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Thanks to the revolution in the sphere of communication, today it is possible to talk, text, chat, video call, share pictures, videos, and much more in just a few taps or swipes. Apps like Snapchat, WhatsApp, and others have become an important part of our lives today and you would see hardly anyone with a mobile that doesn’t have one or most of these apps. Realizing the fact that the craze and use of chat apps will continue to rise in the years to come as well, many entrepreneurs are now considering the idea of cloning these apps by adding more features. 

If you are also considering developing such an app, you may try. As one of the most sought-after mobile app development companies, we can help in that.  But before you proceed with the idea of having a Snapchat-like app developed, it makes sense to learn about the app – inside out. Let’s quickly discuss the time, cost, and functionalities involved in building an app like Snapchat.  

As we all know, Snapchat is a video messaging app that lets users record videos, click photos, add drawings, and text to the videos and photos and share them with their family and friends. What distinguishes Snapchat from the rest is that it allows users to fix a time-limit wherein the recipient can view the snaps (text, video messages) for a specified time.  Both Android and iOS users can use this app. Launched in 2011, Snapchat makes huge revenues every year in billions. The estimated worth of the company is above $20 billion, making it one of the most successful messaging apps in the world. With the demand rising among entrepreneurs for building successful video messaging apps like Snapchat, the cost of development has also gone up significantly. 

We’ve developed several chat apps for our esteemed clients across the USA, Russia, Australia, the UK, Germany, and other parts of the world. Important features of Snapchat that you would surely want to have in your video chat app are discussed below for your kind reference. 

• Registration: you don’t need a social media login to be able to start using Snapchat, which makes it a highly chosen platform among the youngsters who simply don’t what to add their parents to the list of contacts who are already connected to their other social platforms. The registration process to Snapchat is easy and all you need to do is enter your name, date of birth, and contact number. Next, choose your nickname and there you go. You may also go for a similar registration process. The time to develop the frontend and backend of the platform may range anywhere from 60-70 years. 

• Integration of contacts: Adding contacts to Snapchat is easy. A user has 4 options to add contacts namely 

  1. Search using the username

  2. Allow Snapchat to access your phonebook and import contacts from there

  3. Add contacts that are in your geographical proximity

  4. Share Snapchat via message, social media, or email

Typically, a developer may take anywhere between 50 and 90 hours to develop similar functionality. 

• Real-Time Messaging: Similar to any other social media app you pick today, Snapchat also allows real-time chatting option. To facilitate push notification and messaging system in your Snapchat-like app, you may utilize HTTP and push notification technologies. Estimated time for developing this functionality may range anywhere from 70 to 100 hours.

• Vanishing Messages: This is one of the biggest contributors to the overall cost of developing an app like Snapchat. Let me explain the disappearing messages feature to you and how it works. The user sends a message to another Snapchat user. The message is uploaded on the servers of Snapchat. The user receives message notifications and the message is downloaded on the device’s temp location. When the user views the message, it gets removed from the server and the chat as well within 24 hours. The development times that is best estimated if you add this functionality to your Snapchat-like app is somewhere around 100-120 hours. 

• Audio-Video Notes: Like in Snapchat, users can record their messages and send 10-sec video to other users, you may also look for a similar feature in your app as well. This is ideal for creating and sending a GIF. This feature allows the exchange of audio-visual messages.

• Audio-Video Calls: Just like Whatsapp, Snapchat too lets you place audio-video calls. Adding this feature to your Snapchat-like app may take around a month’s time for the developer. 

• Stickers: Millennials simply love this feature. Stickers keep users entertained and engaged with the app. Your app developer may need at least 10 hours to integrate stickers to your app. 

Other key features you may want your Snapchat-like app to have include lenses, story, discover, Geolifter, etc. 

How Much It Will Cost Me If I Want to Build an App Like Snapchat?

Are you wondering how much does it cost to build an app like Snapchat? Here’s your answer to this question. Remember, when it comes to creating a successful social media or chat app, there are many factors involved in the process. First of all, the app must have an outstanding user interface and great user experience plus it should have all the features and functionalities a user may look for in such an app. Talking about the cost, it is simple to calculate. Since the cost of developing any website, app, or any other social identity is calculated by multiplying the hours that would be consumed in coding, designing, testing, and other frontend and backend operations to the cost of each task, we may say that the overall cost of building a Snapchat-like can fall anywhere between $45,000 and $55,000. You may discuss your app features and functionalities to get a clear estimate of the same. Call our app development experts to get a free quote!

Disclaimer: Please note the information above is based purely on the research and study we conduct online. It is there only for the purpose of information and knowledge. Talking with our experts to get an exact cost for developing a similar app is, therefore, highly recommended.