Car Parking App Development – A Comprehensive Guide

Published on December 7th, 2023

Imagine you are joyously on your way to a wedding reception (not yours), all decked up. You have now reached the designated venue and are looking for a parking spot.

(Fifteen minutes later) You still could not find a spot for the car parking.

(Thirty minutes later) Still, there is not a parking spot in sight.

(One hour later) There is still no sign at all!

(Three hours later) No need to find a parking spot anymore because the wedding is already over and you have just sent off the newly married, while sitting in your car.

If such a situation has occurred with you even once, you definitely know the pain of not being able to find a parking spot. And when you know the pain, you might be one of those who would like to pursue car parking app development to alleviate the pain of so many other car owners.

If you are one of the above-mentioned, then this blog is definitely for you. In this blog we are going to talk about premium car parking apps such as SpotHero and render you a comprehensive guide with regard to the development of a car parking app. So, fasten your seat belts because we are all ready to shift the gears and get started. 

Why Pursue Car Parking App Development?

Before you embark upon any new journey, it becomes necessary to know the ‘why’. Therefore, you would do yourself a huge favour if you would attempt to explore the motivation(s) behind undertaking car parking app development because these motivations will ultimately give you courage to dodge any hassle that comes your way.

We have lined up some of the many crucial reasons why you should pursue car parking app development. Keep in mind that the reasons we are going to offer are the benefits that your users (and ultimately you) gain when you render a car parking app service to them.

The benefits of the car parking app are as under –

1. Absolute Ease

One of the most common plights of every modern world dweller is that it has limited land space for the purpose of parking, but almost unlimited number of vehicles (metaphorically speaking).

With car parking apps in picture, dearth of parking space is no longer a hassle. With powerful algorithms, car parking apps easily solve the problem of parking space and help you find the parking spot instantly. 

2. Eases Traffic

Another plight that is associated with the increasing number of vehicles on the road is none other than the barbarous traffic jams.

However, with dynamic car parking apps, traffic jams can also be eased by directing vehicles to the empty parking spaces. 

3. Market Growth

When a car parking app is responsible for solving so crucial modern day problems, you cannot stop it to achieve the market expansion that it deserves. 

According to the Market Research Centre, as the year 2023 ends, the smart parking management market is going to be worth $ 165 billion, which will obviously reflect in the market growth of car parking apps. With such vast market scope, one would be ignorant enough to not pursue car parking app development.

4. Multiple Revenue Streams

Other than the ordinary transaction fees, car parking app opens up multiple arenas of revenue for all those who are looking to develop it. 

You can allow businesses to use your car parking app as a platform to advertise their products and services and pay advertising fees in exchange. You may offer your users some premium services in exchange for a premium fee. 

What are Some Remarkable Features of a Dynamic Car Parking App?

We hope that you are all stirred up to take off the development of your car parking app. But before you do so, it is important for you to know the variety of features that make a car parking app.

Fundamentally, any car parking app must have three panels – a user panel and an admin panel. For your reference, we have listed below the remarkable features of each of the said panels that you should definitely include in your car parking app development. They are as under –

1. User Panel Features

The user panel is that part of your car parking app that a user interacts with. Therefore, the user panel must have all the amazing features that make the app experience of a user surreal.  

• Registration/Log-in

Finding a parking spot is already so difficult. Make sure that you make the registration and log-in process easier.

To do so, you would have to allow your users to create new accounts on your car parking application via their email IDs, social media accounts, or phone numbers. Allow your users to log-in through the same. 

• Search Functionality

It is crucial for your car parking app to have remarkable search functionality.

An advanced search functionality allows your users to easily search a car parking spot in a particular location in a particular city. An advanced search functionality eases the app experience for your users. 

• Payment Gateways

Keeping the user experience of your car parking app as your topmost priority is what will pay off and one way to do so is by rendering your users easy payment options.

By offering your users multiple payment gateways, you allow your users with seamless app experience and prolong their stay on your app. 

• Navigation

Your car parking app found your users a cool parking spot. But how would they reach the said spot? We know that you know what we are hinting towards – GPS integration.

You cannot even imagine a car parking spot without a GPS integration. When it comes to car parking apps, GPS integration is basic. It allows your users to navigate to the parking spot and locate their parked vehicle again. 

• Notification

For any mobile app, be it a car parking app or not, push notifications become quintessential.

As far as the car parking app is concerned, push notifications notify your users with regard to the expiry of a parking session, any offers or discounts, or any other car parking related information. 

