The healthcare industry is increasingly being improved through the introduction of various technologies. One of the leaders of such technological introductions can rightfully be considered ZocDoc, an app for making doctor's appointments and securely storing medical information. Because of its simplicity, ZocDoc has encouraged many new entrepreneurs to create similar apps that focus more on specific areas or groups of people. But how many resources does it take to build a doctor booking app like ZocDoc?
In this article, we will outline the main financial aspects of creating such an app, the conditions that affect costs, and provide you with tips on how to make your app of decent quality and optimal value. Let's get started!
🏷️ The Actual Cost to Build a Healthcare App Like ZocDoc
Designing an app like ZocDoc is much more than just writing the lines of code — it entails an understanding of what users expect, a knowledge of the rules governing the healthcare industry, and a knowledge of the market trends.
Several factors imply significant costs when building a doctor booking app like ZocDoc. Thus, any stage — design, development, or testing and deployment — should be carefully considered in terms of time and resources. On average, the cost to build a healthcare app like ZocDoc will range from $45,500 to $97,500.
An accurate budget estimation is necessary to ensure the successful development and deployment of a ZocDoc-like healthcare app.
(image by strangehelix.bio)
In the following sections, you will learn more about the factors that affect the cost to develop a healthcare app like ZocDoc and how to take them into account most effectively to ensure your app's success.
📊 Understanding the Cost Components of Building an App Like ZocDoc
The cost of building a medical appointment booking app like ZocDoc depends on a number of factors, which we will discuss below. This will help you understand how to finance such a project in the best possible way. Here is a detailed overview of the main cost components:
Software Licensing
Licensing forms the backbone of every healthcare application, especially if it is compliant with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, or HITECH. These licenses ensure that sensitive patient information is well protected.
Additionally, the inclusion of third-party APIs for telemedicine app development, payments, or geolocation will further increase the total cost of developing a medical app like ZocDoc.
This fee can range from $5,000 to $15,000 for the basic model, although prices will increase as additional services are added, such as artificial intelligence for analytics or data protection on the blockchain.
Similarly, building a medication management app requires strict adherence to these standards to safeguard prescription and adherence data.
Implementation and Development Costs
Most of the investment is spent on the actual creation of the app. About the variability of your costs when creating an application like ZocDoc:
1. Features and complexity. Priorities, which include scheduling, patient profile, notifications, telemedicine, virtual visits and symptom checks, insurance verification, and payment.
2. Team composition. On average, a true development team should consist of UI/UX designers, front- and back-end developers, and quality assurance engineers. Depending on the region, the hourly rate can range from $40-$60 in Asia to $100-$200 in North America.
3. Cross-platform development. Developing for both Android and iOS increases costs but provides a wider reach. Using cross-platform frameworks such as Flutter or React Native can optimize costs.
Infrastructure Costs
Infrastructure costs, which include servers, databases, and cloud services, are integral to the overall cost to create an app like ZocDoc. A reliable and scalable backend ensures uninterrupted operation even during peak loads.
Estimating the cost to create an app like ZocDoc involves analyzing its complexity, design, and required integrations.
(image by Hatypo Studio)
Most of the cloud hosting platforms such as AWS and Google Cloud use the license model whereby the user is charged per use, basic usage costs around $500 per month. Safeguarding patient and telemedicine data can cost from $5,000 – $10,000 per year for large volumes of information, such as patient records. And incorporating resources like Google Maps for placing an item or Stripe for payment gateway integrated usually cost an addition of $10000-$20000 to the main development price.
Ongoing Maintenance and Support Costs
Sustaining and refreshing the application becomes a good way to guarantee long-term success once the application has been developed and deployed. Ongoing costs are expected to be around 33% of the initial development budget annually. This implies periodic updates that support new versions of OS based on users’ feedback, improvement of infrastructure to cater for further expansion and a support team to address challenges from operations.
🔑 Factors that Affect Costs to Develop a Healthcare App Like ZocDoc
The cost to develop a mobile app like ZocDoc involves multiple variables that influence the overall expenses. These factors can have severe impacts on the development schedule, resources and cost. Below, we break down the key cost drivers for creating such an app:
App Type
The type of application you envision will largely determine its complexity and cost. There are two main types of ZocDoc applications:
- Basic applications: Basic functions such as making doctor's appointments and registering users are thought to be easier to implement and thus cost less.
- Advanced applications: Integrating innovations such as telemedicine or AI-based symptom checking or EHR integration increases development costs.
Platform (iOS, Android, Cross-Platform)
The choice of platform always affects both the target audience and the cost to make a healthcare app like ZocDoc. Developing an app for one platform is cheaper than developing the same app for iOS and Android platforms. The best solution is cross-platform doctor appointment app development. Thanks to libraries like react native or flutter, you can create iOS and Android apps at the same time.
The cost to develop an app like ZocDoc depends on the complexity of features.
