Dedicated Joget Teams vs Freelancers: Which Is Right for You?

Choosing the right development model for your Joget-powered application is one of the most critical decisions for your project’s success.

Should you hire a dedicated Joget development team or go with freelancers?

This choice influences everything from speed and cost to security, compliance, and long-term scalability. In this guide, we break down both options to help you make a strategic, future-proof decision.

Why This Decision Matters

Your decision impacts more than project timelines; it shapes your ROI, business agility, and growth potential.

A Poor Choice Can Lead To:

• Missed deadlines due to limited resources or a lack of coordination.
• Compliance risks in regulated industries, such as healthcare, finance, and insurance.
• Higher long-term costs from rework or rebuilding poorly documented workflows.

A Smart Choice Ensures:

• Faster time-to-market for Joget applications.
• Consistent quality and reliable compliance with security standards.
• Better long-term ROI with workflows that scale as your business grows.

This isn’t just a technical decision; it’s a strategic business move that decides whether Joget becomes a short-term fix or a long-term competitive advantage.

Dedicated Joget Teams: What They Offer

A dedicated Joget team is typically a full-service unit from a certified Joget partner, such as Relinns Technologies, offering certified developers, solution architects, QA engineers, UI/UX designers, and project managers.

Key Advantages:

• Deep Expertise: Skilled in Joget’s Process Builder, API Connector, dashboards, SLA workflows, and compliance-driven automation.
• Structured Delivery: Follow agile methodologies with milestone-based planning and SLA accountability.
• Scalable Resources: Easily add or remove team members as the project evolves or changes.
• Compliance-Ready: Equipped to meet regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, AML/KYC, critical for sensitive data workflows.
• End-to-End Support: Offer post-launch maintenance, bug fixes, optimization, and performance upgrades.

Best Fit For:

• Enterprise-grade projects with complex workflows or multiple integrations.
• Applications where compliance, security, and scaling are non-negotiable.

Example:
A healthcare startup partnered with a dedicated Joget team to build a patient intake and claims system. The team integrated Joget with the client’s EHR, implemented SLA alerts for urgent requests, and ensured HIPAA compliance.

Outcome: Reduced patient wait times by 30% and improved claims processing speed.

Freelancers: What They Offer

Freelancers are independent professionals who work on short-term Joget tasks or smaller projects.

Advantages of Freelancers:

• Lower Initial Costs: Flexible hourly or project-based pricing is ideal for startups.
• Quick Hiring: Easier to engage for urgent fixes or minor customizations.
• Niche Skills: Some freelancers specialize in specific Joget areas such as form creation, dashboards, or custom plugins.

Limitations of Freelancers:

• Limited Bandwidth: A single freelancer may be unable to handle large-scale projects or multiple modules.
• Scalability Challenges: Scaling the project becomes increasingly challenging as it expands.
• Security Risks: Often lack knowledge of compliance frameworks, such as HIPAA or GDPR.
• Minimal Post-Launch Support: Usually not available for ongoing optimization or urgent troubleshooting.

Best Fit For:

• Simple, low-risk workflows, such as adding a form or dashboard widget.
• Short-term projects or small-scale app enhancements.

Example:
An SMB hired a freelancer for a basic invoice approval workflow. While initially affordable, scaling later required rebuilding due to a lack of compliance and poor documentation, ultimately increasing costs by 40%.

Suggested Reading: Joget’s Role in Automating SMB Workflows Efficiently

Key Comparison: Dedicated Teams vs Freelancers

How to Decide Which Is Right for You?

Choosing between a dedicated Joget team and freelancers requires looking beyond cost. Your decision should consider the project scope, risk tolerance, compliance requirements, and growth plans. Here’s a detailed guide:

1. Assess Project Scope and Complexity

• If your project involves multiple workflows, cross-departmental processes, integrations with CRMs/ERPs, or SLA tracking, a dedicated team is the safer choice.
• A freelancer might suffice for small-scale, one-off projects, such as fixing a bug, building a single dashboard, or adding a new form to an existing app.

Example:
A logistics SMB building a full order-tracking app integrated with its warehouse ERP chose a dedicated team for its ability to coordinate multiple modules, ensuring deadlines and scalability.

2. Consider Compliance Requirements

• For regulated industries, such as finance, healthcare, and insurance, compliance isn’t optional. You’ll need a partner that understands audit trails, data security, and SLA-based reporting.
• Dedicated teams usually have compliance-ready frameworks, while freelancers may lack this expertise.

Tip: If you handle sensitive customer data or financial transactions, prioritize dedicated teams to minimize the risk of regulatory penalties or rework.

3. Weigh Budget vs Long-Term ROI

• Freelancers often have lower upfront costs, which makes them appealing for startups or one-time fixes.
• Dedicated teams, though costlier upfront, offer better ROI due to quality, reduced downtime, fewer errors, and scalable workflows that don’t require constant rebuilding.

Scenario:
A small business that initially hired a freelancer for an invoice approval workflow saved money at first but had to rebuild it for compliance later, spending 40% more overall.

4. Evaluate Time-to-Market Pressures

• If you’re racing against deadlines, for example, launching a customer-facing portal or meeting compliance deadlines, a dedicated team’s coordinated resources can cut delivery time by 30–50%.
• Freelancers juggling multiple clients may struggle to meet aggressive timelines.

