In-House vs Outsourcing Software Development
Scrums.com vs In-House: Deploy a team in 21 days, not 3 to 6 months
Summary
An in-house team gives you full control, but hiring takes 3 to 6 months and costs are fixed. Scrums.com is the enterprise AI platform for software engineering. It deploys a team from 10,000+ vetted engineers in 21 days. You can change the team size each month.
Scrums.com vs In-House development: side-by-side comparison
| Criterion | Scrums.com | In-House |
|---|---|---|
| Cost structure | Published tiered pricing across three plans, with no salaries, benefits, equipment costs, or management overhead. Pay for active engineering time. | Full-time developer salaries average $100,000 to $170,000/yr in the US, plus benefits, equipment, and management overhead. |
| Time to start delivering | Full team onboarded and contributing in 21 days. 3x faster than the industry average. | Hiring typically takes 3 to 6 months. Onboarding and ramp-up add another 1 to 3 months. |
| Scalability | Scale up or down monthly. No redundancy costs, no re-hiring cycles. | Scaling up requires hiring. Scaling down means redundancy, severance, and HR processes. |
| Talent access | 10,000+ AI-vetted engineers across Africa, covering web, mobile, DevOps, AI, QA, and platform engineering. | Limited to your local or regional hiring market. Niche specialisations are often unavailable or prohibitively expensive. |
| Delivery visibility | Engineering intelligence platform: real-time DORA metrics, SPACE metrics, sprint forecasting, and CI/CD integration. | Visibility depends on tooling you build or buy separately. Engineering analytics require additional investment. |
| Flexibility | Scale team size with one month's notice for scale-up, scale-down, or cancellation. No re-contracting required. | Fixed team composition. Skill gaps require new hires or separate contractors. |
| Management overhead | Teams come with project management included, integrated into your existing workflows from day one. | Full management overhead: performance reviews, HR, L&D, tooling procurement, and career progression. |
Key differences
Deploy a team in 21 days, not 3 to 6 months
To build in-house, you post roles, interview, hire and onboard. This takes 3 to 6 months at minimum, and often longer for senior or specialist roles. Scrums.com integrates your team in 21 days, without an HR process.
Engineering talent outside your local hiring market
In-house hiring limits you to your local market. Scrums.com gives access to 10,000+ AI-vetted engineers in Africa. They cover specialisations from DevOps and AI to QA and platform engineering.
Fixed costs vs on-demand capacity
An in-house developer in the US costs $100,000 to $170,000 per year before benefits and overhead. Scrums.com pricing is based on team composition and seniority. You can scale up, scale down or cancel with one month's notice, so you have no redundancy risk. See current rates.
When to choose Scrums.com over building in-house
An in-house team is a good fit when you can plan hiring months ahead and need long-term, fixed capacity. Scrums.com fits when you need to start sooner or change capacity each month.
Start in 21 days, not 3 to 6 months
An in-house team takes 3 to 6 months of hiring, plus onboarding. Scrums.com deploys an integrated engineering team in 21 days.
Pay for engineering time, not employment
An in-house developer in the US costs $100,000 to $170,000 per year before benefits and overhead. Scrums.com pricing is based on team composition and seniority. See current rates.
Scale without hiring or redundancy
In-house headcount stays fixed until you hire or let someone go. Scrums.com lets you change the team size each month to match your roadmap.
What it means by role
CTOs and VPs of Engineering
In-house teams give you control. They also bring fixed costs, slow hiring and the risk of skill gaps. Scrums.com can add to or replace in-house capacity with 10,000+ vetted engineers. Its delivery platform shows DORA and SPACE metrics in real time.
Engineering Managers
In-house teams are familiar and easy to communicate with. Scrums.com teams work in your workflow, use your tools and join your standups. The engineering intelligence platform gives delivery data without setup. You keep the same way of working without the hiring cycle.
Finance and Procurement Leaders
One in-house developer costs $100,000 to $170,000 per year in base salary. Benefits, equipment, office costs and HR overhead are extra. Scrums.com publishes its pricing in three tiers. You have no fixed headcount risk and no redundancy liability. See current rates.