
Ask HN: How much do React Native developers cost? - dmitryame
I need to build an in-house development team for a product which was originally built in ReactNative by a consultants firm. Can anyone share their experiences, how much a ReactNative developer can cost on average?
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chrisa
I'm a React and React Native consultant in Indianapolis. $100k for mid-level
is about right, but the cities you listed (New York, Boston, San Diego) push
that number to $125k+. I have some availability if you're interested in a
contractor, and if you don't want a contractor I'd be happy to help with any
advice I can (email is in my profile).

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pryelluw
Depends on where you are and what level of technical management skills you
have.

Quotes in this thread will come from places that push out apps based on
templates and without any sort of long term maintenance plan (thats why they
seem cheap). They will cost you more time and money over the short and long
run.

What are your technical management skills? People forget that cheap developers
tend to need to be managed a lot due to language barriers, time zone
differences, and other factors. When you hire a more expensive developer you
are also hiring someone who can manage the project (to a greater degree).
Freeing you from many headaches and time sinks.

Cost will be around 2500 to 4000 a week depending on their amount of
experience. More expensive hires are available but they have more demand and
do get to pick who they work with.

Have you ever built a software product?

If not, you should go with more experienced people that can manage themselves.

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imd23
It depends but I usually charge no less than 50$/ hour. That's if you want
someone who fully understands GraphQL, Redux, Sagas, Thunks, Generators,
Offline Persistence, etc

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Trundle
Fyi you're charging a lot less than I used to when doing contract work that
predominantly involved wordpress template brochure websites.

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karmajunkie
I'll second this. I routinely counsel clients to plan on spending 75/hr for a
junior to mid level developer if they want someone competent, 100-110/hr for
someone senior level, and 125-150/hr if they're trying to roll multiple skill
sets into a single contractor or firm.

The biggest mistake you can make as a contractor is underpricing yourself. Not
only does it hurt the market but you can find yourself in situations where you
can't work enough hours to cover taxes, downtime, benefits like health
insurance, much less a vacation. Then you start making mistakes like
overbooking yourself to make up the difference and do a crappy job with all of
your projects.

~~~
throwawaydbfif
When I was consulting we charged 125 an hour for any small jobs, like less
than two work weeks. The problem with small jobs is that the overhead from
meetings, paperwork, phone calls, design, server setup, etc is routinely more
than the time it takes to actually write the software.

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d0m
[https://angel.co/salaries](https://angel.co/salaries) is pretty useful to
answer those questions

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madebysquares
85-110k depending on location and experience

~~~
rvdm
This number sounds about right.

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desireco42
It is not that they cost much more then regular js devs, it is that their
skills fluctuate and it is hard to figure out who has them.

In a way, that is a problem with whole js ecosystem, but here is especially
pronounced.

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noidax
Hi I am currently living in Argentina, willing to do a remote job if you need.
I would expect something around 5.5k a month email me if you would be
interested. (jcdotinha14 at gmail dot com) I wouldn't mind working for free
for the first two weeks to show you my skills.

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herve76
To give you an example, at JSapp.me we can develop a react native MVP app
(includes real time social, geoloc, messaging, push notif) for $5000 within 3
weeks.

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werber
I opened your page (JSapp.me) and as I scroll down it starts jumping up and
down by ~200px uncontrollably. MacOS Beta, Chrome, here

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anandkulkarni
If you're open to remote staffers, you can get this done for $30-$50/hr. PM me
if you want referrals.

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thinkingkong
On average in what city? Do you want to oay average? How will you test their
skills?

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dmitryame
City wise, we have 3 options. Boston, New York or San Diego.

I guess the best test of their skills would be a referenceable experience. A
github portfolio or something.

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pryelluw
Those three locations will increase the cost by a fair amount. Id try hiring a
remote developer located in the US. Less expensive because they tend to live i
areas withower costs of living.

BTW, react native is something rather new. You wont find anyone outside of the
core group of react native developers who really knows it. You will probably
have to include some time for training.

~~~
madebysquares
I would suggest something similar. Looking for remote developers if possible
those are 3 of the highest salaries markets.

In terms of skill set. If you hire React developers they should do fairly well
in terms of development.

Unless of course your app will need a lot of customizing then you may need
someone who can understand and develop in objective-c/swift and/or Java.

~~~
pryelluw
Id say there is a higb likelyhood they will need someone witg react and native
expeirence.

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newbear
Looking for this role. Let me know.

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spoiledtechie
What location are you in?

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sebringj
React Native let's you build faster but it doesn't mean you should pay people
less. You'll just get shitty developers in the end. What it really means is
you can have a smaller team so you save on costs that way. IMO it is better to
have 2 great developers that work really well together than 10 crappy ones.

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pryelluw
Thats not implied in the OPs post.

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sebringj
It is implied in some people's minds as they read it as I've just written
this. It wasn't implied in yours so we have evidence the interpretation is
subjective.

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pryelluw
Thats called projecting. Seems you are used to dealing with cheapskates. That
sucks.

~~~
sebringj
Thanks for the education.

