Table of Contents
The world is evolving online, so as the demand to develop an app like gumtree. Marketplace apps are emerging as major competitors. They connect sellers and buyers closer than ever before. Of all marketplace apps, Gumtree is a popular model. It is among the most effective and renowned for its huge base of users and millions of users.
To help the newbies who are just starting, let us begin by defining the meaning of Gumtree. Gumtree is a website for community members run by eBay that publishes classified ads that members of the community may find interesting. Certain ads have a cost (so that they can benefit from Gumtree’s services). However, some ads are available at no cost. Gumtree was officially established in March of 2000.
The benefit of Gumtree’s website is that it attracts a great deal of attention. As of November 10, the Gumtree website was already attracting 14.8 million monthly users. Anyone can appreciate the advantages of creating an application similar to Gumtree if this is how you determine success.
In this blog, we’ll explain every crucial factor that influences Gumtree classified app development costs. First, let’s examine why the app is so effective that businesses of all shapes and sizes, such as new entrepreneurs and established companies, are keen on developing apps similar to Gumtree.
Initially, Gumtree.com was a UK-specific site for classified advertisements. It is operated through an online classified advertisements company with an identical name. With its headquarters in London, Gumtree became the most used community platform that allows all kinds of ads, whether paid or free, across all business niches. After dominating the digital advertising space for over two years, it was the top-rated site in the UK to advertise classifieds. It was among the most popular websites around the globe, with millions of regular users and visitors.
Gumtree began its journey in March 2000. It was designed as a local website for advertisements in London. Since the beginning, the site has been designed to capture the attention of individuals from South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. The site helped thousands of newcomers to the city find accommodations or jobs, local friends, or services they needed. It was developed as a community site to connect people from various locations and the services they require meaningfully.
Gumtree, owned by eBay, is a community site that hosts numerous classified ads specifically tailored to the needs of its users. Gumtree ads can be free or paid, depending on the promoted item. It could be an automobile, a couch, a job, the latest flat, a bike, a stereo, or any other item. Gumtree allows you to promote anything you wish and guarantees the most competitive prices.
One of the reasons Gumtree has become such a massive success is that it has successfully linked customers and sellers all over the globe for many years. From its humble beginnings in the bustling streets of London in 2000 to its extensive global presence, which spans Hong Kong, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, France, Poland, and the UK, the platform’s influence is felt worldwide.
Gumtree is an incredible source of business information, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses that make it easy to connect with their ideal customers.
Furthermore, Gumtree supports a range of payment methods, such as debit cards, mobile wallets, credit cards, UPI, and bank transfers. Its various revenue models and extensive feature list make this possible.
Gumtree is a global platform for sellers to create and sell their items worldwide. Let’s look at it more deeply:
Developing a marketplace application like Gumtree requires a complete array of features to attract customers and increase competitive advantages. This is why we have listed some of the most important elements to consider when assessing the cost of creating an app similar to Gumtree.
A marketplace application similar to Gumtree offers a wide range of goods that span various categories, such as furniture, electronic devices, apparel, vehicles, and many more. Therefore, it is essential to integrate a product listing feature in the app. This feature allows buyers to build, update, and manage listings for items or services they want to purchase or sell and add descriptions, pictures, and pricing details.
The app must send personal push notifications that notify users of upcoming events, updates to listings, pricing changes, promotions, price adjustments, and other relevant messages. This improves user engagement and retention.
Integration of rating and review features can increase users’ trust and loyalty to your app’s products. Therefore, you should allow customers to leave ratings and reviews for sellers and buyers to increase trust and establish credibility within the community.
Your marketplace’s huge inventory lets buyers find various products that pique their interest. With the wishlist feature and saved search option, users can create collections and save items to purchase later. This lets users revisit the items on their wishlist and continue where they were, which ensures an effortless shopping experience.
Security is the most important factor when developing an app such as Gumtree. According to Forbes Advisor, the average amount of money lost in an eCommerce fraud is $101. So, it is imperative to implement strong security measures like encryption protocols, authentication methods, and regular security audits to safeguard your users’ data, avoid fraud, and guarantee safe transactions.
With an estimated 5.17 billion active social media users, the social sharing function is now a key feature in your marketplace app. The feature lets users post listings, favorites, and reviews across social networks, increasing your app’s reach and attracting new users.
It’s one of the most important attributes of an eCommerce app such as Amazon, Costco, Target, Gumtree, or the one you plan to create. Your app should have AI analytics tools that track user behavior, monitor the app’s performance, and gain insight into market trends, helping to enhance the user experience and improve the performance of your platform.
In the age of AI, your app should have an intelligent chatbot that can offer instant support and assistance to users. Chatbots can answer the most frequently asked questions, offer instructions on using the application, and provide individualized recommendations based on user preferences.
