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Before we dive into the blog about how to hire a flutter developer, we would like to share a reason why we chose to write about flutter in the first hand instead of React Native. While both enjoy their dominant status over the other cross-platform mobile app development technologies like Ionic, Angular, Cordova, and others, between the two, flutter seems to have an edge in the competition and is becoming the first choice for any cross-platform mobile app development company over React Native. Both have their own pros and cons but, since it’s launch in March 2017, which is almost two years after React Native, it has been gaining huge strides not only among the developers but, in the Google search as well. Entrepreneurs, startup founders, and business owners who are not related to technology are also interested in developing their products on flutter.

Let’s compare the search interest data of both flutter and React Native.

As you might see, in the past 12 months itself, the gap of search interest between flutter and React Native is huge. Being into the mobile app development industry, we too have started receiving specific flutter relevant inquiries for a long time and, while developing the apps on flutter, we felt a need to lay out a complete guide on how to hire a flutter developer and a guide on the cost of hiring a flutter developer for our developer community and the readers who perhaps would want to choose flutter for their next app development project.

Who is a flutter app developer?

A flutter app developer is a programmer of apps who has expertise in developing mobile, web, and desktop applications using flutter, an open-source UI development kit [SDK] created by Google in direct competition with Meta’s [formerly Facebook] React Native. Being a flutter developer doesn’t only include writing lines of code. It is a more sophisticated technology which involves the developers/programmers performing various tasks in order to bring the idea to life in the form of a mobile app, a web app, or desktop app. A flutter developer’s responsibilities include:

- UI/UX design implementation

Ensuring a consistency in UI/UX across various screen sizes and devices, a flutter app developer’s job is to implement the designed UI and UX using flutter’s widgets and tools.

- State management

Using various state management libraries effectively manage the app’s state. Knowing what state management is a must for a flutter developer.

- API integration

A flutter developer must be aware of the process of integrating various third-party APIs in the apps to enable functions like payment processing, authentication, push notifications, and so on.

- Performance optimization

A flutter developer’s job is not just developing an app but, developing an app which ensures speed, agility, and intuitiveness in performance. Ensuring smooth animations and quick loading times are examples of performance optimization.

- App deployment

It is important for a flutter developer to be well-versed in deploying the written code onto various platforms and publish the apps on Google PlayStore and Apple AppStore.

Skills required in a flutter developer

Apart from being able to perform the aforementioned responsibilities, a flutter developer is required to possess certain skills to provide top-notch flutter app development. Let’s look into the skills you should be looking for while hiring a flutter app developer.

  • Cross-platform app development understanding

    The foremost skill required, irrespective of the technology, by any cross-platform app developer is knowledge of the core concepts of cross-platform app development, such as how the code can be reused while maintaining native performance.

  • Proficiency in Dart

    Dart is an OOP language used to create apps in flutter. It offers features list asynchronous programming, generics, and type safety.

  • UI/UX design principles

    A strong grasp of UI/UX design ensures the developer can create visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces.

  • Understanding of flutter’s framework

    Mastery of Flutter's widgets, including stateless and stateful widgets, allows developers to create rich user interfaces.

  • Mobile app architecture knowledge

    Understanding mobile app architecture is crucial for organizing the codebase effectively. Concepts like MVC (Model-View-Controller), MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel), or BLoC (Business Logic Component) patterns are commonly used in Flutter development.

  • State management

    Proper state management ensures that the app runs efficiently, is easy to debug, and maintains the desired user experience, especially in complex applications.

  • Familiarity of DevOps and CI/CD pipelines

    Implementing continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) pipelines, using tools like GitLab, Jenkins, or Bitrise, helps streamline the process of building, testing, and deploying Flutter applications.

These are some of the many skills a flutter developer must possess to ensure a quality flutter app development for the projects.

Cost of hiring a flutter developer - Country wise

Flutter developers can be hired from across the world. Whether you are planning to hire locally or offshore, with globalization, they are scattered everywhere, and you can get exceptional talent across the globe. While each country has its own laws on minimum wages, offshore hiring has become a viable option for many agencies and startups to hire flutter developers. Let’s dive into the costs the agencies would incur in the case of hiring flutter developers from various countries. This graph will give you an idea about the investment you would need to make if you want to hire a flutter developer.

Source:

https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Salaries/index.htm

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Both Vietnam and India can be considered as the best options to go with in terms of hiring a flutter developer offshore. Please note that these are the salaries of individuals and freelancers who work without any monitoring and assurance, unlike the mobile app development companies like Nimblechapps. You might not get the assurance of timely delivery. However, hiring a flutter app development company can cost around 28,000 USD per annum** with the assurance of a company and a dedicated product owner allocated.

