The short answer
- Choose outsource when you need a finished product and do not have, or do not want, an engineering manager in-house.
- Choose outstaff when you already run a product team and need more hands inside your own process.
Outsource: you own the goal, we run the delivery
We assemble a cross-functional team - project manager, designers, developers, QA, DevOps - and take the project from discovery to release. You approve scope and priorities. We plan sprints, manage people and show a working demo every two weeks.
It fits when the product is new, or a clearly bounded part of it can be handed over; when you want one contract and one accountable team; when there is no CTO on your side, or your CTO should stay on strategy.
Commercially it runs as a fixed scope when requirements are stable, or as time and materials when they will move. The estimate is free, and on outsourced development and staff augmentation there is no upfront payment.
Outstaff: you run the delivery, we supply the people
Our engineers join your team, your tools and your rituals. They report to your lead, commit to your repository and attend your stand-ups. We handle hiring, payroll and equipment; a dedicated account manager watches workload and quality.
It fits when you already have a working process and a technical lead, when the bottleneck is capacity rather than direction, or when you need a skill for months, not years - mobile, DevOps, machine learning. If a person is not a fit in the first week, we replace them at no cost.
Four questions that decide it
- Who writes the tickets today? If nobody does, start with outsource.
- Who answers technical questions at 10 a.m.? If it is your lead, outstaff will work.
- Is it a product or a team? A product with a deadline leans to outsource; a roadmap that never ends leans to outstaff.
- How much management time do you have? Outstaff needs your lead every day; outsource needs you at a demo every two weeks.
Mixed setups are normal
Many clients start with outsource for an MVP and move part of the team to outstaff after they hire a CTO. Others keep their core team and outsource a separate track - a mobile app, an AI feature, an internal tool. The contract can change as the company changes.
Next step
Tell us what you are building and who is on your side today. On a short call we suggest a model, a team shape and a rough budget - free, before any contract.