Are you also considering how much it costs to create a video streaming app like Netflix or Hulu? Well, these are nothing but popular Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms, which have brought a revolutionary change in the entertainment industry. 

In modern leisure time, people no longer flip the TV channels looking for their favorite movie or show. Video-on-demand (VoD) apps like Netflix have made people use slang like “One more episode, it’s just last!”

Considering that the live video streaming market size is expected to grow from $674.25 billion in 2024 to $2,660.88 billion by 2028, it’s naturally becoming a lucrative industry to invest in. 

“However, building a live-streaming app is a comprehensive task that requires a proper action plan. Having worked with Xicom as a project manager for many years, my main focus is to deliver successful projects on time and under the client’s specific budget.

So when it comes to video streaming app development, we prefer conducting in-depth discussions with clients for precise planning and developing a roadmap for each project.”

In this blog, I’ll help you outline the various major points that you need to pay attention to while determining the cost of creating a video streaming app like Netflix or making a decision about developing a streaming platform like Netflix.

Looking to get started with Netflix-like video streaming app development services? Xicom enables you to hire mobile app developers in USA, customize the app with top-choice features, and allow you to become a part of this booming industry.

Unlocking the Netflix Success Story and Market Overview of Streaming Platforms

Deciding to create an on-demand video streaming app like Netflix can be a logical decision as the demand for Video-on-Demand platforms is all set to increase at the next level. And Netflix is one such leading video streaming app that has set a perfect example in the industry. Being launched back in 1997 as a DVD-by-mail company, Netflix boasts over 118 million monthly active users. 

That’s not all!

Here’s what’s new in the video streaming app market:

• The video streaming market is now valued at over $670 billion which is expected to reach over $2.49 Trillion by 2032.

• Video streaming is becoming the most popular choice of users over cable, broadcasting, and TV usage. 

• There will be 20.7% of user penetrations by 2027 on video streaming apps. 

• 83% of US households are expecting to have at least one streaming service subscription which was just 52% back in 2015. 

• In addition, on average Americans are spending 13 hours and 11 minutes per day using digital media and out of that 3 hours and 6 minutes are being spent upon streaming videos. 

But what makes Netflix over the top of all video streaming apps?

Netflix has come a long way and by deeply analysing changing user’s needs and video-watching preferences, it has often upgraded the interface and its functionalities. Here’s what makes Netflix successful:

• Using the advanced Content Delivery Network (CDN) called Open Network that optimized the video delivery by caching content closer to users and reducing latency, buffering issues, and ensuring streaming time even during peak hours. “This is where you can take note to hire a Node.js developer in the USA that can help you create a strong backend to handle all the user load during the peak time.”
• Offering seamless streaming experience to the users by automatically adjusting the quality of the video stream based on the user’s internet speed. This ensures that users will receive the best video quality without interruptions even when there’s an internet fluctuation.

• Using AI and ML algorithms to offer personalized video recommendations after analyzing user behavior and preference. This keeps your users coming back to the app. 

• Netflix leverages Amazon Web Services (AWS) for its cloud infrastructure allowing it to easily scale and quickly handle millions of users without lowering the performance.

• Multi-language support makes this app globally popular and attracts users from different corners of the world.  

How Do Video Streaming Apps Like Netflix Make Money?

If you are looking to create a streaming platform like Netflix and wondering how will you generate revenue from this application, then keep in mind that apart subscription model, Netflix offers a highly analyzed value proposition to the users that makes it keep demanding.

So when you look for the question of how to create an app like Netflix and generate revenue, it’s important to understand that business model is not only about the ways you monetize your business. It’s equally important how you embrace your audience. 

So here, Netflix uses 4 strategies that indirectly contribute to its business model…

No-Add Content: Netflix shows ads to only free account users and watching your favorite series with irritating ads will lead to annoying experiences. So at the same point, users opt for the premium subscription model to enjoy an ads-free streaming experience. 

Original Content: Apart from top movies and shows, Netflix is specialized. in broadcasting exclusive programs that are not available on any other platforms.

Seamless Accessibility: To capture the maximum user base, Netflix delivers video across different platforms, operating systems, and devices. 

Recommendations: Based on your watching history or browsing history, Netflix starts recommending videos that increase the user’s engagement with the platform. 

