Every founder hits this fork: who builds the product? Hire in-house, hire a big agency, stitch together freelancers, or use a senior studio. They cost wildly different amounts and fail in different ways. Here’s the honest breakdown — including where a studio like ours is the wrong call.
| In-house | Big agency | Freelancers | Senior studio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $200k+/yr/hire | $60k–$200k+ | Variable | From $500 / fixed |
| Time to start | 3–6 mo to hire | Weeks | Days | Days |
| Time to ship | Months | 6–12 mo | You manage it | ~8 weeks |
| Who runs it | You | PM + juniors | You | Senior team |
| Best for | Core long-term IP | Enterprise budgets | Small defined tasks | Idea → launched MVP |
In-house when the product is your core IP and you’re funded to build a permanent team. Big agency when you have enterprise budget and need the brand-name stamp. Freelancers for small, well-defined tasks you can direct yourself. A senior studio (us) when you want a real product shipped fast, for a fixed price, without hiring — and you want to own all the code. See our pricing.
By the DappaSol team — 100+ products shipped since 2020. Last updated June 2026.
Freelancers for small tasks you manage; in-house for long-term ownership (but slow and expensive to hire); an agency or studio to ship a product fast at a fixed cost.
A senior studio with fixed scope usually beats both open-ended freelancers and the cost of hiring in-house for a first build.
In-house takes months to hire then build; freelancers vary; a studio like DappaSol ships in about 8 weeks with weekly demos.
By the DappaSol team — 100+ products shipped since 2020. Last updated June 2026.