If you ever thought about developing your educational apps and building a startup around them, now is the right time to do it!
On its own, the learning app may seem like a high-grossing product, but this is only the tip of the iceberg.
In fact, education accounted for 5.6% of the U.S. GDP in 2024. Did you hear about those Galaxy-sized student loans?
This issue will make the mobile learning industry even more appealing.
Here are some figures on education spending in the U.S. alone:
Early childhood education: $ 70 billion
K-12: $60 billion
HIGHER education: $475 billion
Adult learning: $ 55 billion
According to S&S Insider, the American mobile education market size will reach $190.82 billion by 2032.
The market potential: How different educational apps perform
The smart education market size is projected to increase by USD 486.2 billion at a CAGR of 20.44% between 2023 and 2028.
Education software and apps are designed for teaching and education within classrooms and at a consumer level.
This market includes everything from language learning to classroom management software.
In the meantime, some companies like Microsoft and SAP decided to enter the market.
Technology has become an important part of the business with a view to preparing students for professional life; universities have gradually adopted technology-focused learning techniques, which eliminate paper assignments and materials.
With an increasing number of students receiving degrees each year, the potential user base for educational software platforms is consistently increasing.
This statistic shows the number of higher education degrees earned in the United States from 2020/21 to 2024/25.
Simply put, mobile apps for education come into play in order to redistribute worldwide knowledge by means of the internet, because this is what learning apps are intended for.
Key trends in the education industry
The education industry is changing constantly.
More startups related to education appear and bring new technologies to the learning process every year.
Online academies are gaining popularity because of the interactive atmosphere
While leveraging available interactive multimedia technologies like lifestreaming and video-conferencing, the student can finish their courses online.
Students and teachers communicate and have their discussions in virtual classrooms.
The universities are not left out and develop more programs as well as distance learning models.
They offer online courses to foreign students without any need to leave their native country.
Augmented reality and virtual reality go beyond the hype
The first one is now being utilised to enhance learning by displaying virtual 3D models in 2D spaces.
Faculty members who work in science and engineering can make interactive presentations and models, eliminating the creation of physical models.
Recently, VR has been accessible only on computers, and now it can be used in a Virtual Reality space.
Such an approach allows users to experience the exact conditions as they would in the real world, which is a big stride in educational research and training.
Open-source textbooks and textbook rentals remain popular with students and teachers
In recent years, the rise of open-source textbooks and textbook rental services has reshaped the educational landscape, becoming a prominent trend in EdTech
These alternatives to traditional textbooks offer significant cost savings and greater accessibility for students, aligning with the growing demand for affordable education.
Open-source textbooks, in particular, provide customizable and updatable content, empowering educators to tailor resources to their teaching needs.
Meanwhile, textbook rental services offer a budget-friendly option, allowing students to access required materials without the financial burden of purchasing.
These trends foster a more inclusive, flexible, and cost-effective approach to learning.”
These are some key trends in the education industry today, but this list is far from comprehensive.
Benefits of mobile learning apps: an overview
Increasing knowledge penetration speed
You can serve new courses and educate millions of users with new skills by simply updating your app with new content.
95% of users who study at home report that it would be impossible without apps for education.
Enhanced engagement rate
Studying can be fun. Moreover, it is perceived as something natural if associated with such an everyday thing as a smartphone.
This is why 81% of teachers say that lesson plans made with technology lead to better student engagement.
Better audience reach
EDUCAUSE QuickPoll on students’ experience with educational technology has shown that the smartphone is usually a secondary device for students’ education.
Easy collaborative potential
Mobile apps for education enable close collaboration between students, which increases the average time users spend on the app.
Education apps sorted by types
Although educational apps include different features and can be upgraded with multiple learning modules, it is common to divide them by the principal purpose for which those apps are designed:
Language Learning Apps
Remote Tuition Platforms
Educational Mobile Apps for Kids
Learning Apps for Disabled People
Learning Apps For Adults
Test Prep Apps
Sensor Tower has shown the top education apps for Q3 2024 that students admitted as a technology that helped them manage their education.
Language learning apps
Recently, Duolingo announced its first quarter results. Luis von Ahn, co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, has stated that:
“We also surpassed 10 million paid subscribers and delivered 38% year-over-year revenue growth, driven by strong user momentum and increased adoption of our premium subscription tiers.”
Best learning apps for languages: a review
Rosetta Stone
Lingvist
Memrise
Babbel
Hello-Hello
Each of those mobile apps for language learning is prospering in its own specific niche, and there are no limits to finding a new one for yourself.
Premium Class apps for Chinese/Japanese/Korean language learners are most promising to mention.
Language learning means new word discovery, so an English dictionary app might be a good business idea if you have any significant advantage that Google Translate lacks.
In addition, take a close look at such extinct languages as Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and Ancient Egyptian. You may find strong support among academic and amateur communities.
Educational mobile apps for kids
There are many types of kid apps for education, such as alphabet applications, foreign languages, etc. Our expert team has great experience in developing educational apps.
One of them is the LabbaYo language app.
LabbaYo language app is the only kids’ app that works with proprietary LabbaYo Language Flash Cards to allow children to HEAR and SAY the words to practice pronunciation.
Beautifully drawn images are designed to engage and captivate children.
The app is initially offered in Spanish, English, and French. The pronunciation module offers rewards when the word is said properly and encourages practice.
It’s a fun new way for children (age 3+) and the whole family to learn new languages using smartphones, tablets and physical flashcards.
