Domain firstWe learn your workflow before we model itRegulated, operational, or high-volume — the constraints belong in the schema, not in a training doc.Talk about your domain
Plan smarterEstimate before you commitCost ranges, scope templates, and the questions we ask in discovery — free, no form.Open the cost calculator
Real conversationsTalk with a technical leadNo SDR, no discovery gauntlet. The person on the call is the one who scopes the build.Book a call
Accepting Q4 builds · 10-day start

Software development company
for the world of agentic AI

DEV.co builds custom software, web and mobile applications, SaaS platforms, and AI systems for companies that have outgrown the tools they can buy. Senior US engineers, a fixed scope and price agreed before the first commit, and a codebase that belongs to you on day one.

Fixed-price scopesYou own the codeUS-based senior team12+ years shipping

Software delivered for

PepsiGrouponStaplesSalesforceOracleMonumetricEmoovLAW.co

12+

Years building software

Founded 2013

390+

Projects shipped

Web, mobile, SaaS, AI

3M+

App downloads delivered

Across client apps

$1B+

Client revenue powered

Systems in production

100%

Code ownership to you

From the first commit

Software development services

Twelve disciplines, one accountable team

Most projects need more than one of these, and the seams between them are where outsourced builds usually fail. We staff the whole path — discovery through production support — so nothing falls into a gap between vendors.

Custom Software Development

Line-of-business systems modeled on how your company actually works, instead of the way an off-the-shelf tool assumes you do.

Web Application Development

Fast, accessible web apps in React, Next.js, Rails, and Django — server-rendered where it matters for SEO and speed.

Mobile App Development

Native iOS and Android, or one React Native codebase when the roadmap doesn't justify two. Store submission included.

SaaS Product Development

Multi-tenant architecture, billing, roles, and usage metering built in from the first sprint rather than retrofitted at Series A.

MVP Development

A narrow, genuinely usable first release in six to ten weeks — enough product to put in front of real users and learn something.

Enterprise Software Development

SSO, granular permissions, audit trails, and procurement-grade documentation for software that has to pass a security review.

API Development & Integration

REST and GraphQL APIs, webhook infrastructure, and the unglamorous integration work that makes two systems agree on the truth.

Cloud & DevOps Engineering

AWS, GCP, and Azure environments defined in Terraform, with CI/CD, staged rollouts, and alerting that reaches a human.

QA & Software Testing

Automated unit, integration, and end-to-end suites, plus load and regression testing, so a release stops being a gamble.

Legacy Modernization

Incremental migrations off aging stacks — route by route, table by table — while the old system keeps serving customers.

AI & Machine Learning

Agents, retrieval pipelines, and private LLM deployments wired into your existing data, with evaluation harnesses to prove they work.

Staff Augmentation

Senior engineers embedded in your team, your sprints, and your repo — with a defined ramp-off instead of an indefinite invoice.

Anatomy of a build

What you get is a system, not a screen

Clients talk to a gateway, the gateway talks to services that own the business rules, and those services own their data. Underneath sits the part nobody demos and everybody needs: pipelines, monitoring, infrastructure as code, and access control.

CLIENTSWeb appNext.js / ReactMobileiOS · AndroidPartner APIOAuth clientsInternal toolsOps consoleAI agentsMCP callersEDGEGatewayAuth · rate limitTLS · WAF · CDNAPPLICATION SERVICESDomain APIBusiness rulesWorkflow engineJobs · retries · queuesIntegration layerCRM · ERP · billingAI servicesRAG · agents · evaltyped contracts · versioned · testedSTATEPostgresSystem of recordObject storeFiles · exportsCache / queueRedis · SQSVector indexpgvectorWarehouseReportingPLATFORM — SHIPPED WITH EVERY BUILDCI/CDTest → build → deployObservabilityLogs · traces · alertsInfra as codeTerraformSecuritySSO · RBAC · audit
A reference build. Every box is something we scope, staff and hand over — the platform row ships with every engagement rather than arriving as a change order.

Custom software development

Built around your process, not a template

Every company reaches a point where the spreadsheet, the SaaS subscription, and the workaround stop adding up. Custom software is the answer when your competitive advantage lives in a process no vendor sells — or when four systems need to agree on one version of the truth and currently do not.

