Hire App Developers
The part of an app that people install is only the visible part. Behind it sit an API, a database, an admin panel for your staff, sign-in, payments, notifications and a release process. Projects run late when these are discovered one at a time after the screens are finished.
A full-stack app developer from our team plans those pieces together and builds across them. They work in your repository and your cloud and store accounts, and they report to you. We are the employer and we provide equipment and cover.
The parts of an app, and who builds them
A complete app has six parts. One full-stack developer can carry a small product across all of them; larger ones need a specialist on some.
The client
The mobile app, the web app, or both. Screens, navigation, local storage and the states people forget to design: empty, loading, offline, error and signed out.
The backend and its API
The data model, the business rules and a versioned API. Versioning matters because installed apps cannot be updated on your schedule; last year's build will still be calling your server.
The admin panel
The screens your own staff use to manage users, content, orders and refunds, with roles and an audit log. Without one, every correction becomes a request to a developer.
Accounts, payments and messages
Email, Google and Apple sign-in, password reset, card payments or store billing, push notifications through FCM and APNs, and transactional email that reaches the inbox.
Environments and release
Separate staging and production, automated builds, store listings and screenshots, test tracks, staged rollout, and a way to require an update when an old version must be retired.
Life after launch
Crash and error reporting, analytics events agreed in advance, database backups with a restore that has been tried, and a plan for the first week of real traffic.
Technology across the whole product
The right combination depends on what your team can maintain afterwards. These are the usual candidates for each layer.
- Mobile client
- React NativeFlutterKotlinSwift
- Web & admin
- ReactNext.jsVue.jsTypeScript
- Backend
- Node.jsLaravel.NETRESTGraphQL
- Data
- PostgreSQLMySQLRedisObject storage
- Services
- Firebase Cloud MessagingAPNsStripeOAuth 2.0Transactional email
- Delivery
- GitDockerGitHub ActionsFastlaneSentry
Seniority for full-stack app work
Breadth is what you are paying for here. The question is how many layers the person can be trusted with at once.
Junior
Productive in one layer at a time, such as admin screens or API endpoints to a given design. Needs the contract between client and server defined by someone else.
Choose when: a lead on your side designs the system and splits the work into tickets.
Mid-level
Builds a feature through every layer: database change, endpoint, app screen and admin view, with tests. Raises questions about scope early.
Choose when: the product is defined and you want features delivered whole, not in halves.
Senior
Turns a product idea into a data model, an API contract and a release plan. Chooses the stack with maintenance in mind and says which parts need a specialist.
Choose when: you are starting from requirements only, or you have no technical decision-maker.
Going from idea to first build
Describe the product
Who uses it, what they do in it, and what exists so far: sketches, a design file, a prototype or a running system. A list of user types is more helpful than a list of features.
Meet your developer
We propose one named engineer and you speak to them about the product. If you would prefer someone else, we make another proposal.
A first slice, kept small
One thin path through every layer, for example sign-up to first screen. It proves the stack and the working relationship together.
A weekly pattern
Work is recorded in your tracker and deployed to your staging environment. You receive a weekly written summary and a build to try, and a single invoice each month.
What an app developer costs
Our rates are published. Pick the role and move the sliders for an indicative budget.
Rate card
| Role | Hourly | Monthly* |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend / WordPress | $30 | $4,800 |
| Backend / API | $32 | $5,120 |
| Full-stack | $35 | $5,600 |
| Mobile (React Native / Flutter) | $35 | $5,600 |
| DevOps / Cloud | $40 | $6,400 |
| AI / Automation engineer | $45 | $7,200 |
| QA / Test engineer | $25 | $4,000 |
| UI / UX design | $28 | $4,480 |
*160 hrs/month full-time. Rates are indicative for planning, in USD (other currencies are converted at an indicative rate), and depend on seniority, contract length and timezone overlap. Longer engagements and multi-role teams are discounted — ask.
Is one full-stack developer right for your app?
We are a good choice when
- You are building a first version and need one person who sees the whole product.
- Your app works but the backend or admin side was never finished.
- You want to direct the work yourself and see progress weekly.
- You are an agency that needs a complete build team under your name.
Look elsewhere when
- You need a landing page or a brochure site, not an application.
- The product is large enough that every layer already has its own team.
- You want a fixed price and a fixed date for an idea that has not been specified.
- You need the developer seated with your staff.
Before you commission an app
Can one developer really build the whole app?
For a first version with a modest feature set, yes. As the product grows, a specialist in mobile, backend or testing is added where the load is heaviest. We tell you when that point is approaching.
Do we need a store app, or would a web app do?
A web app is quicker to release and needs no store approval. A store app is justified when you need push notifications on every device, offline use, device hardware or a presence in the stores. Many products start on the web and add mobile later against the same API.
Must payments go through Apple and Google?
Physical goods and services use an ordinary payment gateway. For digital content the store rules differ by country and have changed more than once, so we check the current policy for your markets before the checkout is built.
What happens to old app versions when the API changes?
They keep working, because the API is versioned and old versions are supported for an agreed period. The app also checks a minimum supported version at start-up, so a build can be retired deliberately.
Who owns the product?
You do. Source code lives in your repository, and servers, domains and store listings are registered in your accounts. The agreement sets this out before work begins.
How do we pause or stop?
Engagements are monthly. Give notice before the next month starts and the developer hands over with the repository, credentials list and notes in order.
Tell us what the app should do
A few sentences are plenty: who the users are, what they need to get done, and what you have so far. We reply within one business day.