How To Hire Mobile App Developers In 2024?

When you decide to have a mobile application for your business, it becomes essential for you to hire app developers to get your app developed. But what is the best way to build your mobile app cost-effectively and without wasting time?

Here at Idea Usher, we decided to answer all your questions about hiring an app development company. This article covers an entire hiring process to help you hire app developers.

The overall journey of hiring developers for your project will be as follows:

• Deciding developers’ type: Based on your project requirement. You will need developers skilled in a particular domain, such as blockchain, AI, IoT, etc.
• Finding developers’ suitability for your project: Perform screening to determine whether the developers have expertise related to your project requirements by checking their portfolios and past experience.
• Conducting tech interviews: Ensure the developers you hire can easily deal with your project. You can conduct tech interviews to test their development skills. If you don’t have technical knowledge regarding app development, you can better employ a tech consultant. 
• Looking for specialties other than development:  Look for additional skills other than development in your ideal developers, such as effective communication skills, problem-solving, etc. 
• Hiring a team of developers to start working on your project: You can discuss a non-disclosure agreement with your team to protect your code and other resources. After signing a necessary agreement with your team, you can proceed with your project. 
• Let’s understand in detail how to hire an app development company for your project.

How do you hire an app development company?

There are several ways to employ app developers. For example, 35% of startups prefer referrals, while 30% use professional hiring platforms. Understand each hiring option to make a better choice.   

Option 1: Work with freelancers

This is one of the most common options many business owners consider when hiring an app developer for their project. Due to the fact that freelancers charge fewer app development fees, many businesses are looking to hire freelancers.

You can find many websites where you can get specialized freelance app developers.

For your project, you must employ experienced and skilled app developers, so it is not possible to judge clearly when hiring freelancers for your app development project.

Also, another risk is involved, such as project abandonment, in case they face any challenges while finishing their app development project.

Pros	Cons
Economical	Possibility of the language barrier
Many hiring platforms are available	Risk of project abandonment
Developers with top-demanding skills	Hard to manage

Option 2: Assemble with In-house team

An option that is the exact opposite of hiring freelancers. In-house enables you to have total control over your project. 

When hiring in-house app developers, you must pay them wages, sick lives, and vacation payments, which can be challenging for you in the long run when developing your app.

For new businesses, this might not be a good option. You should only go for this if you have a well-settled company that can manage the expense of hiring in-house app developers. 

However, your requirement will not just be limited to app developers; you will need to hire project managers, UX designers, and other required professionals to help you completely build your app starting from scratch.

Also, don’t forget that it is the most challenging and time-consuming task to screen every app developer to employ the best one for in-house app development.

Pros	Cons
Full control over the team	Challenging and time-consuming process
No communication barrier	Expensive
	Require team management skills

Option 3: Outsource your project by hiring a mobile app development company

The easiest way to get the best results on your project is to outsource your project to an app-making company. These companies can help you provide services similar to in-house app developers at a reasonable price.

When outsourcing, you don’t need to invest in additional expenses such as office rent, perks, and others. 

The outsourcing company team comprises all the required professionals, such as project managers, UX designers, and app developers, to help you ultimately build and launch your app on your preferred platform.

Also, you would not be limited to the localities of app development companies when you decide to outsource your project. You can choose companies worldwide that suit your app development project. 

Pros	Cons
Cost-effective	Communication gap
No management skills required
Fast app development

Option 4: Staff augmentation

The outsourcing model is where you can extend the development capability by hiring people on an external basis to provide needed temporary or permanent job positions in your team. 

Staff augmentation provides the flexibility to reduce or expand team size based on project requirements. 

The market is full of companies offering staff augmentation. As a result, when you need to find a programmer with a certain specialization, you can easily find them by exploring the companies offering staff augmentation.

Pros	Cons
Rapid and efficient development	Expensive for complex product
Cost-cutting measures	Not appropriate for full-time or constant demand
Cooperation free trial	Management and onboarding difficulties
Expertise in the required project	Communication problems caused by remote conditions

But what reasons make outsourcing the best option? Let’s check.

When is outsourcing the best option?

