How to Outsource App Development in 2025? [A Detailed Guide]

Statistics say that 7.10 billion people have been using mobile devices in 2021. This number is 89.9% of the total population worldwide. The higher number of mobile users means that more businesses can start developing apps. Usually, the cost of developing business apps from scratch is quite high. Especially if the apps run on both Android and iOS platforms. This is why most startups want to outsource app development.

Many startups consider this a cost-effective method since the quality of the end product is not compromised at all. However, many businesses struggle to hire the best outsource mobile app developers.

This guide will explain and assist businesses in how to outsource an app, and will also discuss the challenges involved in the process.

Options Available To Outsource App Development

To understand the options available for outsourcing mobile app development, it is important to learn about what this concept stands for. Businesses often delegate the generation of apps for smartphones and tablets that can run on both iOS and Android platforms to another country, it is termed outsourcing. In other words, offshore app development by businesses is called outsourcing of mobile app development.

The two main programming languages used for developing iOS apps are Swift and Objective-C. For Android, Java and Kotlin are used for the generation of apps. Organizations look forward to hire dedicated developers who have a portfolio to prove their expertise in these languages and delegate them to create these apps.

Additionally, cross-platform app development offers a range of options for product creation. These applications mostly use CSS, HTML5, and JavaScript. Flutter is the easiest and most effective framework for simultaneously creating software for the two platforms.

Now, the most common alternative is an internal staff that operates out of your office. Due to the fact that everyone is in one location, team management is made simple. Additionally, because developers are familiar with the app from a seamy side, it is appropriate for large-scale product creation with ongoing maintenance and support.

However, this option’s cost is the biggest, includes a lot of extra costs, and necessitates a lot of your involvement to effectively manage the team. In the event that you have a tight budget yet want to produce a high-quality product, outsourcing is available to you as a more affordable solution. Additionally, you can modify pre-existing templates to fit your solution.

Let’s look at more advantageous product development possibilities, like outsourcing web application development and modifying current software:

• Deciding to use a commercial software product
• Hiring independent contractors
• Applying to international software development firms

Businesses can face some major challenges while developing the product.

Commercial Software

This strategy entails using pre-made software designed for a broad audience and offering a variety of answers to consumers’ needs. It needs to be connected with your goals.

Pros:

• The least expensive option
• Given that it is a ready-to-use solution, it takes the least time to market.
• It has a wide range of features from the beginning because it is designed for a large target audience.

Cons:

• Needs a tech-savvy professional to package the software
• Could come off as rigid and unresponsive to specific corporate goals and objectives
• If you decide to go to another platform, it’s challenging to acclimatize to that one
• Might include obtrusive extra features
• Lack of personalized UI/UX design, which may be overly simplistic
• Not being able to update based on market analysis

Freelancers

Using tools like UpWork, Freelancer.com, Guru, and Toptal, you can apply to independent contractors who will make an application for you.

Pros:

• These experts’ services are reasonably priced.
• An effective method for quick, one-time activities
• There are many skilled professionals on freelance websites who are eager to complete your assignments.

Cons:

• Specialization of independent contractors (cross-platform app development requires hiring at least two of them)
• No quality assurance testing means no assurance of the performance of the app.
• There is also no assurance that any merchandise will be delivered.
• The time difference could cause certain annoyances.
• hiring challenges because you need to be skilled enough to choose an expert

Offshore Business

To construct a mobile solution, you can also outsource the development (as a rule, with help of offshore companies).

Pros:

• There is no need to conduct interviews because the mobile app outsourcing firm already has a full team of specialists ready for productive collaboration.
• You can get assistance with any assignment, including brand-new product development and existing product support.
• Each client is asked to sign a contract, and every reputable application development outsourcing provider provides estimates, specifications, and Sprint reports.
• There is no need to worry about managing and leading the team because the project manager will take care of the entire workflow management.
• You’ll collaborate with IT professionals skilled in a range of platforms and tools, including iOS, Android, and Flutter.

