There are different models for hiring .NET developers. In this article, our team will compare hiring on a permanent basis, hiring freelancers, and the outsourcing model, with a list of the pros and cons.

Freelance .NET Developers

Hiring freelancers is a type of cooperation when the customer works directly with the independent contractors. The key characteristics of such cooperation are:

• Project duration. Working with freelancers is beneficial when the client has short-term assignments or needs to fix a specific issue or implement a small part of functionality.
• Time and expenses for hiring. The search process can be rather fast, the customer is looking for a specialist on their own, using their own resources and funds.
• Costs. Lower costs, the customer determines the scope of work and its cost (hourly payment or payment for all work performed by the .NET freelance developer).
• .NET expertise. Depends on the freelancer
• Availability. Freelancers may have several projects at the same time, and may be unavailable at a certain point in time, so sometimes such cooperation may not always be stable.
• Flexibility and team scaling. High flexibility, anyway, if you build a team comprised of separate freelancers, it may be time-consuming to manage different freelancers from different locations with different availabilities.
• Long-term availability. Freelancers can usually have multiple projects going at the same time, and there is a chance that when you reach out to a specialist you have worked with before on a task, they might be unavailable at that time.
• Control over work progress. Low level of control, sometimes hard to manage.
• Availability for communication. Depends on the freelancer. Sometimes freelancers just disappear without any obligations.
• Quality of the work. Depends on the freelancer.
• Onboarding time. Usually, there may be no onboarding here, the freelancer performs the task based on their experience.
• Location. Remote.

In-House .NET Developers

Hiring in-house back-end or full-stack .NET developers is a type of cooperation when the company hires the engineer permanently as its employee. The key characteristics of such cooperation are:

• Project duration. Hiring permanent employees is beneficial for long-term projects with the need for ongoing support.
• Time and expenses for hiring. The recruitment process can be rather long, and the customer is looking for a specialist on their own, using their own resources and funds.
• Costs. Rather high, in addition to paying salaries, the customer pays all taxes, sick leave, vacations, provides a workplace and necessary equipment, etc.
• .NET expertise. Depends on the candidate. Often, customers should invest in training and upgrading the additional skills of their employees.
• Availability. Permanent employees are available in a full-time mode for work. Office work, or remote mode — this depends on the customer’s company.
• Flexibility and team scaling. Rather low, sometimes it can be hard to find locally professional .NET developers with the specific skill sets, and building the team might be time-consuming.
• Long-term availability. Depends on the candidate and company.
• Control over work progress. Full control over the employee’s progress and daily activities.
• Availability for communication. Fast and efficient on-site or remote communication.
• Quality of the work. Depends on the employee and his proficiency — anyway, customers have high control over quality.
• Onboarding time. Depends on the employee; sometimes, onboarding can be longer or shorter.
• Location. Depends on the customer’s company policy (on-site in combination with the remote options is the most usual case).

Outsourced .NET Developers

Hiring outsourced .NET developers is a type of cooperation when the client hires external software engineers through the service-providing company. The key characteristics of such cooperation are:

• Project duration. This model is suitable for projects with a need for long-term .NET developers’ involvement.
• Time and expenses for hiring. Immediate access to professional .NET developers, fast hiring/start on the project, no recruitment expenses for the customer.
• Costs. Predictable costs, the customer pays for the work on a time & material basis or has a fixed monthly payment for the work of the hired .NET developer.
• .NET expertise. Professional .NET development companies provide customers with highly experienced .NET developers for hire. These software engineers have the required skill sets needed for the project’s implementation.
• Availability. Developers are available in full-time or part-time and at the time (core communication and working time) agreed upon with the customer.
• Flexibility and team scaling. Highly flexible cooperation model with the option to scale the team up or down in the short term.
• Long-term availability. A .NET development company is usually focused on long-term collaboration. If a developer wants to leave for some reason or if the customer wants to hire another engineer, the company looks for a substitution and arranges a knowledge transfer to make the process smooth.
• Control over work progress. Full control over the progress: the customer can track the progress via project management systems, get weekly/monthly reports, see demos, etc.
• Availability for communication. Fast and efficient remote communication. If there is a big time difference, the customer and developer agree on the core times for communication. Communication is fast through the well-established processes and communication channels.
• Quality of the work. The .NET development companies provide professional developers with a quality guarantee. Sometimes they offer a free trial period (from a few days to a week or more), where the engineer can prove their skills.
• Onboarding time. Short onboarding time and fast project start.
• Location. Remote with an option of business trips for onboarding if necessary.

Conclusion

The choice of a cooperation model always depends on the customer’s company, its business goals and needs, budgets, project type, and other factors. Different cooperation models have their pros and cons, which each organization carefully weighs before making a final decision. Working with freelancers is beneficial when the company has a small urgent scope of work; hiring a full-time employee is beneficial in the long term for the company’s development, and hiring outsourced developers gives a big boost to product development.