The conditions given below are appropriate for your project outsourcing:

1. A restricted budget

Hiring in-house app developers requires you to pay them high salaries and invest in renting and office-related expenses. On the other hand, when outsourcing your project, you won’t have to worry about covering the rent and wages.

Additionally, outsourcing enables you to save time and effort with no need to interview your potential employees. 

Just partnering with the right outsourcing agency will enable you to start app development with a limited budget, which is more economical than hiring in-house app developers. 

2. A lack of talent

Sometimes a situation arises where your team cannot meet the skill requirements, especially when your app needs additional integration of advanced features such as AI, AR/VR, blockchain, etc. 

3. Strict deadlines

Even hiring a team of top app developers, either freelance or in-house, requires a lot of experience and expertise in team management. A lack of proper team management can cost you missed deadlines or poor product quality.

Understanding strict and transparent pipelines and app development processes can help avoid missed deadlines. 

When outsourcing apps, app developers follow agile development methodologies that can help them set flexible deadlines.

Finding excellent developers may be challenging, but multiple options are available where you can employ app developers.

Where to hire app developers?

There are multiple ways to choose outsourcing app development companies, such as referrals from trusted sources or finding app development companies from professional platforms. Check the best options.

1. Online platforms 

The easiest path to hiring app engineers is that many tech platforms are available that offer information about worldwide IT companies and freelancers.

You can explore professional platforms like Clutch, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Goodfirms. Consider the platforms below to employ developers based on your preference, either full-time, freelancer, or outsourcing.

Full-time app developers	Freelancers	IT vendors
Glassdoor	Youteam	Clutch
Indeed	Upwork	GoodFirms
LinkedIn	Toptal	IT Firms
Dice	Fiverr	99Firms

2. Ask for referrals 

Getting referrals from your network is one of the best ways to select a suitable company for your app development project. 

The more contacts in your network list, the more likely you will get better referrals for your project.

Therefore, for reference, you would need a long list of professional contacts that have launched their own app by outsourcing from app-making companies.

3. Tech events 

What if referrals are not a suitable option? What is the best way to find mobile app developers? We recommend visiting tech events. 

Tech events consist of thousands of app makers across multiple industries that share their knowledge and experience. There is an excellent opportunity for you to find top talented developers by visiting different tech events. 

If you don’t know the best tech events worldwide, consider the top-recommended tech events given below.

Code Mobile	It’s a UK-based tech conference aimed at Android & iOS
DroidCon	A Berlin-based Android-only developer meeting
Appdevcon	A mobile developer meeting held in Amsterdam
UberConf	A Denver-based conference, especially for skilled mobile developers

Let’s check the detailed steps to employ the best software developers for your project.

How do you hire skilled app developers?

Follow the given steps to employ the best developers for your project. 

Step 1: Determine the app platform

The app you want to create and its functionality will decide the required tech expertise for app development. 

So when hiring mobile app developers, it becomes essential for you to decide whether you want a native app for separate platforms like Android or iOS or a cross-platform that is built with Flutter, react native, or other similar technologies.

Step 2: Know your app type and domain 

Consider hiring app developers that can deliver the solutions your app needs. You can focus on a specialization to look for developers based on your project’s requirements.

Relevant experience 

Many software development companies have expertise in specific industries to provide their clients with unique and helpful solutions. 

The best app developers to employ for your project will be experienced in app development relevant to your business industry. 

Step 3: Study portfolio and case study 

Examine the previous product quality created by app developers by checking their portfolios and case studies regarding app creation. 

Their portfolio reveals their expertise in specific industry domains, such as challenges and how to overcome them, tech stack expertise, etc. As a result, you can know their skills and get a transparent picture of their previous work. 

Step 4: Take feedback from previous clients

Reviews and ratings will be the final choice for hiring suitable IT vendors for your project. You can explore many platforms that provide information about IT contractors along with their reviews and feedback from their previous clients. 

When checking reviews, you can pay attention to the overall score of the app developer company. Moreover, you can find their past clients via LinkedIn to get honest feedback about their experience with an app development agency you are considering hiring. 

But what are the challenges involved in hiring app developers? Let’s understand in detail. 

Challenges of hiring app developers

When hiring software developers overseas, communication difficulties may arise. However, there are many other challenges, as discussed below:

1. Budget issues

Hiring the best specialist may be challenging for employers as cost efficiency plays an important role. Moreover, the proficient developers you need for your project have already been acquired by other businesses.