School apps are another perspective on learning.
From here, you can start using classes and subjects as a targeting method.
What is great about the apps for schools is the high demand and willingness of parents to pay for such content.
It also integrates other innovations, such as gamification.
Note: Your app should comply with COPA law – the U.S. Child Online Protection Act, which requires all commercial distributors of “material harmful to minors” to restrict their sites from access by minors. COPA only limits commercial speech and only affects providers based within the United States.
By the way, the success recipes of the best apps for school always include a gamification ingredient.
Learning apps for disabled people
Perhaps the most undeveloped and stealthy mobile learning category.
Also known as Special Education. If you want to succeed in this niche, our suggestion is to cooperate with non-profit organisations or secure government funding, which will provide you with access to resources and an audience.
Here are some suggestions of mobile applications for disabled people and their purposes:
Apps that encourage shy students to speak more often.
Picture-based communication apps for children with communication disorders.
Choice boards for people with disabilities to help them express their wants.
Apps that help people keep track of their tasks and provide visual guidelines.
Building an app for disabled people requires a high level of user experience. Consider hiring a skilled UX designer and getting a consultation with a specialist working with disabled people.
That allows you to ensure you include all the features covering your audience’s needs and build your app in a manner that is easy for the end users to understand.
Learning apps for adults
From here, you have nothing to limit your imagination.
Deadline keepers, homework reminder apps, math hints, proofreading apps, research citations managers, apps for collaboration with classmates, choose any of the categories and go ahead!
Unlike educational app development for kids, the best apps for students should always have a messaging feature.
Also, you should open your app for additional integration like campus maps, reminder systems, schedule and learning databases.
Test prep apps
Introduce yourself to all sorts of quizzes and tests. Starting from a basic language memorising app like Anki, and ending with a specialised Aviation Study Guide, we’ve made specifically for military aviation pilots.
In our case, we’ve developed Aviation Study Guide as a memorisation app for helicopter pilots.
The app features a PDF Reader, with gathered documentation on Apache AH-64D and Blackhawk UH-60A/L helicopters, and special quizzes and flashcards that help users to memorise previously covered materials.
We also added a simple admin panel so the client could add new content, such as new documentation, helicopter models and keep the app up to date.
Note: Think about the monetisation method before starting to make a quiz or testing app. Users of this kind of learning app do not tolerate mobile ads because they are highly distracting from the memorising process itself.
Bottom line
As you can see, the mobile learning industry is gaining strength and becoming more profitable yearly.
Therefore, if you’re about to develop an education app, it’s high time to get enough momentum.
With a deep understanding of educational needs and cutting-edge technologies, Altamira empowers educational institutions, startups, and enterprises to deliver personalised, scalable, and engaging learning experiences.
Our expertise lies in integrating advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and adaptive learning algorithms to enhance content delivery, automate assessments, and provide real-time analytics.
These solutions help educational providers stay ahead by improving learner engagement, operational efficiency, and content accessibility.
Our commitment to quality, innovation, and customer-centric development enables EdTech organisations to realise their vision and deliver impactful, future-ready educational solutions.
Contact us to learn more!
FAQ
The price may vary depending on many factors, such as the complexity of your future application, the number of features, etc.
We recommend going through the discovery phase and consulting with a business analyst to choose the best features for your app. To ease your research, we decided to give an example of the general list of functionality that the marketplace should have:
User profiles with the outline of all experiences, services, and portfolios.
Ability to post a request on the marketplace
Search by job requests and profiles.
Ability to apply to the Job Requests or invite teachers to the Job Requests
Private chats where students can talk before starting the educational course
Open jobs, this is where users can hire one another with agreed-upon and defined terms
Complete the job once the service is provided, and automatically charge for the service with online payments
Feedback forms should become available on completed jobs and should not be visible to one another until they leave their feedback.
Report functionality should allow users to report offensive or abusive content.
Social sharing will help you with marketing and spreading your application.
The price is around $50,000+ from scratch, but there are also ready-made on-demand solutions available that allow you to save costs.
Yes, it is possible, but you have to ensure your business can work from home/office.
To gain that, it is recommended to build a platform where your teachers can livestream their lessons, and the class can join to study them.
One of the most important things is to get people involved, so live streaming with cameras and screen sharing is the most important for users.
Even the tests have to be available on live broadcasts.
The time required for the development process depends on the type of app and its complexity.
If we are talking about a language app, it may take 2-3 months to build it from scratch, but if you are going to build a marketplace or live streaming app, it takes up to 6 months.
For more information about types of educational apps, you can read this article.
Duolingo is a well-known example.
It helps users learn new languages through bite-sized lessons, quick quizzes, and spaced repetition. Whether you’re brushing up on Spanish or starting Japanese from scratch, it’s designed for short, consistent practice, no classroom needed.
They make learning easier to fit into real life.
You don’t need a fixed schedule or a physical classroom. Whether you’re commuting, waiting in line, or taking a short break, apps let you keep learning in small chunks.
They’re not a full replacement for teachers or structured courses, but they’re a practical add-on, especially for review, practice, or casual learning.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer.
If you’re looking for academic courses from top universities, edX and Coursera are solid options.
For younger learners, Khan Academy stands out for being free and well-structured.
If you’re learning hands-on skills like coding or design, Udemy offers a broad selection. The “best” platform depends on your subject, learning goals, and how much structure or guidance you want.