After the pandemic, the way we look at things has changed a lot. People are going remote to do any task as they prefer the comfort of staying at home. They are using more and more apps to make their daily chores easy and convenient, be it anything.
During the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, it was seen that the worldwide downloads of video chat apps like Skype, Zoom, etc. has been risen by over 100%. People were also using different platforms to attend events virtually while being restricted to their homes.
Among all apps, Zoom was the one that was getting the most popular followed by Skype when it comes to active users. Also, the Microsoft-owned apps have a good number of daily active users including 59 million in March on both Android and iOS platforms, compared to 4.3 million for Zoom.
With the numbers rising, we can predict that people are gaining a good understanding of how these video chat platforms are beneficial to cater to their needs of the present time. Not only people, but businesses are also looking to create a mobile app like Zoom or Skype that can provide them with multiple advantages.
This below guide will take you through every essential aspect that you need to know before obtaining video chat app development services. It comprises the overview, benefits, must-added features, tech stack, monetization strategies, and how to create the best video chat app, let’s look at it-
Table of Contents
What is Video Chat App?
A video chat app enables users to interact with each other via live video and audio feed with the help of the Internet. These video chat apps also help you to get engaged with real-time conversations and see each other in real-time. These apps are more popular for personal and business use such as connecting friends and family located at different locations, online learning, and remote team meetings.
The app also comprises features like text chat, screen sharing, recording conversations, sharing files with different formats, and scheduling meetings. Some popular video chat platforms are Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet. ClickMeeting is also one of the popular video chat apps created by SemiDot Infotech that enables users to attend meetings, learn from virtual classrooms, attend virtual events, and many more with the help of outstanding features.
Why Invest in Video Chat Apps?
Investing in video chat apps or getting video chat application development services can be a smart move currently as the industry is booming at a faster pace. The skyrocketed demand for video call apps is one of the reasons why you should go for them. In coming years, this trend is expected to grow across different industries and both businesses and individuals will likely leverage the benefits.
Let’s navigate to more benefits of investing in video chat apps-
- Market Stats of Video Chat Apps
- Competitive Advantage
- High Revenue Potential
- User Engagement
- Better Opportunities
Market Stats of Video Chat Apps
During and after the widespread of COVID-19, we have seen an upsurge in the video chat and video conferencing market. There is a huge number of companies that are still relying on video conferencing applications to streamline their consistent business practices.
Also, ventures are trying to tap opportunities by acquiring software innovations to get other valuable chances. GoToMeeting is an aggregator web conferencing service offered by a software development firm, LogMeIn, which offers screen-sharing features so that employees can work with utmost convenience.
The overall revenue of this software is estimated to get exceptional growth in the video conferencing market and the market is set to reach ~US$16 bn by the end of the year 2030. In January 2030, videoconferencing apps were downloaded around 27 million times in March 2020 compared to 2.1 million in January 2020.
It was also noticed that workplace communication apps such as Slack hiked the number of users during the lockdown, and it has still maintained the digits benevolently. Other video chat apps comprising Skype, HouseParty, Zoom, ClickMeeting, etc. are also getting notified by a large number of people over the past few years. The below graph represents the stats of January 2020-March 2020 about these apps, have a look-
Competitive Advantage
Businesses looking to create the best video chat app to gain a competitive advantage while offering users an engaging and unique experience to their targeted audiences leading to long-term loyalty and satisfaction. These video chat apps are particularly beneficial for industries like education, healthcare, and events where in-person communication is crucial. It helps ventures to stand out from their competitors.
High Revenue Potential
Going for live video chat app development can help your enterprise to be a profitable venture. video chat apps comprise different revenue streams such as advertising, subscriptions, and transaction fees. Significant things like a large user base, higher engagement, and new features & integrations also assist in generating video chat app revenue.
User Engagement
When it comes to how to make a video chat app, ‘user engagement’ is a vital element to consider. The app is developed in a way that it should be easy to use for people to grab the interest and attention of audiences. Considering the users’ mindset throughout the development process will help to provide them with a memorable and immersive experience which can lead to high customer retention and loyalty.
Better Opportunities
If you are determined to build online video chat apps, then you must know that it comes with lots of other opportunities for creativity and innovation. You can always combine advanced features and integrations into the app. It will take you to new chances for growth and expansion while outshining competitors.
