Should you hire a developer, use a freelancer or pay a monthly retainer?

There is a point in a growing business when the website and the software stop being a project and become part of how the business runs. Customers book through them, staff work in them every day, and there's usually a list of things you would like them to do next.

That list often grows faster once a business has software of its own. Using something built around your work every day shows the people using it what else is possible, and the ideas for improvements tend to keep coming. That's a good sign, but someone has to build them.

It might look like this:

• A physiotherapy clinic has a new website, and now wants patients to see their appointments and exercises when they sign in.
• An architecture practice wants a private area where clients can see drawings and project updates.
• A training provider has replaced its spreadsheets with its own software, and keeps finding the next thing it should do.

At that point someone has to keep developing it. For a business of 5 to 20 people, there are three usual ways to arrange that: employ a developer, call on a freelancer when you need one, or pay a studio a fixed amount each month for a share of its time. Each can be the right choice.

A developer on your staff

Good at: being there. An employee learns the business closely, is in the room when decisions are made, and can fix something the same afternoon. If you have a steady flow of development work, enough to fill a full week every week, and one person can cover the skills it needs, this is often the best arrangement.

What to weigh:

• Cost. The average (mean) full-time salary in the UK was £48,512 a year in April 2025, and employer National Insurance and pension take that to about £56,000. Experienced developers are often paid more than the average.
• One set of skills. A single developer is rarely also a designer, a writer and a specialist in search. You may still need to bring in help for those.
• Cover. Holidays, illness and resignations leave gaps, and recruiting a replacement takes time.
• Management. Someone in the business has to set the priorities and judge the work, which can be hard if nobody else is technical.

A freelancer when you need one

Good at: flexibility. You pay for the work you ask for and nothing in between, which suits a business whose needs come in occasional bursts. A good freelancer can be excellent value.

What to weigh:

• Cost. The median day rate for a UK full-stack contractor is around £500.
• Availability. A busy freelancer may not be free when you need them, and an urgent job can wait behind someone else's.
• Starting again. Each new job may begin with time spent remembering how your system works, which you pay for.
• Less looking ahead. A freelancer usually works on what you ask for. Suggesting what to do next is not normally part of the arrangement.

A monthly retainer with a studio

Good at: steady progress, from people who know your business, on a budget you can plan for. You pay a fixed amount each month for a share of the studio's time, agree the priorities together, and work through them in order. The studio keeps a list of what could come next, so the work continues in months when you are too busy to think about it.

What to weigh:

• Cost. Studio development retainers commonly run from about €1,000 to €5,000 a month, depending on how much time is reserved.
• Not in the room. A studio is not part of your team in the way an employee is. Good communication and regular reviews matter.
• A minimum. Retainers usually have a starting term and a minimum monthly amount, so they suit work that will carry on for a while.
• Ownership. Check that what is built becomes yours as you pay for it, and that it runs on accounts in your name. Our post on what happens if your developer stops trading covers what to look for.

Which suits which business

These are rough guides rather than rules:

• A full week of work every week, and someone to manage it: an employee is likely to be the best value, as long as one person has the skills you need. If you also need design, writing or search, you may still have to bring in help, or need more than one hire.
• Occasional, well-defined jobs: a freelancer is often the simplest answer.
• More than occasional, less than full time, with a list of ideas that keeps growing: a retainer tends to fit. Many businesses of 5 to 20 people are in this position.

Many businesses use more than one. A retainer can sit beside a part-time employee, and a freelancer can help with a specialist job.

Questions to ask yourself

1. How many days of development work did you want done last month? And the month before?
2. Is there anyone in the business who could manage a developer day to day?
3. How much would it cost you if your website or software stopped for a week?
4. Do you want someone to suggest what to do next, or do you already know?

How our Skills Retainer works

Our Skills Retainer is a monthly subscription to our time and skills, from €2,000 or £1,700 a month. We agree the priorities with you, work down them each month and review them as the business changes. You can raise the budget for a larger piece of work, such as a new signed-in area, and bring it down again afterwards. It starts with three months, then runs month to month.

What we build becomes yours as each month is paid, on accounts in your name.

If you'd like to talk through which arrangement would suit your business, get in touch.