(image by Nixtio)
💡Reminder💡
Don't forget that you need a web version of your app as well. However, ZocDoc does not have a web version, so developing a desktop version can help capture a wider market share among users who prefer computers or those who want to use the features of an app like ZocDoc without even downloading it to their mobile phone.
Development Cost Factors | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|
Platform Choice | $5,000 – $12,000 |
Features and Functionality
The functionality of the application is the most important factor affecting the cost to develop a doctor appointment app like ZocDoc. Let's look at possible features for such an application using the example of ZocDoc:
Development Cost Factors | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|
Patient Features:
| $8,000 - $15,500 |
Doctor Features:
| $7,000 - $14,000 |
Admin Features:
| $7,500 - $15,000 |
UI / UX
UI/UX design is critical in ZocDoc clone app development. For such important health-related issues, users always expect to see a user-friendly and intuitive app. That's why there is always a special prototyping phase: to design the layouts of all screens and test the ease of navigation before developers start coding. This way, it eliminates rework and saves budget.
When working with the look and feel of the app, pay special attention to brevity and calm colors. The inclusion of animations, including sliding transitions between record forms, gives the impression of a modern application, but they should be used with caution, as their use should never compromise the functional integrity of the medical application.
Development Cost Factors | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|
UI / UX Design | $5,000 - $10,000 |
Backend Development
Since medical applications include backend and databases, these components must be fine-tuned and optimized for performance when dealing with vast amounts of information. Patient data, physician schedules, and patient records are stored in the ZocDoc database for real-time updates. To achieve this level of performance, it is wise to utilize cloud-based solutions such as AWS or Google Cloud. These services are efficient as resources can be allocated based on traffic and also have a guaranteed storage solution.
Keep in mind that the application created cannot violate standards such as HIPAA or GDPR, which require data to be encrypted and locked down with multiple layers of authorization. For example, one of the constituent measures that ZocDoc applies is a two-factor authentication process for user accounts.
Development Cost Factors | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|
Backend Development | $10,000 - $20,000 |
Third-Party Integrations
Using third-party services also entails additional costs. For example, ZocDoc covers telemedicine, allowing you to make video calls with doctors through the app. If you want to enable such a feature, you can simply use off-the-shelf APIs such as Twilio and Agora, where you don't need to code from scratch.
Payments can also be considered an important element of this list. Tools like Stripe and PayPal provide secure and convenient payment methods, allowing you to transfer funds instantly and efficiently.
Development Cost Factors | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|
Third-Party Integrations | $3,000 - $7,000 |
Testing and Quality Assurance
Testing is considered one of the mandatory stages of creating medical applications for patients. Such applications deal with sensitive information, so in addition to the usual tests, it is important to test security for weaknesses, as well as load testing, as this platform should remain stable even with high traffic.
Both manual and automated tools are used to make testing more efficient. For example, when robotic automation is used, frequently used tests such as booking and canceling appointments can be easily performed.
Development Cost Factors | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|
Testing and Quality Assurance | $5,000 - $10,000 |
Maintenance and Updates
Work on an application does not end after release. A focus on constant updating and adding new features increases competitiveness. For example, ZocDoc is constantly updating and improving the efficiency of its scheduling service and adding new options such as reminders, etc. The annual cost of maintaining the models built is typically around 33% of what was invested at the start. So, if you are planning to introduce features like chatbot with artificial intelligence or integration of wearable devices in the future, additional investments will also be required.
Development Cost Factors | Estimated Cost Range |
|---|---|
Annual Maintenance (33%) | $15,015 - $32,175 |
Creating an app like ZocDoc can only be done with proper and smart planning. This means emphasizing on getting the basics right and then adding new features. With MVP, you can launch your app and see how people react to it before investing a lot of money in complex features. This makes development a step-by-step process to manage costs while improving the product based on data and audience feedback.
💡 4 Ways to Reduce Doctor Appointment App like ZocDoc Cost
Developing a doctor appointment app like ZocDoc cost-effectively requires thoughtful planning. Here are four proven strategies to optimize your budget and simplify the development process:
Outsource the Development
It is cheaper to outsource doctor appointment app development, especially if the outsourcing company is located in an economically advantageous part of the world without compromising on quality. For example, if the developers are from Asia or Eastern Europe, they are likely to offer much lower prices than a developer from North America.
Validate Your Idea
You shouldn't immediately start building an app and spend significant development costs without testing your idea with your target market. Conduct surveys and create a prototype to start building user personas. You can find out user requirements and expectations before it's too late to redesign and pay for unused features.
This approach means that you are very selective about which functionalities to pay for, ensuring that only those that are most important to users are prioritized.
Efficient project management can help control healthcare mobile app development expenses and stay within your financial plan.
(image by Pickolab Studio)
Create an MVP
To make a lightweight version of the app containing key features such as appointment booking capabilities and profiles, you can start by creating an MVP. With this step, you'll be able to test the market response before going big. The next steps will allow you to integrate new options into the app when it becomes popular, such as if users want telemedicine capabilities or analytics dashboards.