We start by modeling the workflow as it actually runs, including the exceptions people handle by hand. That model becomes the schema, the schema constrains the interface, and the interface is what your team lives in every day.

  • A data model that matches how your business is really structured
  • Integrations with the ERP, CRM, and billing systems you already run
  • Role-based access, audit logging, and exportable records by default
  • Documentation written for the engineer who inherits it, not for the invoice
Custom software development
scope.tsTypeScript · 22 lines
1// Discovery output — every field below is a decision,
2// not a default inherited from a template.
3import { assess, dataModel, fixedBid } from './discovery';
4
5export async function scopeProject(brief: Brief): Promise<Scope> {
6 const risks = await assess(brief.integrations, brief.compliance);
7 const model = dataModel(brief.workflow, { exceptions: true });
8 const weeks = estimate(model.entities, risks.count);
9
10 if (risks.severity === 'high') {
11 // Say it in week one, not in month four.
12 flag(brief.owner, 'scope-risk', risks.top(3));
13 }
14
15 return {
16 architecture: model.diagram,
17 increments: splitIntoSprints(model, { each: '2w' }),
18 timeline: { weeks, start: '10 business days' },
19 price: fixedBid(risks, weeks),
20 ownership: { code: 'client', infra: 'client' },
21 };
22}

How we work

A development process you can audit week by week

Software projects fail quietly, in the gap between a status report and reality. Ours is structured so that gap never opens: every two weeks there is a working build on a URL you can click.

WK 1–2DiscoveryScope, risks,architectureWK 2–4DesignFlows, UI,data modelWK 3–10BuildTwo-week incrementsWK 9–11HardenQA, load,securityWK 12LaunchCutover andrunbookONGOINGOperateSLA, iteration

01

Discovery

We map the workflow, the integrations, and the failure modes before anyone writes code. You get an architecture diagram, a risk list, and a fixed number — whether or not you hire us.

02

Design

Flows and interfaces are drawn against the real data model, so what gets approved in design is something engineering can actually build without renegotiating scope.

03

Build

Two-week increments, each ending in working software on a preview URL. You review the product, not a status deck, and priorities can change between increments.

04

Harden

Automated test coverage, load testing at expected peak, a dependency and security audit, and accessibility passes before anything touches production traffic.

05

Launch

Staged cutover with a rollback plan, a written runbook, and a handover session with whoever will own the system next — including full repo and infrastructure access.

06

Operate

Monitoring, patching, and a support SLA if you want one. If you'd rather run it yourself, we hand over the keys and stay available by the hour.

Engineering standards

Eight gates between written and deployed

AI writes a great deal of the code we ship, and that is a speed advantage we use deliberately. It is also why the path to production is strict: nothing merges on confidence alone.

Lint + typesUnit testsIntegrationE2ESecurity scanPreview envHuman reviewDeploy

Typed end to end

TypeScript on the frontend, typed contracts at every service boundary. A schema change that breaks a caller fails in CI, not in support.

Tested where it counts

Coverage concentrates on business logic and integration seams rather than chasing a percentage that flatters a dashboard.

Reviewed by a person

Every pull request has a human reviewer who can reject it. Automated checks gate the merge; they do not replace judgment.

Observable on day one

Structured logs, traces, and alerts ship with the first release, so the first production incident is diagnosable rather than mysterious.

Technology

A stack chosen for your problem, not our comfort

We are not a one-framework shop, but we are not indifferent either: the recommendation accounts for who will maintain the system after we leave and what your team already knows.

Frontend

TypeScriptReactNext.jsVueReact NativeSwiftKotlinTailwind

Backend

Node.jsPythonGoRuby on RailsDjangoLaravel.NETJava

Data

PostgreSQLMySQLMongoDBRedisSnowflakepgvectorElasticsearchKafka

Cloud & ops

AWSGCPAzureDockerKubernetesTerraformGitHub ActionsVercel

AI

ClaudeGPTLlamaLangGraphMCPPineconeQdrantPyTorch

Engagement models

Three ways to hire the team

The right structure depends on whether your scope is fixed, your roadmap is continuous, or your own team just needs depth for a stretch. All three are month-to-month commitments with no exit penalty.

Fixed-scope build

Fixed price, fixed date

Defined product, defined budget

You know what you need built. We scope it in discovery, quote a fixed price against that scope, and deliver it on a published timeline. Change requests are priced individually rather than absorbed silently.

