Pros and Cons of Hiring Freelance iOS Developer
Nowadays we all are highly dependent on our smartphones and abilities it gives us. Thus an improvement of its usage is an important issue. And one of the ways to achieve it is app development. What is more, it is a solution not only for comfort interacting within your smartphone but also for a more convenient lifestyle.
For example, you may benefit a lot from a grocery delivery application that can make your dinner more pleasant and hassle-free. Just make an order on two clicks on your way home and enjoy delicious food without the necessity to cook it yourself! Or you may find it very useful online shopping app development that can help you spend less time shopping because you can buy anything you want just from the place you are in at the moment. And making it in a fine and intuitive application will be a further enjoyment!
So, probably, it is approved now that apps are going to alleviate our life hence it is reasonable to pay more attention to the app development and iOS development in particular. But why will it be useful for your business? Let’s clarify it!
Why iOS Is So Popular and Widespread
An iOs operating system was introduced in late 2007 and since then it has been only growing and gaining popularity. According to the statistics it is the second most used system after Android (it holds nearly 25% of all the market while Android holds something about 68%). But it is pretending only to increase so iOS app development is a super useful sphere. And there are a lot of pros of working with iOS.
In such a way, there is a comparatively large amount of audience that is using iOS and looking forward to more helpful apps. Good news for you is that there is a larger chance than in Android development to create a unique app and take your niche. But there is also a benefit for those who are already working with Android, which includes the possibility to cover more clients as iOS users are still a pretty large amount of all users. And as a result you may gain more profit. You surely will because those who use iOS are ready to spend money on applications. As it shows us stats consumers spend much more money on iOS comparatively with Android that leads to 1.8 higher revenue. Surely it is incredible!
So you may benefit from the whole iOS policy that can be seen in its minimalistic and client oriented approach. Apple guarantees high data security and cool customer experience. In such a way it keeps its users highly devoted so they will not abandon iOS and you may have guarantees that your app will keep its efficiency for a long time.
Besides evident advantages for business owners themselves there are also some for iOS developers in particular. Thus, it is easier to make apps for iOS just because of the standards you have. You should not optimize it for different screens so your application will work clearly, without extra bugs.
Surely it really sounds great so let’s find out how you can hire iOS developers you will trust for your future success.
Tools iOS Developers Are Appealing To
Let’s see some tools that are used by iOS developers to catch a more precise understanding of some specifics of their work.
- IDE and code editing
For creating apps on iOS developers should be competent on Objective-C, XCode, CodeRunner or any other IDE.
Thus, XCode is made by Apple so it reduces time for the development due to its intuitive functions. CodeRunner represents a large amount of useful features and gives good compilation abilities.
- Design of the app
There are also some special tools for creating more visually attractive and comfortable apps. They include:
Flawless. It is a free tool which is easy to use with XCode for project comparison and analysis.
Figma. It is a relatively complex tool based on a browser and easily compared with nearly all modern browsers.
- Debugging
It is important to optimize your app to make it maximally comfortable to use.
For this issue can be used RayGun that is a premium tool which shows how people interact with a created iOS-app. It may be helpful for further improvement of this app.
- Testing
When you have a ready application it is necessary to check if it works in the right way.
For this purpose are widely used XCTest and XCTestUI. These frameworks are automated and developed by Apple. They are a part of the whole XCode editor so it is simple to use it together.
- Plugins
There are also some plugins that can elevate the task of app development on iOS. They include:
GitDiff. This plugin can add some visual support on XCode to make it more simple to see and track changes made on the code. Sometimes it can be really difficult to identify some of the changes or mistakes in the code so this tool can facilitate the whole process of working with it a lot.
Dash. It provides developers with some documentation and cheat sheets to make code writing easier.
Injections. This tool can add some parts of the code to make its building more quick.
Responsibilities and Skills iOS Developer Should Have
Talking about iOS developer responsibilities it is essential to mention that it means much more than common code building. It also includes all other stages of app development as UI/UX design, testing, debugging and others. Hence it is important to find a highly qualified specialist that can manage it all. It will be a key to your future successful app.