Different Types of Video Chat Applications
There are different types of video chat apps and businesses can choose one among them according to their business purpose. To provide users with a simple way to communicate or attend regular meetings, these apps are much more beneficial to use. Businesses can also hire a video chat app development company to create a proficient solution.
Below we have come up with different video chat apps that you can go for
- Video Conferencing App
- Everyday Conversation App
- Entertainment App
1. Video Conferencing Apps
Video conferencing apps facilitate users to interact with each other via video calls or virtual meetings. They act like a protracted version of a remote workplace. There are lots of benefits provided by these types of apps such as attending meetings & conferences, screen sharing, video recording, user management, live content moderation controls, schedule video calls, and many more. These apps can be used on different devices like desktops, laptops, and so on.
Top Video Conferencing Apps
- Zoom
- Skype
- GoogleMeet
- ClickMeeting
- Microsoft Teams
2. Everyday Conversation Apps
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, FaceTime, etc. are some popular instant messaging apps that also enable users to do audio and video calls. All these lie in the category of everyday conversation apps or high-quality video calling apps.
Apps belonging to this category have multiple features such as screen sharing, recording, texting, slideshow, and easy communication with others. The popularity of these apps has got to an extended level where businesses are even holding the higher cost to create an app like WhatsApp or Facebook.
In this category, VK Messenger is an app created by SemiDot Infotech that is used for chatting as well as for video calling. It has advanced features such as text & voice messages, unlimited calls, self-destructing messages, business notifications, and so on.
Top Everyday Conversation Apps
- Facebook Messenger
- VK Messenger
- FaceTime
3. Entertainment Apps
Entertainment apps allow users to chit-chat, play games, and interact with each other during video calls. This category has been less popular in comparison to other categories. People use these apps to get away from boredom and communicate with their friends and family simultaneously. While preferring entertainment app development, businesses can go for popular apps like Discord, Houseparty, Rave, etc. for reference.
Top Entertainment Apps
- Viber
- Discord
- JustTalk
- Snapchat
- LivU
Distinct Use Cases of Video Chat Apps
Now that you have understood the different video chat app types that are necessary to build a video chat app, it’s time to navigate to use cases. Some various industries and sectors are relying on video chat apps, even some others also have a keen interest to know how to make a video calling app due to its provided benefits. Get to know about them below-
- Social Media
- eCommerce
- Telehealth
- Online Dating
- FinTech
- Gaming
- EdTech
1. Social Media
This industry has highly adopted live video chat applications along with entertaining their users with instant messaging, posting images, and many more. If you have hired social media app developers already to create an app, then consider including in-app video and audio chat features as it is a necessity at the current time.
Various social media apps like WhatsApp, VK Messenger, Facebook, Telegram, Discord, etc. are getting famous for using video chat. These video-calling apps have widened the potential for social interaction and communication in the digital era. It is the reason why businesses are looking to hire a top social media app development company to attain a proficient solution.
2. eCommerce
The eCommerce industry is experiencing skyrocketing growth with people constantly purchasing & selling online via eCommerce platforms. These marketplaces have become a hub for local businesses to trade with one another and grab the customer base. Features like image upload, video calling, file attachment, etc. are used by them to seal the deal with utmost efficiency and ease.
More and more eCommerce ventures have a keen interest to develop video chat apps that can provide an interactive and personalized shopping experience to their customers. For example, A footwear brand called Allbirds facilitated their customers during the COVID-19 pandemic by engaging their salesperson via video chat. They were working as personal shoppers for customers to provide them with a more personalized experience.
3. Telehealth
After COVID-19, people are paying more attention to virtual visits to their doctors and the trend is still going on. These virtual visits have been only possible with the help of video calls and chats.
To be specific, online doctor apps or telemedicine apps that are supporting video conferencing or chats must be compliant with the HIPAA to get along with the patient’s data privacy and confidentiality.
Enterprises are now eagerly peering to hire doctor on demand app developers who can help them to create video chat apps to enter the realm with a bang. Some of the popular telehealth video chat apps are Doxy.me, Practo, VSee, and so on.