On the other side, hiring in-house experienced mobile app developers can be costly as well. You can go for freelancing but be prepared to compromise the quality. 

However, hiring good app developers with an excellent price-quality ratio can be achieved by outsourcing projects to software development companies like Idea Usher. 

The providers have specialization in delivering excellent apps and software across the domain of multiple industries.

2. Lack of face-to-face communication

When considering app outsourcing, you may need to monitor their activities to approve their work results. Always remember that outsourcing professionals need effective cooperation when working with them distantly.

So, how do you effectively organize a collaboration with an outsourcing agency? While hiring someone to create your app, you can discuss their communication tools and processes with them. 

To have seamless communication, ensure their developers have a great fluency in English. So, when choosing the country for outsourcing, consider the region with the highest English Proficiency Index (EPI), such as India. 

3. Time zone differences 

If you decide to hire app development agencies that are situated a thousand miles away from you, you will face challenges in communicating due to time zone differences. 

However, it doesn’t mean you are limited in your choices region-wise; many IT vendors schedule all such communication sessions strategically to minimize time zone differences. 

Now let’s understand the steps that app developers will follow to get started with your project. 

Steps app developers will follow to create your app

These are the stages and app development processes you will go through when creating your app with outsourcing companies:

1. App strategy 

This is the first stage where the team, along with you, will determine the features and functionality of your app. You can research your relevant market and competitors to develop the best ideas for your app.  

Also, you can decide your target audience and app monetization models.

2. Tech stack selection 

The team will select the appropriate tech stack to start your project. The common tools for creating mobile apps are as follows.

Android	Java, Kotlin, Android Studio, Jetpack Compose, Android UI (template)
iOS	Objective-C, Swift, XCode, AppCode, UIKit, SwiftUI
Cross-platform	React Native(JS), Flutter(Dart), Xamarin(C#)
Server	Amazon EC2, Amazon EKS / AWS Lambda
Storage	Amazon S3
Database provider	Amazon RDS, Amazon DynamoDB
Messaging queues	Amazon SQS
Push notifications	Firebase notifications
API server	Node.JS

3. UI design 

After discussing your strategy with app development companies, the company will start creating prototypes for your app. The prototype will involve a blueprint of your app from where you can get an idea about the UI functionality of your app.

4. Backend development

In this stage, developers will work on creating all the decided features to make your app fully functional. Along with their features, developers will integrate third-party services and APIs required to fulfill your business needs.

5. App testing 

At this stage, your app will be ready to use. However, to ensure your app is free from all the technical glitches and drawbacks, the developers will perform app testing multiple times until it meets all the quality standards.

6. App publishing

This is the final process where developers will deploy your app to your targeted platform. Along with app publishing, you can perform marketing to attract potential app users on your platform.

Ensure you have properly optimized your app on app stores, such as properly placing screenshots and descriptions and fulfilling other required criteria.

How much will it cost to employ app developers for your project? Understand in detail.

Factors affecting the cost of hiring an app development company

There are different factors involved in hiring an app developer. You can check how to adjust your app development budget by considering the following factors:

1. App features  

The feature list will determine the cost of building your app. Moreover, the complexity of app features and advanced third-party integrations is another factor that can decide the cost of building your app.

2. Platforms for devices

The app distribution platform is another factor that affects the app building cost. 

Each platform requires SDK and other app-building tools to make apps compatible with Android & iOS. It would be best to go for hybrid app development to make your app compatible with multiple platforms simultaneously.

3. The location of the development company

Selecting app developers on a location basis will also affect your app-making budget. It is advisable to employ app developers from Asian countries as they offer economical rates for app development services. 

You can check the service fees of app developers from different regions worldwide to select the best one for your project.

4. App maintenance 

Adding new features or maintaining existing features in your app will add extra cost to your budget. You can’t skip this part, as improving your app regularly is important. 

By continuously improving your app, you can offer the best app experience to your app users. Moreover, maintaining your app regularly will keep it free from technical glitches and crashes even if you don’t have any technical Background. Still, there is an easy way to test the expertise of an app developer.

How to hire app developers if you don’t have technical expertise?