Of course, a range of skills and responsibilities that an iOS developer should have depends on the amount of his experience. Thus, there are such three types:
Junior iOS Developer
As it is a first stage on an expert’s way, the list of responsibilities of a junior specialist is comparatively short and consists of the core duties. Thus, it may include:
- code building and further maintaining it
- understanding of application’s purpose and mechanisms that may help to achieve it
- ability to find and relief bugs
- common design
Mid-level iOS Developer
On this level there are a little more expected responsibilities as it is meant that such a specialist has wider experience. So it may be:
- effective iOS database usage
- ability to use some IDE, for example XCode
- UI creating
- app’s functionality improvement
- apps’ optimization
- further control of the created apps
- knowledge of publication on the AppStore
Senior-level iOS Developer
Senior level is the last and most advanced level that demands a specialist’s deeper understanding of his responsibilities and excellent mastery of skills. In such a way senior’s responsibilities are:
- design, development, testing and implement of an iOS application
- making of new versions of the app in future
- ability to make solutions by yourself
- finding during the app tests edge cases and bugs, discovering its usability and reliability. Further improvement if necessary
- application performance improving
- wireframes generating
- collaborating with other teams to design and add extra functions to the app
- interaction with clients
Probably the difference between these three levels is evident so you may decide which one is more suitable for your particular situation. If you need to develop a not so complicated app hence it will be more reasonable to hire a junior specialist and pay less. But if you are expecting to create an app with a large amount of different functions then it will be more reasonable to hire a middle or even senior specialist. Thus you may get not only a super app with cool design and functionality, but also its high performance and further development. But it is essential to keep in mind that experts of these levels cost more. To bring your innovative mobile app idea to life, you can hire freelance iOS developer with the expertise to create a user-friendly, high-performance application for Apple devices.
If you are still a bit embarrassed of how to choose right iOS developer here is a list of core skills a good specialist should have:
- Swift and Objective-C skills. A freelance objective c developer can provide businesses with the expertise needed to develop high-quality iOS and Mac applications. It’s also important to consider the option to hire Swift developer, whose expertise in the Swift programming language can bring cutting-edge efficiency and innovation to your iOS projects, ensuring high-performance and future-ready applications.
- At least general overview of SVN and Git
- Skills of UI design development
- Being aware of architecture patterns like MVVN, MVP, MVC, Viper
- Ss familiar with Apple Human Interface Guidelines and follows it
- Know some iOS features and how to manage with them
5 Interview Questions to Hire iOS Developers
When weighing the pros and cons of hiring an iPhone app freelance developer, consider factors such as cost savings, flexibility, and access to specialized skills, balanced against potential challenges like communication, time zone differences, and the need for close project management. When you are already familiar with core skills and responsibilities a good iOS developer should have, it would be great to discover some questions to ask him when hiring. It would be especially helpful if you are tending to hire a freelance iOS developer or a remote part time iOS developer because of some specifics of working with such specialists.
- So first of all you can check if your candidate is as skilled as you are expecting. Here previous lists can come in handy. Unfortunately, you can collide with an unfair person especially when looking for a freelance iOS programmer so at least some basic questions and his behavior (if he is too nervous and can not say anything) will help to discover if he is as specialized as he said.
- Secondly you can ask to tell you more precisely about his experience and some successful tasks. Thus you can learn if this candidate is suitable for this particular task. Moreover, it can show if he is really an expert of the level he pretends to be or not. And in the situation when you are working with a freelance iOS app developer or an iOS developer part time it is extra important because you can encounter a young specialist or even a specialist without any experience so asking about his tasks will show the level of your candidate.
- After that you can ask some special questions to check the candidate’s hard skills and his deep understanding of the specifics of working in this area. It may be questions like: “How can you manage with concurrency on the iOS app market?” or “Name frameworks that are supported by iOS”.
- When you are confident that technical skills, experience and specialization of this candidate are corresponding it is important to check his soft skills. As it is expected that you will work with this person for a long period of time, it will be cool to find someone whose values are the same as yours. Especially if you are hiring a freelance iOS developer or a part time iOS developer remote it will be useful to become acquainted more personally. Some significant soft skills may be great time-management, responsibility, ease in communication.
