Pre-Development Cost Estimate
This section outlines labor and server requirements, reference prices, and links to relevant service providers.
Paid Items Checklist
| Item | Purpose | Cost notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name and certificate | Site deployment, domain access, and SSL configuration | Varies; available domain names typically cost CNY 8–79 |
| Apple Developer account | Publishing an iOS app | Fixed annual fee: USD 99 |
| Cloud server [purchase] | Platform deployment | Usually the largest cost besides project fees. AWS costs are estimated at approximately CNY 1,553 per year for each connected device; actual costs also depend on total bandwidth usage and are billed monthly to the customer account. Pricing varies by provider and must be evaluated separately. |
| Google developer platform | Third-party sharing, third-party login, and Google Maps | A credit card is required. A verification charge is made and then refunded. The account includes USD 200 in free monthly credit; additional usage is billed. |
| SMS [purchase package] | Sending SMS verification codes | Alibaba Cloud SMS; other platforms require application. SMS packages typically cost about CNY 0.05 per message, varying by purchase volume. |
| IP geolocation [purchase package] | IP-to-location API | Alibaba Cloud IP geolocation API; typical pricing: CNY 2 / 10,000 calls, CNY 20 / 100,000, CNY 198 / 1,000,000, CNY 392 / 2,000,000—purchase by usage tier. |
| Weather [pay-as-you-go] | Weather information by city | OpenWeather; free plan: 60 calls/minute and 1,000,000 calls/month. Paid plans start at GBP 30 and include 600 calls/minute and 10,000,000 calls/month. See OpenWeather pricing for details. |
| Air quality | AQI by city | aqicn |
| File storage [top-up] | Storage for images, firmware, control panels, and other files | Add CNY 10–20 in credit before development |
| Third-party push [pay-as-you-go] | Phone notification bar alerts | JPush (Aurora Push) |
| WeChat Developer account [annual fee] | Third-party login and sharing through WeChat | Fixed annual fee: CNY 299 |
Total Cost Summary
Domain & certificate + Apple Developer account + cloud server + SMS + IP geolocation + WeChat Developer account ≈ CNY 3,000 in total.