Home / Software house vs freelancer
Buyer's guide · Updated 1 October 2026
Software house vs freelancer, for a Pakistani project.
We're a software house, so you'd expect us to say "hire a software house". Sometimes that's wrong. Here's what each one costs on published Pakistani prices, what each is better at, and how to tell which one your project needs.
what an agency charges over a freelancer for the same app, on Progriso's 2026 table: Rs 2–5 lakh against Rs 60,000–1.5 lakh for a simple app.
Small, clear job? A freelancer often wins. Several skills, or years of running? A software house.
Hire a freelancer when the job is small, clearly defined and easy for you to check, like a 5-page website, a landing page or a bug fix. Hire a software house when the project needs several skills at once, such as design, a backend, payments and app store publishing, or has to keep running for years. In Pakistan the freelancer is usually cheaper up front: Progriso's 2026 table puts a simple 3 to 8 screen app at Rs 60,000 to 1.5 lakh from a freelancer and Rs 2 to 5 lakh from an agency.
How do they compare, point by point?
Neither one wins every row. Read down the column that matters most for your project.
| Freelancer | Software house | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Lower. Simple app Rs 60,000–1.5 lakh | About 3x. Simple app Rs 2–5 lakh |
| Skills | One person, usually strong in one area | Design, backend, app and testing in one place |
| Starting | Often within days | A call and a written scope first |
| Talking to them | Direct, with the person writing the code | Sometimes through a project manager |
| If someone is ill or leaves | The project stops | Someone else can pick it up |
| After launch | Depends on the person, and on whether they've moved on | Usually a free-fix period, then a monthly plan |
| Paperwork | Often a WhatsApp chat and bank transfers | Written scope, invoices, a company name |
| Best for | Small, clear, one-skill jobs | Multi-part projects that must keep running |
Prices from Progriso (25 Feb 2026). The other rows are typical patterns, not rules. Good freelancers and bad software houses both exist.
How much more does a software house cost?
Progriso is the only Pakistani price page we found that splits freelancer and agency prices for the same app. Across every tier, the agency range is roughly three times the freelancer one.
Part of that gap is margin. Part is design, testing and project management that a solo freelancer either does themselves or skips.
| App size | Freelancer (PKR) | Agency (PKR) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic, landing or single screen | 25,000–50,000 | 80,000–150,000 |
| Simple MVP, 3–8 screens | 60,000–150,000 | 200,000–500,000 |
| Medium, 8–20 screens | 150,000–400,000 | 500,000–1,200,000 |
| Complex or cross-platform | 400,000–800,000 | 1,000,000–2,500,000 |
| Enterprise or high-security | 800,000–1,500,000+ | 2,000,000–5,000,000+ |
Source: Progriso, Mobile App Development Cost Breakdown in Pakistan, published 25 February 2026, read on 1 October 2026. These are asking prices, not audited data. Other agency ranges are in our app cost guide.
When is a freelancer the better choice?
More often than software houses admit. Go with a freelancer when most of these are true:
- The job is small: a 5-page site, a landing page, a logo, one bug.
- You can describe it in a page and check the result yourself.
- It needs one skill, not five.
- Nothing serious breaks if it's two weeks late.
- You've seen their past work running, not just screenshots.
We turn down logo-only jobs ourselves, because others do that better and cheaper.
When is a software house worth the extra?
When the project has several moving parts. A school portal, for example, needs logins for admin, teachers, students and parents, a database, backups and someone watching the server. That's how the M. Rashid Academy portal we built works.
It's also worth it when the thing has to keep running for years. The build is the cheap part. Month six, when the SSL certificate expires or a payment form breaks, is where a one-person setup gets risky.
What about hiring your own developer?
If you'll have steady work for a year or more, a salaried developer can cost less than either. Indeed puts the average web developer salary in Lahore at Rs 42,179 a month (updated 2 September 2026) and an Android developer in Lahore at Rs 79,330 (updated 4 September 2026).
You'd still need design, testing, and someone who knows enough to manage them.
Can you mix the two?
Yes, and plenty of businesses do. A freelancer designs the logo or writes the copy. A studio builds the system and runs the server.
It also works the other way round. If a freelancer built your site and has stopped replying, a studio can take it over. That's part of what we do: we look at the site first, tell you what we found, and quote the fix separately from any new work.
The one thing to avoid is splitting a single system between people who never talk to each other. Somebody has to own the whole thing.
What goes wrong with each one?
With freelancers, the common story is the one who goes quiet. The code sits on their laptop, the domain's in their name, and nobody else knows the passwords.
With software houses, it's the senior person who pitched you and the junior one who built it. Or a quote that grows with every "small" change.
App projects have one more trap: the Google Play account. Google requires new personal developer accounts to run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before an app goes public. If the account's in the developer's name, so is your app. We've been through that test with our own apps, Invoe and DealNama.
A 5-minute checklist to decide
- Count the skills. One skill, lean freelancer. Three or more, lean software house.
- Ask how long it has to run. A campaign page for a month is different from a portal for five years.
- Get a written scope either way. Pages or screens, features, price, date.
- Keep the keys. Domain, hosting and Google Play in your name, or written handover terms.
- Pay in milestones. Each payment tied to something you can open or install.
- Agree on month six. Who fixes it after launch, how fast, and at what cost.
FAQ
Freelancer or software house, asked plainly.
Is a freelancer cheaper than a software house in Pakistan?
Usually, by about three times. Progriso's 2026 table puts a simple 3 to 8 screen app at Rs 60,000 to 1.5 lakh from a freelancer and Rs 2 to 5 lakh from an agency, and a medium app at Rs 1.5 to 4 lakh against Rs 5 to 12 lakh. The agency price normally includes design, testing and project management.
When should I hire a freelancer instead of a software house?
When the job is small and clearly defined, you can check the work yourself, and nothing breaks badly if it's late. A 5-page website, a landing page, a design or a single bug fix are good freelancer jobs.
When is a software house worth the extra cost?
When the project needs several skills at once, like design, a backend, payments and app store publishing, or when it has to keep running for years. A team means one person being ill or busy doesn't stop your project.
Should I hire my own developer instead?
If you'll have steady work for a year or more, it can be cheaper. Indeed puts the average web developer salary in Lahore at Rs 42,179 a month and an Android developer at Rs 79,330. You'd still need design, testing and someone to manage them.
Who should own the Google Play account for my app?
You should, or you should be able to get the app transferred to you. Google charges a one-time US$25 fee, and new personal developer accounts must run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before going public, so plan for that time whoever builds it.
How do I protect myself with either one?
Get a written scope with the price, pay in milestones you can test, keep the domain and accounts in your own name or with written handover terms, and agree who fixes things after launch and for how long.