How To Find and Hire Android Developers
Did you know that people in the United States spend an average of two hours on their phones every day?
Harnessing the power of mobile devices is becoming increasingly important to businesses that want to stay relevant, and that’s especially true of tech companies and startups.
Whether you’re still working on getting your business off the ground or you’re expanding your customer base, there are a whole host of benefits that you’ll get from developing an Android app.
Releasing an app increases customer engagement, gives you valuable information, promotes your brand, improves your social presence, and generally makes you more attractive to your customers.
But before you can release an app, you’ll need to hire Android developers.
Not sure how to find Android app developers? We don’t blame you. Hiring Android developers may seem overwhelming. Do you hire Kotlin developers or do you hire Java developers? Is there even a difference?
Should you hire freelance app developers, or hire Android app developers that work for an agency? What’s the price difference? Should you hire local developers or outsource the development process?
If that seems overwhelming, don’t worry. We’re here to break down the process of how to find an Android developer and hire developers online.
Options to Hire Android Developers (Kotlin and Java)
If you’re looking to design an Android app, you’ll need a reliable developer. But hiring a developer isn’t as simple as it sounds. You’ll have to decide whether to hire a freelance developer or a mobile app development agency.
A freelance developer is an individual contractor who can be hired and develops apps on a case-by-case basis. Freelancers usually handle multiple projects at once, and their contract lasts until the project is over.
On the other hand, a mobile app development agency has a ready-made infrastructure for developing apps. They have teams with experience designing and developing all kinds of mobile apps.
First, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of hiring freelancers, then we’ll look at mobile app development agencies.
Freelance App Developers
A common misconception is that you can hire a single freelance developer to develop an entire app. But developing an app takes a lot more than one person.
To develop an app, you’ll need many different people to do many different jobs. For example, you’ll need someone to write the code, a designer with a background in Android app development, an app tester, and a code reviewer.
You’ll also probably want a project manager to make sure your other freelance developers stay focused and on-brand. Development projects without a project manager tend to fall apart.
Basically, if you want to develop an app with freelance developers, you’ll need to find and put together an all-star development team. That’s practically a full-time job.
Besides, a freelance developer is usually an expert in one specific area. Maybe he’s very experienced in Java code-writing, or maybe he’s developed lots of apps for the hospitality industry.
In any case, the advantage of a freelance developer is that he’s especially talented in one subject area. That means you could probably hire a freelance developer for a very simple project.
But if the app you envision is at all complicated, you would definitely need to hire multiple freelance developers for a single project.
It’s hard to hire Android developers, and hunting for freelance developers is even harder. Developers often advertise themselves on freelance websites like Freelancer or Upwork, but there is not always a reliable vetting process.
Interviewing Freelance App Developers
So if you want to ensure that you’re hiring a quality app developer, you’ll need to conduct at least one interview—and sometimes multiple interviews—with each candidate.
That takes a lot of time that you may not have.
Additionally, because freelance developers make money project by project, they are often juggling multiple projects at once. That means that freelance developers may not be 100% focused on your project.
This can sometimes lead to missed deadlines, slow contact, and sloppy work.
The main advantage of hiring a freelance Android developer is that hiring a freelancer is cheaper than hiring a mobile app development agency. But there’s a reason for that.
Freelancers have to charge less than mobile app development agencies because they know they cannot produce work of the same quality.
The principle is the same here as in other markets: cheap product = lower quality product.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s possible to hire a stellar team of freelancers and develop a high-quality app. It’s just very, very difficult.
So if getting the Avengers together all by yourself doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you could try hiring a mobile app development agency.
Mobile App Development Agencies
The whole job of a mobile app development agency is to take the project management off your hands. You give them your vision, and they will get to work perfecting your vision.
In a mobile app development agency, the team is pre-made for you. You don’t need to put together the perfect crew of developers, project managers, designers, quality control, etc.
The team already exists, ready to spring into action.
That means that the timeline will be much faster. Because you don’t have to put a team together, they can start working right away, and the app will be finished more quickly.
Another advantage of hiring a mobile app development agency is that they will be able to maintain your app over time.
Every good app needs to be updated and improved as time goes on. Users will discover bugs or make suggestions. Your company will have new needs. Software will change.
A freelancer develops the code for your app and then moves on to the next project. When you need to update the app, you’ll need to hire another freelance app developer.
With a mobile app development agency, you can build a quality relationship with your team over time. That way, the team will understand your brand, as well as the inner workings of your app.
A mobile app development agency can also provide you with more technology and resources than a freelancer can. That includes developers who have just the right skillset for your project.
