Many businesses we have supported over the years through our agency, knok-studios.com, are committed to having a strong online presence.
After reaching a certain level of development, they often ask us, “Is it worth developing our own app to better reach the Vietnamese market?”
We will address this question in this article, and also outline key considerations you should keep in mind if you decide to embark on developing your own app in Vietnam.
How Exactly Would an App Benefit My Business in Vietnam?
This is often the first question our customers ask when we begin discussing the development of a mobile application.
We categorize the main advantages of having an app for your business into three primary categories:
1> Branding and Improved User Experience
Not every business can afford to develop an app. According to a survey by Top Design Firms, only 48% of small businesses in the USA had their own mobile app in 2022.
While similar data for Vietnam isn’t available, our experience suggests that the proportion would be significantly lower in the country.
It means that:
- Having a well-designed and functional app will undoubtedly strengthen your brand’s image compared to local competitors.
- With an app and a user experience (UX) designed specifically for your needs, you can also streamline customer interactions by integrating payment systems, adding offline functionality, and more…
2> Increased Engagement and Loyalty
Acquiring new customers is great, but have you experienced the benefits of repeat customers?
This touches on the core reason that justifies the cost of developing an app for many businesses.
The advantages are straightforward and rely on an extremely powerful loop that works in Vietnam or elsewhere:
- Collect highly precise data on your customers.
- Tailor a customized loyalty program or individual promotions.
- Send push notifications directly to the device where they spend most of their time.
Does this sound appealing?
Yes—and that’s why companies are so eager to encourage their customers to install their apps.
3> An Avenue for New Business Models
Creating a strong and direct bond with your customers positions you well to offer new products and services, including those of key partners. If executed well, this can be an opportunity to reinvent your own business model.
This approach has already proven successful in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. A prime example is the SuperApp Grab, which has evolved significantly beyond its original ride-hailing service to incorporate multiple services and partnerships.
Who Will Use My App? Vietnam Offers a Massive Potential User Base
A common concern for any company is the challenge of getting customers to actually use their app. This fear is understandable, which is why we do not recommend that all businesses develop an app. However, you should be aware that achieving this goal may be easier in Vietnam compared to some other countries.
1> A Very Connected, Mobile-First Country
First of all, if you have any concerns, rest assured that the Vietnamese population is highly connected. Establishing new digital avenues is not just sensible; it’s essential!
According to the Digital 2024 Vietnam report by datareportal.com, in 2024:
- The country had 78.44 million internet users, positioning it near the top 10 countries by online user count.
This accounted for nearly 80% of the population (79.2% to be precise). - 84% of web pages viewed in Vietnam were accessed via mobile devices, making mobile the dominant choice for internet access over desktops.
- The average number of hours spent per day on the internet was over 6 hours and 18 minutes, with specifically 3 hours and 30 minutes on mobile.
2> A Population Willing to Engage with Apps
Even more pertinent to this article, our research reveals that the Vietnamese are particularly keen to download apps:
According to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), Vietnam ranked among the top 10 countries globally in the number of app downloads in 2022. Data.ai identified as well Vietnam as the second-largest country in Southeast Asia in terms of downloads, with 3.5 billion app downloads that same year.
We also regularly monitor, for professional purposes, the most popular apps on both Android and iOS in Vietnam.
We have observed much more mobility in the rankings compared to Western markets. This indicates a clear tendency among Vietnamese users to download new apps just to try them, which provides a clear advantage for smaller market players.
Lastly, it’s a misconception that Vietnamese download apps but do not spend on them. This is entirely false.
According to Statista, in 2023, consumer spending on mobile apps in Vietnam amounted to over $550 million.
E-commerce has also been booming in the country, and all the major players have their own apps. We have detailed this in our article on E-commerce in Vietnam.
iOS or Android, or Both?
Once the decision to launch their own app has been made, our clients often ask us: “Do I really need to have both an iOS and Android app for the Vietnamese market?”
It’s true that developing an app for both Android and iOS incurs additional costs, as each operating system has its own specific requirements.
The specific data for Vietnam is quite definitive—having an application for both Android and iOS is essential to fully cover this market:
In 2023, Android accounted for 65% of the mobile web traffic, while iOS processed 35%. This indicates that iOS usage in Vietnam is more widespread than the global average, which stands at 28%.
This data would not be complete without noting a crucial point: iOS users are typically more “valuable” than Android users.
Although we lack specific data for Vietnam, global trends consistently show that iOS users spend more in-apps than Android users, even though this gap has been narrowing.
How Much Will It Cost to Develop My App in Vietnam?
Answering how much it will cost to develop an app in Vietnam is not straightforward, as it largely depends on the functionalities you wish to integrate into your app.
What is fairly certain, however, is that choosing to develop your solution in Vietnam with the right partners can likely allow you to benefit from a better value for the price than in most Western countries.
You might not be aware, but Vietnam has become a significant IT outsourcing hub in Asia, thanks to the availability of skilled and affordable developers.
Here are some examples of average monthly gross salaries (before tax and excluding bonuses, overtime, and other benefits) for developers with up to 3 years of experience:
| IOS Developer | $1,228 |
| Android Developer | $1,161 |
Source topdev.vn
This environment has even enabled giants like FPT Software to flourish, which now employs over 27,000 people worldwide.
If you need a price range per project, the rate of a reputable company like us at knok-studios.com will be between:
- 10k to 30k USD for a “small” app
- 2k to 10k USD for a Demo App Mockup
Get a Free Cost Estimation for Your App
If you want to know exactly how much it would cost to develop your own app in Vietnam, we invite you to contact us.
Founded in 2018, our agency has successfully led multiple app development projects, maintaining the right balance between cost and quality. All our projects are led by our team of expatriates, ensuring flawless communication with our clients.
