How Much Does it Cost to Build a Medicine Delivery App Like 1mg?

You’ve probably thought about it before: What does it really cost to build an app like 1mg?

The idea of creating an online medicine delivery app may sound exciting, but for many businesses, things start getting complex when it comes to pricing.

We get you!

If you’re planning to launch your own version of 1mg and have no idea what it will cost, then this is the blog for you.

In this detailed guide, we cover everything from the cost breakdown of developing a medicine delivery app like 1mg to the key factors that influence it, so you can make informed decisions.

Let’s get into it!

What is the 1mg App?

1mg is a popular online medicine delivery app that helps users to take online doctor consultations,  medicines, wellness products, and even lab tests. 1mg has it all—delivered straight to your fingertips. 

Here is what makes this app famous among users: 

• E-pharmacy: With the medicine delivery app, users can easily find prescription drugs and wellness products all on one platform. 
• Seamless UI/UX: 1mg has an intuitive and smooth user interface.  
• Online Consultation with Doctors: Access medical advice from licensed professionals from the comfort of your home.
• Book Lab Tests: With 1mg, just schedule your lab tests online, and the professionals will come to your door for sample collection, and the reports will be delivered digitally. 

Must-Have Features in a Medicine Delivery App

 If you want to build an app like 1mg (or any of its competitor apps), you first need to understand what core functionalities they offer.  

User Panel

• Easy User Registration: This is the primary feature that you should have in your medicine delivery app. Make it simple for users to create accounts or log in using various methods. 
• Upload Prescriptions: You can’t deliver medicines without prescriptions. And to get that, you need to have a functionality where users can upload their prescriptions directly in the app (and also order medicines in general)
• In-app Payment: Make sure that the medicine delivery app offers multiple payment options, such as credit/debit cards, wallets, and cash on delivery. 
• Medicine Search & Details: Having this feature will allow your users to learn about the drug’s composition, ingredients, how to use it, product descriptions, or any negative side effects. 

Admin Panel

• Dashboard Overview: Your users need to get an overall overview of what is happening. Therefore, make sure you create a user interface that gives a comprehensive view of orders and sales. 
• Inventory Management: To make sure users orders are delivered on time the retailers have to make sure they have enough stock. Hence, help them by providing a feature to track medicines or products.
• Price Management: Do you want your medicine delivery app to make good sales? If yes, then make sure your app has this feature that retailers can use to run discount and promotional offers. 

Pharmacy Panel

• Order Alerts: How will the pharmacy staff deliver orders in time if they don’t get notified timely. Make sure your medicine delivery app informs you of any new orders, cancellations or replacements in real-time so that you can take action promptly.
• Prescription Validation: Now, this is a very essential and advanced feature to have in your medicine delivery app (otherwise, you can face legal issues). It analyses the prescriptions and ensures that they are valid before processing medication orders. 
• Delivery & Tracking: Whenever the pharmacies dispatch the order they should be able to monitor it till the time it reaches to the customers. 

Recommended Tech Stack for Building a Medicine Delivery App Like 1mg

To build a high-performing app and include all these fancy features in your app, you need to integrate a solid tech stack. 

PS: It is better that you approach an experienced app development company that has a good record of building medicine delivery apps for the healthcare industry.  

As it makes the job easier for you. 

Here are the tech stacks you should know:

Front-end Development

• ReactJS
• VueJS
• SASS
• Flutter
• React Native
• Swift (for iOS)
• Kotlin (for Android)

Back-end Development

• Express.js (Node.js)
• Django (Python)
• Ruby on Rails
• Spring Boot (Java)
• GraphQL
• Go (Golang)

In-app Chats

• SendBird
• Pusher Chatkit
• Twilio Conversations

Payment Modules

• Stripe API
• Razorpay
• PayPal API
• Square API

Database

• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• MongoDB
• Redis (for caching)
• Cassandra
• Firebase Firestore

Cloud Environment

• AWS (Amazon Web Services)
• Microsoft Azure
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• DigitalOcean

GPS tracking

• Google Maps SDK (Android & iOS)
• Mapbox
• Here Maps API

How to Develop an App like 1mg? Step-by-Step Process Explained

To build a medicine delivery app like 1mg or any healthcare telemedicine app solution.

