So, you have an idea of a Digital Product for your business or a Tech-Startup in mind and want to build a Minimum Viable Product, but don’t have an In-House Development team at your company? Or maybe your Tech-Team doesn’t have enough capacity to develop the Side-Project of your business? These are some of many cases you might need to get a contractor who knows how to help on board.
Maybe, there’s not enough decent tech specialists in your area. In that case, Near- or Offshoring of your Product Development may be also a good solution.
But who should you be working with: a Freelancer, Digital Agency or Remote Full-time Developer? Looking for Software Development Contractors is a strategic step that can either skyrocket or play a dirty trick on your Business or Startup.
There are many vital considerations that are to be taken into account when you choose between a Full-time Developer vs a Freelancer vs a Software Development Company.
When we’re talking about the creation of a Web or Mobile App for your business, a generic portrait of your perfect Tech Partner most likely looks like this.
This should be an experienced contractor with well-organized Software Development processes and excellent communication skills that can understand and handle your business-specific challenges. They also should be dedicated to your project and be able to support you during the development, release, and post-release stages.
It’s not a rare case when, after some time, companies find themselves dealing with the consequences of a wrong decision if the chosen contractor (or the decision not to have any at all) doesn’t match this portrait:
- For example, the whole Project was assigned to a Freelancer who has a narrow specialization and works on a few projects at once. The result can be a non-scalable Product and the necessity of additional specialists for outsourcing other development parts.
- Another story: some non-tech business decided to create their own In-House Dev Squad but wasn’t successful enough because of the lack of expertise in managing tech teams.
Yet, it would be totally wrong to say that there’s only one acceptable solution for you - it all depends on a few key things like whether the digital product will be a core of your business, the complexity of the task, available budget etc.
As each project is different, think carefully before making the final choice on Full-time Developer vs a Freelancer vs a Software Development Company. Let’s reveal ins and outs of each approach!
👩💻 Freelance Software Developers: Strengths and Weaknesses
Before we move on to the pros and cons of hiring a Freelancer, let’s recall some basic info:
So, in a few words, freelancers are individual developers who have expertise and experience in several particular fields and are suitable for performing narrow tasks within their сompetence.
If it seems that your case doesn’t require involving freelancers, jump right to the pros and cons of hiring a Full-time Developer or a Software Development Agency.
However, successful startups and prosperous businesses are sometimes skeptical about selecting such an option for development purposes. Why? Because of the following drawbacks:
Alternatively, Startups and Businesses are often advised to hire remote Full-Time Contractors. So, let’s highlight the positive and negative sides of this option to make a Full-time developer vs a Freelancer comparison.
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👨💼 Hiring a Full-time Developer: Ins and Outs
From our experience, we can split full-time developers into 2 groups:
- In-house Developers;
- Remote Full-Time Developers.
To put it shortly, when talking about the In-House Dev Squad we mean your internal development team in its “classic” meaning: a group of people working in a shared office 5 days a week. Here are some other basics:
So the main difference between a Full-time developer vs a Freelancer is that creating your In-House Team may be reasonable only if your Mobile and Web app will be the core of your business.
Think of Snapchat or Tinder - their business is built around the mobile app, while for offline businesses (let’s say, a restaurant or a retail store), an application will become a good enhancement to increase the level of their service but not something they can’t exist without.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of having your own development team?
Yet, there’s always the other side of the coin:
Remote Full-Time Developers are remote full-time developers who may join your In-House Team if your team needs another developer for a short period of time (e.g. while you’re waiting for the next funding round to hire for that position) or to perform a specific task (like porting your Product from Web to Mobile). Here are some other key features:
- Since Remote Developers usually sign an employment contract, they focus on the current Project and don’t tend to disappear.
- Possible discipline and organizational issues are the main concerns.
Now, it’s time to move to the third and last comparison: Full-time Developer vs a Freelancer vs a Software Development Company.
👨💻 Hiring a Software Development Company: Pros and Cons
Finally, if you’re looking for a trustworthy, skilful & experienced Tech Partner who can build your Product, a Mobile/Web Dev Agency may be the perfect match. Here are some basics regarding a Full-time Developer vs a Freelancer vs a Software Development Company differences and specifications:
Software Dev Agencies try to combine the best features from the previous options without inheriting their disadvantages. And that’s what makes them a good Tech Partner for your app or web development:
What are the drawbacks of such a choice?
Usually, these drawbacks are easily handled by professional companies so it shouldn’t have negative effect on your Project. Here are a few examples of what our clients say about working with us:
“They make the whole business work for us, and their improvements are fundamental to our operations”. – Founder, Software Company
“They put such effort into my product it might as well have been their own”. – Head of Product Development, Target Up GmbH
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💡 Takeaways
Now, you know all the key differences between a Freelancer vs Software Development Company, or a Full-Time Developer. The choice will greatly depend on the key requirements of your project. Let’s recall them!
Looking for assistance in delivering your Product? We at Stormotion help European and US-Based Startups and SMEs to Build Top-Notch Mobile and Web Apps. Just drop us a line and get to know us better!
