Dedicated developer cost at a glance
- Part-time dedicated developer
- Monthly cost$4,900
- Hours of work80
- Effective cost per hourabout $61
- CommitmentMonth to month
- Full-time dedicated developer
- Monthly cost$8,900
- Hours of work160
- Effective cost per hourabout $56
- CommitmentMonth to month
- US in-house developer, median base pay
- Monthly costabout $11,090 salary
- Hours of workabout 160 minus paid leave
- Effective cost per hourdepends on leave and ramp-up
- CommitmentEmployment
- US in-house developer, with benefits
- Monthly costabout $15,800
- Hours of workabout 160 minus paid leave
- Effective cost per hourdepends on leave and ramp-up
- CommitmentEmployment
- Project team at our standard rate
- Monthly costpriced per stage
- Hours of workteam time incl. design, QA and PM
- Effective cost per hour$89
- CommitmentPer stage
| Option | Monthly cost | Hours of work | Effective cost per hour | Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time dedicated developer | $4,900 | 80 | about $61 | Month to month |
| Full-time dedicated developer | $8,900 | 160 | about $56 | Month to month |
| US in-house developer, median base pay | about $11,090 salary | about 160 minus paid leave | depends on leave and ramp-up | Employment |
| US in-house developer, with benefits | about $15,800 | about 160 minus paid leave | depends on leave and ramp-up | Employment |
| Project team at our standard rate | priced per stage | team time incl. design, QA and PM | $89 | Per stage |
The in-house rows use the May 2024 national median from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook ($133,080 a year) and the BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation release for June 2025, where wages and salaries made up 70.2 percent of private-industry employer costs. $133,080 divided by 0.702 is about $189,600 a year, or $15,800 a month.
What the $8,900 a month actually buys
A dedicated developer plan is a monthly subscription to one named person's time, not to a project result. You get 160 hours of an experienced developer who works in your repository, your task tracker and your team chat, and who stays on your product month after month.
- One named developer, chosen for your stack and shared with you in writing before the start
- 160 hours a month on the full-time plan, 80 on the part-time plan
- A weekly written summary of completed work
- Replacement at no extra cost if the fit is wrong, with handover notes carried over
- Payroll, equipment and the quality of the work handled on our side
- Code and rights transferred to you as each month is paid
You manage the developer day to day, the same way you manage your own engineers. Hours do not roll over into the next month, and you can change plan or cancel at the end of any month. The plans are on hire dedicated developers.
The real monthly cost of a US in-house developer
Base salary is the number everyone compares, and it is the smallest part of the gap. A fair monthly figure for an employee includes four lines.
- Base pay. The BLS median for software developers was $133,080 in May 2024, about $11,090 a month. The top 10 percent earned more than $211,450.
- Benefits and payroll taxes. Health insurance, retirement, paid leave and legally required contributions made up 29.8 percent of private-industry employer costs in June 2025. On the median salary that lifts the monthly cost to about $15,800.
- Recruiting. Contingency recruiters commonly charge a percentage of first-year salary, often quoted at 15 to 25 percent. At the median, 20 percent is about $26,600, paid once and lost again if the hire leaves early.
- Ramp-up and gaps. Months of searching, a notice period and the first weeks on a new codebase are paid or lost time before full output.
Paid leave is inside the benefits line, which also means an employee's 160 paid hours a month include vacation and holidays. The dedicated developer plan sells 160 hours of work.
First-year cost side by side
- 12 months of pay
- Full-time dedicated developer$106,800
- US in-house developer at the medianabout $189,600 with benefits
- Recruiting fee
- Full-time dedicated developernone
- US in-house developer at the medianabout $26,600 at 20 percent
- Time to start
- Full-time dedicated developerdays after you pick the plan
- US in-house developer at the medianusually months
- Exit cost
- Full-time dedicated developercancel at the end of any month
- US in-house developer at the mediannotice, severance policy, rehiring
- Total, year one
- Full-time dedicated developer$106,800
- US in-house developer at the medianabout $216,000 before ramp-up
| Full-time dedicated developer | US in-house developer at the median | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 months of pay | $106,800 | about $189,600 with benefits |
| Recruiting fee | none | about $26,600 at 20 percent |
| Time to start | days after you pick the plan | usually months |
| Exit cost | cancel at the end of any month | notice, severance policy, rehiring |
| Total, year one | $106,800 | about $216,000 before ramp-up |
The comparison flatters neither side if you read it honestly. An employee builds long term knowledge of your business, joins your culture and can grow into a lead. A dedicated developer is the faster, cancellable way to add capacity now.
When a dedicated developer is the better buy
- You have a product, a backlog and someone who sets priorities, but not enough hands.
- You need capacity for six to twelve months and are not sure about the second year.
- A key engineer left and the roadmap cannot wait for a full recruiting cycle.
- You want a specialist for a stretch of work, such as a React developer for a front end rebuild or a Python developer for a data or AI feature.
- Your budget is set per quarter, and a monthly plan you can stop fits it better than a salary.
When you should hire in-house instead
Hire your own engineer when the role is permanent, central to the product and expected to grow into technical leadership. Equity, culture and years of context matter there, and no subscription replaces them. If you go that way, an AI recruiter that sources and screens candidates can shorten the search, and a dedicated developer can cover the months until your hire starts.
Dedicated developer or a project team
A dedicated developer sells hours. You decide what gets built and you own the outcome. A project team sells a result: scope, design, development, QA and project management for a fixed price per stage. If nobody on your side can write tickets and review code, buy the result, not the hours. Our custom software development cost page shows how a project is priced, from $16,000 for an integration between two systems to $88,000 for a customer portal. The two models side by side are in staff augmentation vs project team.
How much does it cost to hire a dedicated developer per hour?
On our plans, a full-time dedicated developer works out to about $56 per hour of work ($8,900 for 160 hours) and a part-time one to about $61 ($4,900 for 80 hours). Project work is billed at $89 per hour of team time because it includes design, QA and project management on top of development.
Is it cheaper to hire a dedicated developer than a full-time employee?
For the first year, usually yes. At the US median, an employee costs about $189,600 a year with benefits plus a recruiting fee, while a full-time dedicated developer costs $106,800 for twelve months. Over several years, a strong employee who grows into a lead can be worth more than the difference.
Is there a minimum contract for a dedicated developer?
No. The plan renews monthly and you can cancel at the end of any month. Hours do not carry over, so pick part-time if you are unsure the backlog fills 160 hours.
Start with a dedicated developer this month
Pick part-time or full-time, describe your stack and first tasks, and we match a developer and share their profile in writing.