I work in sales at an agency. Even so, I think some of the people who search for a freelance app developer would be better off hiring one. When a first call points that way, I say so. A project that doesn't fit us turns into trouble for both sides later.
I'm Aparajita Singh, and I do business development at CODT Technologies. I don't write code. My part is the conversation before anything is signed: what someone wants to build and what they've already tried. This piece comes out of those conversations. It sits next to our guide to choosing a freelancer or an agency, which compares the two models point by point. This one is about the moment just before that: you have two offers on the desk and you need to pick one.
Hiring a freelance app developer: the short answer
Hiring a freelance app developer makes sense when the job is small, clear and needs one skill, and someone on your side can lead it. Before you sign, check three things: the same written scope in every offer, exclusive rights to the code in the contract, and, for long engagements, the freelancer's self-employed status.
The moment you decide
Picture two offers side by side that can't really be compared. One shows an hourly or daily rate and an estimate in days. The other shows a fixed price for a written scope. The first number looks smaller. It's also a different kind of number. The estimate tells you what the work costs if everything goes to plan. The fixed price tells you what it costs however it goes, as long as the scope stays the same.
So before you compare figures, make the two offers comparable. Three things help.
The same scope on both sides. Write one page describing what the first version has to do, and send that same page to both. Without it, you're comparing two different apps.
What's left out. App store submission, an admin area, testing, the backend, running the thing after launch. Some of this goes missing from an offer simply because nobody asked. Ask in writing.
The weeks. Our app effort calculator shows a team size and calendar weeks. It doesn't show prices. For a lean MVP it assumes 2–3 developers and 8–14 weeks. If one person promises you the same scope in the same time, ask what they'll do differently. Ready-made building blocks are a fine answer. If there's no clear answer, go through your scope page with them point by point.
Then there's the question that rarely appears in either offer: who on your side has time? With a freelancer, you're running the project. You set priorities, test, decide, and if you hire two people for design and backend, you also make sure their work fits together. If you have the time and enjoy it, you really do save. Before you sign, work out where those hours will come from in your week.
Two legal points for buyers in Germany and Switzerland
This section isn't legal advice, and you should have a lawyer look at your contract. But if your company is in Germany or Switzerland, two points belong in the decision, and it helps to know them early.
Who owns the code? Under German law, copyright itself can't be transferred (§ 29 UrhG). What gets granted are rights of use, non-exclusive or exclusive (§ 31 UrhG). For software employees write as part of their job, the law lets the employer alone exercise all economic rights in it (§ 69b UrhG). A freelancer isn't an employee. In practice: have the contract grant you exclusive rights of use to the code before work starts, and list the types of use one by one, for example modifying, further developing, copying, publishing in the app stores and passing it on to others. If the contract is vague, the scope of those rights follows the purpose of the contract, and that's something people end up arguing about. In Switzerland copyright itself can be transferred, and handing over one right only includes the others if the contract says so (Art. 16 URG). So there too, put the transfer of all rights to the code in the written contract, whether you hire a freelancer or an agency.
Is the freelancer really self-employed? If one person works only for you for months, following your instructions and integrated into your team, that can count as employment. German social security law names two of these signs explicitly: working under instructions and integration into the organisation (§ 7 SGB IV). The status determination procedure with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung gives you a clear answer (§ 7a SGB IV). In Switzerland the compensation office decides case by case, and according to AHV/OASI leaflet 2.02 it goes by the economic reality, not the contract. Someone who works for a single client is usually classed as employed there. With a clearly bounded project that has its own deliverable, my understanding is that the risk is lower. A "freelancer" who is in effect your full-time app developer is a topic for your accountant or tax adviser.
With an agency, the grant of rights of use to the code belongs in the contract just the same.
