Mobile App Developer Salary Guide
Tags: mobileappdeveloper, mobileappdevelopmentcompanies, developersalaryguide
Published: 2019-07-10 12:28:06

Mobile apps on the App Stores have increased substantially and every business is trying to build apps to provide a new interface to the customers. Because of the huge need for building mobile apps, mobile app developers have been in big demand. Before you hire an app developer, you always wonder what would be the cost? This article will help you understand the different options available to you and what salaries you need to pay to hire an app developer.

##Full-Time Salary for App Developers in the USA##
With the rapid change in the mobile application, the demand for the efficient developer is increasing in the USA. They possess the expertise of developing an app for a specific platform such as IOS, Android or hybrid app, thus salary varies with the type of development platform. For instance, the highest salary charged in the US by an IOS developer is around $130,000/ year and of an Android developer is around $144,000/ year. [US News](https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/software-developer/salary) also talked about software developer salary guide with some good regional factors. 

The salaries are paid on the basis of their experience as more the number of years of experience a developer is possessing, the more the salary is paid to the developer. An entry level app developer with 1-2 years of experience may ask for $70K-$80K per year, someone who has to build 2-3 apps in the past. If you are looking for someone with 5+ years of experience in app development, they will ask for a salary more than $120K per year. 


##Contractor Salary for App Developers in the USA##
You will consider the contractor, when you need additional support on your current project or when you need someone to work on a short term basis. The developer hired on a contract basis charges a higher rate in comparison with the full-time developer. Contractor cost will depend if you want the contractor to work on your site if they could work remotely. If you want a contractor to come to your site, the range can be from $90-$150 per hour. $90/hour would be 2-3 years of experience person, who has worked on a few apps in the past. $150/hour would be for a very experienced developer, someone with 8+ years of experience, who has led several projects in the past. A $150/hour person can also be a technical lead with experience on other technologies like web and backend development. 

If you hire a contractor to work remotely, that can reduce your costs substantially. The cost for a contractor working remotely in the USA can be $50-$90/hour based upon the years of experience. It is lower because a person can work from home and it is a cost saving for the developer in terms of moving to your location or daily travel to work. You can use some time management software to manage their time logs and increase the accountability of a remote app developer. 


##Offshore App Developer Salary in India##
When we talk about an offshore country, India always stands out for app development.  It has a pool of companies and developers with expertise in programming and an efficient labor cost. App developer cost varies from $20-$30 per hour in India. With $20/hour, you can get an average app developer with 2-3 years of experience. If you have more budget, you can get 6+ years of experience person at a rate of $30/hour. If you hire on a yearly basis it would cost less, maybe $30-$35K per year.

##Offshore App Developer Salary in East Europe##
When we talk about east Europe for software development, it has been proving to be a good outsourcing location with a vast pool of professional app developers. A mid-level experience app developer can charge around $30/hour in locations like Ukraine, Belarus and other neighboring countries. If you want to hire someone with more than 6+ years of experience in Eastern Europe, the cost can go to $50 per hour. Hiring someone from a company as a retainer may cost less, if you commit for a year, it may cost around $40K-$50K annually. They combine their knowledge with the programming skills which leads to there increasing demand. 

##Onshore VS Offshore##
When we discuss both onshore and offshore developer there are some benefits with some drawbacks which has the final burden on the hiring cost of the developer. If you are thinking to develop an app at an affordable price it is a better option to hire app developer from offshore countries like India or East Europe. There are many countries with an efficient developer who can provide apps at efficient pricing and within the provided time frame. With offshore developers, there are drawbacks such as communication barriers, cultural differences and time zone differences. Initially, the cost may look less but due to these additional barriers, it may end up increasing.

If you go for an onshore developer, the benefits and drawbacks are completely reversed. The cost increases with higher salaries, in-house infrastructure, and employment benefits to be paid. However, the barriers to communication and cultural differences decreases. 

##Freelancers Vs Full-time ##
When do you think to hire a developer the question arises whom to hire? freelancer or a full-time developer. There are many benefits and drawbacks of hiring a freelancer as well as a full-time developer. If you hire a freelancer as a developer, you can hire them at a lower cost compared to a full time and they are easily available. But the drawback is they can not be very reliable in terms of delivering the project on time, they might find some other project, and slow down your project. If your project requires up to 20 hours a week of work, then a freelancer is a better choice. If you need a full 40 hours a week for 6 months or so, you should go for a full-time employee. A full-time developer will cost more, but at least they can deliver faster. Also, if you are more concerned about IP rights and idea protection, Full-time developer is a better choice. You can easily enforce all legal protection on the full-time employee than a Freelancer. 

##Short term Vs Long Term##
Who you should hire depends upon the length of the project. If you require someone to work for a few hours or weeks or even less than 3 months, you should go for a freelancer. Freelancer is a better fit for a smaller project or task because they love project which does not require a lot of commitment. If your project length is 3-6 months, you should go for a contractor. The contractor will be fully committed to the project and will tend to finish it in that timeline. The contractor also prefers 3-6 months of the project because they like to get a new project after 6 months. If your project needs someone for more than  6 months, you should hire someone full time, because it pays off in terms of cost and performance. For a full-time employee, you will have to pay benefits and setup infrastructure but the salary is less than a contractor.