The short answer
For a small, clearly defined build, a good freelancer is the cheapest route and often the best. For a large or uncertain project, an agency is worth the premium. For a fixed thing you want finished by a date, a fixed-price sprint beats both, because the timeline risk moves off you.
Side by side
| Freelancer | Agency | Fixed-price sprint | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | £40 to £85 per hour | £12,000 to £60,000 per project | £2,999 or £5,999 |
| Typical timeline | Highly variable | 10 to 16 weeks, or months | 14 days |
| Who carries overrun risk | You | Usually you | Us |
| Continuity if someone leaves | None | Good | Small team, but a team |
| Range of specialisms | One person's | Broad | Design, build, release |
| Scope flexibility | High | High, at a price | Fixed by design |
| Best for | Small, clear jobs | Large, uncertain projects | A defined thing, by a date |
How a freelancer actually works out
The good: cheaper per hour, you deal directly with the person building it, and a good one is genuinely excellent. For a small well-defined job, this is often the right answer and we will say so.
The bad: one person is one point of failure. Illness, a better-paying client, or a technical problem they cannot solve, and your project stops. There is no bench. There is nobody to escalate to.
The pattern we see most: freelance projects rarely fail loudly. They slow down. Replies get longer. The finish line moves. By the time it is obviously a problem, months have gone.
How an agency actually works out
The good: continuity, multiple specialisms, someone accountable, and a process that survives one person leaving. For a large or genuinely uncertain project, this is worth paying for.
The bad: the overhead is real and it is inside your quote. You are funding a sales layer, an account management layer, and a contingency margin. And the timeline usually still moves, with the risk still sitting with you.
Where we sit
Three questions that tell you which you need
1. Can you write down the one job the software has to do? Yes, and it is small: freelancer. Yes, and it is a real product: sprint. No: agency, and expect to pay for the discovery.
2. What happens to you if it is three months late? Nothing much: freelancer is fine. It is a serious problem: buy a fixed date.
3. Will you need continuous development afterwards? Yes, for years: hire in-house, it is cheaper than any of us. No: any of the three works.
Common questions
Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency?
Per hour, almost always. Per finished project, frequently not, because the hours are harder to predict and there is nobody to absorb an overrun. The saving is real when the scope is small and clear.
What is the biggest risk with a freelancer?
Single point of failure. Illness, a better offer, or a project they cannot finish, and your build stops with no continuity. It is the most common cause of the stalled projects we get asked to rescue.
When is an agency genuinely worth the extra?
When the scope is large or uncertain, when you need multiple specialisms at once, or when you need someone contractually accountable to a procurement or compliance process.