Apart from using these strategies, you can adopt these monetization models for your video streaming app development:

• Pay-Per-View: Users accessing the free account can opt to pay for specific content instead of paying the monthly or yearly subscription. 

• Subscription Plans: Depending upon the usage, allow users to opt for a subscription model with the level of access, quality, and features. 

• Sponsorship and Partnerships: Collaborate with the brands for sponsored content, product placements, or special promotions in your video streaming app. 

Reading all these strategies makes you hire a mobile app development company in Dallas to immediately get started with an app. But how to start with streaming services? Let’s get an answer…

How To Develop an On-demand Video Streaming App Like Netflix?

Netflix-like video streaming app development projects are quite complicated to get started with especially when you are aware of where to get started and how to create a streaming app with the right features…

But don’t worry, here we have the most sorted step-by-step guide for you…

Step 1: Understanding Business Requirements and Your Niche

Before you get excited to hire a mobile app developer in the USA to start coding an app, it’s worth deciding on the type of content your app will focus on. 

Starting a video streaming app development process without any planning will lead to a blunder. So choose a niche that helps you target a specific audience and stand out in the overcrowded streaming market.

Some of the probable niches that you can consider are:

• Fitness Content: Provide workout-related videos, yoga sessions, and tips or broadcast episodes on healthy living.
• Education: Start streaming “How-To” videos, online courses, and specialized content like cooking, crafts, or tech tutorials. 
• Entertainment: Like Netflix, you can offer movies, TV shows, and other original content on the platform. 

Step 2: Licensing Content is Important

Instead of trusting any random distributor, make sure your app’s content is completely secured. Decide whether you will create original content, license it from distributors, or both. 

To make it work smoothly, you can consider partnering with authorized distributors or negotiating directly with the copyright holders to obtain the necessary license. 

Step 3: Determine the Technical Requirements

Now this is where you need to hire an Android app development company in USA that handles the tech complexity of the app. To deliver a seamless streaming experience, ensure your platform meets the specific technical requirements.

• Internet Speed Adjustments: To ensure a hassle-free streaming experience, let your developer optimize the platform for various speeds with a minimum of 2 Mbps for standard definition to higher HD, 3D, or 4K video quality. 

• Opt for Cloud Hosting: Make sure that your app is easily scalable, flexible, and cost-effective to store video content. For this, you can consider AWS and Google Cloud hosting services. 

• Content Delivery Network (CDN): Integrate a quality CDN to broadcast videos through a network of servers, reducing the latency issues and enhancing the streaming experience of the audience. 

Step 4: Implement Security Measures

Protect your content and users’s data with robust security protocols, and for this choosing to hire a top mobile app development company in Los Angeles is a perfect option. They will help you embrace these measures:

• Token Security: It will help restrict unauthorized access to your content.

• Domain Restrictions: To avoid unauthorized embedding, tech experts enable you to lock content to specific domains.

• Geographical Restrictions: Apply restrictions to the access based on location as per licensing agreements. 

• Watermarking: Add watermarks to your content for added security against unauthorized use. 

Step 5: Integrating Multiple Payment Gateways

When you decide to create a video streaming app like Netflix, keep in mind that the major revenue generation source is the subscription model. And before you encourage users to opt for subscription plans, make sure your app offers a variety of payment options. 

Different users have different payment-making choices, so you must cater to different users’ needs. For this, you can hire mobile app development company in USA to integrate Stripe, PayPal, and Braintree which is already operated in over 40 countries and accepts payments in more than 130 currencies.

Step 6: Pay Attention To UI/UX Design

Did you know why Netflix is so engaging and successful? UI/UX design of the app is the biggest factor behind its success. The user-friendly, simple, and attractive interface of the live streaming app can greatly help in enhancing user retention and satisfaction. 

Here’s what you need to focus on when designing your live-streaming app:

• Embrace the clean, minimal layout that highlights the live content and encourages viewer interaction.

• Ensure intuitive controls while allowing them to easily start and stop streams and lead to a seamless streaming experience.

• Simplified navigations to the content will allow users to easily find their favorite content without any struggles. 

You may have hired the top iOS app development company in USA to build a huge live-streaming app, but it won’t work if you are not taking UI/UX design seriously. In live streaming apps, the quality of the user interactions is directly linked to the ease and immediacy of the experience. 

