When you Google the best video streaming applications in the world, you will get Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, and HBO. Among them, Amazon Prime Video tops the list. It is the leading video streaming app that has gained popularity with spectators. It increased the worldwide Prime members to over 200 million in 2024.
With such hype, business owners are looking to build an app like Amazon Prime Video. The worldwide video streaming service market is valued at $129.80 billion in 2024 and is forecasted to grow to $865.85 billion by 2034.
This has created a golden opportunity for entrepreneurs to invest in video streaming app development. So, if you are also among those who wants to build an app like Amazon Prime Video, then read this blog till the end.
This blog will discuss the development steps, features, costs, benefits, and other crucial aspects that can help you create a fantastic Amazon Prime Video app development solution.
So, let’s begin!
What is an Amazon Prime Video App?
In the United States, Amazon Prime started streaming in 2006. Users can watch movies and TV shows on the site, and they can also buy videos from the studio’s original content with licenses, subscriptions, and declarations.
Members of Amazon Prime now get all the perks of Amazon Prime Video. If Amazon Prime isn’t available in a certain area or country, users can’t watch movies in the app through a Prime video.
With the Amazon Prime viewing app for Android, users can watch thousands of shows and movies on their favorite devices whenever they want. So, if you are intrigued by video streaming app development, you must build an app like Amazon Prime Video.
Future Predictions & Projections of Amazon Prime Video
Source: Statista
- Amazon Prime Video has occupied the 2nd position in the growing subscription video streaming sector.
- It has increased the global Prime members to over 200 million.
- In the USA, this sector sources said that a total subscriber count was around 167 million in 2023.
- The growth in Amazon Video’s subscriber base is forecasted, with estimations showing that Amazon Prime Video will be more than 100 million subscribers by 2027.
- More than 48% Amazon Prime Video subscribers are Millennials.
How Does Amazon Prime Video App Work?
Before you build an app like Amazon Prime Video, it is vital to be aware of its working process. So, let’s have a look at the working mechanism which is explained by a mobile app development company.
1. Download and Install
Firstly, users download the Amazon Prime Video app from the app stores on their phones.
2. Sign-In
Now, users register in the OTT streaming app either with their email ID or contact number.
3. Browse Content
After successfully registering in the app, users browse their favorite video material as per their genre taste.
4. Watch Video
Once they choose the content to watch, the users will watch their favorite show in the app like Hurawatch or Amazon Prime Video.
5. Download For Offline Viewing
Finally, if the user wants to watch the video in an offline mode, they can download the shows and watch it offline.
Steps To Build An App Like Amazon Prime Video
In this section, we will discuss the video streaming app development process for startup and potential startup business owners. Let’s check out key steps on how to build an app like Amazon Prime Video.
Step 1. Define Your Audience And Their Needs
It’s not a good idea to build an app like Amazon Prime Video on beliefs. Instead, you should find out what the audience who will be using the app really needs and write that down. With the help of an IT consulting firm, plan to talk to the people and do so to find problems early on.
You will know what to do when you develop a video streaming app like Amazon Prime based on the early feedback. Also, you might already have your first beta testers lined up.
Step 2. Choose Monetization Strategies
In the end, you’ll want to make money off of the OTT app development solution. Here are the three most common ways to do that:
- Paid app: Make people pay to download the app.
- Freemium model: It means that the app is free, but paid users can access some functions.
- Advertisements: You can put ads on the app to get paid for them.
But it’s not often that an app only uses one way to make money. It’s more stable and safe when there are two or three of them together.
Step 3. Use a Reliable Platform for Video Streaming, Hosting, and Storage
Now you’ll have to pick the platform that will let you stream, host, and store the content the best before you build an app like Amazon Prime Video. It’s not always smart to go with the cheapest service for live streaming app development.
At first, you could get away with reducing quality for cost, but as users and traffic grow, it becomes clear that the speed isn’t as good. Users won’t put up with slow streams or movies with low quality, so the app will fail. So, an entertainment app development company suggests choosing the best platform for your app.
Step 4. Create Great UI/UX design
It’s now time to create the UI/UX of your Amazon Prime Video app development. For the mobile app design process, the mobile app design company should put simplicity and ease of use at the top of your list. It is because they have a direct effect on how satisfied and loyal your users are.
When you build an app like Amazon Prime Video, here are some factors you should keep in mind:
- Make sure the layout is clean and simple, and include interactive elements like chat and reaction emojis to get viewers involved.
- Use clear, responsive buttons so users can start and stop streams, and make sure the navigation for finding live and archived content is easy to find on the screen.
- Test designs with real users to find and fix any problems.
