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July 16, 2024
The exhilarating pace at which the mobile app industry is growing makes it imperative for entrepreneurs and businesses to make informed decisions when hiring mobile app developers.
The fact that the mobile applications industry is being projected to hit $189 billion by 2024 and $613 billion by 2025 is alone enough to entice organizations and investors to invest in this industry.
A profound aspect that can be derived from the information above is that mobile application development is increasingly becoming the most in-demand skill on the market as more and more businesses are trying to break in.
This sets the competition bar really high and makes the process of hiring app developers that are the master of their craft a multi-step process with pitfalls that can cost you a significant amount of money if poorly implemented.
Today, I’m going to break down the entire process of hiring mobile app developers into easy, actionable, and less time-consuming pieces that’ll allow you to hire app developers that are capable of building even the most complicated mobile applications.
In this article, you will find the answers to the following questions.
- The Top 4 App Developer Hiring Models
- The Ultimate Choice: Which App Developer Hiring Model Should You Go For?
- Where You Can Find App Developers to Hire?
- How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Mobile App Developer?
- The Not-To-Do-List for Hiring App Developers
- Ready To Hire App Developers?
- Want to save time and get started right away?
- Get free consultation sessions with our seasoned project managers. Through detailed analysis and information regarding your mobile application, you’ll be able to understand the best approach for proceeding with your project, a rough estimate, and a detailed explanation of the features, experience, and functionality that must be integrated into your app
Hire An App Developer: The Top 4 Hiring Models
- Hiring freelance app developers.
- Hiring an in-house team of app developers.
- Hiring an app development company.
- IT Staff augmentation
Although there are different models of hiring app developers, I would suggest going with the personal recommendation approach or skimming through the rating and reviews before selecting one (more on these approaches later).
Moving on, the different models of hiring Android or iOS app developers listed below are best to go for with respect to different conditions.
These models come with their own specific strengths and weaknesses; hence, they’re compatible with your various concerns.
Diving into the details of each one of them will help us to determine the preferred type of app developer for hire that you should go for.
1. Hiring Freelance App Developers
You’ll find this app developer-for-hire model on top of the list if affordability is your prime concern.
Different platforms that I’m sure you may have heard of, like Fiver, Freelancer.com, Upwork, among many others, offer freelance app developers for hire.
Honestly speaking, significantly low cost is the best advantage that you’ll get out of this hiring model because the cons of hiring this model greatly outweigh the pros.
I’ll get to the disadvantages in a bit, but before that, let’s see some traits of an ideal freelance app developer.
Much like any other in-house or remote employee, the freelancer must pass through specific screening tests created to analyze the freelancer’s expertise, work ethic, motivation, and other values that’ll contribute to making your app development swift and smooth.
If the screening process is not capable of identifying the best candidates, you’ll end up settling your organizational issues while communicating imperatives to the freelancer that you’ve hired.
Speaking of communication, in the freelance app developer hiring model, time zone differences and language barriers are perhaps two of the biggest disadvantages that’ll surely take their toll on your app development project.
Therefore, I would recommend that you only hire freelance Android or iOS app developers for short-term projects, and even while you’re selecting them for short-term projects, evaluate their expertise, ratings, and reviews before proceeding.
Advantages
- Cost-effective.
- Lots of freelancers to choose from.
Disadvantage
- Poor communication.
- Management problems.
- Chances of your project getting compromised.
- Skills and portfolios can be fabricated.
- Risk of deadline violation.
2. Hiring an in-house team of app developers
Hiring an in-house app development team is peace of mind, given that the communication aspect in this hiring model is very high, and there are other valuable offerings that come intact with this option.
Some components involved in hiring an in-house team entail renting an office space, hiring app development candidates, and working with them under the same roof.
Let’s get into a little more detail to evaluate this hiring model. For starters, know that hiring a single mobile app developer won’t get the job done as there are different resources involved in building a mobile application.
Quality assurance specialists, app UI/UX designers, app coders, and programmers and app developers (backend and frontend) are the key to developing the next big chart-busting application.