Checking soft skills is easier than verifying hard skills for a suitable outsourcing app development agency. Even if you lack the technical background, it doesn’t make it impossible for you to employ a suitable team. 

Include an individual with a technical background to help you select the right candidate for your team. Ask the following questions to hire suitable app developers for your project:

• What are your app development approach, methods, and frameworks?
• Which monetization model would you suggest for my app?
• What are your software testing methodologies?
• What maintenance services do you provide after the release?
• How will you provide security to my platform and app users?
• Can I access the portfolio of your past published apps?
• What are the popular apps you have built for your clients? 
• Have you developed similar apps that are relevant to my business needs?

Based on your project requirement, you can consider a native or hybrid app development approach. Know native vs hybrid app development in detail.

I. Native app

Native apps are programs that run on specific platforms or devices. When considering mobile devices, you can choose between Android or iOS devices. A native app developer should have the following hard skills.

Skills	iOS developer	Android developer
Programming languages.	Swift	Kotlin
IDE	Xcode IDE	Android Studio
API	Cocoa Touch, OpenGL, Metal, UIKIt	Eventbus, GSON Retrofit
Frameworks	Core data framework	Android UI, Jetpack Compose
Additional Skills	Apple human interface guidelines, Understanding of UX UI design standards	Understanding of material design guidelines

II. Cross-platform app

If you want to create an app for iOS and Android operating systems simultaneously, then we recommend cross-platform development.

Mobile cross-platform apps work smoothly both on iOS and Android.  If you need a cross-platform app, then consider hiring a Flutter app developer. Flutter is one of the most powerful and reliable technologies for creating cross-platform apps. 

Check the best countries where you can outsource your project.

Best countries to hire developers

Whether you are considering outsourcing app development nearshore or offshore, you must know development rates across different outsourcing destinations.

We have highlighted development rates across different countries to help you select the best one for outsourcing:

I. Asia 

Hourly rate range: $25 to $40

Country	Average rate ($/h)	Number of companies
Vietnam	$29	~6k
Philippines	$28	~700
India	$29	~500k
China	$28	~40k

II. Central Europe 

Hourly rate range: $40 to $65

Country	Average rate ($/h)	Number of companies
Estonia	$41	~192k
Bulgaria	$38	~55k
Poland	$29	~56k
Romania	$29	~119k

III. Western Europe 

Hourly rate range: $70 to $90

Country	Average rate ($/h)	Number of companies
France	$54	~533k
The UK	$93	~849k
Netherland	$69	~320k

IV. South America

Hourly rate range: $50 to $70

Country	Average rate ($/h)	Number of companies
Brazil	$44	~11k
Chile	$55	~61k
Mexico	$61	~100k
Argentina	$69	~3.8k

Conclusion

Hiring app developers with the right skill set is essential to ensure the successful build and launch of your app.  Among the different available options for hiring an app development company, we recommend you outsource your project to a reliable app development company like Idea Usher. 

we are a highly experienced app development company that has worked with many businesses and start-ups since 2014. Our developers have excellent expertise in multiple technologies, including Swift, Kotlin, React, and Flutter app development.  Developers in our team have expertise in creating software across multiple platforms, including web apps, cloud-based apps, and cross-platform. 

Our team has hands-on experience with trending and top-demanding technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. IoT, etc.  You can go through our portfolio to learn more about our expertise in offering digital solutions across various industries. 

Schedule a free call with our team to learn how we can help your business grow. 

Contact Idea Usher 

FAQ

Q. How to hire an app development company?

A. You can employ app developers by following the given steps:

• Visit online platforms to explore app developers
• Search for app developers that create apps relevant to your industry
• Check app portfolios and reviews to shortlist app developers.
• Take their interview to decide whether they will be fit for your project 

Q. What affects the cost of hiring an app developer?

A. The cost of hiring app developers depends on many factors, such as:

• List of app features and complexity
• Decided app distribution platforms
• Location of app developers 
• App maintenance

Q. What questions should I ask an app developer?

A. When hiring app developers, you can ask the following questions:

• How many apps have you developed?
• Can I speak with the clients for whom you have developed the app?
• What programming languages do you use for building apps?
• What is your process for building mobile apps?