Working with a freelancer or software house will give you 2 different sets of pros and cons - choosing which one to go with depends on your project.
Working with a freelancer or software house will give you 2 different sets of pros and cons - choosing which one to go with depends on your project.
A big difference between working with a freelancer or software house is in the size of the project and the number of people involved. Hiring a freelancer means collaborating with a single person with a specialized skillset. Working with a software house means cooperating with a team whose members have diverse areas of expertise.
Naturally, there are pros and cons to both choices!
Pros of working with a freelancer
Lower costs | Because you’re paying for the services of a single person, costs will be kept to a minimum. |
Flexible hours | Freelancing is mainly a side gig, so your freelancer will be probably available during weekends and evenings. |
Direct responsibility | Since the freelancer works alone, they assume direct responsibility for their work. |
Longer time to project completion | With just one person on the job, more time is needed for completion. |
No office for meetings | As creative as a single freelancer may be, it’s hard to compete with teams of 3, 5 or even more people who are just as creative. |
Cons of working with a freelancer
Longer time to project completion | With just one person on the job, more time is needed for completion. |
Limited documentation | Because a freelancer isn’t overseeing a huge project, it’s not necessary for them to draw up documentation outlining their part. |
Lack of comprehensiveness | General project details aren’t available to a freelancer. So they don’t really know how their work will fit into your project, whether it will fit into your project, or what is r elevant to your project. |
Less creativity | As creative as a single freelancer may be, it’s hard to compete with teams of 3, 5 or even more people who are just as creative. |
No office for meetings | As creative as a single freelancer may be, it’s hard to compete with teams of 3, 5 or even more people who are just as creative. |
Technical support and maintenance often not included | As creative as a single freelancer may be, it’s hard to compete with teams of 3, 5 or even more people who are just as creative. |
Pros of working with a software house
Comprehensiveness | Working with a team of professionals who have varied skillsets means they can take on more comprehensive roles in your project, even from start-to-finish. |
Written documentation | Since a software house offers more inclusive services, written documentation that outlines the scope of the project is also provided. |
Technical support and maintenance | After a project is completed, technical support and maintenance is available. |
Faster project completion | Even if the project is larger than what you would have assigned a freelancer, because you’re working with a team, a software house is still able to complete it faster. |
More experts with diverse areas of expertise | A diverse team of developers, testers, analysts, graphic designers, support engineers, or more - will be applying their areas of expertise to your project. |
Dedicated project manager | A dedicated project manager will coordinate all the work. |
Office available for meetings | You can visit a software house at their office to discuss any details of your project. |
Cons of working with a software house
Higher costs | Since a software house provides more comprehensive services from a diverse team of professionals, this will naturally cost more than the services of a single person. |
Less flexibility in terms of schedules and deadlines | A software house has typical working hours from 9-5 Mon-Fri. Urgent deadlines must be communicated ahead of time. |
Office available for meetings | You can visit a software house at their office to discuss any details of your project. |
So, freelancer or software house?
It depends on the project. If you have a relatively simple task to complete, then you’ll save costs by going with a freelancer. However, if your project is a little more complicated and needs more comprehensive services, then a software house is your best bet.