Make sure that your application is accessible to people with disabilities by incorporating accessibility features like WCAG standards, screen reader compatibility, voice commands, and custom colors and font sizes. These features increase accessibility and usability, allowing all users to use and navigate the app comfortably.
The app will allow users to sign up for accounts and log into the app securely using email, social media accounts, or telephone numbers. After logging in, users can create accounts and manage their accounts, payment methods, and more.
In the fast-growing marketplace of classified apps, the message system is the primary currency that drives connections and transactions. With messaging functions like in-app messaging, multi-media file sharing, and messages, buyers, and sellers can chat in real-time, inquire about offers or deals, negotiate agreements, and conduct secure transactions.
A powerful search feature with filters is among the most requested characteristics of a marketplace app. It allows users to find the products or services they want according to categories, location, price range, and other aspects.
If you are building a classified advertising application like Gumtree, it is essential to integrate secure payment gateways to enable transactions within the application. Your app should be able to support a variety of payment options, including debit and credit cards, digital wallets, PayPal, and bank transfers, ensuring a smooth checkout experience for every customer.
Administrators must have a full dashboard to manage listings, supervise users, track payments, ensure that community standards are adhered to, and effectively resolve disputes. From resolving disputes to reviewing performance indicators, the administrator’s dashboard is the central point determining your marketplace application’s future direction.
With the moderation and reporting tools available and a moderation feature, you can allow users to report suspicious activity and content that is inappropriate or violates community guidelines, increasing the security of your app and ensuring everyone’s safety.
The geolocation feature and the maps feature enhance the user experience and improve the accuracy of searches. Whether you are looking for a specific item or exploring new possibilities, users can count on GPS technology to find local products or services.
Virtual try-on technology revolutionizes how people experience the eCommerce experience by allowing shoppers to test items like furniture or accessories before making a final purchase. This feature gives a vivid and interactive experience of how items will look and operate in real-world situations, allowing users to make informed choices.
Incorporating multi-language functions into your app will help provide a diverse user base and extend its reach. The app should allow users to choose the language they prefer to display the interface and listings and ensure accessibility for people with different backgrounds in linguistics.
Here are a few key aspects to consider before beginning the development process!
The idea of having an idea is great. However, it’s not enough to take you very far. Finally, we suggest you consider the product design you want to develop. This requires market research and a thorough analysis of the industry. Market research starts by examining the top players in the field who are your primary opponents. Define the benefits that your app offers customers. It’s possible to think that distinguishing yourself from other apps in the mobile commerce marketplace isn’t easy since your app and rivals’ apps share several of the same functions.
User experience helps users identify quickly what features or functions they need. Therefore, even small details, such as the orientation of text or color selection, can have a huge impact. The proper placement of images, color selection, and many other aspects bring attention to the application, help users navigate it, and allow them to concentrate on shopping and browsing. You must ensure that the UI/UX of your app is flawless and of the highest quality.
To create complex classified ads application it is necessary to create or contract a company to develop apps for online marketplaces. To incorporate those mentioned above in your marketplace app, such as Gumtree, You must include the following individuals on your team:
Instead of hiring for each role, it is better to employ the top application development company since hiring them will provide you with the best talent mix.
Developing complicated applications should start with creating a minimum viable product (MVP). An MVP is the initial product version that includes only the essential features needed to please the initial users and gather feedback to help develop the product in the future.
The main goal of the MVP is to evaluate the product in a realistic setting to determine whether it addresses the issue or achieves the purpose for which it was designed. Feedback can help you improve the current version of the product and accumulate data on bugs and customers’ needs.
Before launching your product to end users, it must undergo a test and quality assurance phase to ensure uninterrupted software functionality. This is the time to correct any glitches, bugs, or mistakes early in development.
After testing and verifying the quality, you can deploy the app to the platforms you want it to be on (e.g., Apple App Store, Google Play Store). If you submit your application, adhere to the app store’s guidelines to ensure easy approval and distribution.
Finally, you should constantly update your app with new features, such as security patches and bug fixes, to enhance its performance and improve user experience. Remember that developing mobile apps is a single-time event, but maintaining them is a continuous process.
Many factors affect the cost of creating a marketplace app such as Gumtree. Knowing these aspects is essential to determine the exact estimates for classified app development services. Here are a few key points to consider:
An MVP mobile application with a few features will cost less than a sophisticated and advanced final high-end market application. This is true to an extent; the more complicated an app is, the higher the development costs due to the time and effort involved in the development process.
In this case, adding a complicated search will make it more difficult. Individual recommendations and greater security will also increase the cost.
