It takes less time to develop apps on the Android platform than it does on either iOS or Windows Phone.

This is according to Evans Data, a market research firm, after conducting a worldwide survey of 464 mobile app developers.

A shade over 40 per cent of developers targeting Android said their typical app is finished in one month or less.

Only 36 per cent could say the same for iOS and 34 per cent for Windows Phone.

On all platforms, the biggest chunk of time is spent on testing and debugging. Firefox and Tizen were found to be the exception, where coding takes longer.

Android is also targeted by more developers than any other OS when it comes to tablets.

Of developers addressing the tablet space, 84 per cent have Android-based devices on their radar. By contrast, iOS chalks up 62 per cent of tablet developers and Windows 52 per cent.

And while most developers target multiple platforms they also target multiple screen sizes.

“Targeting multiple screen sizes is definitely the way to go,” said Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data. “The benefit of having your app run across the gamut of device types is obvious, and while there are difficulties in synchronisation across device types, and in the range of graphics capabilities that are supported by different screens, the benefits still outweigh the effort.”