4. Online Dating
To make a dating app successful, good matching algorithms and ways of interacting with each other play a crucial role. Nowadays, dating apps are providing video chat and call to encourage users to make a connection quickly.
With the help of video calls, it is more suitable for users to trust the other party in order to find a match. Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, etc. are some dating apps that have been using video calls as a great medium to connect users.
Read Also – How to Create A Dating App like Tinder or Bumble?
Overall, videos chat apps in the dating sector are doing a tremendous job by providing an engaging & easy to use platform for users to create meaningful relationships.
5. FinTech
FinTech is a customer-centric industry, and they always focus on better customer support while facilitating them secure financial transactions. Video chat apps in the Fintech sector are pursuing the same purpose by providing personalized assistance to customers remotely via real-time interactions, online authentication, resolving issues, etc.
If you are thinking to build an online video calling app for the FinTech sector, you can look at First Bank, Ecobank, and other similar solutions.
6. Gaming
Video chat apps have secured a fine place in the gaming industry facilitating players to interact, strategize, and socialize during gameplay. These apps enable games to make a team and connect with team members, friends, and others in real-time to get an exceptional gaming experience.
Any business can hire video chat app developers to create an app that is helpful in higher customer engagement, collaborative live streaming experience, and so on.
By integrating video chat apps like Plato, Bunch, Xbox Live Party Chat, etc., the gaming industry can get multiple benefits like community promotion, better engagement, high revenue, and others.
7. EdTech
Video chat apps have revolutionized the EdTech industry by assisting users with remote learning and providing them with real-time communication with educators. Virtual classrooms are simplifying the learning process, important discussions, and personalized instructions.
Video chat apps like Coursera, Udemy, etc. bridge the gap between in-person instruction and distance learning in the Edtech industry. These apps also offer interactive and flexible educational opportunities.
Must-added Features of Video Chat Applications
While hiring any video calling app development company or knowing how to build a video calling app, features and functionality are two main aspects to keep in mind. These added features will help your app to grab the attention of audiences. Here are some features to include in different panels of video chat applications-
User Panel Features
Check out the following features that will be suitable to comprise to provide users with an amazing experience while using the app-
App Registration
To use the app features to the fullest, users need to sign up for the app by entering details such as name, email, contact number, etc. or they can sign-up via other social media accounts. They also must create a profile within the app including all their details.
Voice or Video Chat/Call
To create a video conferencing solution, you must add both voice and video chat functionality to it. Audio and video calls help users to connect with each other very conveniently. If they don’t feel the need for video calls, they can go for audio calls which can be very useful in the situation of limited bandwidth.
Screen Sharing
Making users able to share their desktop or laptop screens with the other person provides a huge collaborative advantage at the time of presentations or calls. It also enhances communication effectiveness along with the user experience.
Schedule Meeting
This feature allows users to set up and plan their upcoming meetings. Users can also schedule their plan according to the date, time, and number of participants while sending them invitations or reminders for the same to make sure smooth coordination.
Group Calls
It is a must-have feature to build a video conferencing app allowing several participants to join a single video or audio call at the same time. This feature is mainly used for virtual gatherings, team meetings, or connecting with friends and family from different regions.
Call Recording
Be it an audio or video call, a video chat app must have this feature so that users can record their important calls as a reminder or use them in the future. It can be used for interviews, important discussions, or other things that are to be shared later.
Sound & Visual Effects
We all have witnessed the popularity of Snapchat lenses and video chat apps can also experience the same by providing users with some customization & effects. Appealing virtual effects, AR objects, different filters, emojis, stickers, and other visual enhancements hold a different troop of users that can be dragged by video chat apps via this feature.
Push Notifications
While getting an understanding of how to create a video chat app, you must know that push notification is a compulsory feature to add. It alerts app users about their scheduled meetings, incoming calls, or messages to make them not miss anything important when they are not using the app.
Admin Panel Features
Admin panel needs to include some significant features that can help the administration to manage the app activities, here are they-
User Management
This feature enables administrators to view and control all the app users’ accounts. Admin can remove, add, or discard any account, manage settings, assign roles, ensure smooth working, and allow only authorized access of users.
