How to Build an App Like Netflix: Cost and Key Features

As the world has almost been shut down by epidemics, the use of video streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu has grown exponentially. According to the NPD Group, the weekly use of Netflix increased to 72 percent across the United States since Covid-19. Additionally, in the month of April Netflix revealed the growth of record-breaking 15.77 million paying subscribers around the world during the first quarter, which was more than double what they had hoped for. In light of this rise of popularity for video streaming has become an extremely competitive market segment. Let’s begin by defining what “Streaming” is, and what are the applications that stream video?

Streaming is a process that continuously transmits media or audio from an internet server to a client. Streaming happens when people watch television or play podcasts through their devices. It’s real-time and distinct from downloading. Video streaming applications stream video files to the server, and allow users to download videos onto your personal device.

The entertainment media industry is expected to become the next major trend on mobile phones and other gadgets. It’s advantageous for individuals to invest a substantial amount in this industry to earn an amount of money as a result.

Video Streaming Application: Overview

The VoD or streaming on-demand video application has elevated the experience of entertainment to the point that you can’t imagine the day without watching episodes of our most loved programs on Netflix. Apps like Netflix have created new types of content in various genres, giving viewers a glimpse of different ideas, perspectives and times.

The ripple effect is that it has not just made its presence known in 190 countries, getting 148M paid subscribers and generating 26.6 percent of all online video stream traffic. It has also attracted the attention of entrepreneurs who are looking to get into this sector. But, what they think the most is “how to build a video streaming app“.

Businesses, mobile app developers as well as OTT app developers are studying their commercial models and technical aspects to understand what is required to build an app that is similar to free apps like Netflix and what the expense is to create streaming apps. We will go into detail in this article. We will begin by presenting an accurate picture of the streaming video (SVoD) marketplace.

The on demand app development company market has grown at a rate that has never been ever before. It was valued at US$ 376.06 billion by 2020, and is predicted to be worth USD 932.39 billion, at an annual rate of 12.1 percent until 2028.

History of NETFLIX

The two Serial businessmen Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings founded their company Scotts Valley and have grown to become the leading online entertainment platform. Based on the concept in the same way as Blockbuster, Netflix first started as a service that rented movies exclusively focused on providing a Web-based movie rental service. The name Netflix is a blend of Net (internet) as well as flicks(movies). After the company began its streaming online in the year 2010 there was no turning back. The biggest competitor to Blockbuster, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010, and the crown was left open to Netflix to take. With more than 150 million subscribers across the world, Netflix has taken over the world market for the on-demand streaming video industry.

After the pandemic, around the beginning of 2020 the company was on an up-and-down ride, with rapid growth, gaining 36 million users by 2020, and 18.2 million users by 2021. The increase is expected to stabilize and return to normal in 2022 as well as the years to come.

What are the Types of Streaming Apps?

 

If you’ve finally made the decision to develop your video streaming application the first thing you must be certain about is the kind of video streaming app you’re planning to create. This is where mobile app consulting services can help. There are three kinds of apps that stream video.

Video On Demand Streaming

Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu along with YouTube TV are the popular streaming video services that let users watch videos at any time and location that they wish.

Live Broadcasting Apps

The live broadcasting feature is a well-known type as per top mobile app development companies in USA. It allows users to broadcast video and audio recordings to others who use the same streaming application. Live, YouTube, Livestream and Twitch are all well-known examples of live broadcasting applications.

Audio Streaming

Music streaming apps such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora have enjoyed a huge amount of popularity for music lovers who love listening to music. This shows that music streaming app development services needs have gotten up. Here the app will stream the audio in real-time via the internet.

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

The cost of mobile app development services in USA for an app like Netflix is contingent on a variety of aspects ranging from the quantity and extent of features available to the location of the developer and level of experience. The price for simple Netflix app development is between $15,000 to $30,000. However, the final price will be determined by the features you require. The price will rise at $50,000 in case you decide to include advanced features such as Multi-screen support, multi-language or introduce an advanced UI/UX design, and so on as you develop a video on demand platform, you will need a heavy infrastructure for backend and continuous data streaming to ensure the most optimal user experience.

