Dedicated Engineering Talent
Hire Dedicated Developers in India
Dedicated developers in India, without the marketplace lottery.
The rate difference is real and so is the quality variance. Vetting is the entire job, and it is the part marketplaces leave to you.
Quick Answer
Updated October 26, 2026
What does it cost to hire a dedicated developer in India?
SoftwareCrafting charges ₹95-₹140 per hour for a mid-level engineer and ₹150-₹210 for a senior, or ₹15,000-₹22,000 and ₹24,000-₹34,000 per month on a dedicated seat. For comparison, across the Indian agency market, dedicated developers in India, working remotely as part of your team, cost ₹1,900-₹2,700 per hour mid-level and ₹2,700-₹3,800 per hour senior through an agency, roughly ₹2.2-3.2 lakh and ₹3.5-5 lakh per month. Independent freelancers quote lower - often ₹1,000-₹2,100 - but that rate excludes cover when they are unavailable, code review, and any recourse if the work is not what you expected. Which of those matters depends on how load-bearing the work is.
Our senior rate
₹150 - ₹210 / hour
India market senior rate
₹2,700 - ₹3,800
Contract
Monthly rolling, two weeks notice
Time to start
5 - 12 working days
Best for
- Teams that want senior engineers without a local hiring cycle
- Companies comfortable working asynchronously with defined overlap
- Products with a clear owner who can answer questions daily
Not best for
- Roles that genuinely require physical presence
- Teams with no written process, where remote work amplifies the gaps
- Work that cannot be shared outside a restricted network
SoftwareCrafting Rate Card
What we charge for dedicated developers
Rates rise with required overlap. Four hours is included; beyond that the engineer is working outside normal Indian hours and the rate reflects it.
| Level | Experience | Monthly (INR) | Hourly (INR) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level | 3-5 years | ₹15,000 - ₹22,000 | ₹95 - ₹140 | Feature delivery inside an existing codebase and review structure |
| Senior | 5-8 years | ₹24,000 - ₹34,000 | ₹150 - ₹210 | Owning a module end to end, setting patterns, reviewing others |
| Lead / architect | 8+ years | ₹34,000 - ₹45,000 | ₹210 - ₹280 | Architecture, delivery sequencing, and technical accountability |
Rates are for dedicated engagements with at least four hours of daily overlap with your working hours. Longer commitments reduce the rate; more overlap increases it.
Capability
What our dedicated developers actually do
- Written communication good enough that async work does not stall
- Working inside your repository, your standards, and your review process
- Self-direction - raising blockers early rather than waiting to be asked
- Documentation habits that make the work legible to your in-house team
- Availability committed in writing, including notice for leave
- Security practices for remote access: device standards, MFA, and least privilege
Working stack
We staff for the stack you already run wherever we can. Where we think a different choice would serve you better, we will say so once - with the reasoning - and then work in yours.
Common Engagements
What teams usually hire dedicated engineers for
Adding senior capacity quickly
A vetted engineer in your team within two weeks, versus a local hiring cycle that runs two to four months.
Covering a specific skill gap
Mobile, AI, or infrastructure expertise brought in for a defined period without a permanent headcount decision.
Extending your working day
Using the timezone difference deliberately, so work continues after your team logs off.
Trialling before committing
A one-month engagement to test the working relationship before scaling to a full pod.
Vetting
How we decide who is good enough to place
Vetting is the entire value of hiring through an agency rather than a marketplace. If we are not rejecting most applicants, we are not doing the job you are paying for.
Step 1
Technical interview
A senior engineer from our team runs the interview. Not a recruiter with a checklist, and not an automated coding test.
Step 2
Practical exercise
A task close to the work you are actually hiring for, reviewed the way we would review a pull request.
Step 3
Reference and delivery check
We ask what they shipped recently, who reviewed it, and what went wrong on it. The last question is the useful one.
Step 4
Fit call with you
You speak to the engineer before committing. If the fit is wrong at that point, nothing has been signed.
Comparison
An agency-vetted dedicated engineer vs a freelance marketplace
Marketplaces are cheaper per hour. The difference is who absorbs the risk when it does not work out.
With SoftwareCrafting
- Technical vetting done before you ever see a profile
- A replacement at our cost if the fit is wrong in the first two weeks
- Cover during illness and leave built into the engagement
- One contract, one invoice, and one point of accountability
Typical alternative
- Screening left entirely to you, on profiles you cannot verify
- No recourse beyond a platform dispute if the work is poor
- Delivery stopping without notice when the freelancer takes other work
- Separate contracts and payments per individual
Engagement Models
Four ways to work with us, and when each one fits
Dedicated seat
One engineer working full time inside your team, your repo, and your process. Monthly rolling, two weeks notice.
Ongoing roadmap work with no defined end date
Part-time seat
From roughly 20 hours a week. Below that, context reloading eats most of the value, and we will say so.
Specialist input alongside an existing team
Fixed-scope project
A defined deliverable at an agreed price. Only where scope is genuinely clear enough to fix without a change-request cycle.
Migrations, audits, and well-specified builds
Delivery pod
Three to four people including QA and a named delivery owner accountable for the sprint outcome.
Whole product areas you want owned end to end
What you get either way
- You interview the engineer before anything is signed
- Replacement at our cost if the fit is wrong in the first two weeks
- IP assignment and NDA signed before technical access is granted
- Code committed to your repository, under your organisation, from day one
- Monthly rolling contract - two weeks notice, no annual lock-in
Quick Brief
Start the conversation here
Tell us the role, the stack, and when you need someone. We will come back with availability and a rate.
Your Name
Work Email
What do you need help with?
FAQ
Questions buyers ask before hiring dedicated engineers
How much does it cost to hire a dedicated developer in India?
SoftwareCrafting charges ₹95-₹140 per hour for a mid-level engineer and ₹150-₹210 for a senior, or ₹15,000-₹22,000 and ₹24,000-₹34,000 per month on a dedicated seat. For comparison, across the Indian agency market, through an agency, ₹1,900-₹2,700 per hour for mid-level and ₹2,700-₹3,800 for senior. Independent freelancers on marketplaces quote ₹1,000-₹2,100, with correspondingly wider quality variance and no cover or recourse.
How do you vet developers?
A technical interview with a senior engineer, a practical exercise close to real work, and reference checks on recent delivery. We reject the large majority of applicants, which is the only reason the rate is worth paying over a marketplace.
What working hours will they keep?
At least four hours overlapping your working day, committed in the contract. Full overlap is available for UAE, Singapore, and Australia; for US Pacific it means the engineer works evenings in India and the rate reflects that.
How do you handle security and access?
NDA and IP assignment before access is granted, least-privilege credentials, MFA, and access revoked on the day an engagement ends. We can work within your device and VPN policy where you have one.
What if the developer is not a good fit?
Tell us within two weeks and we replace them at our cost, or you end the engagement paying only for days worked.
Do you offer part-time engagements?
Yes, from about 20 hours a week. Below that, focus fragments and the engineer spends most of their time re-loading context, so we usually recommend a short fixed-scope project instead.
Can I hire just one dedicated developer?
Yes. One senior engineer is a common starting point, and many teams grow to a small pod with QA and DevOps support once the working rhythm is proven.
Is a dedicated developer the same as staff augmentation?
The contract model is similar, but we stay accountable for delivery: code review, cover during leave, and replacement if the fit is wrong are part of the engagement, not your problem to solve.
Can dedicated developers work inside our tools and process?
Yes. They join your backlog, standups, repositories, and code review, and follow your definition of done. What we ask for in return is a named product owner who can answer questions daily.
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