Manage Analytics
Admins can access and identify several analytics & metrics to get insight into user engagement, participant statistics, call timings, and other data. It helps app admin to make data-driven decisions while optimizing app performance.
CMS Page Management
It enables admins to create, modify, and manage content pages within the video chat app. Different pages comprising FAQs, privacy policies, terms of service, and others can be customized and updated to provide updated content to users.
Notification Management
This feature will help the admin control & manage app notifications sent to users. Admin can personalize and configure notification settings such as reminders, delivery channels, and more to get more user engagement for the video call app.
Subscription Management
Admin can view how many subscribed members are there within the video chat app while managing their subscription duration and fees. The subscription management also comprises payment processing, view plans, renewals, upgrades, cancellations, and many more for improving the app’s monetization model.
Advanced Features
Alongside the basic features of the video chat app, there must be included advanced features as well to make your app stand out from the crowd. Though you will have to bear a little bit higher video chat app development cost, it will be worth it. Have a look-
Virtual Background
It is the most essential feature of the video chat app; users can change their virtual background to conduct interactions. No matter where they are, they can always cover it by applying different virtual setups. It will help them in the remote work environment.
Noise Cancellation
By taking the help of deep learning algorithms, video chat apps can facilitate their users with noise cancellation features. It enables users to avoid external disturbances and have hassle-free interaction when they are engaged in some crucial conversation.
Security
A video chat app must take privacy and security into consideration to avoid any breaches and fraud. Integrating end-to-end security encryption ensures that only authorized and permitted users can access the app content leading to the prevention of unconstitutional interference or snooping.
Data Backup & Synchronization
With the help of your chosen software development company, you can use cloud synchronization into a video chat app to copy and easily access the data. Users can also activate automatic backup or can take backup manually that can be shared across multiple devices.
AI Assistance
Let me ask you, would you mind if all the functions within the app get automated? How about linking keywords automatically, or time stamping in a referenced video? Artificial Intelligence can help you in achieving all of these. Other benefits of AI in video chat apps are automated support, real-time transcription, suggested response, information retrieval, and more.
Social Media Sharing
This feature allows users to share their video call experience with their friends on social media along with posting their captured video calls. It is a must for every video streaming app development company to include this feature in order to promote the app on different platforms.
How to Create a Video Chat App?
While creating a video chat app, there are a few steps that must be taken throughout the development procedure. Using years of experience and expertise, our video streaming app developers will help you to create your desired solution.
Now, it’s time to look at the major development steps, check out them below-
- Step 1: Research the Market and Define the Requirements
- Step 2: Design the User Interface
- Step 3: Back-end Development
- Step 4: User Authentication & Security
- Step 5: Quality Assurance
- Step 6: Launch & Maintenance
Step 1: Research the Market and Define the Requirements
Analyzing the market to get relevant information is the first and most essential step of the mobile app development process. This stage is where you will define the app’s ultimate goal and vision, demands of target audiences, preferred platform, operating systems, key features, overall budget, etc. Consider if any competitor is providing the same services in the market and study how their app works and if there are any loopholes you can get advantages from.
When you get into how to build a video chat app, you must also consider patenting a mobile app idea so that no one else can steal it. All this work will help you in shaping the complete development process.
Step 2: Design the User Interface
While focusing on designing the most attractive user interface for video call apps, you should need to be specific about every aspect, otherwise, it can cause you higher mobile app design costs. you can consider attributes like intuitive controls, easy buttons, visually appealing layout, and others to provide an amazing user experience. First, you need to create wireframes for the mobile app followed by prototypes and the final video chat app design including easy app navigation and screen flows.
Good app design is necessary as it helps to grab the attention of your target audiences. If you are planning to target multiple platforms, use advanced mobile app development frameworks like Flutter, React Native, etc. Alongside, integrate the video chat capabilities to ensure a smooth user experience across different platforms & devices.
Step 3: Back-end Development
The back-end development phase determines how your built app is going to work against your market competitors. In this stage, your hired live streaming app development company will integrate determined key features in the first step. Lines of code will also be written to make integrated features function smoothly within the app. That’s why it is necessary to hire dedicated developers who also have experience so that they can provide back-end mobile application development services easily and efficiently.
