Video chat apps are all the rage these days. They make it easy for you to stay in touch with friends from anywhere in the world. They are the key communication tools for remote and distributed teams. The list of video chat app use cases can go on, so there is no wonder if you want to build your own one in 2024.
This guide will help you find out how to create a video chat app step-by-step, following the practice-proven tips and successful examples of industry-leading solutions.
Types of Video Chat Apps
According to Statista, video conferencing software market volume is projected to reach $27,3 billion by 2026. For comparison, this figure was only $14,6 billion in 2021.
That’s why there is no surprise that video conferencing and chatting apps are on the rise, triggered by the recent pandemic and massive switch to remote work. There is also no surprise that the solutions from different niches have video chatting features in-built. However, it is still possible to classify video chat applications. Let’s do it together so that you get an idea of the category your future application will belong to.
Video conferencing apps - Google Meet and Zoom
Google Meet and Zoom are both video conferencing apps that allow you to connect with others through a video call, share your screen, schedule the calls by taking the time zone of each team member into account, share your free slots with team members, as well as record your meetings for later viewing. As a rule, video conferencing apps are used for business goals, and that’s why they are able to withstand huge loads and connect with up to 500 people at the same time (within the Zoom Enterprise subscription plan).
Video calling apps – FaceTime
Video calling apps are meant for one-on-one chats between two people who are close by—like family members or friends who live in the same city or state. FaceTime is one example of this type of app. This is a video calling app that lets you call other iOS users over Wi-Fi or cellular data.
Social media – Instagram and Snapchat
Instagram and Snapchat are social media platforms that use video calls as a way to communicate with friends. Instagram lets you connect with people through live video chats while Snapchat allows you to send pictures and short videos over time before they disappear forever. You are also welcome to find out how to create an app like Snapchat in our dedicated article.
Instant messengers – Telegram and What’s App
If you have ever wondered how to make a messaging app, we bet you know that most modern instant messengers come with video chatting features as well. Usually, these features include but aren’t limited to video calls, short video messages, and video conferencing with a group of people. Telegram, for example, has all of them.
Online dating apps – Badoo and Tinder
Despite Badoo and Tinder belonging to the online dating apps category, they also come with video calling features. The goal of a video chat in this case is to provide more opportunities for entertainment, allowing the users who’ve matched to meet each other virtually and decide whether or not they are ready for a date in real life.
How Do Video Chat Apps Make Money?
Video chat apps make money in a variety of ways. Below are the most viable strategies to monetize your video chat solution.
- Subscription. Subscription models are growing in popularity because they allow application owners to connect with their audience on an individual basis, and use that connection to build a larger community around the brand.
- Advertising. Advertising is another popular way for video chat apps to make money since it’s easy to integrate ads into the content of your app and target customers based on their interests.
- Pay per download. Some video chat apps use pay-per-download models, which means the users pay a one-time fee per download rather than paying a monthly subscription fee. This model works well for businesses that want to reach as many potential customers as possible but don’t want to commit to a long-term contract.
- In-app purchases. In-app purchases are another way some video chat apps make money. In this case, the users can buy more advanced features or additional functionality within the app itself.
- Mixed model. Finally, there’s the mixed model: it combines several different types of revenue streams. This is a strategy that mature apps follow. When they get enough users, they can divide them into different groups and customize the monetization tactics accordingly, for example, showing the ads to new customers and selling subscriptions to already loyal ones.
Step-by-step Strategy to Create a Video Chat App
After we discovered the main types of video chatting apps and the ways they name money, let’s proceed with overviewing the video chat app development process. Next, we will explain how to make a video chat app stage-by-stage.
Research the market to come up with an idea
If you are thinking about ways to build a video chat app, there are many things to consider. First of all, you need to come up with an idea for it. The market is already saturated with popular video chat apps and creating a clone makes no sense at all. You need to analyze the market and competitors, as well as pay attention to emerging trends – for example, recently messaging and video chatting apps with additional security layers become trendy.
Decide whether you will create a video chat website or app
If you’re looking to develop a video chat app, there are a lot of things to think about. Where will it be used? Will it be used on a mobile device or on a desktop? Fortunately, in the case of video chatting apps, the choice is pretty intuitive, following from the app use case directly.
- Video conferencing website. If your video chat app is going to be created for business purposes (like conducting team meetings), then having an online website with audio and video capabilities makes more sense and is more convenient compared to a mobile app.
- Video chatting mobile app. And vice versa, if you plan on having people use the app on their phones, then it makes sense to develop a mobile app instead of an online website. Choose this tactic if your future app will come with entertainment or social media features.