We will discuss in depth the factors that influence the price of constructing an application for streaming video.

App Features

The bare minimum of features available in the initial version of the application is a smart choice as it’s not a good idea to spend bundles while you’re trying out the waters. Live video streaming apps with basic features are priced between $12,000 and $25,000. Once you incorporate advanced features, such as the ability to support multi-screens, multi-lingual compatibility and many more in the video streaming app, costs increase.

App Design

It’s a time of experience, in which users are looking for a minimalist style that is appealing and soothing to their eyes. The basic and easy UI design of the video streaming applications costs approximately $5000. If the app is more complex, with high-quality graphics and traditional animations it can cost up to $10,000 due to the development time and technical requirements of a tech specialist.

Number of Platforms

Android has made inroads into the market by gaining a greater percentage of users than iOS However, the device’s dispersion, resolution, and issues with configuration make creating an online video streaming site such as Netflix an expensive endeavor. The development of a video streaming app costs in the range of Android and iOS equals between $15,000 and $30,000.

Location of App Developers

The cost per hour of developers is based on the region in which they work. If the custom mobile application development company is located in Europe, the US or Western Europe, they will cost three to four higher ($60,000) as compared to the Indian mobile App Development Company ($15,000) in the event that you wish to build your own streaming application.

The Experience of Application Developers

Android and iOS app development companies working in the same place, even within the walls of the same office, also are paid at different rates, which depend on the years of experience they’ve gained in the field of niche technology. There are basically three types of developers: middle-level developers and junior developers and the senior developer. 

Junior developer is charged an hourly rate of $20, a mid-level developer costs $40 per hour, while a senior developer charges approximately 60 dollars per hour. A more complex app or a more extensive tech stack raises the need for experts. For example, video streaming app requires experts such as Python developers who have extensive expertise in the same field.

These elements will help you find out the cost it will take to create a streaming application precisely and also get an estimation that is accurate.

Market for Streaming Video Online and the Competition of Netflix

 

We’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of the iceberg of the online streaming market. The potential market is huge. It is predicted that by 2021, digital media penetration will exceed 84 percent in the US alone, and 236 million viewers connected to digital video. With such a huge opportunity, the competition is sure to arise. Within the VOD market, Netflix currently faces competition from the other players.

 

• Amazon Prime
• Disney Hotstar
• Hulu
• HBO Now

The entry requirements to the sector are minimal and some regions such as Asia-Pacific are not as well-known. It is attracting big tech companies such as Google, Apple, HBO, Disney, and others to join the business.

There is no distinction between the various providers in terms of the quality of their subscription plans or video whether it is a music streaming app like Spotify or anything else. The real difference lies in the creation of a large selection of content that is original. It is now a production and media industry.

Netflix has a strong place in the market and has a user churn ratio of only 9 percent. Netflix is producing original series such as “House of Cards” and has reduced the dependence of production companies like Disney which are able to pull off their programming from Netflix as well as other VOD applications.

Top 7 Features for On-Demand Video Streaming Apps Like Netflix

Free video streaming apps like Netflix have enjoyed a massive success due to its algorithm for content which repurposes content according to the interests of its users. Additionally however, the app places a premium on user-friendliness. Before you start figuring out how to launch an online streaming service similar to Netflix we need to know what features you should include in your Netflix-clone application.

 

 

1. Profile Management and Registration of Users

The primary feature to concentrate on during Netflix-like entertainment apps is registration of users and management of profiles.

When it comes to simple sign-up and managing your profile minimising the information requested on the form isn’t enough. It is essential to introduce the feature of integration with social media or SSO verification since it increases the retention rate.

2. Content from the Search Engine

With a platform that provides millions of videos It is essential to think about the option of filtering and search.

With this feature, viewers will be able to look for their preferred films and shows by various criteria such as genre, language, location of production, etc.

3. Payment Gateway

With privacy and security of data growing in popularity in the market and looking forward to the integration of payment gateways is a lucrative method. If you give users the option of paying using various payment methods that are quick and secure, it lowers bounce rate on your application or site.

4. Watchlist

A watch-list is one of the main aspects to take into consideration when you’re deciding to build an application for streaming video.