However, like every other hiring model, this method also has its hitches.
From the get-go, let me tell you that assembling an entire app development team isn’t as easy as it sounds, not to mention the cost of hiring an entire team may come as a huge expense.
After renting an office or hiring the app development team, you’ve barely scratched the tip of the iceberg because other essential expenses include buying licensed software and required hardware.
Besides that, sick leaves, bonuses, paid vacations, and other benefits must also be offered to the in-house employees.
So, in a way, this way of hiring app developers stands as the most expensive as well as time-consuming one with the following advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
- Full control over the team.
- High transparency.
- High communication level.
Disadvantage
- Highly expensive.
- Time-consuming procedure.
3. Hiring an app development company
Perhaps the easiest way to get an app developed is by hiring an app development company like Tekrevol.
If you go with this budget-friendly option, most of the earlier mentioned concerns will be mitigated, top-tier talent will be working on your mobile application, and communication will not be a problem in the long run.
In addition to that, app development service providers are highly competitive these days. It is because of this reason that these companies are valuing their clients, reputation, and image more than ever.
They’re constantly hiring top-notch talent to surpass their competition, and this benefits you because seasoned app developers, designers, project managers, and other resources hired by the app development company would be allocated to your project.
From app development to designing to Q/A to support and maintenance, you’ll get all the necessary services you need to get your app developed under one roof.
Now, if you’re really on a tight budget, you can outsource your app development to an overseas company that fits your project demands.
Just so that you have an idea of the price that you’ll be paying to an app development company for your app, here’s a great article that you can read.
We’ll get to the part where I’ll tell you about some of the most popular regions where you can outsource your app development later in the article.
Lastly, there are several app developments companies out there with a long-running history of 10 or 15 years, so that’s another advantage of hiring an app development services company.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get down to the advantages and disadvantages of hiring an app development firm.
Advantages
- Robust communication.
- Affordability.
- You get access to the industry’s top talent.
- Fast turnaround time.
- Efficient processes.
- No management is required.
Disadvantages
- The language barrier might be a challenge, but companies can easily overcome it with the addition of experienced business development specialists or project managers.
- Looking for a professional & expert app developer to hire?
- Reach out to our app development team and get free consultation scoping session for your app, understand the development and designing procedures, and get started today.
4. Staff Augmentation
Your search on Google for ‘Hire app developer’ that specializes in a specific field of technology ends with the staff augmentation model.
It is the best option on the market if you require additional talent/skill for your app project.
For complex digital products such as software, web apps, or industry-based solutions, this approach is not only suitable but also affordable.
Say you need a blockchain app developer for your gaming app.
In that case, you can hire a blockchain app developer on a staff augmentation basis, which means the resource will be provided to you externally, and you can buy hours of the developer at a minimal cost.
You may already know the amount of work required on the project that you’re hiring an app developer for, so it’s obvious that you know the hours that you need to put in to get the project completed in time.
Once you’ve finalized the hours required, you can opt for staff augmentation and hire a blockchain developer.
Moving on, the most decorated benefit of leveraging staff augmentation is that you get to expand or reduce your team easily without the concern of arranging hardware, offering benefits, getting HR involved, and whatnot.
Advantages
- In-house employees get to learn from external resources.
- Quick and easy way to onboard talent.
- Affordability.
- Some companies are offering a free trial.
- Super specific hiring.
Disadvantages
- Dependency.
- Cost is high for sophisticated projects.
- Management issues can be experienced.
- Not a suitable approach for a long-term basis.
- Want To Scale Up Your In-House Infrastructure?
- Tekrevol being an experienced vendor that is serving businesses globally, knows how to provide off-shore talent to companies. Get in touch with us today and get resources specific to your project, increase speed to market, and lower your cost.
The ultimate choice: Which app developer hiring model should you go for?
There are different concerns due to which you need to figure out the best hiring model for your app development. Here’s how you can be sure which type of app developer for hire model you want to opt for:
1. When you want to meet a tight deadline
The best option here is to hire an app development company mainly because of their years of experience and expertise.