What to ask each side
An hour per conversation is enough for these questions. The columns differ because one person carries different risks from a team.
| Topic | Ask the freelancer | Ask the agency |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the work | Do you do everything yourself, or pass parts on? To whom? | Which people will build my app? Can I meet them before we sign? |
| Absence | What happens to my project if you're ill for two weeks? | What happens if my developer leaves your team? |
| Code and access | Is the code in my repository from day one, and will the app be published under my store account? | Same question. And will I get the rights of use to the code in writing? |
| Scope | What isn't included in your estimate? | What is explicitly out of scope? |
| After launch | Will you still have time for updates in six months? | Who looks after the app after launch, and on what terms? |
| Reference | Can I talk to a past client? | Can I talk to a client whose app has been live for years? |
The store account question looks minor. If the app is published under the freelancer's developer account, your product depends on their account. Create your own developer accounts with Apple and Google and give the developer access there. The same goes for agencies.
Also notice how quickly the answers come. For "what happens if you're ill?" I'd expect a ready answer, with a name or a plan.
When I'd point you to a freelancer
Your app is already live, and the freelancer who built it is good and reachable. Stay with them. Switching always costs ramp-up time, and a bigger company isn't automatically better for your product. Switch when they're no longer available, or when the app outgrows what one person can carry. Whether an older app then needs a rebuild or can be renewed step by step is what Aman Tiwari covers in his piece Is Your Mobile App Feeling Dated?
You have technical leadership in-house. A CTO or a senior developer who can split up tasks, read code and sign off work. Then you don't need an agency for coordination. One or two good freelancers, led by that person, can work very well.
You need a clickable prototype for an investor meeting. Something you show and then throw away. For that, an agency with a workshop, a written scope and weekly demos is too much overhead.
It's a single, well-described task. A payment integration, or an update for a new iOS version. A freelance app developer who has done exactly that many times will probably be faster than any team.
One more thing. If your budget only covers one person, take a very good freelancer over an agency that can only hit your budget by giving you its least experienced people. If in doubt, ask about that directly.
When an agency is the safer choice
What you buy from an agency, above all, is a result that doesn't depend on one person. That matters once the app is important to your business. If customers order through it or staff clock in with it, three weeks of downtime is more than an annoyance.
An example from our portfolio: TapTime, the attendance system for the Swiss foodtech company FeelEat. Staff hold a badge to an NFC reader at a wall kiosk to clock in or out. Entries are recorded even without internet and go into the ERP that runs payroll. That's an Android app, hardware flows and a backend integration in one project. If you assemble something like that from several freelancers, you hold the pieces together yourself.
For comparison with other offers, here's how it runs at CODT Technologies. You start with a four-hour workshop that costs nothing. Within three working days you have the scope in writing, together with our quote. If the scope is clear, the quote is a fixed price. If questions are still open, we start with a short discovery sprint, which is paid and credited in full. Then we build in sprints, and once a week a demo shows you where things stand. For 30 days after go-live we fix bugs in our own work free of charge; after that there's a support plan if you want one. Our engineering is in Gurugram, India, and works on your time zone. The details are on our page about pricing and engagement models. What we build technically is on the mobile app development page.
If you're also weighing whether the team can sit in India: our guide to offshore development for Swiss companies sets out which points a contract with a partner abroad should cover.
Still not sure which model fits what you're planning? Tell us about it briefly, and we'll look at it together.
FAQ
How do I find a good freelance app developer?
Start by asking for apps that are in the store today, and download them. Then talk to one of the developer's past clients. Notice whether they ask questions about your plans. Someone who names a price after ten minutes without asking anything hasn't understood your project yet.
How do I hire a freelance app developer?
Give every candidate the same one-page description of the first version, so the offers line up. Ask each one to say in writing what their estimate leaves out. From day one, the code belongs in your repository and the app in your Apple and Google accounts, and the contract should grant you exclusive rights of use to the code.
How do I check an app developer's track record?
Speak to someone who has run their app for more than a year. A client who launched last month can tell you little. Ask how updates go, how quickly bugs get fixed and whether the same people are still around. Also ask what turned out more expensive than planned in the first year after launch.
What applies to freelance app developers in Switzerland?
In Switzerland the compensation office decides whether someone is self-employed, and it looks at the economic reality. A person who works for a single client is usually classed as employed. So settle the status early in any long engagement with one person, and always put the rights to the code in writing.
