Why Choose a Software Development Agency over a Freelancer?

Many contemporary business owners need some sort of software development services. From native mobile apps and website solutions to productivity-tracking options, there’s a vast number of reasons why someone might need such services.

If you’re in that position, it means that you’re standing at the crossroads where one sign can direct you to freelancers, while the other one nudges you to choose a software development agency. In our opinion, working with an agency will yield more benefits. Stay us for the rest of this article to find out why.

Agencies are more reliable and resourceful

Getting an accurate estimate

When you contact a software development agency and tell them about your needs, they’ll come up with an estimate. This document will contain key milestones for the project in question, such as the specific deadlines by which each of the stages will be complete, as well as the costs of each segment.

Also, they’ll probably ask you whether you’d like to pay after each milestone is done or make the total payment at the end of the project. Our two cents here: it’s not bad to opt for milestone payments because that will motivate them to keep up the good work.

Enough staff in case of emergency

What’s also better if you work with an agency is their resourcefulness. Most agencies have several teams of developers that collaborate on their projects. If one of the developers in your team is ill, they can easily replace that person with a developer from another team.

Furthermore, if you decide to eliminate some aspects of the software solution you’ve ordered, it will lead to the decrease in the number of work hours. As a result, a freelance software developer could neglect your project and take other, more lucrative ones.

On the other hand, if you decide to increase the number of features, it might be difficult to add another freelancer to the project.

All these details are part of a larger image of what makes a software development agency a better choice for business owners.

Work efficiency and adaptability

At first glance, freelancers might be given an advantage over agencies when it comes to adaptability and work efficiency. However, this is only the first impression.

While it’s easier for a freelancer to adapt to new changes and requests that you might have during the project, only one person will be working all the time.

Whereas they can implement your changes fast, they won’t be able to meet all your demands at equal pace if you come up with a variety of new ideas.

An agency, in contrast, will probably seem much more inert during negotiations. Also, they might not always be able to implement your changes at once.

However, if you choose an agency, you have a team of developers able to improve your project even after it’s finished. They can ensure smooth customer support, regular updates, and continuous maintenance of your software solutions.

A freelancer can manage to cover some of these bases, but most certainly not all of them. Even if this professional finishes everything on time, it’s highly likely that you’ll have to hire another person for additional updates, maintenance, etc. In turn, this would cause additional overhead expenses, which isn’t something you’d be looking forward to.

Project organization and pricing

Most software development agencies have several levels of programmers, from beginners and junior developers to those most experienced, senior professionals. Because of that, an agency can give a more competitive offer than a freelancer. When you have different kinds of professionals on your payroll, you can distribute the workload to get the most of the work process at an affordable price for your clients.

Freelancers, on the other hand, don’t have so much room for maneuver in terms of pricing. If you opt for this kind of service for your software, you usually get a one-price-fits-all-tasks professional.

Competitive prices with high quality

Hiring an agency means that you’ll have juniors (whose rates are lower) perform the less demanding development tasks under the supervision of senior programmers. Such work organization will bring a two-fold benefit. On the one hand, the price will be more acceptable. On the other, the quality of the work will remain high.

Support from multiple sources

What also speaks in favor of development agencies is their experience and established procedures for solving potential problems. These business entities usually have HR-professionals and project managers. Both of these staff members can come in handy if you aren’t satisfied with the way your project is being managed. By establishing smooth communication with all the agency employees included in your project, you can always count on getting help from different sources.

Access to cutting-edge technologies

Development agencies are business parties. As such, they need to make sure that all the software tools they need are legal.

In theory, freelance software developers should also work only with legal software. In practice, however, this doesn’t have to be the case. So, if you for some reason opt for a freelancer, check if they use proper software solutions.

Since agencies are usually well-funded ventures, they can get access to cutting-edge technologies much easier than freelancers. They’re well-aware of the fact that updated tech solutions are their bread and butter. That’s why they always stay tuned with the latest tools in their niche.

Clients also benefit from such a work policy, since improved software often makes the entire workflow much faster.

If the agency you’ve chosen has immediate access to every new update of the software used on your project, your business could get ahead of the curve. Your rivals might not be able to count on such quick updates, which means they would fall behind.

The final word

It’s great to know that the freelance market is growing. In many cases, hiring a freelancer is a perfectly fine decision.

However, when you need to get the more demanding software development projects done, agencies offer more value for money. You can count on an established know-how and experienced professionals who can adapt their work to your specific needs. Even when your project is done and delivered, they will still be able to provide you with improvements and updates that can make a significant difference in your field of work. For all these reasons, we strongly feel you should opt for a reliable development agency with an established reputation.