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Hire Flutter Development Experts Today. Contact Nimblechapps to share your idea! **Contact us

Process of hiring a flutter developer

While there is no fixed process on how to hire a flutter developer from India, companies can take inspiration from a standard process which basically all the agencies follow before you set out to hire a flutter developer.

- Finalize a set of requirements

Before hiring a flutter developer from India, it is important to set the requirements, features, and concept of the application you are willing to develop. The developer may or may not possess the conceptual prowess to analyse the requirements for you unlike a company like Nimblechapps. So, make sure that your requirements are aligned in a way where you can explain the tasks to the developer and he/she can jump straightaway to work.

- Search for providers

Once the requirements are established, start searching for the providers. Decide whether you want to hire a freelancer or a flutter app development agency? Both have their pros and cons which you will need to evaluate before hiring. Take the help of online portals, social media channels, peer networks, and other modes. We will explore more about this in the last section of the blog.

- Shortlist the providers

After browsing through profiles, shortlist a handful of providers whom you would want to interview in detail. Prepare a list based on experience, portfolio, reviews, and the interviews you conduct. You can edit this list if required.

- Interview the providers

Always interview a flutter app development before hiring them. Don’t just go by their word. Assign test tasks, take video interviews, or meet in person if you can. Whether you are hiring a freelance developer or a flutter app development company like Nimblechapps, ensure that you do the due diligence before hiring as they would be sticking for a long term.

- Share the requirements

Post the interview, share your requirements in detail with the selected candidate. Explain them each function in detail and brainstorm to get their inputs based on their expertise and past working experience. Remember the goal is to make the product better.

- Discuss the payment terms

Perhaps the most important aspect of the entire process. Stay clear in communicating the payment terms. A lot of good associations and collaborations are dismantled due to the payment disputes. Typically, in the software development industry, 20% as initial upfront is a norm and the rest of the payments happen in milestones in case of a fixed cost project. For dedicated hire, it can vary based on the association and the client’s and the provider’s discussion.

- Sign the contract

In the interest of your idea, be adamant to sign an NDA, confidentiality, and IP contract. These will protect your idea until it’s developed. A company or freelancer who are reluctant to sign the contract, avoid engaging with them.

- Setup the project

Upon successful hire, set up communication channel, setup project in project management systems such as Asana, Trello, Basecamp. Explore some of the top project management systems used in software development industry.

Questions to ask a flutter developer before hiring

Based on the past experiences, we have consolidated a standard set of questions you should as to a flutter developer before hiring them to work on your project. These questions and the answers, if they are near to the answers mentioned here, then you are all good to hire the candidate or atleast shortlist the candidate. These questions will enable you to gauge the candidate’s knowledge about flutter as a technology.

QUESTIONS
IDEAL ANSWERS


What are packages and plugins in Flutter?
A package is a set of classes, interfaces, and sub-packages that allow users to create modular code that can be shared easily. Instead of starting from scratch, using packages can help construct applications fast. In Flutter, you may use a package to add new widgets or functionality to an app.
On the other hand, a plugin is a piece of software that enhances your app's functionality. Plugins play a crucial role in the Flutter ecosystem.


What are the limitations of Flutter?
Since Flutter is still a relatively new tool, it has some limitations. They are as follows:
  

    - The number of third-party libraries is very small

    - The release size of Flutter is larger than expected

    - Flutter requires to be used along with another OOP language, Dart which cannot compete with other OOP languages such as Java, C#

    - Due to Flutter’s limited complexity, mobile ad platforms do not support it

    - Flutter is still not used by a wide audience

  




What are keys and how do you use them?
A set of IDs for Widgets, Elements and SemanticsNodes make up the key class. Keys are responsible for preserving the state of widgets when they are updated inside the widget tree. Keys may also be used to modify and rearrange collections of widgets of the same type and defined states.


What are the different types of streams in Dart?
Streams provide an asynchronous sequence of data. Asynchronous programming uses the idea of streams. They refer to a program's asynchronous succession of data occurrences.

Single Subscription Streams****These streams convey events in chronological order.

Broadcast Streams****These broadcasts provide subscribers with information about upcoming events. Subscribers can instantly begin listening to events after subscribing to them.

