A Guide to Hiring Top Offshore Mobile App Developers

Last Updated on 2025-01-15

As mobile apps dominate how we live, businesses look for cost-effective ways to build them. This includes hiring offshore mobile app developers. Learn everything you need to know about offshore development today.

“There’s an app for that.” Apple trademarked this slogan after its successful campaign in 2009. More than a decade later, over 4 million apps are available for both iOS and Android users.

The mobile apps range from enterprise use, entertainment to everyday living. Then, these categories branch out into different niches which explains the continuous growth of mobile apps. 

We can bet technology can offer prime solutions as we unravel problems to a granular level. Niched problems provide opportunities for businesses to build the next unicorn in the market. But in such a competitive scene, how do startups and small businesses keep up?

The answer would be offshoring. In this article, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about offshoring and how you can hire offshore mobile app developers. Here are the items we’ll cover today:

• What is Mobile App Development?
• Hire Mobile App Developers: Onshore vs. Offshore
  • Onshore Hiring
  • Offshore Hiring
• Is Offshoring Safe? Common Risk and Concerns about Offshoring
• Succeed with Offshoring: 3 Key Tips
• Offshore Mobile App Developers Rates
• Hire Offshore Mobile App Developers in the Philippines: 3 Reasons
• How to Hire an Offshore Mobile App Developer: Checklist
• Why Hire Offshore Mobile App Developers from Full Scale

Before we tackle hiring mobile app developers, let’s understand the nature of mobile app development.

What is Mobile App Development?

Digital transformation has made mobile devices necessary in many people’s daily lives. From ordering food, hailing a ride, or checking in to work – these are essential activities made easier by mobile apps.

As more aspects of human life adapt to digitization, more solutions are currently in-demand. These solutions are now opportunities for businesses to build and disrupt. And thus, the advent of mobile applications.

Mobile applications are software products accessible through mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets. Therefore, mobile app development is the process of building applications intended for mobile display and use. 

There are different types of mobile applications with respect to platforms. They vary depending on how users access them. Here are its types:

1. Native applications — This type of mobile application is built specifically for its intended operating system. You can have native applications for Android, iOS, or any other system and device. For example, the Google PlayStore is a native app since it’s only available for Android users. The same goes for the AppStore for iOS users.
2. Mobile web applications — These are mobile-responsive versions of web applications. Mobile web apps behave like native apps but they’re only accessible through web browsers. These, therefore, aren’t stand-alone apps.
3. Hybrid applications — Hybrid apps, also known as cross-platform apps, are mobile applications that work on multiple devices or operating systems. They’re developed to be compatible with their intended platforms.

Many kinds of mobile application ideas are just waiting to become a reality. However, entrepreneurs could only wish for an abundance of mobile app development resources.

Generally, software developers and experts are scarce. This talent shortage drives up expenses when you want to hire mobile app devs. So, you’ll have to be creative when it comes to hiring resources while focusing on your core competencies. Let’s explore the implications of hiring onshore vs. offshore mobile app developers.

Hire Mobile App Developers: Onshore vs. Offshore

Today, it’s a tough challenge for businesses to hire top talent. This is even more evident in tech-related markets. In the US, for example, there is a talent shortage for IT professionals.

One of its impacts is it limits the pool of applicants from thousands of vacant software positions. Then comes competition between companies on which one hires the best employees. While the cost of software development is high, big companies have the capacity to compete for top talent.

But what about smaller businesses with limited resources? 

With the competition at hand, small businesses and startups already face challenges in scaling up. Hiring and keeping software talent is another factor.

Unfortunately, the best mobile app developers are not always looking for jobs. They are most likely employed and paid generously by their employers. These challenges often lead entrepreneurs to a dilemma: should I hire onshore or offshore mobile app developers? Let’s delve further.

Onshore Hiring: Mobile App Developers

In essence, onshore hiring is the traditional way of hiring employees—which means looking into your local talent market. You can either hire directly or tap an IT recruitment agency.

