Folowise vs a development agency
An agency sells you a closed-scope project behind a custom quote and leaves at handover. We sell you employed engineers who stay inside your team, at a price visible before any call. The difference is not quality, it is what you own a year later.
| Criterion | Folowise | A development agency |
|---|---|---|
| What you actually buy | A seat or a whole team at a visible monthly price | A closed project or a team behind a custom quote |
| Who is the legal employer | We are, on a formal Jordanian contract with social security | Usually the agency; details vary |
| Price visible before any callMost agencies sell quote-only. Marketplaces show an hourly rate per individual, not per team. | Yes | No |
| Team composition and price published togetherIn our market survey, no vendor we checked published both together. This is the gap the catalogue is built around. | Yes | Partly |
| If the person does not work out | Replacement with no invoice for the vacant seat, in any month | Per the contract; read it carefully |
| Realistic time to start | A shortlist in 5 days, a start in 3 to 6 weeks | Weeks for the quote before any work |
| Who runs the day to day | You, or we do on a managed team. Your choice | The agency, with limited visibility for you |
| Where our model can go wrongEvery model has a place it fails; it is only fair we write ours down too. | Our network is smaller than a global marketplace, and some roles are recruited rather than on the bench | - |
Plainly
When the other option is the right one
FAQ
What usually gets asked after this table
01How is this different from ordinary outsourcing?
The practical difference: an outsourcing firm sells you a fixed-scope project and leaves at handover. We sell you ongoing engineering capacity that stays inside your team, assessed by engineers who actually build software at Folowise. The second difference: we tell you when we are not a fit. Read the "do not pick this" box on every engagement model page.
02Who employs the engineer? Who pays them?
Folowise employs them in Jordan on a formal employment contract, and pays salary, social security and applicable taxes. You pay Folowise one monthly invoice. There is no direct contractual relationship between you and the engineer, which is what protects you from worker-classification exposure.
03What happens if the engineer leaves?
We start the replacement search immediately at our cost, and we do not bill you for an empty seat. We commit to a replacement shortlist within 10 working days, and to covering knowledge transfer from the departing engineer during their notice period. What we cannot commit to is that a replacement arrives just as fast for a rare role. We will tell you the truth on day one, not in week four.
04What if the engineer is not the right fit?
Within the first 30 days: tell us, and we replace at no additional fee and with no notice period charged to you. After that, a standard 30 day notice applies. We ask one thing in return: tell us in week two if it feels wrong, not in month three. Most mismatches are fixable when raised early.
Other comparisons
And the other two options
- 01Folowise vs freelance marketplacesPick the marketplace if you need under 40 hours a month, a two week task that never comes back, or a skill so rare our network does not cover it. We will tell you that on the first call.
- 02Folowise vs hiring locallyHire locally if the role is the technical heart of your company, if your procurement requires SOC 2 today, if full US West Coast overlap is non-negotiable, or if you need seats that count toward a nationalisation quota. Read the timezone page before you decide.
Next step
Tell us what you are trying to ship
Not the headcount. Tell us the product, the date, and what team you have today, and we will propose the shape. If we think what you need is not more engineers, we will say so on the first call.
Typical response within one business day · everything you share is treated as confidential