It’s the section in which users can add shows they would like to catch in the future. This reduces the effort of finding the exact same series or show again, and improves the app’s user retention rate.

5. Social Characteristics

Today’s users like to share everything and anything on social websites. In this scenario adding a social function to your Netflix-like application is another way to make money.

Social features are also helpful in promoting the latest or newly published video material. Therefore, keep an eye on it.

6. Screencasting or Screen Mirroring

Screen-casting is a feature that lets you view the videos in your application on different screens such as TVs or Laptop by using an internet connection. There are two options to make this feature work. Let’s examine both and see how they work.

Google Cast SDK

 

• The SDK is now an essential element in the solution to creating streaming apps for Android that has been designed and developed to be compatible with Google’s Chromecast feature.
• API functions allow developers to stream content onto TV sets. API features allow developers to expand applications like iOS, Android, or even Chrome applications to stream audio and video content to TV sets, enabling your app to function as an actual remote control for the playback capabilities like play, pause seek, rewind, and so on.

 

AirPlay

 

The third method lets you mirror your screen option when using AirPlay. It is a part of the AirPlay Protocol Stack. It permits streaming between multiple devices for audio, video, device screens, images using Apple TV, and the connected iOS apps. Presently, Apple Inc. has licensed the protocol stack to developers of apps for streaming video who create products that work for Apple’s products.

7. Multi-language Support

The last but not least, app localization which is the process of expanding your content’s language beyond English is yet an additional feature that Netflix-cloned apps.

This feature allows your mobile streaming application to reach larger demographics and expand your business beyond the geographic boundaries of where your app is located.

The above Netflix application features have it as a worldwide success across the globe. There’s no doubt about it. But, the user experience that Netflix offers has led users to select Netflix over other media streaming services.

In this consideration, it’s a good idea to stay on top of your principles of design before you begin streaming application.

How do you Develop a Video Streaming Application Similar to Netflix?

If you want to develop your own Netflix-like application, you don’t just need development, but also to take into consideration a number of crucial points and follow a series of steps throughout the entire process. A few steps are listed in the following paragraphs:

Find Your Niche

The first goal is to determine the kind of content you would like to stream through your video streaming application. There are a variety of types of content and offer them to your users. We have analyzed the various kinds of content and categorized the types into different categories.

Here are a few:

 

• Entertainment

  
  

The most well-known kind of media that includes a variety of genres, such as thriller, comedy or action. The genres of entertainment are extremely profitable since it reaches a wider population, and viewers enjoy watching something different.

 

• Fitness

  
  

A popular niche to study and create best live streaming apps for is fitness. People enjoy staying active and creating routines that fit into their routines And, they don’t think about making a payment for an on-demand fitness streaming service. To increase users converting your app include fitness-related features such as Zumba yoga, diet training, yoga and more.

 

• Education

  
  

Based on the current trends, people are more inclined to view “how-to” videos than to go through long-form text to find solutions. It is possible to create an informative live streaming app that is aimed at people from different ages who want to discover something new. The development of a streaming app targeted at the educational market will yield substantial advantages in the long term.

Choose your Content Availability

As the content is at the basis of your VoD application, it is essential to improve the quality of your content. Answer to yourself these questions:

 

• Would you consider using the videos of other channels?
• Are you planning to build an app that streams live?

If we had to suggest, for entertainment, to create partnerships with media companies for a variety of media. For fitness and health needs, it is possible to set up your own media house for content or contacting different media companies.

Note: In all cases you should utilize digital marketing to help promote your contentIt is important to use digital marketing in order to promote your content

Choose the Monetization Strategy that you Prefer

The goal of earning money is the main goal of an app that streams live. So, choose your monetization model wisely. It is possible to look at the following models of monetization for help.

 

• Pay Per View

  
  

The most well-known and tried pricing screen is the one where viewers pay for each video they view. If you’re planning on watching live broadcasts, trade shows, sports events, and so on You can choose this option.

 

• Advertising

  
  

The model for advertising is straightforward since you pay other companies for their use of your platform to show their ads. It’s similar to providing space for media buyers to promote promotions within your application. This method of monetization produces positive outcomes if you’ve got an enormous audience.