They must also develop the server-side infrastructure required to execute video chat functionality. It also comprises backend server setting, choosing modern-edge mobile app development tools & technologies like Ruby on Rails, Node.JS, or others along with essential SDKs or API development such as Wowza, WebRTC, etc.
Step 4: User Authentication & Security
Whether you hire Android app developers or iOS app developers, they must be aware to implement a secure authentication system to verify users and safeguard their data against unauthorized access. There can also be used industry-standard encryption protocols and approaches for data security.
Secure authentication includes various techniques like social login (with OAuth or other similar products), password-based authentication, or biometric authentication (face recognition, biometric). Also, it is required to ensure that authentication tokens are managed securely and protected against common attacks like replay or hijacking.
Step 5: Quality Assurance
After knowing how to develop a video chat app, it’s time to ensure that every line of your code works well with the help of mobile app testing. It involves code verification for errors to avoid future issues. Testing can be done to ensure different parameters such as app compatibility, performance, security, speed, and stability. Conducting several testing’s including usability testing, functional testing, and best testing will help you to gather users’ feedback and improve the app accordingly.
To achieve the best results and provide an error-free video chat solution, QA testers also check possible use cases comprising edge cases manually and run automated tests wherever needed.
Step 6: Launch & Maintenance
The last step of video call & messaging app development is to launch it on targeted platforms without any inconvenience. Be it a web server or app store, read their guidelines carefully before launching so that there won’t be any issues while releasing the app. But only launching an app successfully is not sufficient, your chosen on-demand app development company also needs to maintain and upgrade it time-to-time.
There is a huge need for app maintenance due to continuously changing mobile app development trends and your video chat app has to compete with them. Therefore, it is also significant to follow the mobile application development guide to build an app, otherwise, you have to face a lot of issues at the time of testing, launching, and post-release.
Technology Stack For Video Chat App Development
SemiDot Infotech offers the most suitable video chat mobile app development tech stack to build competitive solutions. Following is the right tech stack including tools and programming languages for mobile app development that you can apply to stay ahead of the competition-
| Functions | Technology Used |
| Programming Languages | Java, JavaScript, Swift, Kotlin |
| Database server | MySQL, Oracle |
| Analytics | Google Analytics |
| Push Notifications | Twilio |
| Payment | PayPal |
| Cloud Platform | Amazon EC2, Amazon S3 |
| Streaming | WebRTC, RTP, RTMP |
| API & SDK | Twilio, Wowza, WebRTC |
| Frameworks | Spark, Node.JS |
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Video Chat App?
After going through this video chat app development guide, now you know why businesses need a mobile app and how to build it but still, there is a question left, how much does it cost to develop a video chat app? The cost to develop a video chat app is divided into different aspects such as listed features, app complexity, stages of development process and duration, location and experience, and others.
Look at the below table to get an idea about the cost of different development stages –
| Development Stage | Estimated Cost |
| Research the Market and Define the Requirements | $2K to $5K |
| Design the User Interface | $5K to $15K |
| Back-end Development | $15K to $30K |
| User Authentication & Security | $5K to 8K |
| Quality Assurance | $5K to $10K |
| Launch & Support | $8K to $12K |
| Overall Cost | $40,000-$80,000 |
Seeing the above aspects, the estimated cost to develop a video calling app starts from $40,000 to $80,000 with core features only. To build a live streaming app with advanced features; it may take more than the estimated price. Hence, keep features limited and user design simple. To get an idea, you can take into consideration VK Messenger crafted by (SemiDot Infotech) which is a cost-efficient app with all the necessary features.
How to Monetize Video Chat App?
Knowing about the cost of building a video chat app is not enough as you must also know how you can earn money through the app. Mobile app development companies in the USA apply effective monetization models to the app nowadays so that businesses can earn more profit and revenue. Now, this mobile application development guide will take you through how you can monetize a video chat app, scroll below-
- In-app Purchase
- In-app Payment
- App Subscriptions
- Chatbot Integration
- Pay-per-conversation
- Pay-per-download
In-App Purchase
This monetization strategy offers advanced or premium features & functionalities to users if they are able to pay additional charges. These features can be anything such as new filters, effects, backgrounds, or communication tools in a video call app. These paid features help to augment users’ experience within the app.