• Parking History

Believe us when we say that your car parking app cannot do without a car parking history. Why is it so? 

With a car parking history at their disposal, you users can make an account of the expenses they spend on a parking ticket, or can track the parking spot they earlier used for parking their vehicle. 

2. Admin Panel Features

Obviously, if there is a panel for your users, there needs to be a panel for you – the admin panel. The admin panel is that part of your car parking app through which you manage the car parking app business. Therefore, the admin panel should have all those adequately necessary features that would make your work easier.

The various features of the admin panel have been lined up below –

• User Management

The admin panel of your car parking app should enable you to do the basic functionality of user management seamlessly.

The admin panel must have a single dashboard facility through which you can navigate into the profiles of your users, keep a tab on their activities, and manage their profiles accordingly.

• Booking Management

It is important for you to be able to grab information related to the availability of the parking spots and their prices and accordingly manage the bookings of the said spots.

With management of the bookings, you can manage the demand during the peak times without putting much effort and taking care of your users.

• Revenue Management

Obviously, it is essential for the admin panel of your car parking app to help you manage the diverse revenue streams of your car parking app.

Therefore, your car parking app must have a dashboard feature where you can easily track the revenue generation from transaction fees, advertising, in-app purchases, etc. 

• Reports and Analysis

The admin panel of any app, whether it is a car parking app or not, is futile without the presence of a powerful data analysis feature.

Make sure that you harness all the crucial powers of data science and integrate into the admin panel of your car parking app, so that your app offers you essential data and reports that you can use for the betterment of your app business. 

• Marketing Strategies

On the basis of the data offered by the admin panel, you are empowered to devise adequate marketing strategies for your car parking app.

You may intend to offer personalised discounts and coupons to your customers on the basis of the data collected on the activities on their account. You may also accordingly plan promotional strategies for expansion of your user base.

How does a Car Parking App Make Money?

Now, before we get into the cost matter of a car parking app development, allow us to inform you of the various revenue streams that a car parking app can open up for you.

We have listed below the various sources of revenue that a car parking app has. Take a look –

1. Subscription

By offering the services of your car parking app, you can demand a monthly or an annual subscription from your users in advance. The subscription from your users will be the main source of revenue from your car parking app.

2. Parking Fee

Another way you can charge the users of your car parking app is in the form of transaction fees. By charging a stipulated transaction fee for each and every parking session of your users, you can earn loads of money. 

3. Advertisement

You can allow businesses to use your car parking app as a platform to advertise their products and services and accordingly charge money from the businesses in exchange for the said advertisements.  

4. Surge Pricing

You can significantly increase the prices of the services of your car parking app during the hours of peak demand and hence, considerably increase the revenue generation from your app. 

5. Premium Services

You may sell premium services such as valet parking, security features, or in-app purchases in exchange for a premium subscription that the users of your car parking app would have to pay. 

How much does It Cost to Create a Car Parking App?

Usually, the cost of car parking app development may range between $ 20000 to $ 45000. However, this is a very general cost estimate and may get influenced by a variety of factors that have been given as under:

• Size and complexity of the car parking app
• Number of features and functionalities
• Native vs. cross-platform app development
• Number of third-party integrations
• Advancement of the tech stack deployed
• App development platform deployed
• Size and location of the development team
• Complexity of the UI/UX design of the app

For your reference, we have presented below the cost of development of a car parking app on the basis of size and complexity of the car parking app –

• Small basic car parking app – $ 20000 to $ 32000
• Highly complex car parking app – $ 32000 to $ 45000 and above

Also, read: How much does it Cost to Develop a Parking App Like ParkWhiz?

Are you ready to hire developers for your car parking app development?

As an esteemed mobile app development company, iTechnolabs has no comparison. Its vast tech squad consists of some very highly skilled developers and other tech professionals who have both the expertise and experience to transform your budding app ideas into a very powerful, feasible, and sustainable reality.

Till now, iTechnolabs has served many clients with its swift and seamless mobile app development services. Its clientele belong to a diversified range of industry arenas, such as education, healthcare, gaming, oil & natural gas, logistics, etc. The experience of its developers, especially in the car parking segment, has no competition.

The professionals at iTechnolabs make use of cutting edge technologies, such as internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), data science, AR/VR, cloud computing, etc. We follow a very seamless app development process and ensure that our hiring process is also effortless and efficient. 

Our variety of pricing models enables our clients to hire the best professionals for the development of their mobile apps and ensure at the same time that the cost of app development remains within their budgetary expectations. Talk to our adept consultants today and get started with the development process of car parking apps.