In addition to this, the sheer workforce is yet another advantage that allows them to meet strict deadlines efficiently.
With hundreds of products live on the Play Store or App Store, these companies know how to develop your app project in time.
Even if unforeseen challenges occur during the development, the fast turnaround aspect of these companies enables them to get right back on track while decreasing time to market by following the agile methodology and leveraging their well-honed internal processes.
If you go for other options in the how-to-hire app developer approach when you’re facing a strict deadline, you’ll end up losing more time.
Managing an in-house app development team or freelancers would require a lot of experience, and since you’re on a tight deadline going with this option would result in catastrophic outcomes.
2. Needs specific talent for your app project?
Go with Staff Augmentation hire mobile app developers model, period!
As I said earlier, if you require specific talent to fill in the technology gap that you’re experiencing at the moment, you can always search for companies offering staff augmentation services and get the talent onboard on an hourly basis.
3. On a tight budget?
Investment is perhaps the biggest concern when it comes to developing a mobile application.
Entrepreneurs searching for an app developer for hire usually end up trashing their app development idea mainly due to the lack of resources or investment.
If you’re going through a similar situation, here’s a complete guide on how to get an investor for your app.
Moving on, we’re talking about a tight budget here, not that you’re all out of money, right?
So, the best option here is to outsource your app development to an overseas company.
As mentioned earlier, there are specific regions that are offering app development companies as compared to the ones operating in your vicinity.
So, for two out of the three concerns, your problem will be solved when you hire app developers and designers from an app development company.
Where Can You Find App Developers to Hire?
There’s no shortage of online platforms, tech events, IT vendors and solo app programmers for hire, and online companies ready to work on your mobile application.
Given that we’re living in a data-centric world – let’s take a look at what data tells us about the best approach being followed by businesses when they’re hiring app developers for their projects.
Gartner’s research showcases the percentage of buying groups engaged in different buying activities. Now let’s sort this data out by allocating a percentage to the most used ones:
1. The 27% researching online
When you’re hiring an in-house team:
- Indeed
- Glassdoor
When you’re hiring freelancers:
- Upwork
- Toptal
- Fiver
- com
When you’re hiring an app development company?
- Clutch
- GoodFirms
- IT Firms
- The Manifest
Just so you know, we have a 4.9 rating on Clutch, and we’re globally recognized as a leading app development company. So if you’re hiring an app development firm, let us tell you that we’re always here to help you out with your app project.
2. The 18% researching offline
Technology Events
Technology events are designed to unite thousands of app development companies, app developers, designers, project managers, and other tech-related workforce.
Individuals and companies attending such events showcase their talent, expertise, and portfolio making it significantly easier for businesses and entrepreneurs to select the preferred app development expert or company for the job.
In addition, even if you’re not willing to hire an app developer or a development company at the moment, you can always meet companies and professionals and build connections that’ll surely come in handy in the future.
Here are some of the most decorated technology conferences in the world:
- GITEX
- Datacloud Global Congress
- Gartner’s Data & Analytics Summit
- Computex
- Developer Week
- Black Hat
Referrals
Referrals are perhaps the most trusted medium through which you can get in touch with app developers for hire or an end-to-end app development company.
Referrals coming from friends or colleagues are generally more preferred because the individual who you know personally has seen the referred party doing their work efficiently; hence, they’re referring.
But where referrals influence 75% of the buying decisions made by businesses, you may have to create a long list of referred companies that you can evaluate and reach out to.
How to hire app developers as per your project demands
Now that you know the different hiring models and how to gauge which model is suitable for you, it’s time to skim through the complex process of hiring app developers according to your specific demands.
According to research, 74% of the employers stated that they initially hired the wrong person for the job, and with the process below, I’m going to prevent you from entering this statistic.
From the get-go, my recommendation for you would be to thoroughly follow the process mentioned below to ensure that you hire the right person for the job.
Let’s get started.
1. Examining Your App Requirements
It’s always better to analyze the type of app idea that you’re working on, which means determining the platform it will be based on or whether it will be a cross-platform app followed by some other concerns.