In-App Payment
This money-making approach enables video chat app users to pay for third-party services. It assists businesses to recover their development cost and get added revenue by charging the amount for using specific functions.
App Subscriptions
It is the most applied revenue model where users pay a significant amount of money to use the app after a specific time. They have the choice to pay charges monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Various video chat entertainment industry solutions apply this model to increase their returns.
Chatbot Integration
Businesses can get more profits by streamlining the process of providing personalized recommendations to app users along with increasing lead conversions and CTR (Click through rate) for the video chat application.
Pay per Conversation
Every video chat allows a limited number of users in a group call, but users can add more users to the call, extend the call duration, and can avail the premium features by paying extra fees. Various market giants like Skype, Zoom, etc. use this money-making approach.
Pay per Download
Video chat app owners can increase their revenue by charging fees from users to download their application from the store, be it Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or Web App Store.
Why Semidot Infotech is Best for Video Chat App Development?
New apps are coming and going every day in the market and hence, you need to have a more viable video call app to outshine the pool of already popular pioneers. You don’t have to worry; we got your back! At SemiDot Infotech, we have a decade-long experience and have provided hundreds of video chat solutions. We are counted as the top mobile app development company in the USA that will help you create a proficient solution.
You can hire iOS app developers as well as Android app developers from us who will help you get a secure and robust final product. For example, our team has delivered a video chat app like ClickMeeting that is ruling the market while having a large user base.
From analysis to design & development to launch, our dedicated team will take care of every aspect such as mobile app development cost, app idea security, integrating required features, easy communication, etc. Our assigned project manager ensures transparent and clear communication with the client so that no lead can be missed from our side.
Conclusion
In the above video chat app development guide, we have provided everything related to building a video chat app involving its key features, benefits, monetization model, development procedure, and others. The advantages related to video chat apps are crystal clear and undoubtedly, this trend is going to last forever. From an ever-increasing requirement for consistent ways of communication, the expanding acceptance of video calling apps doesn’t seem to slow down in the coming time.
If you have a unique idea related to video chat apps that can help you to earn popularity in the realm, then go for it. You can choose a well-known chat app development company to get their assistance while creating a feature-rich solution. But before that, we suggest you have a thorough research about the major points of video chat app development so that you can beat the other competitors!
FAQs
Following is a list of related questions and answers to video chat app development to solve your queries, have a look-
How to make a video chat app?
To develop a video chat app, you need to research some general things in terms of features, cost, technologies, and other market competitors. The overall procedure will include stages like market research & analysis, UI/UX design, back-end and front-end development, third-party integrations & security, testing, launch & maintenance.
What are the features of a video chat app?
Some of the core features of a video chat app are user registration, video & audio calls, group calls, screen sharing, call recording, scheduled meetings, end-to-end encryption, and many more. Other advanced features include chatbot integration, noise cancellation, social sharing, etc.
How much does it cost to develop a video chat app?
The cost to create a video chat app would be around $40,000 to $80,000 but if you go for advanced functionality and features, it can go higher than expected. Other factors that differ the overall cost include team members, their location, number of features, and so on.
How do you monetize a video chat app?
Various strategies can be applied to the monetization model of a video chat app. These comprise in-app subscriptions, pay-per-download, in-app purchases, advertisements, and others.
How to make a video chat app on Android?
While developing a video chat app for Android, you must take into consideration all the aspects related to the Android platform. You must use technologies like Kotlin, Java, etc. Alongside, you can integrate APIs, and SDKs, and apply tools approved by the Google Play store including WebRTC.
But before all of these, you must set up an Android development environment (Android Studio) and must follow guidelines according to the Google Play Store to launch the app.How to make a video chat app on iOS?
The main technologies and tools to be used in making a video chat app for iOS are Swift, iOS development environment (Xcode), SDKs (WebRTC), and so on. iOS apps are fast in performance; hence, you must focus on the video chat app’s speed, scalability, etc. Follow the rules and guidelines relevant to the Apple Pay Store to launch the iOS app.
How much time does it take to build a video chat app?
It takes around 3- to 6 months to build a video chat app but if it includes cutting-edge features, technologies, and functions, it may extend the time duration. Try to limit provided features and other things to maintain the expected time limit.