Benefits of Onshore Hiring

As this hiring process is more commonplace, it’s easier to do for many companies. It also comes with benefits when you finally onboard your software developers. These are some advantages of hiring onshore talent:

1. Same time zone. You won’t have issues with time since you all work in the same time zone.
2. Physical interaction. As you’re in the same area, you can have employees work onsite. You may also meet with them occasionally if they’re on a work-from-home arrangement.
3. Same language and culture. Don’t worry about misunderstandings since you’re working with people who speak the same language.

Cons of Onshore Hiring

In the new normal, these benefits that highly rely on close proximity may not be as valuable. Because of the pandemic, most employees prefer flexible or remote work arrangements. They will likely snub job offers that require them to work onsite. Here are more disadvantages of onshore hiring:

1. Talent shortage. There are not enough IT professionals in the US which causes a talent shortage for software development vacancies. 
2. Higher pay rates. With the law of supply and demand, the talent shortage for IT professionals may trigger higher salary rates. When this happens, smaller businesses with limited resources can’t compete for top talent to hire.
3. Overhead costs. Remote work and onsite arrangements still entail overhead costs for equipment. You also have to cover your employees’ benefits according to your local regulations.

With these disadvantages, businesses look for offshore software development services. Let’s discuss this further in the next section.

Offshore Hiring: Mobile App Developers

In essence, offshoring means operating your business (or a portion of it) to another country. Offshoring has two types, depending on activities:

• Offshoring as a subsidiary. This means that you expand your operations to another country. As an example, you build a customer support arm in the Philippines. That said, you’re the one responsible for building the branch and supplementing local requirements.
• Hiring an offshore service partner. In hiring an offshore service partner, you work with another business to aid your operations. For example, you lack software developers. These partners provide additional manpower to augment your software development team.

The latter would be the more popular choice for small to medium businesses. It comes with advantages suited for budding companies. Here are the benefits of hiring an offshore development partner:

1. Cost-effective

If you’re under a modest budget, offshoring to developing countries with a high IT presence. In the Philippines, the pay rates are lower compared to Western regions. It follows that you’re paying top developers with the same skills as their US counterparts, for a lower price.

Additionally, you won’t incur overhead fees. Most offshore software development partners provide their employees with equipment to work with.

2. Hiring convenience

Offshore software development companies, like Full Scale, usually cover the recruitment and hiring process. The only thing you have to do is define the kind of developer you need from their pool. And, you’re good to go!

3. Access to a bigger talent pool

You’d want a wider talent pool when there’s a shortage of developers in your area. Offshoring provides you with that option. This way, you’ll worry less about competition and scarcity that drive pay rates higher.

These advantages provide opportunities for small businesses to scale up for less. But while offshoring offers countless advantages, most entrepreneurs are skeptical about it. This is a valid concern. Let’s evaluate more common concerns about offshoring in the next section.

Is Offshoring Safe? Common Risk and Concerns about Offshoring

There are common risks and concerns associated with offshoring, especially for many new entrepreneurs. You might have heard of offshoring horror stories from other companies. These stories cause more discouragement for entrepreneurs to pursue the path of offshoring.

Among the common factors why entrepreneurs are anxious about offshoring are:

• Building trust with partner companies/employees
• Reliability on work and productivity
• Employee retention
• Fitting the company culture
• Intellectual property, and more

These concerns are very much valid. Startups and small businesses are usually reserved when it comes to taking huge leaps because of these factors. So, it’s important to choose a trusted software company.

At Full Scale, we aim to set our clients up for success. Thus, we ensure to debunk these concerns and misconceptions about offshoring. 

When it comes to building trust, our growing number of clients show that we provide quality services. As we hire top talent, our clients receive excellent delivery of tasks and requirements.

We are also hands-on when it comes to employee management. Our recruitment team performs thorough background checks on our potential candidates. You can be sure that you’re hiring software developers who have integrity and credibility in their work.

