How Much Does It Cost to Build an App Like Quora?

Quora has become a powerhouse for user-generated knowledge, boasting over 300 million monthly active users. Its success proves that a Q&A platform can drive engagement and revenue if built right. But how much does it cost to create a similar app?

Short answer: Between $20,000 and $100,000+, depending on complexity.

Long answer? It depends on features, development team location, tech stack, and scalability needs. This guide will break down every cost factor so you can plan your budget wisely.

Key Features of a Quora-Like App 

Building a Q&A platform requires several core features. Here’s a breakdown of essential ones, with estimated costs based on industry rates ($50–$100/hour for developers in the U.S. and $20–$50/hour for Eastern Europe/Asia).

User Profiles

Quora allows users to set up their own detailed user profiles. These profiles help users get more visibility and engagement. For example, when a well-known AI researcher answers a question about machine learning, users are more likely to trust and upvote their response.

That is why you should include a well-designed profile system that helps users personalize their experience, showcase their expertise, and build credibility within the platform. 

Your profile system should include:

• Sign-up/Login Options: Email, phone number, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn.
• User Bio & Interests: Short bio, skills, and topic preferences.
• Profile Picture & Cover Photo: Adds personalization and credibility.
• User Activity History: Shows past questions, answers, and upvotes.

Question & Answer System 

Quora became popular because of its efficient questions and answers functionality. Your Q&A app should allow users to ask and answer questions efficiently. If you want a basic app with just a Q&A system, it will cost around $5000. 

However, your users might want more features. For example, Quora allows users to post anonymously or edit texts. Including such features in your app will cost around $70,000. 

Here are some features of Quora that you can include in your app:

• Topic-based organization
• Text editor
• Threaded replies
• Community feed

Voting & Commenting System 

How would someone know if your app’s answers are credible? Through the votes and comments on the answers. 

Quora uses these features to help users identify which answers are most credible (higher upvotes). At the same time, if an answer has many downvotes, it signals that the response is not helpful. 

Similarly, comments create a community-like structure in the app, allowing members to interact and engage with each other.

Content Moderation 

A Q&A platform needs to maintain content quality while ensuring that discussions remain respectful and spam-free. AI-powered moderation tools can help detect and flag inappropriate content, hate speech, and spam before they reach users. 

These systems rely on natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to analyze text for potential violations.

In addition to AI, a user-reported content system allows the community to flag harmful content. 

Human moderators then review flagged posts, deciding whether they should be removed. This combination of automated filtering and manual review ensures a balanced approach to content moderation.

Integrating AI into your app will increase our costs by $10,000 – $25,000. Furthermore, there will also be costs associated with manual moderation after the app is launched.

AI-Powered Recommendations

Did you know why Quora has so many users? It is because Quora’s related questions feature keeps users engaged by showing similar, AI-powered suggestions. 

AI-powered recommendations are one of the best and most used ways to engage users. A well-trained machine learning model can analyze user behavior, topic preferences, and past activity to suggest relevant questions and answers.

A personalized feed helps users discover new content tailored to their interests. Additionally, an intelligent search autocomplete improves the search experience by predicting queries based on common questions. NLP (Natural Language Processing) can also group similar questions together, reducing duplicate posts.

Factors That Impact Development Costs

Several variables can significantly impact your budget. Let’s break them down.

App Complexity & Features

The more features you add, the higher the cost.

• Basic MVP (Minimum Viable Product) – Covers essential Q&A features.
• Advanced Platform – Includes AI-driven recommendations, gamification, and analytics.

Development Team Location

Where you hire your developers makes a big difference in cost.

Platform Choice (Web, iOS, Android)

Each platform adds to development time and costs.

• Web app: $15,000 – $30,000
• iOS + Android (native): $40,000 – $80,000
• Cross-platform (Flutter/React Native): $30,000 – $60,000

React Native can cut costs by allowing one codebase for both iOS and Android.

Tech Stack & Infrastructure Costs

Choosing the right tech stack affects both cost and performance.

Estimated Development Costs Based on Complexity

Streamline Development with Supersourcing

Are you worried about the different factors affecting development costs? With Supersourcing, you can get a high-quality app like Quora at affordable prices. 

Here’s how Supersourcing can help you build an app like Quora:

Access to Top Talent

Finding experienced developers is crucial for a successful app. Supersourcing has a talent pool of the top 2% of tech professionals worldwide. 

Cost-Effective Solutions

Developing an in-house app can be expensive, especially considering salaries, benefits, and infrastructure. Supersourcing offers you the chance to cut costs with its established team of experienced developers.

Comprehensive IT Services

Supersourcing provides various IT services, from custom app development to AI-integrated solutions. Our expertise ensures that every aspect of the app development lifecycle is handled professionally, resulting in a product that meets business objectives and user expectations.

Proven Track Record

Supersourcing has worked with many established brands, such as Paytm, Impetus, and Adani Group. Our extensive experience across various industries showcases our ability to deliver high-quality apps that drive growth and user engagement.

By addressing common challenges in app development—such as sourcing skilled talent, managing costs, and ensuring timely delivery—Supersourcing helps brands build robust, scalable, and user-friendly applications.

Conclusion

Building a Q&A platform like Quora isn’t cheap. Costs range from $20,000 for a simple version to over $100,000 for a full-featured app.

However, with the right planning, a well-defined MVP, and smart development choices, you can build an affordable, scalable platform.

Thinking of launching your own Q&A platform? Start small, validate demand, and scale as you grow!

FAQs

Can I build a Quora-like app for under $10,000?
Not likely. Even a basic MVP with freelance developers will cost at least $15,000 – $30,000.

What are the must-have features of an app like Quora?
Must-have features of Quora-like apps include – Question & answers system, AI-powered recommendation, voting, and comments. 

What is the average time required to build an app like Quora?
The time required to build a Quora-like app depends on its complexity and features. A basic MVP (Minimum Viable Product) with core Q&A functionality can take 3 to 6 months to develop. 

A medium-complexity app with features like voting, notifications, and content moderation typically takes 6 to 9 months. A fully-featured Quora-like platform with AI-powered recommendations, advanced analytics, and gamification can take 9 to 12+ months. 

The development timeline can also be influenced by the size of the team, development methodology (Agile vs. Waterfall), and potential revisions based on user feedback.

How does complexity affect the cost of developing a Quora-like platform?

The complexity of an app directly impacts its development cost. A simple Q&A platform with basic user profiles and a posting system can cost around $15,000 – $30,000.

If you add features like content moderation, voting systems, notifications, and a personalized feed, the cost rises to $30,000 – $70,000. For a highly complex version with AI-driven recommendations, advanced search, and gamification, costs can exceed $100,000.

More complexity requires additional development time, higher infrastructure costs, and specialized expertise, contributing to a higher budget.

How can Supersourcing streamline app development?

Supersourcing helps startups streamline app development by connecting them with vetted development teams that match their budget and requirements.

Instead of spending months searching for the right developers, Supersourcing provides pre-screened talent with proven expertise in building apps like Quora.

This saves time on hiring, reduces project risks, and ensures faster delivery. Additionally, Supersourcing can help negotiate costs, manage timelines, and oversee project execution, making the entire development process smoother and more cost-efficient.