Secondly, the technology that will be used to develop your mobile application (Flutter, Java, etc.), the features you’ll integrate into your app, the functionality, experience of the app, and more.
Complete transparency here will enable you to clearly understand your requirements, and then you can start searching for app creators for hire with relevant experience and expertise.
Pro Tip: The best app developers are the ones that have experience working in an app development company. Such professionals would have technical prowess in the app development domain, which brings benefits such as speed to market.
2. Analyzing Portfolio or Case Studies
When hiring solo app developers or an end-to-end app development company, it’s always recommended to go through their portfolio.
The approach would help you to check out some previous projects created by both parties, examine their expertise, and hire the ones that have experience in working on a project that matches your exact preference.
You can also get in touch with the list of app developers for hire or development companies that you’ve streamlined to send their portfolios.
Now, apart from studying the main expertise of the individuals or the company, you need to look out for skills, quality of deliverables, the way challenges were solved, and then see if you should hire the app programmers or not.
A great example of a case study is the Ether Legends case study by Tekrevol.
This case study highlights the challenge, expertise, approach, and solution that Tekrevol’s app developers and designers implemented to create the blockchain-based mobile app.
Now you can explore case studies that entail the aforementioned details to analyze the true capabilities of the app development company or solo developer for hire.
3. Cost Analysis
Cost is perhaps one of the biggest factors involved in the decision-making process, and the biggest mistake you can make is to consider cost as a secondary concern.
Think of your cost as an investment, and you have to ensure a lucrative investment by the end of the day, so selecting wisely the company that you’re going to outsource your app project to plays a vital role here.
The cost of mobile app development can vary dramatically depending on the mobile app development company you’ve hired.
You can also calculate the cost of your app development by yourself through our app development cost calculator.
Based on their quality, their geographical location, and per hour rates, the total cost of developing a mobile application will vary.
4. See Reviews Online
The abundance of app development companies or individuals for hire has made it super challenging to select the best.
However, one more factor that’ll differentiate the best from the rest is their reviews and ratings.
Clutch, GoodFirms, and other credible online platforms are the best if you’re going with hiring an app development company option.
On the contrary, freelancing platforms such as Upwork or Fiver are the best for getting detailed feedback about app developers for hire.
Pro tip here would be to go with the overall score of the app developers and company for hire.
Because things are really uncertain when companies or app developers are building apps, and a minimal mistake can compromise the entire project, I consider looking at an overall rating of the developer or company instead of finding the one that has a 5 out of 5 rating and positive reviews.
In addition, you need to keep in mind that you’re looking for positive and honest feedback.
For that, you can always get in touch with the people that have hired app developers and given them ratings or reviews on their work.
Get in touch with them on LinkedIn or Facebook and find out more about the solo app developer and designer or an end-to-end app development company to uncover hidden details about the app developer for hire.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Mobile App Developer Per Hour?
The cost to make an app depends on the qualification of the app developer that you’re hiring, their geographical location, and a bunch of other factors that are often shelved by investors and entrepreneurs while they’re hiring an app developer or development company.
Analyzing the per hour cost of hiring a freelance mobile app developer vs. the per hour cost of hiring a mobile app development company will reveal valuable insights that’ll help you make an informed decision.
Spoiler: Lots of numbers ahead!
Cost of App Developer for Hire: Freelancer
According to Accelerance, the average hourly rates of specialists in the US, Latin America, Europe, and Asia are as follows.
| Title | US | Latin America | Europe | Asia |
| Mid-Level Developer | $132 | $30 | $35 | $24 |
| Sr. Developer | $154 | $45 | $45 | $30 |
| Lead Developer | $176 | $50 | $45 | $30 |
| UI/UX Designer | $79 | $40 | $35 | $25 |
The chart above precisely represents the cost you would have to pay when you’re hiring freelance app developers.
Note that these are average/estimated prices, and you can find people working below or above these ranges in different regions worldwide.
Another factor that heavily influences the cost of hiring a freelance app developer is your project demand.
Freelance app developers and designers may charge more depending on the complexity of your app, so that’s another thing that you may want to look out for.