What is pubspec.yaml file?
While creating a Flutter project, a particular type of file is always included at the top of the project. This file is known as the pubspec.yaml file, also called ‘pubspec’. This file contains information about a project's dependencies, such as packages and their versions, typefaces, and so on. It ensures that the package version is the same the next time you create the project. You can also place restrictions on the app. This project's configuration file will be used a lot while working with the Flutter project. This specification is written in YAML, a human-readable markup language.


Can you tell us the four main elements of Flutter?
The four main elements of Flutter are:


    - Flutter engine

    - Widgets

    - Design-specific widgets

    - Foundation Library






What does the acronym SDK stand for?
Software Development Kit is a set of software tools and programs provided by software and hardware vendors that developers can use to develop applications for specific platforms. An SDK helps developers easily integrate their apps with a vendor's services. SDKs can include APIs(Application Programming Interfaces), sample code, documentation, and other resources that help developers create software applications.


Can you tell us how many kinds of widgets there are in Flutter?
There are two main types of widgets in Flutter. These include:

StatelessWidget** - It does not have any state information. It is static throughout its lifecycle. Examples are Row, Text, Column, and Container.

StatefulWidget - It has state information. It contains two classes: the state object and the Widget. It is dynamic because it can change the inner data during the Widget's lifetime. Examples are Radio, Form, Checkbox, and TextField.

Who should you hire? - Flutter development

When you are willing to hire a flutter developer, there are lot many options available. Majorly you can go with either a freelancer or a flutter app development company who has the technical expertise in developing flutter applications. There are three forms of resources which you can hire.

- Freelance flutter developer

A freelance developer is an individual who is not affiliated with any firm and offers services as an independent consultant. You can hire this developer in a manner similar to how you would hire employees for your company. The developer could be either local or offshore. While freelance developers may charge lower rates, one of the main drawbacks is that they work independently, so their punctuality cannot always be guaranteed. Additionally, since they are not associated with any company, they do not have any legal obligations or commitments.

- In-house flutter developer or a development team

The second option is hiring an in-house developer or team within your company who works under your payroll. The advantage of this approach is that you have full control over their work. However, these resources can sometimes become a liability, as they may not contribute directly to the core business operations. Additionally, they incur ongoing costs, and the company must also manage legal and employment-related obligations.

- Flutter app development company

This is the most effective approach when you are starting Flutter app development for the first time. A Flutter app development company operates similarly to any other business you work with. Like freelancers or in-house teams, they offer Flutter app development services, but their key advantage lies in the professional ethics and industry-standard processes they follow. Once you sign a contract, they are legally obligated to deliver high-quality work. You also don’t need to worry about ongoing costs - simply agree on a fixed price and receive the service.

Where to hire a flutter developer from?

- Peer networks

Ask your friends, colleagues, or in your professional network whether anyone have used a flutter app development service in the past. This approach will definitely guarantee you an assurance because if any of your acquaintances has an experience of using someone, they would only recommend if they are good in that they do.

- Online job portals

During your discovery, you might have come across portals like fiverr, UpWork, freelancer.com, and many such job portals which boasts a large collection of the flutter app development providers. Create a job on such portals and let the interested candidates approach you with their proposals. Select the one which fits your requirements.

- Online directories

Browser through online directories like Clutch, GoodFirms, Designrush, and others. Flutter app development companies have their profiles created here where they share their detailed in depth. These directories also include the reviews and ratings from their past projects which will give an idea about the providers behaviour, expertise, temperament, and other aspects all of which are equally important while hiring a flutter developer.

- Hire Nimblechapps

If you feel Nimblechapps has the required skill of flutter development by the showcase of the knowledge in this blog, we would be glad to assist you with affordable yet quality development of your flutter app development idea. Contact us for a free consultation. Having served in various industries like healthcare, law, education, travel & tourism, and more we take a proactive and suggestive approach in the app development.

Final Thoughts

Flutter is relatively a new technology in the mobile app development space. It has been introduced as a direct rival of the much coveted and used react native technology which clearly is Google’s move to counter Meta’s react native. Flutter indeed has some added advantage over react native. Both are relevant in their areas of operations. Flutter vs React native has been an ongoing discussion since both the technologies where introduced two years apart from each other with react native coming first in 2015.

You already have made a good choice by choosing flutter as an option of developing your mobile app. Only thing to look into was how to hire a flutter developer, where to hire from, what questions to ask, how to hire a flutter developer, and other aspects. We hope that your questions were answered here.

Whether you hire a freelance flutter developer, an in-house team, or a flutter app development company, be sure to analyse and do the due diligence on their background, expertise, and reviews from the past.