- Remember that when designing the UI/UX of a video streaming app, the quality and speed of the exchange are closely linked to the user experience.
Step 5. Build and Test an MVP for your App
Your live video streaming app like Amazon Prime Video could have a lot of features you want to add, but the best way to see if they work is MVP app development. When you hear the term “minimum viable product,” you should think of a small app version that only has the features it needs to work.
When you build an app like Amazon Prime Video, it’s easy to use and simple to get reviews from users. Of course, you won’t have to do all of these things by yourself as a business owner. You can either give the task to someone on your own team or hire dedicated developers to do it.
Now is the time to think about the video streaming mobile app development tech stack. As with any other app, you’ll need to choose a programming language, a database, a messaging queue, and other parts of the video streaming app development process.
Step 6. Launch and Update
Finally, the launch of the app is a satisfying end to all the time and work you put into finding, testing, and making the MVP. This is where the experienced on demand app development company will definitely do what needs to be done. But here are some important things to remember.
Usually, the launch starts with a test version so that you can get important feedback from users and make changes to your app as needed.
You’ll need to send your app to the right app stores before it’s released to the public.
Before letting people download your app, both app stores will check it to make sure it meets their quality standards.
Even though the offering is now out there, the work is not done. You should start keeping an eye on how people use your video streaming app after the launch.
Must-Have Features of Video Streaming Apps Like Prime Video
The features of your video streaming application leave a direct impact on the user experience. So, the more features you include in your application, the higher it’s worth. Some of the must-have features you shouldn’t miss incorporating into your video streaming app like prime video are –
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Simple User Registration
The simple yet effective registration increases the chances of users’ registration while making your application more user-friendly. You can also incorporate social media integrations or email to enable users to sign-up in just a few taps.
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Secure Payment Integrations
Video streaming apps follow different monetization strategies like subscriptions; there must be a secure payment integration into an app. It will enable the users to make a payment via any payment method, including credit card, debit card, UPI, net banking, etc. Even the same feature is incorporated for ott tv app development and other types of development.
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User Profile Management
Users who take subscriptions to video streaming applications have multiple profiles to manage. So, this feature of streaming application development comes as a blessing. It allows the users to create a separate profile and, in turn, offers them a seamless and personalized streaming experience. Other than streaming applications, video conferencing apps like Zoom are also liable to these features.
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Push Notifications
This is one of the mandatory features for video streaming apps like prime video and other applications. This feature notifies relevant videos to the users based on their video preferences. Moreover, the users also get notifications for trending or recently launched videos.
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Search Filter
This feature enables the users to search the content via name or genre. Also, users can apply special filters to search for something specific. Including this feature while developing an app like prime video will make your app more sorted and user-friendly. As a result, more users will prefer to use your application, bringing in high profit and ROI.
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Multi-Language Support
Not every application supports multiple languages, so you can take advantage of it to stand out among your competitors. An application with a multi-language support feature will attract more users to your streaming application. Moreover, you can also add multiple language options with subtitles to make content easily understandable.
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Video Settings
This amazing feature of a streaming application allows the users to set the video quality, enable the subtitles, control volume, change language, play/pause, and more for a personalized watching experience. This is a must-have feature for a video streaming app, so don’t miss including it.
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Watch In A Group
This feature enables users to form a room and get a better watching experience in a group. The best part about such features is that users can watch the same title simultaneously from any corner of the world. It will make your live streaming app development process outshine and help your application gain more visibility.
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No Screenshots
Content privacy and security should be the foremost concern for your video streaming application. So, while considering the protection of Copyright, enable this feature in your app. It will not let the user take screenshots or record a screen while watching anything. Such features make your application more trustworthy and, in turn, increase its worth.
Features can either make or break your application’s success. So, be wise while choosing features during live streaming app development. Every feature mentioned above will contribute to the app’s success, so be careful while deciding on the features for developing an app like prime video.
Best Video Streaming Apps Like Amazon Prime Video
We have created a table of the best video streaming apps in the market that has a huge user base. So, let’s have a look at them:
Amazon Prime Alternatives | Available Platform | Downloads | Ratings |
Netflix | Android | iOS | 1B+ | 4.0 |
HBO Max | Android | iOS | 100M+ | 3.7 |
Youtube | Android | iOS | 1B+ | 4.1 |
Hulu | Android | iOS | 50M+ | 3.7 |
Plex | Android | iOS | 50M+ | 3.5 |
Cost To Develop An App Like Amazon Prime Video
Now you must be wondering “how much does it cost to build an app like Amazon Prime Video?”. Well, it is quite complex to determine the exact cost as it depends on your project requirements. But we can provide a rough estimate. Generally, a video streaming mobile app development costs you around $10000-$25000 or more.