Cost of Hiring an App Development Company
Mobile app development companies charge for the total number of hours they’re investing in developing an application from start to finish.
This includes planning, scoping, strategizing, allocating appropriate resources, ideating, designing, developing, and testing your mobile applications.
The fact that their processes are well-honed, there’s no shortage of resources, communication is robust, and cost can be negotiated are some of the best advantages of hiring an app development company.
What’s may pique your interest now is that there’s a massive difference in the costs of hiring a mobile app development company from region to region.
Here’s a super transparent chart that’ll help you find the best app developer for hire that fits your app development budget.
| Region | iOS Development ($/hour) |
Android Development ($/hour) |
| North America | $150-200 | $168-250 |
| Australia | $110-150 | $110-150 |
| EU, UK | $50-125 | $70-150 |
| South America | $35-120 | $30-110 |
| Eastern Europe | $25-110 | $35-120 |
| India | $15-75 | $10-60 |
| Indonesia | $11-75 | $10-70 |
| Pakistan | $15-75 | $10-70 |
With the per hour charges now being transparent, you’ll be able to find qualified mobile app development companies for hire both in some of the most primed geographical locations globally.
The companies operating in these regions are the best option when you’re thinking of outsourcing your mobile app development.
Some mobile app development companies may be more expensive considering their size, portfolio, talent, and other factors; however, their deliverables will justify the cost of your app development.
Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, the abundance of app development companies for hire has created a competitive landscape.
Therefore, being dynamic, innovative, and revolutionary is the only option these companies have got today to differentiate themselves from the competition.
Cost of Hiring Project Specific App Developers
When you hire a mobile app developer, the cos can also change based on the nature of the application and the features that are required to be integrated.
Here’s a list of different types of applications and how much it could cost you to hire an app developer for such an app.
| Type of application | Details | Hours (iOS) | Hours (Android) | Rate (Avg.) |
| Basic App Development | Templates, payment merchant, listing, menu. | 80-160 | 80-160 | $75-125 |
| Database App | Backend admin panel, stored on server, | 150-200 | 170-220 | $75-125 |
| Messaging app Development | Messages, video and audio calls, encryption, groups | 500-800 | 600-1000 | $80-125 |
| Social networking app | Profiles, instant message, backend admin panel, | 300-500 | 500-700 | $90-150 |
| Game App Development | Single-player/Multiplayer, 3D animation. | 800-1000 | 1000-1500 | $100-250 |
In addition, you can also identify the cost of your mobile app development by streamlining the features and functionality that you’ll be integrating into your app.
Below is a table that’ll allow you to estimate the cost of your app project depending on the functionality that you’re integrating.
| Features | Estimated Cost |
| Login | $1,200 – $2,000 |
| CMS integration | $1,000 – $1,800 |
| E-commerce solution | $2,500 – $5,000 |
| File uploading | $1,000 – $1,500 |
| Profile completion | $1,000 – $1,300 |
| Payment gateway integration | $700 – 1,200 |
| Profile editing | $2000 – $3,000 |
| Search | $500 – $900 |
| Basic messaging | $5,000 – 7,500 |
| Push notifications | $1.200 – $1,500 |
| Basic admin panel: user management | $3,500 – 6,000 |
| Admin panel: analytics | $2,500 – $5,500 |
| Admin panel: payment management | $1050 – $2350 |
| Admin panel: push notifications | $450 – $840 |
Based on the above estimates, you can figure out the best possible features that your app should have depending on user preferences and the target market.
Be it a mobile app developer hire or a mobile app development company, these numbers will help you with a vague idea of the total cost that’ll be needed to develop your project, not to mention enabling you to save a lot of time.
The Not-To-Do-List for Hiring App Developers
Think of this part as your “not-to-do-list.” Forgetting these key points can cause you to lose grip on your budget, result in false expectations, and you may end up compromise the overall success of your app.
Not Signing an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)
Before the “research” phase or the “discover” phase, you should sign an NDA with the developer or the development company.
This is to ensure that your idea isn’t stolen if the deal doesn’t go as planned.
Signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) will ensure the security of your idea, what you need, and what you’re trying to achieve. Additionally, NDAs can be signed in both B2B and B2C exchanges.
You can get an NDA delivered to you by the app development company or freelancer that you’re hiring. This is also a standardized practice in the industry, so I’m pretty sure that your app developer for hire may have an NDA ready to get signed.
Once the NDA is signed, you can move forward with the discussion about your mobile app development project.
Not Negotiating a Payment Structure
Getting an app developed is a huge investment, and you should never pay a huge/total amount upfront.
The payment structure of an app development project should be broken down into tiers/percentages, which are more favorable to you and ensure transparency.
Take a look at this example of an app development project breakdown:
| Stage | Payment (%) |
| Initiation Fee | 20% |
| Document And Scoping | 20% |
| Alpha Phase | 20% |
| Beta Phase | 20% |
| Launch | 20% |
By negotiating for such a breakdown, you ensure that you never get scammed, and you get the quality of the app that you paid for.
Plus, this model is also affordable, given that you’re paying in chunks as compared to paying a hefty amount at the start.
Not Establishing a Clear Scope
Once you have a feature list locked down, payment terms decided, and you’ve secured the services of a mobile app development company or freelance app developer, it’s time to create a Scope of Work (SOW) document.
This document would entail the budget, timeline, feature list, app flow, design references and creative brief, and any and all limitations of the development, including third-party APIs that need to be integrated.
The lack of this document can make things appear convoluted and memory-based, and that can lead to disagreements and problems in the long run.
To avoid any such unfortunate circumstances, always create an SOW document, the creation of which is the project manager’s responsibility.
In addition to that, mobile app development companies or app developers and designers create and share the scope of the app with investors, but I would also recommend that you create the scope of your app by yourself.
This document becomes the basis of your development and ensures no confusion, backtracking, or mismanagement from the decided scope of the project.
If you’re new to creating a scope document of your app, here’s an article that’ll get you started initially.
Not Taking into Account App Maintenance Services
When hiring an app developer, you should always keep in mind that the job doesn’t end once the app goes live on the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
In order to keep your app up and running smoothly without any lags, errors, or bugs, you need App maintenance services.
The cost of app development services can vary depending on the project, but it averages around 10% of the original cost of app development per month.
So, for example, if your app costs you $40,000, app maintenance services will cost you $4,000, for which you can hire either the same app developer or another one.
This is a consideration you should add to your list of how to hire a mobile app developer because often, people leave this for the end, and that’s a mistake you shouldn’t make.
Keep app maintenance part of your list so that you can plan for it, discuss it with the app development partner you choose, and budget accordingly to have long-term success with your app.
Ready To Hire App Developers?
Experience, expertise, skilled resources, and a never-ending quest to deliver innovative digital product is what has been setting Tekrevol apart from others.
Always in pursuit of excellence, Tekrevol has been integrating leading-edge technologies into mobile applications, software, web apps, and other digital products since 2014 – ensuring disruption for businesses in diverse markets.
Adhering to our core values and boasting a culture of individualistic collectivism, we’ve enabled countless businesses to overcome their operational challenges, optimize workflow efficiency and turn creative ideas into revolutionary digital products.
Here’s what we bring onboard:
- 9+ years of experience in the market.
- 200+ in-house team of app developers, software engineers, Q/A specialists, project managers, and other critical staff.
- 150+ projects up and running.
Other benefits of choosing Tekrevol as your app development company for hire:
- Get detailed pricing specific to your project’s requirements.
- Your project’s requirements are defined before the initial stage.
- A dedicated professional team with unmatched expertise across different digital domains works on your project.
- Scale up your in-house structure through our staff augmentation service.
- A wide spectrum of certifications, awards, and accolades serve as a testament to our credibility in the market.
- Ensure your project resiliency through our well-designed internal processes.
- We’re Ready To Get Started
- Our dedicated mobile app development company is ready to work for you on your project – from conceptualization to publishing on the Google Play Store or App Store to amplifying its growth.
