Video streaming apps have gained instant popularity in recent few years as people look for more flexible and personalized services to watch their favorite movies, TV shows, and many more things o their mobile devices. Netflix is an amazing video streaming app that allows you to watch umpteen movies and TV Shows for its paid subscription. The app currently has more than 160 million subscribers worldwide and the total revenue for the year 2020 was reported to be USD 25.6 billion and is expected to reach 125 billion by the end of 2025. You will be also surprised to know that Netflix users generate 40% of global internet traffic. Netflix dominates the global on-demand video streaming services and the craze for this app have successfully captivated 15% of the world’s total population.

Moreover, explosion of smartphones has allowed people to watch their favorite content and videos anytime, anywhere. There is still a great demand for such video streaming apps that people want to use for their entertainment purpose. So, if you are looking forward to know the cost to build a video streaming app like Netflix, this blog is certainly for you. We have discussed various critical aspects including cost, features, tech stacks, and that everything which is related to video streaming app development and how to approach it in the best possible way to get desired results.

A Brief Overview of Netflix

Netflix came into existence back in 1997 when two entrepreneurs Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings started this online platform to become world’s leading internet entertainment provider. It started as a DVD rental service and launched the concept of subscription-based model to enjoy enhanced services through a web platform. It was 2010 when the company started its own movies and TV shows app and it never looked back since then. The app is used in more than 190 countries with over 160 million subscribers worldwide. The app is ranked top in US for on-demand video streaming service and leaves several competitors like Amazon Prime, Hulu and YouTube far behind.

Understanding the Business Model of Netflix

Despite being a paid service, Netflix leaves free video streaming services like Sony’s Crackle far behind just because of its exceptional business model that caters to user-centric features to provide users what they are looking for.

Netflix realized that people own a wide range of interconnected digital devices which they use to watch their favorite shows and movies as per their convenience and comfort. Keeping this in mind, Netflix came up with a unique concept with four subscription plan which are based on the type of devices on which you want to watch them and also who can watch them. This eliminated the need to purchase a separate subscription plan for each family member.

• The mobile plan allows users to watch SD videos on a single mobile or tablet.
• The basic plan allows users to stream SD videos on any one device at a time.
• The standard plan allows users to watch HD videos on two different screens simultaneously
• The Premium plan allows users to watch HD videos on up to 4 screens simultaneously

Whatever plan you purchase, the first 30 days are always free for any user. Netflix offers three business segments; domestic streaming, international streaming, and domestic DVD. Domestic streaming segment generates the highest revenue for Netflix.

Features for an On-demand Video Streaming App

User Registration: Allow a hassle-free and straightforward user registration through social media as it will also eliminate the need to integrate social media separately.

Profile Management: Users must be able to manage their profile details and can easily update them as per their changing preferences and taste.

Video Sharing: Users must be able to share their favorite videos and content with their family and friends.

Live Video Streaming: Try providing some content for fitness, standup comedy, and others where users can simply stream live videos.

Content Search: Allow users to filter their search based on their language, country, genre etc. Doing so will get your app instant recognition in shortest time span.

Reviews and Ratings: Allow users to drop their feedback and reviews regarding their experience with the app.

Payment Integration: Offer secure and flexible payment methods by integrating some top-notch technologies.

Roulette:Ask your Android app development company to incorporate this crucial feature that allows users to select a genre and a format and then click on the spin button to see a list of randomly selected videos that meet their criteria.

Download Videos: Make sure that users are able to easily download a video through your app to watch it later offline.

Cost to Build a Video Streaming App Like Netflix

You must be aware that incorporating each feature in an app directly adds to its development cost. Moreover, there are certain factors that also contribute to the cost to build a video streaming app like Netflix. Apart from number of features, the location of development agency may also affect its cost. Different countries have varying per hour app development rates that you must check before hiring one for your app.

The type of tech stack used by the Android app development company will also be a major factor to decide its cost. App designs, project complexities are also significant aspects to calculate exact development cost.

A well designed and a feature-packed video streaming app can easily be developed within $ 30000 to $ 45000 depending on the type of development agency and its location. This estimate is for developing a native video streaming app from scratch and that too for a single platform (either Android or iOS). However, web-based app can also be developed within the same cost range and will perform on multiple platforms. We recommend you to go for a native app development as such apps are unmatched in terms of performance and will perfectly cater to multiple devices like iPads, tablets, mobile phones, etc.

Tech Stack for Developing an App like Netflix

Ask your mobile app development company in USA to use the best advanced tech stack for both front-end and backend development. Tech stack is an aspect that is directly related to your app’s performance and we know that you won’t prefer to compromise on this. Here is the Tech stack that Netflix has used:

• Database: MySQL and Cassandra
• Programming Language: Java and Kotlin for Android and Swift and Objective-C for iOS
• Cloud Hosting: Amazon EC2
• Cloud Storage: Amazon S3
• Frameworks: Node.js
• JS Libraries: React, WinJS
• BDaaS (Big data as a service): Amazon EMR
• Operating System: FreeBSD
• Server: Nginx

Apart from these tech stacks, there are some DevOps tools also that you may consider for your video streaming app development.

• For code collaboration and version control: Use GitHub
• For Continuous integration: use Jenkins
• For log management: Use Sumo Logic
• For server management: Use Apache Mesos

End Note

We recommend you to add your forte in your app instead of making a Netflix clone. Do good research on the type of users that you are going to target and consider the prevailing market trends that may help your app get the best user-centric features. Your app may prove to be a game changer for your career development where you can enjoy seamless benefits besides high revenues that your app will generate for you.