Step 7: Develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

The cost to create a video subscription app like Netflix can be quite expensive as Netflix is a full-fledged OTT platform embracing advanced technologies and modern features. Video Streaming app development is not an overnight task, as there’s huge market research, choice of features and most importantly budget involved.

So instead of developing a clone app of Netflix, it is worth brainstorming the idea, seeking inspiration from a Netflix-like app, and developing an MVP with a unique approach will be a winning option.

Start with an MVP to test your app with Real Users and then focus on essential features that provide core functionality that can be later scalable. 

Once you create an app, conduct a thorough testing and launch it to the app store!

Must-Have Features to Create a Live Video-Streaming App Like Netflix

When it comes to the question of how to create a streaming app, most of you pay attention to the UI/UX and coding of the app. However, the major part of the app development time, budget, and effort depend upon its features and functionalities. So make sure you prioritize the features that won’t enable you to go out of budget. 

Here are the must-have features to create a video streaming app:

• User Profile: Allow users to create a personal profile using their choice of picture and name. And Netflix allows the creation of multiple profiles in a single app. Here you can also enable personalised content recommendations and watch history that is specific to each profile.
• Content Search and Filters: Provide quick access to the search box on the home screen that allows users to filter for genres and ratings, and more quickly filter the content.
• Watchlist: Enable users to add movies, shows, or episodes to a watchlist for easy access later to their preferred content.
• Multi–Device Sync: Ensure seamless viewing across multiple devices, depending upon their subscription plans. Netflix initially allowed multiple users to access the account at the same time, which was later restricted to a single user.
• Streaming Quality Adjustments: Offer adaptive streaming to deliver the best video quality based on the user’s internet speed and supporting resolutions from 4D to 4K.
• Offline Viewing: Allow viewers to download content for offline watching experience and this is a key feature for users on the go.
• Personalized Recommendations: Here you can look for top mobile app development services in the USA that enable you to integrate AI algorithms to suggest content based on viewing browsing history, preferences, or ratings.
• In–App Notifications: Notify users about new content releases, upcoming episodes expiration of downloaded content, and more.
• Multiple Language Support: Netflix offers multi-language support and makes its content available to a global audience. This feature can be offered with subtitles and dubbing options to cater to global viewers.
• Secure Payment Integration: Make sure you offer multi-payment gateways and allow the flexibility to make payments through various methods including credit/debit cards, app wallets, and more.
• Parental Contro: Streaming videos can be addictive to kids, therefore you can include options for parents to restrict content based on age ratings, ensuring a safer view for children.

How Much Does It Cost to Create a Video Streaming App Like Netflix?

The average cost of developing a video streaming app is complicated to estimate without knowing what exactly you have been integrating into the app. 

If you’re considering creating a clone app for Netflix, then it will range between $40,000 to $50,000+ depending upon the type of app development team you choose to hire and the complexity of the requirements.

In case, if you are planning to develop a full-fledged video streaming platform then you can expect to pay somewhere between $100,000 to $150,000+. 

However, if you are a startup and looking to get started with an app that gives you a quick start without hurting the budget, then we recommend you go for an MVP solution that may cost between $20,000 to $25,000+ depending upon your requirements.

Still, these are just rough estimations, and we are not saying that it can’t be developed lower than $20,000 and can go higher than $25,000. The cost is evaluated based on your requirements. So before you opt for the video streaming app development services in the USA, we recommend you book a free consultation slot with experts. 

Conclusion

Now you will have an idea of how video streaming app development has become a buzzword in the town. With millions of audiences quickly replacing broadcasting, and TV shows with on-demand video services, the demand for video streaming apps is quickly surging. Though Netflix is the leading name in such a domain, but there’s still room for new start-ups. If you are still looking to the question of how to create an app like Netflix or how to start a streaming service for a 

specialized niche, then you can hire a mobile app development company in California. The tech experts evaluate your app idea and enable you to launch an app that has a potential market.

For more details and estimations, you can drop details below or contact us!

FAQs

Developing a streaming platform like Netflix is a comprehensive approach, therefore if you have any doubts about getting started with OTT platform development then consider this FAQs section.