The bottom line: If you want to hire Android developers, a freelance developer will be cheaper, but produce a lower quality product.
On the other hand, a mobile app development agency is a bit more expensive, but more reliable.
Best Websites to Find Mobile App Developers
There are a few different websites to hire app developers.
You could start with Toptal. Toptal advertises Android developers specifically. It was originally created for freelancers with general expertise in technology, but now they have designers, finance experts, etc.
Toptal also reportedly has good quality control for its developers.
Hired is also a good place to look. They have customized matching software that makes it easier to hire freelance app developers. They mostly have specialized developers with some level of experience.
You’ve probably also heard of Upwork. Upwork has all kinds of freelancers who advertise many different skills. They have a huge client base and lots of options.
The vetting process for Upwork isn’t as rigorous as with the other websites, so you need to be careful when hiring freelance app developers from Upwork.
Clutch has a good list of mobile app developers. Clutch’s list mostly features mobile app development agencies. It rates each agency from one to five stars.
Goodfirm’s list is similar. They also rate agencies from one to five stars, and they also include reviews of each app development company to help you choose the right app developer.
If you’re looking to hire Android programmers without sorting through hundreds of lists and reviews, Appvales is a company that helps you to hire dedicated Android app developers.
Plus, they have positive reviews and a five-star rating on both Clutch and Goodfirm.
Skills Required for Android Developer
Whether you’re trying to hire Android developers that are freelance or part of an agency, you need to know what skills to look for. Here’s a list of skills that Android app developers should have:
- Programming skills
- Knowledge of Java, Kotlin, or both
- Knowledge of XML
- Expertise in Android SDKs
- Expertise in Android Studio
- Understanding of databases
- Understanding of APIs
- Material design skills
- Knowledge of the marketplace
- Research skills
- Knowledge of Syntax
- Adaptability
- Experience in the field
Keep in mind that developers need different skills depending on the app you want.
If you’re planning on releasing an app with the Java programming language instead of Kotlin (more on that later), then you’ll need to hire a developer who has expertise in Kotlin. It doesn’t matter so much if he knows Java.
On the other hand, if you want an app that makes use of databases, then you want to hire a developer who has lots of experience writing code that deals with databases.
This is another reason why if you’re going to hire freelance Android developers, you need to be careful.
Finding the Right Developers
Before you can hire a freelance developer, you need to know what kinds of skills that developer needs. Those skills will be different from app to app.
That means that before you can hire freelance developers, you already need to know how you want to program your app—but that can lead to a vicious cycle.
After all, what if you’re hiring a developer to figure out the details of your app design? In that case, you don’t know what skills your developer needs…until you hire the developer!
That’s another benefit of hiring a mobile app development agency. Because the agency has more resources, they can figure out what skills your app needs, and then assign just the right developers with just the right skills.
Java developers vs Kotlin Developers
We get it. You’re focused on building your company, not on learning about coding or developing an Android app.
Still, you’ll need to know the difference between Java and Kotlin. That’s because Java and Kotlin are the two primary programming languages that Android devices use.
That’s important because when you’re hiring developers, you’ll need to know whether to hire Kotlin developers or hire Java developers.
Java
Let’s start with Java. Java is a general purpose programming language that’s object-oriented. It has similarities to C++ and C#, two other common programming languages.
Java was released in 1995 by Sun Microsystems, then later bought by Oracle.
The original goal of Java was to create a coding language that could run on home appliances like your dishwasher or microwave. That’s right—Java actually wasn’t originally invented for the internet.
When the world wide web sprang into existence shortly after Sun Microsystems invented Java, the language was quickly repurposed to design programs for the internet.
Java’s purpose is to be a universal language that you can “write once, run anywhere.” That’s what makes it so useful. That’s also why so many programs run on Java.
It’s both a language and a platform. When you open an application on the internet, it probably uses Java to run.
Java was also designed to fix some of the shortcomings of C and C++, which programmers had already developed by 1995.
One more fact you should know about Java is that it’s a statically typed language. In other words, you have to decide what a variable will contain before you declare it.
That’s a lot of programmer speak, but it’s okay if you don’t completely understand it. What’s important is that statically typed languages perform better than dynamically typed languages.
Java is also generally more stable than its alternative, Kotlin.
Kotlin
Kotlin is a much younger programming language. It was released in 2011, and it was designed to run on the Java virtual machine (JVM).
It’s basically a more concise version of Java. It takes the Java language and streamlines it. There’s less repetition in Kotlin than there is in Java.
Kotlin is excellent for multiplatform development. If you envision developing an Android app that might move to iOS at some point, Kotlin is definitely the way to go.
