Besides project scope – pricing varies significantly based on where your development team is located.

• In the U.S., hourly rates often range from $150–$250/hour
• In Eastern Europe (like Diligent), rates typically fall between €25–€100/hour — offering strong value without sacrificing quality
• Offshore options below €20/hour exist, but often come with trade-offs in expertise, communication, and long-term flexibility

Freelancers typically charge less per hour than agencies — often between €15–€50/hour, depending on expertise and region.

Software companies like Diligent usually fall between €25–€100/hour, but bring more structure, cross-functional teams, and delivery support.

Key trade-offs:

• Freelancers are ideal for simple tasks or small features
• Software teams are better for complex builds, scalability, strategy, and long-term reliability
• Software teams often provide project management, QA, and ongoing support as part of the engagement

If you’re building a serious product or platform, a software company gives you fewer coordination headaches and faster, more predictable results — even if the hourly rate is higher.

Offshore rates vary by region and expertise — but they remain a smart option for companies looking to balance cost with quality.

Typical ranges:

• India, Southeast Asia: €10–€30/hour
• Eastern Europe (Diligent’s region): €25–€100/hour
• Latin America: €30–€80/hour
• North America: €150–€250/hour

The key is not just the rate — but the value per hour.

At Diligent, you get senior-level engineers, modern delivery standards, and product-driven strategy — at a fraction of Silicon Valley pricing.

Serbia’s development rates are highly competitive within Eastern Europe — typically ranging from €25–€100/hour, depending on the team’s expertise and project complexity.

Compared to countries like Poland, Romania, or Ukraine:

• Poland often trends slightly higher (€35–€120/hour)
• Romania and Ukraine are generally in the same range as Serbia

Serbia offers strong engineering talent, high English fluency, and EU-adjacent time zones — making it a cost-effective and high-value option.

Rates in Serbia have remained relatively stable in early 2025, though senior talent is seeing a gradual rise in pricing due to increased global demand.

Diligent maintains competitive pricing by balancing senior leadership with efficient delivery teams, ensuring enterprise-quality work without bloated costs.

Compliance in industries like healthcare or finance can increase costs by 10–25%.

This includes:

This includes:

• Data encryption
• Role-based access
• Logging & audit trails
• Alignment with standards like HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2

These layers add planning, dev time, and testing complexity — which must be factored into your budget.

For regulated industries, 10–25% of the total budget may go toward compliance features and verification.

Off-the-shelf AI tools typically cost €5,000–€50,000/year, while custom AI projects for enterprise start at €60,000+.

• Off-the-shelf AI:

  Custom AI:

• Faster to deploy
  

  Higher investment

• Lower upfront cost
  

  Full integration with your data/workflows

• Limited flexibility
  

  More control, scalability, and IP ownership

If compliance, long-term scale, or unique logic matters — custom usually delivers better ROI.

Hidden costs usually come from poor planning, unclear scope, or technical debt that surfaces mid-project.

The most common unexpected expenses include:

• Scope creep — adding new features mid-build without adjusting timelines or budget
• Unclear integrations — underestimating effort needed to connect legacy systems or third-party tools
• Lack of testing — skipping QA upfront often leads to bug-fixing costs later
• Post-launch maintenance — many teams forget to budget for updates, hosting, and performance monitoring
• Team churn — if your provider isn’t stable, turnover can slow delivery and inflate costs

At Diligent, we minimize these risks with clear documentation, milestone-based planning, and transparent engagement models.

Start with a discovery phase — this helps define goals, map dependencies, identify risks, and align your team. From there:

1. Break the project into clear phases (e.g. prototype → core platform → integrations)
2. Use milestone-based pricing for each phase, with deliverables and timelines defined
3. Build in contingency buffers (~10–15%) for unexpected scope shifts
4. Ensure technical discovery includes stakeholder input across departments
5. Establish regular checkpoints and budget reviews — especially before moving into new phases

At Diligent, we often begin with fixed-scope phases to give you pricing clarity, then expand as traction and complexity increase.