 

• Subscription

  
  

As you may recall, many video streaming services that are based on entertainment have subscription-based models. Subscribers pay a monthly fee for access to an unlimited library of content. You could benefit from this model in the event that you regularly publish new content to your streaming application for video.

Make Sure you Know your Needs

Once you’ve completed important planning, it’s now time to begin the beginning of your development. You must understand the requirements of your app for streaming video. Here are some aspects to consider when developing your application:

 

• Internet Speed

  
  

Internet speed affects the app’s capacity to stream content on demand. The minimum speed needed for streaming standard definition movies is more than 2.MB/second. It is essential to determine the needed speed of the internet to stream high-quality content within your application.

 

• Computing Architecture and Cloud Hosting

  
  

We suggest using cloud computing and cloud hosting as they’re flexible and provide rapid access to videos. Cloud computing can make use of cloud computing for a variety of tasks including searching engines, testing A/B, cache technology and much more.

 

• Security

  
  

Security is an essential security concern, and no one wishes to have their personal information accessed by an unauthorised individual. It is important to think about the security of information and content across devices used by customers. We suggest using operations such as background on the network token security, token security, watermarking and restriction of domains for the most secure security measures.

 

• Payment Gateway

  
  

It is important to choose which payment method you want to integrate for easy, secure and trackable payments. There are many well-known payment options to select from, including Stripe, 2CheckOut, PayPal and many more.

 

• Subscription Logs

  
  

It is strongly recommended to monitor and control the subscription logs of your app. When developing a streaming video app, your number of users will increase with time and it becomes difficult to keep track of each user’s information manually. Integration of subscription logs can assist in determining the quality of the video and display streaming data details and the number of screens that you are logged on to.

UI/UX Design

The design of the UI/UX is what makes Netflix the preferred choice of users. The designers of UI/UX at Netflix have created an innovative method to promote content. A preview area on the home page plays short videos from a show or a movie, which aids users to decide whether they want to invest their time in the right direction or not.

The UX/UI design focuses on making the experience more enjoyable for the everyday user. It is essential to determine the location of all the elements, and then visualize the app’s optimal design, which will show the user your USP and UI in order to provide an attractive value proposition.

Make an MVP Model that is Available On Demand

As per the top Android app development companies, the final step is the developing stage. Your primary focus should remain on functional requirements like established dates, designs accessibility and user experience.

Pay attention to the design of the platform and ensure that it’s smooth, error-free, and user-friendly throughout the navigation process.

Ensure that your application is at a fundamental level by using minimal features and settings that are accessible through the MVP model.

Collect Feedback

After you’ve developed your MVP Now, you need to verify your MVP by using various methods. It is essential to collect feedback from a set of people commonly known as early adopters. Be sure to know the issues and the most important features you need within the application. Conducting a test of the MVP in real-time can help to understand the reactions of users and the potential of improvements.

Technologies that Ensure that Your Netflix-clone Application is Effective

5G Technology

Presently, Netflix relies upon adaptive bitrate streaming technology, which allows it to alter the video and audio streaming quality in accordance with the bandwidth speed of the user and the current network conditions. To beat Disney+ and other popular video streaming applications it is essential to guarantee more speed and higher quality outcomes. This is something that is possible through incorporating the benefits from 5G tech into an application development plan.

Blockchain

Another tech that could be incorporated into the equation to benefit from better results is Blockchain Development Services.

Incorporating the potential of Blockchain into a Netflix-like commercial model will benefit from a variety of advantages including –

 

• It is possible to allow users to pay with Bitcoins (or another cryptocurrency). This can make the process faster and also eliminate fees imposed by intermediaries who are third-party.
• It is up to the users to decide whether they would like to view some ads within the film or not. If they are in agreement to watch them, you could give them vouchers, or discount on subscription costs. This way, you’ll be able to keep your users glued to your platform for streaming video and earn revenue through an advertising strategy for monetization.
• You can also allow people to create videos of their own and let them share it with other users within your Blockchain ecosystem, while also giving the production credit to Netflix-like apps themselves.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has many scenarios in video streaming applications. It is a perfect solution to optimize the performance of video streaming services. The addition of AI into your application will help you with the calculation of bitrates. This can be done to maximize the bandwidth consumption while maintaining the same level of streaming quality. Additionally, Artificial Intelligence Development can help you in a variety of areas, including enhancement of content materials, content moderation, discovering and indexing video.