However, if you want to build both Android and iOS apps, then be ready to pay more. Also, the cost will increase if you want to build a web version of the app. So, it is best to go with cross-platform development. Let’s get a more clear picture about the video streaming app development cost from the below table:
App Complexity | Cost Estimation |
Simple Amazon Prime Video-like App | $10000-$15000 |
Medium Amazon Prime Video-like App | $15000-$20000 |
Complex Amazon Prime Video-like App | $25000+ |
Now you are well-versed with the cost to build an app like Amazon Prime Video. It is easy to calculate the Amazon Prime Video cost from the below table:
Total Amazon Prime Video App Development Cost = Developer’s Hourly Rate * Development Time
This is not a fixed cost, nor can you develop an app like Amazon Prime Video for free. So, it is vital to take assistance from a video streaming app development company to discuss the actual cost.
Why Is It Important To Fix A Budget For Your Project?
Now you are well-versed with the cost to build an app like Amazon Prime Video, it is crucial to have an understanding of budget. Fixing a budget helps you understand the entire planning structure and take the correct measures for getting your video streaming app developed. Hence, before hopping into the development of your business, make sure you keep the following things in mind.
● Helps Identify the Actual Needs
When you build an app like Amazon Prime Video, you must understand your project requirements and target audience. You must prioritize features and functionalities based on the cost to build a video streaming app like Amazon Prime Video budget so that you can focus on the most critical components.
● Aids in Market Research
In order to build an app like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video and make it competitive, you should know what features it offers and at what price point. Knowing your budget will help you research similar apps and make an informed development decision.
● You Need the MVP
A budget helps you create a realistic MVP that you can launch quickly without breaking the bank. Once you have data from the MVP, you can invest further in features based on user demand.
● Need to Save for Marketing
Creating a fantastic app is just one aspect of the process. Reaching your target audience is also necessary. Having a budget guarantees that you have money set out for advertising and promotion. This could involve content marketing, social media advertising, and app store optimization.
How To Monetize Your Video Streaming App Amazon Prime Video?
You’ve created a really beautiful app. Check! What comes next? It’s time to start the money-making engine once you’ve launched your app similar to Amazon Prime Video, and the number of downloads is continuously increasing. Now let’s explore the models of app monetisation.
1. Pay-per-view
The most popular and well-tested model is the one where customers pay for each movie they watch. If your main goal is to be a part of broadcast video streaming, trade shows, sports events, and more, this is the choice for you to make your app like YouTube monetize.
2. Advertising
The way to make money in advertising is easy: charge other companies to show their ads on your website. The idea is similar to letting media buyers put ads when you build an app like Amazon Prime Video. This way of making money can be very useful if you have a big following.
3. Subscription
As you may remember, most video streaming services that focus on pleasure make money by charging subscribers. People who subscribe pay a monthly fee to get unlimited access to a library of materials. If your viewing video streaming app like HBO Max adds new content often, you can use this method.
Let’s Create A Robust App Like Amazon Prime Video!
By now, you should have a better idea of which app is best for streaming material and how to build an app like Amazon Prime Video. The balance between business goals and user experience is very important in this field.
So, if you are ready to make an app like Amazon Prime Video, take assistance from one of the best video streaming app development companies like Dev Technosys. Get in touch with us to find out more about making an MVP for a video streaming app development solution.
FAQs
1. How Long Does It Take To Build An App Like Amazon Prime Video?
The time to build an app like Amazon Prime Video can take 2-8 months. But it is not always the same. It keeps on changing with time and complexity.
2. How Much Does It Cost To Build An App Like Amazon Prime Video?
The cost to create an app like Amazon Prime Video will be between $10000-$25000 or more depending on your project complexity. To know the exact cost to build a mobile app like Amazon Prime Video, it is best to consult with a mobile application development company.
3. What Are the Benefits of Video Streaming App Development?
When you build an OTT app like Amazon Prime Video, you will many benefits that are mentioned below:
- Increased Visibility
- Stronger Community
- Real-Time User Engagement
- Analytical Insights
- Monetization Opportunities
4. How To Create a Video Streaming Website?
To create a video streaming website, you need to follow the below steps:
- Do market research
- Know your competitor websites
- Create a feature list
- Design user interface
- Develop the backend
- Test and launch
5. What Are the Best Video Streaming Apps?
There are several video streaming apps like Amazon Prime Video in the market. However, we have listed down the popular ones:
- Netflix
- Hulu
- HBO Max
- Peacock
- Tubi