It’s quite a frequent issue when you have a web or app development idea, but for its implementation, you need a competent developer or an expert. There are so many freelancers and development companies that can carry out your plans.
While considering software development services, you have several options, and you need to work on the one that is most appropriate for your software development requirements.
Two of the most common options for outsourcing software development are using software development agencies, also known as “dev shops” or “dev agencies,” and hiring freelancers.
As we know, each project is different, and there’s no single way to answer which is the best choice to hire – freelancers or software development company. Here we are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of both freelancers and software development companies.
Benefits of hiring a freelancer
Most freelancers charge lower prices as a comparison with software development companies. Still, even if an expert freelancer’s hourly prices seem high, you can generally expect to save 20-30% off the price of a development company.
For beginners, you don’t have to pay for benefits like health insurance. Also, by hiring an independent contractor you aren’t paying for the working space and other facilities’ costs. According to Forbes 2018, 56.7 million Americans were performing freelance work.
- Highly skilled in one specific area
As freelancers run their brands or websites, they usually strive to enhance their skills and get substantial expertise in one specific field. This is why it can be beneficial to hire a freelancer for specific jobs, or to complete projects similar to those they’ve already executed.
As freelancers are now in high demand, there’s been a rise in platforms such as Freelancer, Elance, Upwork, Guru, and Hubstaff Talent where you can easily find an independent contractor to meet your requirements.
It is much easier to deal with only a single person than with a whole team. A freelancer can work remotely, not worry about the schedule. And if you need the job to be done quickly, it would be easier to manage this task with a freelancer. According to Forbes 2018, the number of freelance hours Americans work each week has incremented by 72 million since 2015
Full-time developers have more than a few legal rights, meaning there are more chances for legal claims to be brought against you. Freelancers perform tasks under an independent contract as a separate entity.
Reasons not to hire a freelancer
If you hire freelancers, they rarely sign any legal contract. They can quickly stop working on your tasks without information. You need to be very careful about choosing a freelancer for the job. Use online platforms and get some information about a person with comments about his or her previous jobs.
- Your product’s quality can suffer
Not all freelancers work on their brands to get returning customers. Your organization’s success may not be their top priority.
Usually, a freelancer provides you a solution as per your requirement. This propels the need for you to fully understand what technical features you want. If you are not clear, then the result will not be up to the mark. So, if there is any lag in the details which you provide, the freelancer will give you suggestions to do something differently.
- Organization skills can be lacking
If you’re not going to manage your work, keep in mind that while freelancers may be good at their skills, they’re not always great at planning and organizing things. This can lead to issues with meeting deadlines.
A software development company provides better post-launch support than a freelancer. This is because companies usually have a separate department that manages all after launch queries of the customer. It is not that a freelancer will not provide you support but he or she will be lacking in time. A development company generally provides complete details of their team’s availability for any post-launch support.
A software development company possesses more experience than a freelancer because there are more highly skilled developers in the team. A freelancer has too many tasks to perform so it is quite possible that you will not get the exceptional services you desire.
Freelancers completing a project and then leaving it without any further maintenance. So in case of errors appear, you may have to look for other people to fix them.
Benefits of hiring a software development company
A software development company has dedicated teams of highly-skilled experts in different fields. They usually provide all services under one roof, from business analysis to design and QA, which is the main strength of software development organizations.
- Better for big projects and startup development
A professional software development company can offer all types of services, such as expert consulting, business analysis, and brand idea evaluation. It can even help you figure out your monetization strategy before the development of your product.
With a software development company, you get an expert team that includes designers, developers, managers, QAs, and others. Each employee plays an important role, unlike freelancers, who are more like all-in-ones.
- Adoption of new technologies and trends
Software development organizations are continually enhancing their skills; they are aware of current technologies or new programming languages and can provide up-to-date solutions.
- Highly organized processes
When you are working with a software development company, you do not have to worry about constantly monitoring their work and efficiency. Usually, well-established software development companies have well-organized development processes. They care about their work efficiency and customer reviews so that you can expect a high level of provided services.
The software development process is simple and requires a lot of expertise. If you want your website to be much more than just a slightly tweaked template, hiring a freelancer may not be a good option for you.
Hiring a software development company means that you hire a whole team of highly skilled RavStack experts (developers, managers, designers, QAs, etc.). They have worked on many types of projects and therefore have greater experiences. There’s almost always a highly skilled engineer ready to resolve any issue.
Companies prefer building supportive relationships with individual customers and working with those clients over the long term. This is more efficient for organizations than focusing on the number of incoming projects.
What to choose?
There is no definite answer to the question regarding hiring a freelancer vs hiring a software development agency. The best option depends upon many factors that influence the development processes.
Why hire our consultants?
A company like RavStack has a stronger brood of consultants, who have the best and exploring skills to provide the best consulting services with their extensive AI knowledge.
Our team of experts is able to build apps with different new features and functionalities, which further provide flexibility, rich user experience, and least maintenance.
Get in touch with our expert developers & consultants
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info@ravtsack.com
February 26, 2020
8 mins read
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September 30, 2020
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