Use 3rd Party Resources
Use existing APIs and third-party tools to outsource some of the work and reduce development time and cost. For example, API solutions for scheduling, payment portals, and map integration such as Google Map APIs will provide important functionality without the need for coding. Using recognized solutions ensures reliability and rapid implementation.
By implementing these cost-reduction strategies, you can bring your app idea to life efficiently and economically while maintaining the high standards expected in healthcare applications.
📈 Estimating Return on Investment (ROI) of Apps like ZocDoc
ZocDoc is an example of a powerful healthcare app: its creation required not only money and time, but also creativity on the part of its creators to devise ways to generate a high return on investment. Here's a closer look at how the cost of building an app like ZocDoc can translate into millions in ROI by revolutionizing healthcare services.
1. Revenue Streams: Diversified Income Channels
Apps like ZocDoc provide multiple monetization streams, which means that these healthcare apps are both valuable and viable from a revenue perspective. Key revenue streams include:
- Subscription plans: Based on surveys of healthcare providers, they are charged a monthly or annual fee for premium ads or placement on pages that receive more traffic.
- Commission on bookings: The platform may ask for a commission on any booking made online through the app.
- In-app advertising: Showing ads for pharmaceuticals, health and wellness products or medical services is another source of revenue.
- Freemium models: Make most app features free, but charge for components such as video calls or data analytics.
These diverse revenue channels help ensure recurring revenue and achieve the highest ROI.
2. Reducing Operational Healthcare Mobile App Development Expenses
For healthcare providers, the app is an operational powerhouse. Apps reduce administrative burdens in a multitude of ways, including automatically scheduling appointments, maintaining patient records, and making payments. These efficiencies free up resources for clinics and hospitals, which increases patient satisfaction with care and therefore improves patient retention.
3. Growing Consumer Preference
There is already a huge demand for healthcare apps. Just imagine that one in four patients prefer online booking over other booking options.
Keeping all the trends in mind ensures that your app captures a good segment of the market and thereby increasing the overall return on investment.
With a platform-based business model complemented with innovative features, an app like ZocDoc generates enough revenue for sustainability and lays the foundation for expansion and meaningful transformation of the field. By investing in an app like this, one is investing in a better, more efficient tomorrow for the healthcare system.
🤝 Why Choose Stormotion to Make a Healthcare App like ZocDoc
We at Stormotion have several successful projects in which we have developed fresh and inventive healthcare apps that meet today's consumer demands. Our experience in creating healthcare apps is evident in the Caspar Health and Life Bonus projects.
In this section, we would like to elaborate on our experience and approaches to developing and improving healthcare apps.
(Image by Stormotion)
At Caspar Health, we have implemented specific scheduling and management solutions tailored to the requirements of therapists to show that we can develop clear and integrated appointment tools. These are basic application features required for successful patient-physician interactions, similar to those used in ZocDoc applications.
(Image by Stormotion)
At LifeBonus, we have created an easy-to-use app for managing medical tasks and for caregivers of the elderly. This project demonstrates how to develop app interfaces that are user-friendly for all types of users, from working staff to elderly health care visitors.
In Caspar Health and LifeBonus, we utilized custom-designed APIs to work with patient information to ensure they were protected and updated in real time. Similarly, insurance verification, physician rating and telemedicine service like the one proposed by ZocDoc would be feasible components as we have extensive experience with them.
Both projects follow country-specific data security regulations and privacy requirements and international standards, including GDPR and HIPAA. Thus, we are confident that we can build a healthcare app similar to Zocdoc that is completely secure and in full compliance with the law when it comes to patient data.
Using frameworks such as React Native we have created iOS and Android versions of the app. This approach is paramount because an app like ZocDoc needs to provide security on as many platforms as possible without consuming an exorbitant amount of resources.
👂 Takeaways
Creating a healthcare app is a great business idea in a fast-growing market, but it has its share of challenges that require thoughtful planning. After analyzing numerous sources in this article, including information on market trends, cost breakdown, and key features, let's draw some basic conclusions:
- The cost to develop an app like Zocdoc typically ranges from $45,500 to $97,500, depending on the level of development, location, or preferred platform.
- Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test the market and prioritize essential features.
- Ensure compliance with healthcare regulations like HIPAA or GDPR to build trust and avoid legal risks
- Monetize the app on monthly, annual or one-time subscriptions to doctors and healthcare providers, commissions from any bookings or premium doctor ads.
As a healthcare app development company, we can help you create an innovative solution that will improve the quality of patient care, optimize medical processes and increase accessibility to healthcare services. Contact us now, and let's work together to create quality apps that help people be healthy!
![Stormotion client David Lesser, CEO from [object Object]](/static/93e047dadd367691c604d8ffd1f54b58/1b3aa/david.webp)
