How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Marketplace?

The online world is increasingly becoming competitive, with users demanding more and more from eCommerce businesses and startups. With increased buyer maturity and demand for more choices, users seek a holistic online shopping experience that can offer more options than a standalone store.

Niche-specific eCommerce platforms are excellent, but developing a marketplace app that connects buyers with sellers offers more choices, flexibility, and greater convenience. The advantages offered by an online marketplace have made them extremely popular among online shoppers.

In this blog, let’s see why developing a marketplace app has become quite popular and what will be the cost of developing a marketplace app. But before you move ahead, let’s look at some fundamentals associated with online marketplaces and why you should think of starting your own marketplace. Let’s dig deeper.

What does Online Marketplace mean?

An online marketplace works quite similarly to an online store but solves several pain points online shoppers face. Instead of listing products by a brand/business, the marketplace app allows multiple independent sellers to list services/products.

Online stores are brand-specific, while marketplaces are brand-neutral, giving end-customers the freedom to choose the best product that suits their budget and aspirations.

Marketplace apps sometimes have multiple listings of the same product/service offering much-needed flexibility and liberty to choose a seller that offers the lowest rate.

Developing a marketplace app solves several issues faced by a traditional online store. For example, it protects consumers from monopolistic business practices, saves dependency on a marketing budget for brands, and offers several other advantages.

What are the types of marketplace classifications?

There are three types of e-marketplaces:

1. Vertical

This marketplace type focuses on only a specific area or niche to serve some particular category of products to targeted audiences.

Example:

Zillow

Zillow

Chegg

Chegg

StockX

StockX

ThredUp

ThredUp

2. Horizontal

The horizontal marketplace focuses on a wide variety of goods and services and sells many products with similar characteristics to a particular market.

Horizontal marketplace is a perfect choice to attract a large number of vendors of different industries.

Example:

Etsy

Etsy

Poshmark

Poshmark

Dote

Dote

Dogvacay

Dogvacay

3. Global

The global marketplace is a top-rated marketplace platform. This marketplace platform offers services to different customers at different locations where buyers and sellers are spread across long distances.

Example:

Amazon

Amazon

Airbnb

Airbnb

eBay

eBay

AliExpress

AliExpress

Upwork

Upwork

What Technologies are Required to Build a Marketplace Website?

Tech Stack To Build Marketplaces:

Frontend
  •  HTML 5
     HTML 5
  •  CSS/Sass
     CSS/Sass
  •  Angular/ React/ Vue
     Angular/ React/ Vue
Backend
  •  Node.js
     Node.js
  • PHP/Laravel
     PHP/Laravel
  • Java
     Java
  • MySql/ PostgreSQL/ MariaDB
     MySql/ PostgreSQL/ MariaDB
Payments
  • Stripe
     Stripe
  • Paypal
     Paypal
  • Braintree
     Braintree
  • MANGOPAY
     MANGOPAY

What are the different types of Marketplace Monetization Models?

Commission Based Model

The commission model is the most popular and profitable revenue model for modern marketplaces. This is a type of earning model where the marketplace website charges a commission ( percentage or fixed price ) fee on every transaction.

Example: eBay, Etsy, Uber, Airbnb, Booking.com

Subscription Fee Model

This is a membership fee model where the user is charged a one-time, recurring fee to access the marketplace platform. The user has to pay a certain amount of money at fixed time intervals to access the company's product or service.

Example: eBay

Listing Fee Model

This is a type of revenue model where the marketplaces charge the seller a fee for listing their products/services on the platform. This model ensures that high-quality products are being displayed on the marketplace.

Example: eBay, Etsy

Lead Fee Model

In this revenue model, customers post requests on the site, and suppliers pay in order to make a bid for these customers.

This model is considered better than the listing fee model because here you only pay when you are consigned to a potential customer.

Example: UpWork

Featured Ads and Listings Model

In this model, the seller pays an additional fee to have more visibility of their offerings to be displayed before others. This marketplace model is somewhat similar to the advertising models, where certain ads are displayed to the user.

Example: eBay

Key Features to include in the marketplace app

You’ve seen how building an online marketplace platform can be highly beneficial for you as an entrepreneur. But before you take an impulse decision to develop a marketplace, you need to perform a dynamic analysis of the must-have features for a modern marketplace app.

A marketplace should be user-friendly, interactive, and capable of addressing the pain points of both sellers and buyers. But, at the same time, it should also empower you to exercise complete control over the operations.

Here is a detailed list of features you should incorporate in your online marketplace platform.

End-usersVendor-sellerAdmin-owners
Simple Registration Process Simplified Onboarding- Signup & Login User Management
Multiple Payment Options Insightful Report & Analytics Seller Management
Real-time Push Notifications Easy Product Management Logistics Management
Social Media Integration Intuitive Inventory Management Category Management
Detailed Ratings & Reviews End-to-end Order Management Payment & Refund Management
Interactive Product Pages Inclusive Returns Management% Offer & Discounts
Filter-based Product Listing Automated Payments & Settlement Module Reports & Analytics
Detailed Order History Real-time Notifications 
Order Tracking  
Automated Follow-up Emails  
Recently Viewed Products  

How much will it cost to build an Online Marketplace?

Now that you know almost everything about building a marketplace, let’s get down to the cost of developing a marketplace app.

There are many factors to take into account that form the overall marketplace development cost. First, just like any other app, to create an online marketplace you will have to hire a dedicated development team or a software development company comprising project managers, analysts, UI/UX designers, and developers.

Let's take a look at the cost of features and the development rates of outsourcing companies.