- After all of this you can give your candidate a testing task to make sure that his practice is samely good as the theoretical part. It is an important step when you are hiring an iOS app freelance developer because it can be the last thing to make sure that it is a real expert.
Platforms to Look for an iOS App Developer Freelance and an iOS Developer Part Time
If now you are confident that an iOS developer is a must for you but can not even imagine where it is possible to find a good ios app developers for hire then here is a list of the best platforms for looking for experts.
Toptal
It is a large site for freelancers hence you will find your best candidate for sure. Moreover, as it is a large platform you can trust it.
Github
The best thing about this place is that you can check the candidate’s code at the first onset.
Stack Overflow
It is a huge community of programmers so you can find here iOS freelance developer hassle-free.
Fiverr
It is a Ukrainian freelance platform specializing in app development and design that promises support and excellent quality.
Upwork
One more platform by which you can hire a freelance iOS developer and a part time iOS developer easily and safely.
Hiring a Freelance iOS Engineer vs In-House
If you are still not sure that freelancer is a good decision for you and are thinking about hiring an in-house specialist then here is a comparison for you to clarify which variant is better for your business.
| Freelance | In-house | |
| Pros | wide range of specialist with different experience and specializationrelatively low costability to start working fastlyability to add necessary specialist to your already existing team | better interactionsame language, time, cultureability to control the processmore guarantees |
| Cons | bad for a long-term cooperationlow guaranteeslow controllower communicationsome cultural issues | comparatively small range of specialistsnecessity to pay even if you have no tasks, pay sick leaves, taxes, vacations…it is expensive |
As you can see both variants have its pros and cons but the main is that working with freelancers is comparatively cheap and easy in that you have a wider range of specialists to choose from. So at the end all depends only on yours and your project’s goals.
Average Hourly Rate for iOS Developer
And the last thing that most likely will turn you into an idea of hiring a freelancer is a salary. When talking about an iOS developer salary it is important to emphasize that it depends on different points such as developer’s level, location, complexity of the task and deadlines. But here are some average numbers of freelance iOS developer hourly rate in different countries depending on the level of expertise.
| USA | UK | Germany | Netherlands | Ukraine | |
| Junior iOS developer hourly rate | $40 | $17 | $22 | $21 | $25* |
| Mid-level hourly rate | $50 | $20 | $37 | $64 | $35* |
| Senior iOS developer hourly rate | $59 | $24 | $40 | $60 | $50* |
*Ukrainian salaries are provided based on Mobilunity’s Recruitment Team research on the local job markets. All salaries are net and do not include the service fee (in case of hiring on a dedicated team model). The salaries are provided for comparison purposes and could be not entirely accurate. Contact us to know the exact cost of hiring a developer corresponding to the required parameters.
As it has become evident from the table above iOS developer hourly rate in Ukraine is much lower than in other European countries. Thus it could be a great idea to address hiring an iOS developer freelance or an iOS developer remote part time in Ukraine.
Mobilunity Is a Best Solution for Hiring Freelance or Part-Time iOS Developer
Probably now you have got a desire to hire specialists from Ukraine so here is the best solution for you! Mobilunity is a Ukrainian outsourcing company with more than 12 years experience that provides dedicated freelance and part-time specialists. Its clients are more than 40 companies from all over the world. And you can find your best iOS development team here!
Moreover, with its superb service when you can pay only for these hours that your team has been working you can save even more money! Extra money is always a good idea, isn’t it? What is more, you get a freelance flexibility and company’s guarantees that is a wonderful consolidation of best things from both freelance and in-house work.
Add to such companies like Finexpert, Zenchef, Camptocamp, XPLG, Esurance that are already collaborating with Mobilunity and gain your best remote development experience!
If you are ready to hire a freelance iOS developer that will help you make your business perspective then contact us. Get professional help right now!
All salaries and prices mentioned within the article are approximate NET numbers based on the research done by our in-house Recruitment Team. Please use these numbers as a guide for comparison purposes only and feel free to use the contact form to inquire on the specific cost of the talent according to your vacancy requirements and chosen model of engagement.
