How to hire app developers for a startup

What are your options for hiring app developers?

A startup has five common ways to get an app built and kept running: hire employees, hire a freelancer, hire an agency, subscribe to an engineering team, or keep building in an AI app builder and bring in engineers to rescue what it made. They differ less in price per hour than in who owns the app after launch.

For a fuller cost comparison of the first four, read agency vs freelancer vs in-house and in-house developer vs subscription. For what a build costs end to end, see how much it costs to build an app.

Which option fits a startup with paying users or funding?

• You have funding and software is the product: start hiring in-house, but plan for at least two engineers so code is reviewed and someone covers holidays. Until then, a subscription or agency can carry the work.
• You have paying users and the app changes every week: you need a team that builds, tests, releases and watches production, not a one-off project. That is what a development subscription is for.
• You have one defined project with a deadline: an agency, with a written brief and a plan for maintenance after handover. Our guide to choosing a tech partner for an MVP covers how to compare them.
• You built it in Lovable or another AI builder and users are arriving: start with a review of what exists before anyone rewrites it. See vibe coding rescue and should you refactor or rebuild an AI-built app.
• One small, known fix: a freelancer is usually the cheapest way to get it done.

How do you vet app developers if you are not technical?

You do not need to read code to vet a developer. Ask for evidence instead of claims, and ask the same questions of everyone so the answers can be compared.

1. Ask to see live products they still run, not screenshots or templates, and ask what broke after launch and how they found out.
2. Ask what runs on every change before it reaches users: automated tests, code review by a second engineer, and security checks. "We test it manually" is an answer too, and a weaker one.
3. Ask how they stop one user reading another user's data. A good answer names the mechanism, such as row-level security, and how they test it.
4. Ask who is on call when production breaks at the weekend, and how quickly they respond.
5. Run a small paid task first, with a clear finish, before committing to a large project or a hire.
6. Speak to two past clients who are still using what was built.

What should the contract say about code ownership and IP?

Under US copyright law, work an employee creates as part of their job belongs to the employer. Code written by a contractor or an agency is different: the U.S. Copyright Office's guide to works made for hire lists nine categories of commissioned work that can be made for hire by a signed agreement, and software is not one of them. So the contract with a freelancer or agency should assign the copyright in the code to your company in writing. Ask a lawyer to check the wording; this is not legal advice.

• An assignment of IP in all code, designs and documentation to your company, signed by everyone who does the work.
• Your accounts from day one: the code repository, hosting, database, domain and app store accounts in your company's name, with the developer invited as a member.
• A handover clause: what you receive if the engagement ends, such as repositories, infrastructure access and documentation. See code handover.
• Third-party and open-source code listed, with their licences.
• Confidentiality, and who may name you as a client.

How long does it take to hire app developers?

It depends on the route. Recruiting an employee means sourcing, interviews, an offer and a notice period before any code is written. A freelancer or agency starts once the brief and contract are agreed, and an agency's quote usually waits on the brief. A subscription starts when you subscribe: on our Starter plan, an engineer starts on a submitted change within two business days. Whichever route you choose, the first weeks go on understanding what exists, so expect an architecture review before new features.

What are the red flags when hiring app developers?

• The code, hosting or app store accounts would sit in the developer's name, not yours.
• No automated tests, and no second engineer reviewing changes.
• A fixed price given before anyone has read your brief or seen your existing app.
• A plan to rewrite everything before they have reviewed what exists.
• No answer to who responds when production breaks, or how fast.
• No live products they still run, or no past clients you can speak to.
• Pressure to sign quickly, or a contract with no IP assignment or handover clause.

When is Plutonapps the right fit?

We fit a startup whose app has, or will soon have, paying users and changes every week, and which wants one team responsible for building, securing, testing, releasing and running it. It is a subscription, not developer hours: there is no per-change fee, real engineers do the work, and you own the code, data and infrastructure. The Starter plan is $2,999 a month billed yearly, $3,999 a month billed quarterly or $4,999 month to month; Growth has custom pricing. Details are on our pricing page.