After you choose the platform, proceed with choosing the technologies to build either a web conferencing website or an app. For example, you can use JavaScript and React.js to build a video chat site. For video call app development, Kotlin for Android and Swift for iOS can be worth-considering options.
However, keep in mind that leading video chatting apps have both web and mobile versions. So, get started with the one that fits your audience most, and then, proceed with creating an additional version.
Create a future app or website prototype
Creating a design prototype is the next step in video calling app development. It should be clear and intuitive so that the app is easy to use. At this stage, it is important to make sure that your app design is as user-friendly as possible. It must be easy to navigate, with a smooth interface, and it should have no glitches or errors when running. Here are some things you should keep in mind when creating your prototype:
- Keep it simple and don’t use too many colors or images on each page/screen
- Use patterns and common UI elements that people already know how to use (like buttons)
- Use plenty of white space around text boxes and buttons so they’re easy to read.
Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
The best way to get a handle on how to create a video chat app is to start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). That means you should build the most basic version of your app that you can, and then see if it works.
To find the answer to this question, test your MVP with the target audience. At this point, you want to evaluate if there is an opportunity for growth if there are any bugs in the software itself (or any other issues that need to be addressed), and whether or not people are willing to pay for it.
Once you know what works and what doesn’t work with your product, you can use this information as a starting point for adding more advanced features as needed. This way, instead of building everything at once and then trying to figure out how to fix things later on down the road, you’ll be able to tweak things as needed along the way so that everything works perfectly together.
And one more important thing to keep in mind. The technologies you choose for your MVP development will define the cost to build your video chat app. We have already explained that in this case, a website or mobile app makes the most sense depending on the main use case but building any of them from scratch can be pretty costly. That’s why we suggest using cross-platform development technologies for building an MVP. Get in touch with us now to discover how to build a video chat app using React Native and get an estimate of your development costs.
Video Chat App Development Cost
Despite the choice of technologies and the list of features is decisive for the cost to build a video chat app, it is still possible to come up with an average estimate to do it. Below we list the basic features of a video chat app and the total cost to develop them.
While the cost to develop the basic features will take the lion’s share of your development budget, there are also unskippable tasks you have to cope with on the way to create your video chatting application.
So, the total cost to develop a video calling app is approximately $55,000 for an MVP version of the future solution. You are always welcome to contact us for a more accurate estimate that will take the specifics of your idea and the most suitable technologies to make it happen.
Final Words – Make a Video Chat App with Binerals
Making a video chat application is not an easy task, but the rewards can be great. The key is to use the right tools and technology so that you don’t waste time and money on something that doesn’t work for you.
If you have an idea for a video chat application and you’re looking for a development partner, we’d love to hear from you. We have diverse expertise and practical experience with chatting, messaging, and social media app development. To let you avoid hiring troubles and overhead costs, we would be happy to set up a dedicated development team so you can start building your project in no time!
Reach out to us now for top-quality video chat app development services!
How to find an idea for eLearning platform development?
You can find an idea for eLearning platform development in a variety of places. You can look at the market, and see what kind of products and services are already available, and how they compare to your own. You can also look at the industry you’re targeting, and figure out what needs there might be that aren’t currently being met by existing products and services.
Why is building your own eLearning website promising?
There are several reasons why creating your own eLearning platform is a promising idea for both startups and mature companies. While the first can easily tap into the trendy industry with an innovative product, big organizations are welcome to give their employees a better way to train and/or attract new customers with high-quality educational content.
What technology to choose for creating an eLearning app?
The choice of technology to build an eLearning solution largely depends on its type. For example, if you want to build an app for learning a foreign language, developing a mobile app makes the most sense. With it, the users will be able to learn on the go and in short iterations. More sophisticated solutions like LMS, virtual classrooms, or online course marketplaces are better to build on web technologies. Get in touch with our tech experts to discuss your idea and shortlist the most effective tools for your online learning platform development.
How to gather a tech team to build an eLearning platform?
You can either build an in-house team on your own or hire freelance developers but opting for a dedicated development team is a smarter approach. In this case, you don’t have to worry about managing or training them; dedicated programmers already know how and what to do. Plus, they’re experts in their field, so they’ll be able to help you make decisions that will save you time and money down the road.
How much does it cost to create an eLearning app MVP?
Creating an MVP for your eLearning app can be a big investment. Depending on what your app does, it may cost anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000. If you’re just testing out some ideas and don’t need anything too fancy, you might be able to get away with something simpler (and cheaper). In this case, you might only need to create a prototype or wireframe to test how people react to a certain type of interface.
But if you want to create something to impress potential users and investors, get ready for making a significant investment in advance. The location of your development team also matters for the cost to build an eLearning website. That’s why we kidnly recommend hiring highly-qualified Ukrainian programmers at a competitive cost.