5. Factor in Post-Launch Support and Scalability

• Dedicated teams often offer SLA-backed maintenance plans, upgrades, and optimization to keep apps running smoothly.
• Freelancers may not be available for urgent fixes or future scaling.

Insight:
If your workflow is expected to evolve, e.g., by adding AI integrations, analytics dashboards, or compliance modules, a dedicated team ensures continuity and cost efficiency.

Suggested Reading: Joget App Center for Teams: Streamline Work & Communication

6. Align with Your Growth Strategy

Think long-term: Will your business need new workflows, integrations, or multi-branch scaling in the next 12–24 months? If yes, start with a team that can grow alongside your business.

Best Practices for Choosing Your Development Model

Selecting the right development model requires more than comparing hourly rates. Follow these practical steps to make a wise, future-proof choice:

1. Define Goals and Long-Term Vision

Start by outlining:

• Immediate workflows you need to automate.
• Compliance or regulatory requirements.
• Long-term roadmap for scaling, integrations, or custom apps.

This clarity helps you determine whether your needs are short-term (for freelancers) or strategic and long-term (for a dedicated team).

2. Assess Technical Expertise Thoroughly

• Review Joget certifications, portfolio samples, and client testimonials.
• Request case studies from your industry to assess your problem-solving ability.
• Dedicated teams often bring cross-functional expertise, including developers, architects, QA, and project managers, while freelancers may focus on just one area.

3. Evaluate Communication and Collaboration Skills

• Effective collaboration is critical for smooth delivery.
• Dedicated teams usually assign project managers, use Agile/Scrum tools, and provide weekly or biweekly updates.
• Freelancers often lack structured reporting processes, which can result in delays and misunderstandings.

4. Prioritize Compliance and Security Readiness

• For industries such as healthcare or finance, confirm that your partner can handle role-based permissions, audit trails, and SLA dashboards.
• Dedicated teams often have predefined compliance protocols to save time during audits and reduce risk.

5. Review Post-Launch Support Policies

• Ensure your partner provides maintenance packages, bug fixes, and upgrades.
• Dedicated teams typically include SLA-based support, ensuring reliability, whereas freelancers often work on a project-by-project basis.

6. Consider Cultural Fit and Time Zone Alignment

• If your project requires daily communication, select partners whose time zones, communication styles, and work culture align with your expectations.
• Dedicated teams often offer overlapping work hours and flexible collaboration tools, which freelancers might not.

7. Start with a Pilot Project

• A pilot project helps assess the quality of work, communication efficiency, and ability to meet deadlines before committing to long-term contracts.
• This approach minimizes risks and builds trust on both sides.

8. Compare Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

• Don’t just compare hourly rates; evaluate costs for rework, downtime, security incidents, and long-term maintenance.
• Dedicated teams often have a higher upfront price but lower TCO due to quality assurance and fewer disruptions.

9. Plan for Scaling

• Select a model that won’t hinder your growth as your business expands.
• Dedicated teams can add more developers, integrate advanced features, and scale apps without major redesigns, while freelancers may lack capacity.

10. Look for Proven Processes and Tools

• Verify if the team utilizes Agile methodologies, project tracking tools (such as Jira or Trello), and automated testing tools.
• These practices improve transparency and reduce risks during development.

Why These Best Practices Matter?

By following these steps, you can:

• Minimize hidden costs and avoid delays.
• Ensure security and compliance from the start.
• Select a partner that aligns with your growth strategy and future needs.
• Build a foundation for faster time-to-market and higher ROI.

Real-World Example

A fintech SMB initially hired freelancers to build a Joget-based loan approval workflow to save costs.

While affordable upfront, the app:

• Failed compliance checks during audits.
• Lacked proper documentation, hindering future integrations.
• Had no ongoing support for updates or bug fixes.

The company later switched to a dedicated Joget team from Relinns, which:

• Redesigned the workflow to meet AML/KYC compliance standards.
• Integrated with CRM and third-party banking APIs.
• Reduced loan approval times by 40% while creating a scalable, secure foundation for growth.

Conclusion: Choosing What’s Best for Your Business

The choice between dedicated Joget teams and freelancers boils down to your project’s complexity, compliance requirements, and future scaling needs:

• Freelancers are best suited for short-term, straightforward projects with minimal compliance requirements.
• Dedicated Joget teams excel in enterprise-level applications that demand quality, security, and scalability.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Are dedicated teams more expensive than freelancers?

Yes, but they often provide better long-term ROI due to quality, scalability, and fewer rework costs.

Can freelancers handle compliance-heavy projects?

Rarely. Most freelancers lack expertise in handling HIPAA, GDPR, and SLA-bound workflows, making dedicated teams safer for such industries.

Which industries benefit most from dedicated teams?

Industries like finance, healthcare, insurance, and logistics require secure, audit-ready workflows.

Can I switch from freelancers to a dedicated team later?

Yes, but transitions often result in added costs and delays. Choosing right upfront saves time and money.

How fast can a dedicated team deliver Joget apps?

Dedicated teams often deliver 30–50% faster than freelancers, thanks to coordinated workflows and optimal resource availability.