Freelance web developer or studio? Rates, risks and when each one fits

Our rate is $130 an hour ex GST, with a two-hour minimum, and we use it only for changes after launch: every build is a fixed price on a written scope. For the wider market, the recruiter Hays' IT Contractor Rates Guide FY24/25 lists contract front-end developers in Victoria at $700 to $1,000 a day and full-stack developers at $800 to $1,100 a day, excluding superannuation, with rates correct as at June 2024. Over a 7.5-hour day, the basis Hays itself uses to compare hourly and daily rates, that is roughly $93 to $147 an hour. Freelancers set their own rates, and we found no recent independent survey of what they charge small businesses, so ask each one for a written quote. The rate is only part of the choice, though. This guide compares freelancers, studios and agencies, sets out the risks on each side, and says when a freelancer is the better choice, including when we would recommend one.

The labels are loose, but the three usually work like this.

ELORA DIGITAL is a studio: two founders, and our co-founder Anis, a full-stack developer, builds every project. You talk to a founder from the first call, and the person who builds your site or app is the person you meet.

Published figures for freelance rates are thin, so it helps to know what the figures you find actually measure. The Hays guide sets out the daily rates paid to IT contractors working in organisations, by role and state, and calls its figures indicative. In Victoria, as at June 2024 and excluding superannuation:

Three cautions before you compare a quote with those figures. They are rates for contractors placed in organisations, not quotes for a small-business website. They are from June 2024, so they are a guide rather than today's price. And a freelancer who works directly for small businesses sets their own rate, which can sit well above or below them.

What you pay us is set out on our pricing page. A business website costs $4,000 to $8,000 ex GST for 5 to 8 pages, live in 3 to 6 weeks; a web app or MVP $15,000 to $40,000; a mobile app $20,000 to $50,000. Each is fixed in a written scope. We do not bill a build by the hour, because a quote that can grow is not a quote. The $130 hourly rate is for change requests after launch outside a care plan, or beyond a plan's monthly hours, and it is quoted in writing before we start.

Every option has a weak point. The useful question is whether you can live with it.

A freelancer. The strengths are cost, flexibility and talking directly to the person doing the work. The weak point is that everything rests on one person: holidays, illness and other clients all land on your project. Scope is often informal, so the price can drift, and a site built in the freelancer's own hosting account can be hard to move. Testing on real phones, a written warranty and a proper hand-over vary from one freelancer to the next, so ask.

A studio. You get more process than most freelancers offer, such as a written scope, design approval, testing and a warranty, while still dealing with the people who build. The weak point is capacity, and it applies to us too: a small studio takes on a few projects at a time, so a start date can be weeks away. Key-person risk applies as well, which is why we set up the code, hosting, domain and app store accounts in your name from the start and document everything at hand-over.

An agency. The strengths are capacity and breadth: designers, developers, testers and project managers under one roof. The weak points are layers and overheads. You may spend more time with an account manager than with the person writing the code, and the structure is part of the price.

In more cases than you might think. A freelancer is usually the better choice when:

• Your budget is under $4,000. We do not take projects below that figure, because it does not leave time for a written scope, real design work, the SEO setup and testing on phones. At that budget a freelancer or a template builder gives better value, and we will say so.
• You want a simple site you run yourself. A template on a website builder, set up by a freelancer, can be the right first website.
• The job is a one-off fix. A broken form, a new page on an existing site or a small change does not need a studio's process.
• Someone in your business can direct the work. If you have a technical person who can write the brief and check the result, a freelancer's hours go further.
• You already know a good one. A freelancer whose work you have seen, and whose references check out, is worth more than a stranger with a better pitch.

A studio earns its price when the project is big enough to need a written scope and important enough to need someone accountable after launch:

• the site or app is how customers find you, book with you or pay you;
• it needs design work, not only a template;
• you want a fixed price, agreed before the build starts;
• you want testing on real phones, a warranty and a proper hand-over;
• you want it looked after afterwards, with hosting, updates, backups and a monthly report.

Our care plan covers that last part for $300, $700 or $1,500 a month ex GST, with 2, 5 or 10 change hours. It starts when the 30-day warranty ends, and the warranty sits alongside the consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law rather than limiting them.

Send the same brief to everyone, then compare what each price buys rather than the headline figure.

1. Is there a written scope? It should list the pages or features, what is included and what is not.
2. What is included? Design, content help, the SEO setup, forms, testing on phones, hosting setup and a warranty.
3. How is it billed? A fixed price, or hours with an estimate. If hours, what happens when the estimate runs out?
4. Whose name are the accounts in? Hosting, domain and code should be yours.
5. What does it cost after launch? Hosting, updates and changes, and the notice period if you want to stop.

How to choose an app developer has the full list of questions for a first call, and how much a website costs in Australia shows what a fixed-price website includes. If you would like a studio's quote to compare, tell us about your project. ELORA DIGITAL is based in Box Hill North, Melbourne, and a founder replies with an estimate range within one business day.