You can trust that each second clocked in is worth every penny. In fact, you may also hire a dedicated manager to look after your offshore team. 

During recruitment, we assess not just the skills, but also the personality of each applicant. We hire people with a positive working attitude to fit different work setups and team cultures.

Succeed with Offshoring: 3 Key Tips

Offshoring has its share of criticism from many business owners. To avoid the pitfalls of offshoring, we curated the fundamental steps to succeed in this venture. Take note of these best practices when offshoring mobile app developers.

1. Do not “Cheapshore”

Offshoring cuts costs. However, even if you pay a low price, please don’t go too low. You still need to invest in top talent abroad to ensure it yields optimum development quality. Consequently, a lower price often depicts lower quality. So, make sure to always check what you’re paying for. 

2. Pick a great IT-rich location

Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe are popular locations for offshore software development. These regions also have a rich IT presence within their countries. At Full Scale, we hire developers in the Philippines because the country has a prominent tech industry. 

3. Hire strong offshore partners 

Partnering with reputable offshore software development firms is the best thing to do. You need to hire companies like Full Scale to provide you with quality services with convenience in recruitment. Learn more about offshore development tips in this article: Offshore Development: 8 Keys to Success.

Offshore Mobile App Developers Rates

The next thing that comes to mind is how much do offshore mobile app developers cost? Mobile app developers’ hourly rates start at $35 to $75 in the US. When you hire offshore mobile app developers, you cut the costs at only $25-$45 per hour. So why does hiring offshore mobile app developers cost less? 

It’s not because offshore talent is less talented. The pay is lower since the cost of living in their countries is different from the US. 

In the Philippines, the local minimum wage is at least $1 an hour. However, software development is a job that pays high in the country. The offshore software development firm assures to compensate them proportionally according to the market rate.

Hire Offshore Mobile App Developers in the Philippines: 3 Reasons

If you want to offshore mobile app developers, the Philippines is a great place to look into. The archipelago is actually one of the top destinations worldwide for offshoring software development.

The country is also a hub for other offshore services like call centers, data entry, and business processing. Here are some advantages of hiring mobile app developers in the Philippines:

1. Top communication skills

The Philippines is the second most English-proficient country in all of Asia. Moreover, English is the primary language instruction from kindergarten to college.

2. Western-style culture

The Philippines was previously a U.S. colony for more than five decades. American influence is prevalent in Philippine society. When you offshore to the Philippines, language and cultural barriers are the least of your worries.

3. Large talented pool of developers

The Philippines produces thousands of engineering and technology graduates annually. Many mobile app developers in the country are well-versed in mobile development tools and languages.

How to Hire an Offshore Mobile App Developer: Checklist

Now that we’ve covered all things offshoring, it’s time to evaluate how to hire mobile app developers. This role is both a creative and technical role.

A great mobile app developer possesses the right balance between hard and soft skills. While personality and company fit varies from one candidate to another, there are ideal qualifications for a mobile app developer. These are:

• A degree or years of practice in mobile app development or related field
• Proficiency in native or cross-platform app development
• Experience with building and deploying mobile apps to App Store, Playstore, etc.
• Ability to build responsive mobile apps
• Knowledge of the latest trends and updates in mobile app development

You may be more specific with language if you’re looking to hire native app developers for iOS or Android. But regardless of the platform, Full Scale has the developers for you!

Why Hire Offshore Mobile App Developers from Full Scale

Full Scale is among the fastest-growing software development companies in the Philippines. Our expansion allowed us to hire all kinds of software developers from different parts of the country.

We are a Kansas City-based company founded by Matt DeCoursey and Matt Watson. But, our software development arm is in the Philippines. Our services include fast and affordable software development, testing, and digital marketing.

At Full Scale, we take care of the entire hiring process so you don’t have to! If you’re looking for tech talent to augment your team, just give us a call!