Cons:

• Pricier than fees for independent developers
• There may be cultural gaps as a result of the application development outsourcing company’s region (like in India or Asia)
• Communication was a little bit worse than with the internal staff.
• The location of the business may cause potential time disparities to occur.

The final decision on how to outsource app development is based on the kind of app you’re creating, how difficult it will be, and how much money you have to spend. However, applying to outsource app development and having a full team is preferable to a group of freelancers if your goal is to produce sophisticated, large-scale projects like the development of educational or social apps.

Another significant benefit of hiring a mobile app development company is management. An entire team and a project manager who oversees their work and submits regular reports to you. You can focus on your business, for example, training internal staff members, luring investors, or creating a pitch presentation, while the PM handles the professionals.

You must look through their portfolios before sending emails or completing contact forms on the websites of all app development companies. The following should be your main concern:

• Projects: Do the team’s projects in their portfolio look appealing?
• Tech Stack: Has the team used the technologies needed for your project before?
• Industry: Has the group created a project for a business like yours?
• Clients: What do past customers have to say about the group?
• Partners: Is the group collaborating with well-known businesses or tech firms?

After completing thorough research, you can shorten the list of potential candidates for developing your app. Now, which service model can you use for outsourcing app development?

SEE ALSO: How to Build an iOS App?

Choosing the Most Attractive Service Model

Project-based: When you hire a dedicated team through outsourcing, the team has a predetermined objective to complete within a certain amount of time. We refer to a set of objectives that your programme must satisfy as goals. In this way, you, the client, are in charge of the outcome rather than the methods, tools, and technology employed for the project.

What it includes:

• A team of fixed-capacity
• A fixed time period
• A non-flexible budget
• The job of creating the finest product is feasible depending on the backlog

Start-ups that don’t have their own development team or project management experience usually choose this model of operation.

Dedicated Team: In this business model, the outsourcing firm is in charge of hiring the team, managing individual employees, and overseeing the process quality. You get a full-cycle development team in this way, with PMs and BAs also working on a project pipeline or offering full service.

The provider in a dedicated team is responsible for the following:

• Assignment of tasks
• Team leaders
• Management of projects
• Schedule of tasks
• Status of projects

For businesses with midsize teams that need to implement a component of a project, such as Cloud storage integration or sophisticated functionality, like developing IA Chabot, this business model works fantastically.

Out staff or Extended Team: In this arrangement, developers who are outsourced are given tasks to complete and a workspace.

Businesses that take up this model are also responsible for the following:

• Control of the work process
• Project Management
• Controlling vacations
• Work time regulation
• Ensuring promotions inside the team
• Paying the team on time
• Motivating the team

For large and mid-sized businesses that need to employ a specific specialist for a certain task while maintaining within the project’s budget, The Out staff is the ideal outsourcing app-building strategy. When a Customer has a PM and, for instance, a CTO or another individual who can provide audit and control developers by assigning them work, setting priorities, and managing them technically, the out staff model is also ideal.

This concept appears to place many additional burdens on the Customer. However, Out staff is the most affordable option, and small, medium-sized, large, and occasionally even startups have their own technical heads and chiefs. Co-founders occasionally have this kind of knowledge and experience as well.

How to Select the Perfect Business Model?

Hiring mobile app developers under the OutStaff model requires you to pay them a salary on a monthly basis. However, the other business models don’t require the payment of salary but the following things:

Fixed Price: This model works if the project is relatively small, or has a limited budget. It also works if the parameters of the task are clear, or if the time required for the completion can be estimated easily.

Time and Material: This model is also known as Pay As You Go. The team agrees on the hourly rates of developers. The payment is done based on the actual time spent on the development of the project.

How Much Is the Outsource App Development Cost?

The question is, how much does it cost to hire mobile app developers? It depends on where the team is located. The cost to develop a simple mobile app may range from $25,000 to $50,000. A complex mobile app on the other hand might cost from $100,000 to $200,000 to outsource.