- Cost based on functions

Feature for User

featureshourscost, $18/hr
UI/UX Development60 hours$1,080
Signup16 hours$288
Login12 hours$216
Business Logic Development (Product/service display, Category,Filter, book/order etc.)200 hours$3,600
Rating & Review24hours$432
Order History24 hours$432
Favirote/UnFavirote16 hours$288
Change & Forgot Password12 hours$216
Total Cost364 hours$6,552

Features for Seller/Vendor

featureshourscost, $18/hr
UI/UX Development60 hours$1,080
Dashboard with Graph32 hours$576
Service/Product Management with Price40 hours$720
Order Management40 hours$720
Offer, Discount & Coupon Management40hours$720
Manage Category & Sub-Category16 hours$288
Review Replied24 hours$432
Calender for the Service Booking24 hours$432
Profile16 hours$288
Settings16 hours$288
Total Cost308 hours$5,544

Feature for Admin/Owner

featureshourscost, $18/hr
Login4 hours$72
Manage Vendors24 hours$432
Manage Customers24 hours$432
Manage Sub-admin user & permission32 hours$576
Order history32 hours$576
Report40 hours$720
Total Cost156 hours$2,808

- Country-wise hourly development rates

Average Web Development Rates

LocationHourly Rates
United States$80 - $150/hr
Europe$66 - $150/hr
India$18 - $40/hr

Solutions we have provided for various marketplaces.

1. On-demand Handyman Marketplace:

MyServiceMenu

My Service menu is an online marketplace for Cleaner, Gardener, Handyman, and Pet Care services. It is a handyman app like Uber that helps to connect experienced and skilled professionals with the users looking for specific services.

Service providers can easily find jobs on the platform, and Users can also book the services instantly when needed.

Key Features of My Service Menu :

  • - Easy Sign-up and well-managed profile
  • - Service tracker until final delivery
  • - Easy manage appointments
  • - Direct payment option
  • - Refund facility available

Cost to build a Handyman Marketplace like MyServiceMenu :

Developing a Handyman Marketplace depends on your business and the features you include in the marketplace application. Hence, taking into consideration, it will cost you around $5,000 - $25,000 depending on the selected approach.

SEE ALSO : Handyman Services App

2. Marketplace for Influencers:

TrendMe

TrendMe is an influencer marketplace platform that allows influencers to promote different products and get amazing cash prizes based on the number of likes on the posts they promote before the given timeline.

This application is an excellent solution for clients to promote their brands via an Influencer marketing approach and get more brand endorsements.

Key Features of TrendMe :

  • - Helps clients to promote products globally with the specified target location.
  • - Offers easy methods for clients to create endorsement posts called Bounty.
  • - Clients can chat with influencers
  • - Payment wallet is managed with Stripe
  • - Easy withdrawal payment using Paypal
  • - Transaction History

Cost to build an Influencer Marketplace like TrendMe :

If you're thinking of building a marketplace platform for influencers, it would cost you anywhere from $5,000 - $20,000, depending on the complexities you add within the application.

3. Freelancer Marketplace:

Xposure

Xposure is a two-sided marketplace platform that connects potential freelancers and clients at a single destination. Clients post jobs on the marketplace portal and easily connect with freelancers by peeping into their accounts and checking their work history before selecting them.

Freelancer Marketplace

Key Features of Xposure :

  • - Registration and user profile
  • - Easily find skilled freelancers for required services
  • - Access to a list of jobs available
  • - Project management tools
  • - Connect and chat option

Cost to build a Freelancer Marketplace like Xposure :

Taking a rough estimation considering all the basic features and factors, the cost of developing a site like Xposure can vary from $5,000 - $35,000

4. Marketplace for Beauty Services

Hita Salong

HitaSalong is a marketplace website that helps users search for their favorite salon, book appointments in real-time, and receive an immediate booking confirmation.

It is a national-level online directory website that allows users to search directories according to user preferences. Salon owners can also list their salons on the website and get referral benefits.

Hita Salong

Key Features of Hita Salong :

  • - Search functionality (name, city, postal code)
  • - Check salon services with price list
  • - Booking confirmation through email and text message
  • - Salon owners can list their salon
  • - Well organized dashboard for salon owners

Cost to build a Beauty Service Marketplace like Hita Salong :

A basic beauty marketplace app development cost will be around $5,000 - $15,000. The price will vary depending upon the cost of developers, number of features, and the selected technology.

5. Limousine Rental Marketplace

RideHire

Ridehire is a marketplace platform for taxi and Limo rental services that connect the passenger's transportation with customers seeking to book their services.

From party buses to Limos and Charter buses to Antique cars, Ridehire is a one-stop-shop for vehicles to hire.

Key Features of RideHire:

  • - Users can search vehicle based on requirement
  • - Users can create quote inquiry and booking
  • - Manychat Integration for orders and quote
  • - Elasticsearch for quick results
  • - Vehicle owners can create their own promo codes
  • - Notifications for vehicle sharing

Cost to build a Limo Service Marketplace like Ridehire:

The development cost of the Limo service marketplace totally depends on the platform, features, and number of complexities included in the development. How-ever, you can expect the price somewhere between $8,000 - $30,000.

SEE ALSO : Best Mobile App Design Cost

The End Note

It would not be wrong to say that marketplaces are the future of eCommerce & On-Demand Service in the present context. With more and more consumers looking for a wide range of options, there cannot be a right time to launch a marketplace. However, before you plan to build a marketplace website, it's better to consult the experts about your development and launch plans.

WebsOptimization is a leading app development company with massive experience in developing intuitive marketplaces for Handy Service, wooden, sports, furniture, healthcare, and retail businesses. Get in touch with the experts at WebsOptimization to explore the feasibility of your idea and realize your dream of owning a digital marketplace today.

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