Publishers created $6.8bn (£4.4bn) in application download revenues in 2011, while app development revenues reached $20.5bn, according to a new report from analyst firm, research2guidance.

The report, The Market for Mobile Application Development Services (2010-2015) – Selling The Spades To The App Gold Diggers, spans 98 pages, and is written for app developers as a planning and benchmarking tool as well as for app publishers who want to develop their sourcing strategy.

The report notes that today, most app project revenue is generated from classic app creation services, such as concept creation, design and coding. New service types such as app libraries, white label solutions and multi-platform app development tools have become more popular, but do not yet take a major share of the market.

Prices for app development services vary significantly between regions. UK developers charge $626 per day, whereas competitors from India charge, on average, $138 per day. App development partners using price as the main criteria for selection will not be lead to an optimal solution, the firm says, as most of the price differences are offset by the additional time needed by offshore app developers.

There’s more information about the report here.