Implementing security measures like encryption methods and multi-factor authentication is crucial to protecting users’ privacy and ensuring their trust. In addition, adhering to regulatory compliance requirements, like the laws governing privacy and data (GDPR and the CCPA), accessibility requirements (WCAG), payments industry standards (PCI DSS), and app guidelines, requires more development efforts. This increases the costs of developing an app for the marketplace like Gumtree.
In particular, the price to create a marketplace such as Gumtree depends on where the development team is located. Contractors based in North America and Western Europe are charged more than those in Eastern Europe, India, or SE Asia.
For example, American developers charge $100 to $200 an hour, while Eastern European or Asian developers charge $25 to $50. Cost control must be considered when selecting the best development team. Also, consider the team’s experience.
The decision to develop apps on iOS, Android, or both platforms significantly impacts the development cost. Every platform comes with its unique set of tech stack specifications and design guidelines, which require additional effort and time and can increase app development costs for market apps.
According to statistics based on data research, the Android platform has a more extensive user base, boasting about 3.5 billion users, compared to iOS’s 1.3 billion in the race to be the most digital. The Gumtree platform also has remarkable success, with more than 10 million downloads in Google Play. Google Play store, underscoring its popularity with users.
The framework chosen determines the quality and price of the application. A flexible and strong base is required to process large amounts of user interactions and data. Marketplaces such as Gumtree use cross-platform technology.
They employ React Native or Flutter for the front end and Node for the back end. JS and Ruby on Rails will run the back end, and MongoDB and PostgreSQL will be the databases. In this case, each technology has a cost, and some may require expensive skills.
Regular maintenance, updates, and technical support are vital to ensure the app is secure, updated, current, and compatible with ever-changing technology and operating systems. Therefore, even if maintenance is not the main focus of the development process, planning maintenance budgets is vital to ensure the long-term success of your app.
UI and UX design are the most important factors determining the app’s success. Other crucial aspects are usability, appearance, and feel. A successful app must be able to draw and keep users’ attention.
While boosting the initial price also increases users’ satisfaction and stickiness. Animations, custom designs, and other interactive features can increase the time and cost of development.
The framework selected determines the overall nature of the app and its price. A flexible and strong basis is essential for processing large user interactions and data. Marketplaces such as Gumtree utilize cross-platform technology.
They utilize React Native or Flutter for the front end and Node for the back end. Js and Ruby on Rails to run the back-end and MongoDB and PostgreSQL to store data. In this case, each technology comes with a cost. Some may need expensive skills.
The robustness and scalability of the backend infrastructure are essential to supporting the app’s capabilities and allowing for future growth. Therefore, elements like the server architecture databases, database management systems, cloud-hosted hosting companies (e.g., AWS, Google Cloud, Azure), social media logins, and API integrations help with app functionality and affect the app’s Gumtree development costs.
Let’s say you’ve got an online platform. What’s next? Let’s consider revenue-generating strategies for your market, similar to Gumtree.
Usually, the price of listing products on a marketplace is the price. However, here, you can charge sellers to display their products within the category. Determining the charges for mass users’ basic categories, such as vehicle rentals, is also possible.
Sellers may pay an annual subscription fee or package to expand their reach and improve the visibility of their products. You can make the subscription plan using silver, gold, or premium and set the price accordingly.
Gumtree provides specific product categories for advertising through its website. It also creates a leaderboard; the paid item will be listed at the highest position. You can charge your vendor based on the banner size in which they would like to display their item.
Lastly, Gumtree makes money using the referral model by promoting various products on any third-party platform. When a user clicks on and purchases an item, a small portion of the sales generated is credited to Gumtree. This is the best way to connect with customers via a reliable platform.
Certain aspects affect the cost of establishing a marketplace such as Gumtree. Determining the budget is crucial. The most important aspects are features, technology, design, and maintenance after release. A similar app to Gumtree costs between $10,000 and $30,000. The auto classified ads mobile app development cost depends on the nature of the project and its complexity, as well as the business developing the application.
Making a marketplace app similar to Gumtree in 2025 will require various elements that impact the cost. However, you can reduce the amount spent by prioritizing, planning, and looking ahead to the future. Making the marketplace app is only the beginning. The highest priority is making sure the user experience lasts.
Your goal to make a story using an app for classified ads like Gumtree is completely achievable. For the cost of development, it is always recommended not to sacrifice the quality of the product just to keep the cost of development to a minimum.
The price of creating an app such as Gumtree will depend on various factors, including the choice of platform, the development team’s geographical location, and their experience and capabilities. It could range around $20,000-$100,000.
Consider team experience, location, communication abilities, and a portfolio. Search for teams with expertise in creating similar platforms and ask for references.
The time it takes to develop an app like Gumtree depends on various factors, such as the product’s features and platform compatibility, the UX/UI design, the amount of expertise and size of the app developers, and more. The market app development timeframe ranges from 4 months to an entire year.