You have to follow a well-defined process (otherwise, all your money and efforts will go in vain!) 

Moreover, it is also important for you to know the development process in detail, as it also helps you with the cost breakdown. 

So, let’s learn about it!

Step 1 – Plan & Figure Things Out

Before you even start coding, you need to have clarity on what you’re building (and why). You can think of this as the brainstorming phase.

In this phase, it’s important to do market research and know what problem your product solves.

Also, when you do this, ask questions about the use cases. You can do a survey or break down what your competitors are doing (which is pretty easy).

Once you’ve got the use cases clear, start mapping out your app’s features. and figure out who will be the target audience. This is the time when you pick your app’s tech stack.

Step 2 – Wireframes and UX Design

This is the most crucial step to build a medicine app that actually helps users. If you do this in a rush, you will end up building a mediocre app that is not intuitive.

For this, you need to create wireframes. It means that you need to sketch your app on paper before you start drawing the final version. You’ll map out the flow of the app, and show how users will interact with it. You can think of it like planning a road trip—you need to know all the stops (app screens) and how to get from one to the next.

Once that’s set, you can move into the UX design, which is all about how the app feels. You want users to have an easy, fun time using it.

What should be your aim? Build a sleek and clean design that just makes sense. Don’t overwhelm them with a million buttons.

Step 3 – Start with Medicine Delivery App Development (Frontend + Backend)

Now, it’s time to turn your vision into reality. Front-end development is where the magic happens on the user side. You’ll create the parts of the app users can see and interact with—buttons, forms, images, and so on. If you want it to work on both Android and iOS, frameworks like React Native or Flutter are your best friends.

On the back-end side, this is where the brains of your app live. It’s all about making sure the app functions smoothly. From managing user data to processing orders, the back-end is where all that magic happens. You want to make sure your app loads fast and handles everything, because no one likes waiting for an app to load!

Recommended: Hire Mobile App Developers to develop your medicine delivery app.

Step 4 – Third-Party API Integration

You can’t build everything on your own. And if you want a lightweight and quick build, then APIs play a critical role.

For example, you don’t have to set up your own payment system. You can simply integrate payment gateways like Stripe or PayPal, which are needed for transactions (while purchasing meds).

You might also need SMS APIs like Twilio to send order updates or delivery notifications. These third-party integrations will help you provide a smooth experience that your users will love.

Step 5 – QA Testing and Security Checks

This is one of the most overlooked and underrated steps of any app development process.

Before launching your app, you should make sure it works flawlessly. For this, you need to do some rigorous testing.

Functional testing will check if everything does what it’s supposed to. Usability testing ensures your users can navigate the app easily. Performance testing? It makes sure your app doesn’t crash when it gets busy (because who wants a glitchy app?). But here’s the big one: security. Your app will be dealing with sensitive information—personal data, payment details, and more. That means you need to lock things down with strong security protocols. Think SSL encryption, secure payment gateways, and GDPR compliance. A safe app builds trust, and trust = happy users.

Step 6 – Launch and App Store Optimization

You’ve built it, you’ve tested it, and now it’s time to show it to the world! But hold on—before you go live, you need to make sure people can find your app.

That’s where App Store Optimization (ASO) comes to play. This is like SEO, but for your app on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

You need to,

• Write a catchy app description
• Pick the right keywords
• Showcase the best parts of your app with screenshots and videos

The primary goal should be to increase the visibility of your app in these stores and get organic installs.

Also, you don’t have to release it to everyone right away. A soft launch or beta release is a great way to test the waters. Gather feedback, fix any issues, and then go big.

Step 7 – Post-Launch Support and Maintenance

Now that your app is live, it’s time to keep an eye on the performance and user experience of the app.

Make sure that you 

• Identify and fix bugs
• Launch new features
• Fix security patches
•  Improve performance

This will keep your users happy and the app running smoothly.
Note: This is an ongoing mobile app development cost.

Cost Breakdown for Developing a Medicine Delivery App Like 1mg

Finally, we are going to address the elephant in the room! 

That is “ What is the cost to build a medicine delivery app like 1mg?” 

Well, it generally depends on various factors. 

Therefore below we have given a granular level breakdown of the factors that contribute in deciding the cost of a medicine delivery app. 

