Hiring a Software Agency vs a Senior Engineer

Short answer

Pick an agency if the project needs several people working in parallel, or your company requires a vendor with more than one person behind it. Pick me, Evan Coleman of Blackpaw Studio, a solo senior engineer, if one engineer can carry the project and you want a fixed price in writing before work starts. MVPs start at $15,000. An agency can cost less than that: Clutch's client-reported figures put typical software projects at $10,000–$49,000.¹

Who should pick what

Pick an agency if…

The project needs design, several engineers and QA working at the same time, and one person would take too long.
You need cover for sick days and holidays, or a team that can swap people in if someone leaves.
Your procurement or legal team requires a vendor with more than one person behind it.
You want a track record you can check. Clutch collects first-party reviews from verified clients, and its pricing data is derived from them.¹

Pick me if…

One senior engineer can carry it: a web app or native iOS MVP, an internal tool, or an AI feature in a product you already have.
You want the person who scopes the work to be the person who builds it, with nobody between us.
You want the price fixed in writing before work starts. It holds unless you change the scope.
You want the code assigned to you on final payment, and defects in the agreed scope fixed for 30 days after delivery.

Side by side

Side by side	Blackpaw Studio	Software agency
Cost	Fixed quotes. MVP from $15,000, ongoing support from $2,700 a month for 15 reserved hours at $180 an hour.	Clutch's client-reported figures list typical software projects at $10,000–$49,000, about 13 months, and mobile-app projects at $10,000–$49,999, about 11 months. One agency, Chop Dawg, published an estimate of $100–$200 an hour for senior US mobile and web developers.^{1, 2, 3}
Time to start	After we talk I send a written scope and a fixed price. Work starts once the first milestone payment is in.	Depends on the agency's calendar and its scoping process. I found no published figure, so ask for a start date in writing.
Who does the work	Me, from the first message to the handoff.	Whoever the agency assigns. Ask who will write your code and whether they stay on it for the whole project.
Who's accountable when it breaks	Me. I correct defects in the agreed scope for 30 days after final delivery at no charge, and ongoing support covers what comes after.	The agency, under your contract. Read what it says about defects after delivery and who pays for the fix.
What you own at the end	Source code, designs and other assets are assigned to you once you've paid in full. I hand over documentation with the code.	Whatever the contract says. Check that it assigns the code to you, and when.

Questions

How much does a software development agency cost?

It varies a lot. Clutch's software page lists US rates of $50–$99 an hour and its mobile-app page lists $25–$49. The two pages disagree, so I don't rely on either. Clutch's data is client-reported, and it doesn't say how it computes hourly rates. For projects, Clutch lists typical software work at $10,000–$49,000 with an average of $132,480, and it doesn't explain why the average sits so far above the typical range. One agency's own estimate for senior US developers is $100–$200 an hour. On hourly rate alone, my $180 is above several of these figures, so the case for me rests on a fixed scope and on dealing with one person.^{1, 2, 3}

What should I ask an agency before signing?

Who will write the code and whether they stay on the project, what the contract says about defects after delivery, when the code is assigned to you, and what a change to the scope costs.

What do I own when a project with you ends?

The source code, designs and other assets are assigned to you once you've paid in full. Until then they stay mine. I hand over documentation with the code.

Sources

Other comparisons

Tell me about the project

I'll reply with a written scope and a fixed price, or tell you an agency is the better fit.

Get in touch

Blackpaw Studio vs a software agency