有那麼大，相較於蘋果更多出現在時尚孩子的桌子上，安卓更多地出現在浴室，真讓人糾結。開發工作的費用比較固定，但開發iOS比安卓要花費更長的時間。所以，做好準備掏更多的錢吧。
Now you know what to expect
現在你知道該期待什麼了
All this gives you a new perspective on Uber, dunnit? They probably spent somewhere around $120-$200k to build the first version of an app that’s now worth somewhere north of $60B. Not a bad investment, Kalanick. Well played.
所有這些給了你一個新視角去看待優步，不是嗎？他們可能花費了12到20萬美元去開發app的第一個版本，現在價值600億美元以上。對卡拉尼克來說，這是一個好投資，幹得漂亮。
So what’s the takeaway here? First off, have a realistic expectation for cost and time before exploring a new project.
所以關鍵問題是什麼？首先，在開始新項目之前對花費和時間有一個現實的期望。
Second, consider your development options. The average software developer’s salary is around $100k and that doesn’t even account for payroll taxes, benefits, and all the other fun stuff required to start a company and hire someone. If you use a company like Gigster, however, you work with an experienced team to get exactly what you want at a one-time cost. It’s easy, cost effective, and will free up your time to work on the go-to-market strategy, launch plan, and/or raise money. Or you could learn to code and do it yourself but ain’t nobody got time for that.
其次，考慮你的開發選項。軟件開發工程師的平均工資在10萬美元左右，還不包括工資稅、福利、以及其他一切爲了創辦公司並招聘員工而投入的內容。不過，如果你使用像Gigster這樣的公司，你會和一支有經驗的團隊一起工作，一次付費就能得到你想要的東西。這很簡單、也很划算，給你省下時間投入到市場推廣策略、發佈會計劃、籌集資金上。或者你可以學習寫代碼進而自己開發，但不是所有人都有時間這麼做。
Good luck out there and keep hustlin’. Just be careful about taking on Uber. Those guys know where you live.
祝你好運，保持忙碌吧。只是在乘坐優步的時候要小心，這些人知道你住在哪裏。