Take out your notepads and start jotting them down! 

App Platform

• Single Platform (iOS or Android): $18,000–$32,000
• Cross-Platform (iOS + Android): $30,000–$70,000

App Design

• Basic Design: $7,000–$9,000
• Advanced UI/UX Design: $13,000–$21,000

Features and Functionalities

• Basic Features (User Registration, Payment Integration, Order Tracking, etc.): $12,000–$25,000
• Advanced Features (Real-Time Tracking, AI Recommendations, Teleconsultation, Lab Tests, etc.): $40,000–$80,000

Backend Development

• Basic ( API setup, Data &User management): $9,500–$14,500
• Complex (AI or Analytics Integration, Advanced data models): $25,000–$40,000

Third-Party Integrations

• Payment Gateways, GPS, Chatbots, and other APIs: $7,000–$15,000

Compliance and Security

• HIPAA/GDPR Compliance: $4,000–$6,000

Development Team Location

• India: $18–$60/hour
• Eastern Europe: $70–$150/hour
• USA/UK: $120–$250/hour

How Do Medicine Delivery Apps Make Money?

In businesses, there is no charity! 

We get it! And therefore we know that while you are looking for the cost to build a medicine delivery app like 1mg, you might also want to know how you can get back the investment (and also create an ongoing revenue stream)

Well, look no further because in this section, we have mentioned different models in which you can make money from your medicine delivery app. 

1. Commission from Pharmacy Orders

Earning commission from the pharmacy orders can be a simple yet most effective model for you to make recurring revenue from your medicine delivery app in the longer run. You can reach out to local or big pharma brands to register as sellers on your app by giving them a platform to connect with customers.

And whenever a customer places an order through the app, you can take a small percentage of the sale.

2. Paid Subscriptions (For Premium Features)

Many popular medicine delivery apps offer premium subscriptions to their users and charge a decent amount for them. 

In fact, you can try this out! 

Create subscription plans that have exclusive benefits like faster delivery, discounts on products, or a wider selection of medicines. 

By doing so, you are not only enticing a huge number of users but also making sure your business has predictable revenue.

3. Ads and Sponsored Medicines

Who says sponsorship is not for the healthcare industry? 

You can partner with reliable and reputable pharmaceutical companies or specific medicine brands to feature their products in prominent positions within the app. For example, you can show sponsored listings for medicines that are paid for by the brands themselves. 

4. Affiliate Healthcare Services

You can also launch an affiliate program where healthcare providers can offer consultations through your app, and you can earn money when the users book consultations, purchase insurance, or sign up for health-related services. 

It’s a win-win—you expand the range of services your app offers while earning a fee for each successful referral.

Build The Medicine Delivery App like 1mg with SolGuruz

We have discussed the entire journey that you need to travel for developing a medicine delivery application. 

Now it’s time to build your own medicine delivery app. 

But to build a successful medicine delivery app, you need a trusted and reliable development partner. 

Enter: SolGuruz, the best telemedicine app development company.

It has an expert team of mobile app developers who have experience working with technologies like React, Node.js, Flutter, etc. 

Hence, consider partnering with them to develop a customized solution for your business. 

Also, we hope that you have got the right idea of how much it will cost to build a medicine delivery app like 1mg?

FAQS

1. Which Is The Best App For Medicine Delivery?

These are the popular medicine delivery apps in the market right now

• 1mg
• Netmeds
• Apollo 24/7
• Pharmeasy

2. How To Start An Online Pharmacy Delivery Business?

Well, to start an online pharmacy delivery business, first, you need to build a medicine delivery app. 

So that you can build a solid online presence and prepare a platform where healthcare providers and pharma stores can register themselves. 

For that, you need to get in touch with a company that has experience in developing healthcare apps. 

3. What Is The Popular Business Model In The Online Medicine Delivery Apps?

Here are the popular business models that medicine delivery apps are following nowadays: 

• Inventory-based model 
• Commission-based Model  
• Subscription-Based Model  
• On-Demand Model  

4. How To Hire Mobile App Developers For Building a Healthcare Telemedicine App Solution?

Well, you can hire expert mobile app developers from SolGuruz as they have built telemedicine applications that have surpassed clients’ expectations.