To give you an idea, we should consider the following app types:

• Real Estate App costs from $12,000 to $15,000
• A messaging app like WhatsApp costs around $50,000 to $130,000 to develop
• Dating apps like Tinder and Bumble take $80,000 to $200,000 to build
• A city guide app costs $25,000 to 50,000
• Networking apps cost more than $30,000
• Banking/payment apps cost $40,000 to $70,000
• Taxi booking apps like Uber cost around $25000 to $100,000 to build

SEE ALSO: How Much Does It Cost to Make an App?

How Can You Choose a Reliable Supplier?

Here are the first steps to finding a reliable partner in the sea of outsourcing businesses for mobile app development:

• Reviewing Ratings and Comments: Utilize tools like Clutch or GoodFirms to begin your hunt for the ideal partner. You may find rates and reviews for every mobile app outsourcing business from these sites.
• Defining Domain Expertise: Look for companies that specialize in producing mobile apps for your speciality and have a lot of experience doing so. As a result, the team will be prepared to handle particular difficulties and unique characteristics of a solution for a certain field.

• Looking at a Portfolio: Checking a vendor’s portfolio is another helpful suggestion; not only should you go through their website, but you should also download their apps to see what projects they have previously worked on.
• Signing an Agreement: Always sign a contract before work begins; there is an option to sign an NDA if you wish to keep the information private (non-disclosure agreement).

How to Outsource Mobile App Development Safely?

Businesses often offshore application development to countries like India. When you outsource app development in India, you can also face some challenges. Here is what you can do to solve them.

1. Slower Communication

Communication could become a little more difficult if there is a time difference of more than 10 hours between you and your application development outsourcing firm. In fact, if the vendor has any queries that require your approval, such time gaps could block the outsourcing development.

Solution: Whether you hire iPhone app developers or Android, applying services will help you stay on the team. Use instant messaging services like Slack or video conversations like Skype to arrange meetings and checkpoints with the project manager.

2. Cultural Gap

Cultural differences and misunderstandings are other problems that could inhibit effective collaboration. You might face it by hiring a mobile app development company in India. Some employers in these nations will agree to every request without seeking clarification in an effort to win your favour. This slows down the entire outsourcing of the app development process. However, this does not imply that Indians or Asians are not competent enough to deliver. This simply indicates that if you want to build relationships, you need to work more.

Solution: If you struggle with diversity, consider outsourcing to Western or Eastern Europe. The teammates speak English proficiently, and they share similar cultural realities in the US and Canada.

How Are App Development Outsourcing Companies Beneficial?

1. You Can Finish the Hiring Fast and Get On With the Project

By deciding to outsource the development of your app, you have the chance to reduce the time to market. This is due to the fact that all required professionals have previously been hired and carefully vetted. QA, DevOps, UI designers, mobile and back-end specialists, and other app developers are grouped together to provide the best possible app design outsourcing. You work with a full team that has completed projects comparable to yours; team members are familiar with one another and adhere to the same corporate culture. As a result, you are relieved of the burden of conducting several interviews to find the finest of the best. Simply establish the essential conditions.

2. Outsourcing Is Cost-Effective

Outsourcing app development helps businesses to cut down costs effectively, maintaining the product performance quality intact. Hiring iOS or android app development services offers lower costs than in-house services. However, the location of your outsourcing application development business and its hourly rates will determine the final cost. For example, hiring a tech vendor from India is cheaper than hiring one from Ukraine.

Final Thought

Outsourcing app development lowers costs, boosts team output, and enables on-time project completion. This style of cooperation is appropriate for small, medium-sized, and large-sized businesses. However, to truly benefit from outsourcing app development, you must carefully choose the team you will collaborate with. Check out their tech stack, portfolio, and customer feedback. Enter the discovery phase after choosing the engagement and payment option that best suits your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions