Should I build software in-house or hire an agency?

The in-house vs. agency decision is fundamentally a question of timeline, scope stability, and internal management capacity.

Full Cost of In-House Development

• Salary -- $130,000-$200,000 base for a senior engineer in most US markets
• Benefits and payroll taxes -- add 25-35% to base salary ($33,000-$70,000)
• Recruiting cost -- $20,000-$40,000 per hire (recruiter fees, time-to-fill, interview overhead)
• Ramp time -- a new engineer is at 50-70% productivity for the first 3-4 months
• Management overhead -- someone must manage, review code, and grow the engineer -- typically an existing senior engineer or engineering manager
• Total first-year cost per engineer -- $200,000-$350,000 before they ship their first production feature at full productivity

When In-House Wins

• The product is your core competitive differentiator and requires daily iteration
• You have post-Series A funding and 4-6 months to recruit and ramp
• You have an internal engineering manager who can absorb the team
• The scope is open-ended -- you do not know what you will need in 6 months

When an Agency Wins

• You need to launch in under 12 weeks
• The scope is defined and bounded
• You lack internal technical leadership to manage an engineering team
• You want to validate before committing to permanent headcount

Code and Trust offers both project-based development and staff augmentation for teams that need engineering capacity without full-time hiring overhead. Contact us to discuss the right model for your situation.