[Question] How much does it cost to design an app?

I’m not a programmer, so I have very little idea of how much it costs to, for example, write the code for a website or app. Suppose I wanted to hire someone to design a very simple, secure, and easy to use app—how much should I expect to pay in terms of time and money? To work with a concrete and timely example, suppose I wanted an app that would do the following:

  • Let people enter the minimal amount of information (or use a series of questions) to help them figure out which phase of Covid vaccination they qualify for in their region (e.g. age, occupation, pre-existing conditions, etc.)

  • Connect them to the correct website(s) for them to schedule an appointment if they are qualified, or give an estimated timeframe for when people in their phase might be able to get vaccinated.

  • Allow for notifications, appointment reminders, updates if the rules in their region have been changed and what they need to do instead, etc.

Note that I’m not suggesting that such an app would make much of a dent in the logistical nightmare that is our healthcare and political systems. I’m using it as a hopefully easy to understand example of the level of complexity I’m thinking about.

As a follow up, how much additional cost would be needed to process payments through an app? (Again, not thinking of this in terms of the vaccine example app, but asking about apps in general).

And finally, if I did want to eventually hire someone to write an app, what would be the best way to go about it? Would people in this community be willing to help?