In-house developers, a freelancer or an agency?
Three ways to get software built; they differ in who holds the knowledge and what happens after launch.
| In-house developers | A freelancer | Predivo, a software studioSee custom web software | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to start | Once you have hired the right people. | Once you find someone who fits and is free. | After your first message, once the scope is written down and the offer agreed. |
| How you pay | Salaries and employment costs, every month, with or without a project. | Often by the hour or the day. | A fixed price in a written offer. |
| Who holds the knowledge | Your own people, for as long as they stay. | Mostly one person. | Written down from the start, with tests and documentation in the delivery; what you receive is agreed in the offer. |
| What is checked before every release | Whatever your own people set up. | Whatever their own way of working includes. | Every change runs in a test version first, and goes live only when everything works. |
| How you follow the work | Day to day, inside your company. | As you agree with them. | With your own login to a project page: what is done, what we are working on and what comes next. |
| After launch | Your own people watch it and fix it. | As far as that person is still available. | Monitoring, a service you book with us: a check every hour and an alarm to us when something fails. |
| Changes later | Whenever you decide; your people are already there. | When that person is free to take them on. | When you ask for them; each is priced before it is built. |
The differences that matter.
Who holds the knowledge.
In-house developers keep what they know inside your company, as long as they stay. A freelancer keeps it with one person. With us, what your software has to do is written down from the start, and a proper delivery includes tests and documentation.
Checks before every release.
How carefully a change is checked depends on who makes it and how they work. With us, every change first runs in a test version, and it goes live only when everything works.
After launch.
In-house developers are on hand when something needs fixing; a freelancer’s time depends on their other clients. With us, monitoring is a service you book: we check your software every hour, and an alarm reaches us when something fails.
What each option covers.
In-house developers
People you employ to build and run your software. They know your business best and are there every day. Hiring takes time and the cost runs every month, so it makes most sense when software is at the heart of your business.
A freelancer
One developer you hire for a task, often paid by the hour or the day. It is a flexible way to get a clear, contained job done, or to add hands to people you already have. What you get depends on that one person.
A software studio or agency
A company that builds software for its clients, and each one works in its own way. With us, you get a fixed price in a written offer and your own login to follow the work. Your software runs in a test version you can try, and it goes live only when everything works.
Which fits your situation?
Hire developers when software is your core business; bring in a freelancer for a contained task, and a studio for a whole project.
See custom web software
Frequently asked questions.
Can we take the software in-house later?
That is agreed in the offer, together with what you receive at the end, so you can plan for it before the work starts.
Do we need someone technical on our side?
Not for the build. After your first contact, we write down with you what your software has to do, and you follow the work with your own login. You try it yourself in a test version before it goes live.
What does it cost to have software built?
It depends on what your software has to do. Once that is written down, you get a fixed price in a written offer, and nothing is built until you agree to it. Any change beyond the agreed scope is priced before it is built.
Tell us about your project. Send us a message and we will get back to you.