Most owners compare studios on price. The bigger decision is which way to pay at all, because each way changes who carries the risk when the scope turns out to be bigger than everyone thought. It always does.
Fixed price against a written scope
The studio writes down what will exist when the build is done, puts a number against it, and carries the risk of getting there. You pay in stages and know the total on day one.
Good at: a defined outcome with a start and an end.
Goes wrong when: the scope is thin. A vague scope with a fixed number means the studio either absorbs the overrun and cuts corners, or issues change orders for everything. And after launch, hosting, maintenance and every change are paid for separately.
Hourly against a rate
You pay for time. The rate is known; the total is not, and every change of mind costs more hours.
Good at: open ended work with a team you already trust, where you are comfortable steering week by week.
Goes wrong when: the buyer cannot judge progress. Hours are easy to bill and hard to audit. The number that matters is how many hours, and nobody can tell you that on day one.
A freelancer from a marketplace
You post a task, choose from bids, and manage the work yourself.
Good at: small, well specified tasks where you can judge the result yourself: a landing page, a script, a fix.
Goes wrong when: the task is really a system. A back office is not a task; it is a set of decisions about how your business runs. Ownership, hosting and documentation are rarely in the brief.
One monthly price, built and run for you
A studio builds the system around how your business runs and runs it every month: hosting, backups, monitoring and changes to what was built, in one price. This is how SamaStack works. From ₹9,999 to ₹49,999 a month plus GST for teams of up to 25, set by what you need and your team size. There is no setup fee, the exact price comes in writing within 48 hours, and you can cancel with one month's notice.
Good at: a business that will keep changing its software, and does not want a large payment up front or a separate bill for every change.
Goes wrong when: you want to own the code outright on day one and never change it. Then a one time build, or our own from day one offer, suits you better.
Three questions that decide it
- Will you change it after launch? If yes, a plan that includes changes usually costs less than paying per change.
- Do you want to own it, and when? Ownership has to be in the agreement whichever way you pay. Later, or from day one.
- Who will judge the work each week? Insist on a live link every week rather than a report, whichever model you choose.
If a packaged product or a freelancer would serve you better, the first call is where we say so. How the monthly plan works →
Your numbers
Get your exact price in 48 hours.
From ₹9,999 to ₹49,999 a month plus GST for teams of up to 25, set by what you need and your team size. Tell us what you run, and the exact number comes in writing.