Additionally, Kotlin makes it fairly simple to take mobile projects and turn them into web applications. If you want an app that can communicate well with a website, you might want to consider Kotlin.
Recently, developers have written most Android apps using the Kotlin language. In 2019, Google announced that Kotlin is its preferred language for the development of Android apps.
So which one should you use, Java or Kotlin?
It’s important not to overemphasize the differences between Java and Kotlin. After all, Kotlin is designed to work on the JVM, meaning that it’s supposed to be interoperable with Java code.
In other words, Kotlin is generally compatible with Java. The differences are important, but they aren’t as important as you might expect.
That being said, Java tends to be better for programming large systems. For example, it would be better to hire Java developers to code programs like Netflix and Apple TV.
On the other hand, Kotlin tends to be better for smaller Android apps like Pinterest and Evernote. That’s why Google prefers it for app development. That means it’s better to hire Kotlin developers for smaller apps.
Java or Kotlin?
Java has been around for longer, so it’s a little more established. If a developer runs into a problem with Java code, there’s probably someone else who’s faced the same problem and solved it before.
Still, the community surrounding Kotlin has grown rapidly, and it is continuously expanding. Every year, Kotlin is becoming more and more popular.
That means that the fact that Kotlin is a younger language doesn’t need to be a deterrent, especially since most apps on Google Play are developed with Kotlin.
The good news is that the tech stack at Appvales includes both Java and Kotlin, so you can pick whichever one is best for your vision.
Remember that it’s important to have flexibility. When you come up with the vision for your app, you may not know whether Java or Kotlin is the best choice for your project. That’s okay.
If you hire a successful mobile app development agency like Appvales, their experts will be able to tell you whether you should code your app in Java or Kotlin. That kind of expertise saves you time and prevents costly mistakes.
Android Developers Salaries in Different Countries
When finding an Android app developer, you should consider outsourcing your app development to different countries.
For example, Android app developers in Ukraine, on average, earn a salary of 451,515 UAH per year. That converts to approximately $16,500 in U.S. dollars.
Compare that to the average yearly salary of Android app developers in the United States. According to Glassdoor, Android developers in the United States make an average of approximately $97,400 every year.
When you do the math, it turns out that outsourcing your Android app development to Ukraine could save you about $80,900 every year—per developer!
This isn’t just true of developers in the United States. Android developers in Germany, for example, make about €58,700 per year, which converts to about $71,200.
By hiring Android app developers from Ukraine instead of Germany, you could still end up saving approximately $54,700 per developer.
Let’s look at one more example. According to Indeed, in the UK Android app developers make an average of £53,351 per year.
In U.S. dollars, that’s just about $64,700. That means that if you hire app developers from Ukraine, not from the UK, you just might save up to $48,200 per developer.
Consider Appvales
As a Ukraine-based company, Appvales has many Android app developers available who are ready to develop your Android app at the lowest price possible.
The best thing about outsourcing your app development to a Ukrainian source is that it offsets the extra costs of hiring a mobile app development agency instead of a freelance developer.
If you’re going to hire a mobile app development agency, it’s generally going to cost more than hiring a team of freelance developers.
But if you decide to hire a Ukraine-based company like Appvales, you may end up spending even less than if you hired a team of freelance app developers based in the United States. That’s a pretty good deal.
Build Android App With Our App Development Boutique
Now that you’ve looked at all the options to hire Android app developers, why not check out what Appvales has to offer in terms of quality products, clean design, and cost-effective development?
Appvales has multiple success stories of the apps they have designed, developed, and released on the Android market.
For example, an Appvales team developed Finderscope, an app that makes it easier to see the reviews and comments of readers while you’re purchasing books.
Appvales also developed MateMatikTutor, an app that helps its users to learn and improve at math. It tracks the progress of its users. This makes it easier to stay motivated while learning math.
The team that created the MateMatikTutor app used React Native, Firebase, Redux, and WebView in the development process. This app is an example of success with the Appvales team.
Docomondo is another successful app that an Appvales team designed. It uses the React Native, Firebase, and Fastlane technologies. The purpose of the app is to organize files, schedules, and paperwork.
The app makes it easy to import files, and then the app does the hard work of organizing those files.
One last example of a successfully developed Appvales project is Joe Doe, an app that’s designed to manage the contacts on your phone. The app makes it easy to network and keep track of your contacts.
If you want to hire Android developers that know how to get the job done, Appvales has a proven track record of designing quality apps at a reasonable price. So why not give it a try?
It only takes five minutes to fill out the contact form. Let’s build something amazing.