With AI-powered streaming apps for video allows you to customize your offerings to the customers by providing content that is relevant to their needs. You can look at, study and then draw results to come up with the most effective predictions about future engagements.

Machine Learning

Machine learning, which is a part of artificial intelligence, is a different technology which is improving the streaming of videos with a variety of functions that improve the user experience. With ML being used security and safety issues have been significantly reduced and new content is now available for streaming.

Machine learning solutions also provide additional capabilities such as the detection of objects, indices, and prevention from copyright violations, censorship and also automation. There are many applications for machine learning that are streaming apps such as Facebook, Netflix, Twitch, YouTube, etc.

For instance, Netflix has millions of viewers with their own profiles. Each person has their own experience when they watch a show that includes behavior data such as the last time they watched something or what they watched in the days following that and what they viewed earlier or what they viewed one year ago.

All of this data is the base data used by machine learning, which allows it to analyse and understand individual behaviour. Machine learning is not a new concept to VoD streaming applications, and If you’re planning on developing an app that is Netflix-like then you should look at it.

Final Thoughts – Build an App Like Netflix

You know how to make streaming apps similar to Netflix now. Be patient! Making a video streaming app similar to Netflix isn’t an easy task. Creating of a streaming video app similar to Netflix is a difficult undertaking. Be aware that you aren’t able to gamble in the face of millions of people watching the shows that are streamed through your application. If you have a minor glitch, your reputation could go into the mud. So it’s better to delegate the responsibility of constructing the application to experts you trust.

If you choose to partner with A3Logics as buid a video streaming app, you’ll be able to benefit from their experience in creating amazing applications. So, you can be sure that your project is in proper hands. When you hire mobile app developers, they make sure that your project is completed in the time frame you specified.

FAQs

How many subscribers do Netflix currently have?

In the first quarter of the year 2022 Netflix has 221.6 million paying subscribers across the globe. In the quarter that ended in 2021 Netflix was home to 221.8 million customers, however the company saw an increase of over 200k subscribers for the very first time in the past decade.

What is the typical MVP price for development of a video streaming application?

Average cost to develop an app is based upon the features you would like to add to your MVP. The average amount of time needed to build a minimum viable product for an app similar to Netflix is 300-500 hours. Get in touch with A3Logics experts to find out more about the process.

What are the key variables that must be examined to assess the efficacy of the application?

To assess the efficacy of an application, key variables that should be examined include user engagement and satisfaction, performance metrics such as loading speed and responsiveness, conversion rates and sales data, error rates and bug reports, feedback from users and stakeholders, and adherence to the defined objectives and requirements of the application.

What exactly is a video streaming app?

The video streaming application is a piece of software that assists in the recording, streaming, capturing and sharing videos. All this can be done on an online platform that users can access any time, at any place.

How do I create a video streaming application?

The development of a video streaming app is a step-by step procedure which includes:

 

• Define target audience
• Create UI/UX Design
• Choose a reliable platform to use for Live Streaming as well as hosting and storage.
• Develop and test your application
• Start, repeat and then continue to

How do I begin a business that streams video?

It will require a few steps to be followed-

 

• Make an application for streaming videos
• Create the video content you’d like to stream
• Turn into a legal entity
• Register video streaming business
• Create an account with a bank
• Establish an accounting and telephone system

What is the technology you would employ to create an application for streaming video?

Here’s the technology stack you can employ for developing apps that stream video. Kotlin, Java, and Swift are utilized as programming languages to support Android or iOS apps. Amazon along with AWS are hosting service providers. MySQL and MongoDB come as databases in the process. Firebase for push notifications and cloudflare for CDN are utilized for development.

Who really needs an application to stream videos?

The highest level of interaction offered by these apps allows companies in TV to let viewers to access videos at any time. This allows their viewers to get access to the channel via the subscription they desire. All this without having to purchase the entire package. Additionally, it offers opportunities for TV networks to create bundles using a brand new form of advertising.