You have an amazing digital business idea but are you struggling to turn it into reality? It might not be possible to hire developers for every other project because of budget constraints & long-term feasibility. Thus, many businesses are now outsourcing their projects from B2B development agencies and even freelancers. However, with both freelancers & agencies claiming to provide the best solution, which one should you go with?
While freelancers can be more flexible, specialized in their niche & pocket-friendly, agencies offer broad expertise, teamwork, high-quality results, precision in work & ongoing support. Are you not able to choose between the two? Don’t worry, we’ll help you! In this blog post, we’re going to measure the feasibility of agencies & freelancers on various parameters and give you a better understanding of the kind of projects they are suited for.
Freelancer
Freelancers help you fill the gap in your staff, workload & skills. There are multiple platforms you can use to hire freelancers, including Fiverr, Upwork, 99 Designs & so on. On these websites, you will see freelancers advertising their skills to gain projects. You can either post your project to these websites & wait for freelancers to send you proposals, or find the right freelancer & send them a request to work with you.
While freelancers might not be suitable for every project, if hired for the right one, it can turn out to be extremely advantageous. Below are the kinds of projects that you can hire freelancers for:
Small, one-time projects
Projects that require specialization
Projects that call for your heavy involvement
Low-budget projects
Development Agencies
These days, outsourcing from agencies has become popular, which is why people are becoming more interested in this business model. A typical digital agency will have designers, coders, programmers, project managers, digital marketers & copywriters. Such agencies have the ability to provide end-to-end services to clients.
Thus, agencies are a better option when you have a project with an undefined scope, and might need the expertise of professionals from different domains. Below are the projects for which agencies are best suited:
Complex projects having multiple phases
Projects requiring ongoing work & maintenance
High-quality & fast-paced solutions without much of your involvement
Scalable projects require the expertise of different professionals
Medium to high-budget projects
Factors To Consider in Hiring Agency Developer Vs Freelancer
Here are some factors you must take into consideration when making the choice between freelancer or agency.
COST: The cheapest is not always the best and neither is the most expensive. You need to weigh your budget with the cost of resources available and then make the right decision.
# Agency usually calls for either monthly payment or project-wise. They work on the basis of a predetermined contract based on your requirement and will cost more than a freelancer. However, it is budget-friendly as compared to hiring an employee as you don’t have to bear overhead expenses like taxes, employee costs, etc.
# Freelancers are way less expensive than an agency and are the perfect solution if you are looking for an affordable resource. You don’t have to pay the salary like for an in-house employee and can leverage their expertise when required, paying only for that particular task. With freelancers, you can leverage task-based or even hourly-payment models that meet your needs.
EXPERTISE: Do you have a very specific requirement that needs a super-specialized professional or have a project with a wide scope, requiring multiple skills? Ask this question to yourself to determine what kind of expertise your project needs.
# Agency hiring provides you all types of solutions under one roof at every time. For instance, you have outsourced the development of a website and now require a copywriter for website content writing, most agencies will be able to help you here as they provide multi-faceted services to suit all kinds of requirements. Most agencies consist of creative & technical professionals to suits business needs.
# Freelancers will be the idle choice when you’re looking for super-specialized skills. Freelancers, if you notice, sell the skill they are extremely good at, and often have the expertise of working within a particular niche. So, for instance, you need a freelancer to develop your eCommerce website and find a professional who has worked on several similar projects, he could bring in his expertise to help you enhance the website in ways you cannot imagine.
MANAGEMENT: Once you’ve figured out the cost & skills factor, it is important to determine the degree of involvement you want to have in the project.
# Agency needs the least involvement and yet keeps you in the loop throughout the project. They generally have dedicated project managers to understand your requirements & get the work done. They strategize, plan, set goals, coordinate & manage your project to achieve the desired results. Thus, you can lay back & concentrate on your key tasks while the agency works on your project.
# Freelancers are all about independence. So you don’t have to really micro-manage a freelancer. However, freelancers will only work on the task you assign them; they’re NOT managers. Thus, you will have to plan, set deadlines, goals & even fill in for uncertain circumstances with the freelancer. You have to be ready to manage everything.
POINT OF COMMUNICATION: Do you want flexibility in communication & would prefer to remain in conversation with the concerned person throughout the project, or rather limit it to the beginning & end of the project? Flexibility & point of communication makes for an important factor in the hiring.
# Agency usually has dedicated support staff and follows professional methods of communication. They will assign you a project manager who will brainstorm with you to understand your requirements, brief you about the progress, and take your regular feedback to achieve the desired results.
# Freelancers usually adapt to your preferred means of communication, however, do not follow any set work time. They work as per their availability & will not have any set time to reply to your emails. Also, freelancers from unreliable sources can disappear, thus, you must hire from reliable platforms only.
WORK QUALITY: Both freelancers & agencies are working on multiple projects simultaneously, thus, you cannot put your finger on one of the two when factoring in quality. However, there are a few patterns you can keep in mind.
# Agency is a formal organization that is not going anywhere. Thus, every project & positive feedback adds to building its reputation; delivering quality then becomes a win-win situation for both you & them. They will strive hard to achieve the best results for you.
# Freelancers are individuals who spend a lot of time there for cash. Well, even agencies are, but when cash becomes the sole driver, the problem arises. When freelancers are not actually passionate about their work, they might step back from their commitment or under-deliver the project.
Hope this guide helped you choose between a freelancer & agency developer for your project. These are not all the factors, but undoubtedly the major ones that you must stick to while making the hiring decision. Other factors would include legal security of contracts, consultation benefits, and the list goes on. And you can always weigh your requirements just like we have here to make the best decision.