  • Fixed price and date
  • Written acceptance criteria
  • Discovery credited to the build
  • Code and infrastructure yours at launch
Get a fixed quote

Embedded engineers

A defined stretch

In-house team that needs depth

Senior specialists dropped into your existing team for a defined stretch — a migration, a launch crunch, or a skill your team doesn't have and doesn't need permanently.

  • Individually interviewed
  • Ramps in under two weeks
  • Your process, not ours
  • Defined ramp-off
Request rates

How long each option takes to start

A single senior in-house engineer takes five to seven months to source, and still does not cover design, QA, or infrastructure. A pod covers all of it from the second week, and stops the month you say so.

Get a quote for your project
In-house team5–7 MONTHS TO HIRERecruit, onboard, then buildOffshore shopSTARTS IN 2 WEEKSRework tax, timezone lagDEV.co podSTARTS IN 10 DAYSSenior, US-hours overlap

Industries

Domains where the constraints are the hard part

The code is rarely the difficult bit. Understanding why an invoice can be voided but never deleted, or which fields a regulator expects to see, is what separates software that gets adopted from software that gets tolerated.

Financial Services

Ledgers, reconciliation, and reporting where the numbers have to tie out.

Healthcare

HIPAA-aligned systems, PHI handling, and EHR integration work.

eCommerce & Retail

Storefronts, inventory sync, and checkout that survives a traffic spike.

Legal

Matter management, document pipelines, and privileged-data controls.

Government

Procurement-ready builds with accessibility and audit requirements met.

Manufacturing

Shop-floor visibility, PLM, and systems that speak to old machines.

Logistics

Routing, tracking, and the EDI plumbing nobody advertises.

Education

Student systems, LMS integration, and district-scale rollouts.

Real Estate

Listing platforms, MLS feeds, and transaction workflow tools.

Agencies & Media

White-label development capacity under your brand and your contract.

Why DEV.co

What you are actually buying

Every software development company claims senior talent and on-time delivery. These are the six commitments we will put in a contract.

Senior engineers, not a bench

The people who scope your project are the people who build it. No handoff from a solutions architect to a team you never interviewed, and no junior developer learning your domain on your budget.

A fixed number before you commit

Discovery ends with an architecture, a timeline, and a price. If the scope changes, the number changes in writing — you will not find out about a budget overrun in month four.

You own everything

Source code, infrastructure, CI configuration, and documentation are yours from the first commit. Nothing is locked behind a proprietary framework or a license that expires when the relationship does.

Every change is reviewed

Pull requests get a human reviewer, an automated test suite, and a security scan. AI accelerates the writing; it does not get the last word on what reaches production.

We run our own software

DEV.co builds and operates its own products on the same stack we hand to clients. The architecture we recommend is the one we are on call for at two in the morning.

Weeks, not quarters

Most engagements start within ten business days of a signed scope. The first working increment is usually live on a preview URL inside three weeks.

Compare

DEV.co, an offshore shop, or hiring in-house

An honest read, including where the other two options win.

 DEV.coOffshore agencyIn-house hire
Time to start10 business days2–3 weeks5–7 months to hire
Hourly costMidLowestHighest once loaded
SenioritySenior onlyMixed, often rotatingWhoever you can land
Timezone overlapFull US business hours2–4 hours, typicallyFull
Handles ambiguityYes — discovery is the productNeeds a tight specYes, after ramp-up
Design, QA, DevOpsIncluded in the podUsually billed separatelySeparate hires
Best whenScope is fuzzy or regulatedSpec is airtight and stableThe system is your core IP

Questions

Hiring a software development company

The eight things every prospective client asks before a first call.

A software development company designs, builds, tests, deploys, and maintains software that a business cannot buy off the shelf. In practice that means discovery and requirements work, system architecture, UI and UX design, backend and frontend engineering, QA, cloud infrastructure, and ongoing support after launch.

The distinction that matters is depth. A freelancer writes code against a spec you supply. A full-cycle software development company like DEV.co owns the whole path — deciding what to build, proving it works, running it in production, and handing you a system your own team can maintain.

Bring us the problem, not the spec

Thirty minutes with an engineer who has built this before. You will leave with a technical direction and a realistic range — whether you hire DEV.co or not.