Startup hiring
The cheapest way to hire a good developer for a startup is to keep the proof and pay a hiring fee only if you hire. Arca.ph is a network of remote engineers from around the world. Your own AI agent, such as Grok, Claude, or ChatGPT, searches and sorts that network. On the marketplace, you pay a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay, and only if you hire. Done for you is 35% of first-year pay, charged once on hire. You hire and pay the developer directly. The bar stays up because you still order what the candidate shows us.
The cheapest way to hire a developer is the smallest bill that still shows you the work. A monthly markup keeps coming for as long as the developer stays. A recruiter fee can be due for the search. A one-time fee on hire is paid once, and only if you hire. That last bill is the cheap one, and it still leaves room for proof.
On the Arca.ph marketplace, profiles are free to view once you sign up and sign the Arca.ph Client Agreement. You pay for the tests you order. If you hire someone Arca.ph introduced, you pay a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay, charged only on hire. You hire and pay the developer directly. If the hire is not the right fit, there is a 3-month free replacement. See pricing.
A monthly markup is a different bill. How that markup compares with one fee is in Staffing agency markup rates: how to hire your developer directly. How much recruiters charge, and when that fee is due, is in How much do recruiters charge, and are recruiter fees worth it.
Skipping the tests is a different kind of cheap. It saves the test fee and hides whether the person can do the job. The hire who cannot ship still costs the startup the months of pay. This page keeps the tests in the path. You read what the candidate tells us for free, then you pay for what the candidate shows us on the people you might hire.
Hire developers for a startup when the team is small and the next person writes production code. Write the job short. Name the skills, the expected pay, and the working hours, including US time overlap. Your own AI agent searches the network and sorts who fits. You read what the candidate tells us. You order what the candidate shows us for the top few. You interview those people. You hire and pay the developer directly.
Expected pay is on the profile before you meet anyone. Use it to see who fits the budget the startup can hold. The cheapest way is the fee, and the proof. It is a weak filter to sort only by the lowest number and stop. A low number with no watched test is an unread resume with a price on it.
Done for you is the other way to hire developers for a startup. You bring the job. The Arca.ph team finds the people. Proctored English, cognitive and coding tests are included. The fee is 35% of first-year pay, charged once on hire. You still hire and pay the developer directly. There is a 3-month free replacement.
How much it costs to hire a software developer on this path is the pay, the tests you order, and one fee if you hire. This page does not quote a market salary. It uses one example so the fee has a base. The lines below are arithmetic on that example. They are not a survey of invoices.
The marketplace fee on this example is $5,400. Done for you on the same example is $12,600. Both are charged once, on hire. Neither comes back the next month. A monthly markup does. Read Staffing agency markup rates: how to hire your developer directly for that comparison.
A good developer, on this page, is someone whose proof matches the job. The free profile is the start. The watched tests are how the bar stays up while the hiring fee stays a one-time 15% of first-year pay.
What the candidate tells us is free after you sign up and sign the Arca.ph Client Agreement. It is expected pay, location, working hours and US time overlap, the resume, LinkedIn activity and recommendations, DevPost wins, published apps, and testimonials.
What the candidate shows us is paid. A real person watches each test. You can order proctored English, cognitive and coding tests with or without AI, the AI-build hackathon, the pair-programming Fire Drill, and recorded reference checks. See Proctored tests. Order them for the people you might hire. To see what to know before you hire, read Vetted software developers: what to know before you hire.
Hiring on Arca.ph is a short path. Skip reading every resume. Write the job, let your AI agent rank the network, then test and interview only the top few.
No AI agent? You can still read every profile and follow the same steps.
Already have a pile of applicants? Candidate screening: score every applicant, then test only the top few. To hire a developer fast, read How to hire a developer fast. To hire without a recruiter, read How to hire remote developers without a staffing agency or recruiter. To see what to know about a developer before you hire, read Vetted software developers: what to know before you hire. If your CTO quit and you still need engineers, read Fractional CTO: hire engineers fast when your CTO quits. To see the fee next to a monthly markup, read Staffing agency markup rates: how to hire your developer directly. To see how much recruiters charge, read How much do recruiters charge, and are recruiter fees worth it. To see how an assistant searches the network, read Searching for developers with your own AI assistant: how it works. To tell if a developer can code without AI, read How to tell if a developer can code without AI, and how AI interview cheating detection works.
This is free after you sign up and sign the Arca.ph Client Agreement. It is expected pay, location, working hours and US time overlap, the resume, LinkedIn activity and recommendations, DevPost wins, published apps, and testimonials.
This is paid. A real person watches. It is proctored English, cognitive and coding tests with or without AI, the AI-build hackathon, the pair-programming Fire Drill, and recorded reference checks. You pay for the tests you order.
On the marketplace, you search with your own AI agent. Profiles are free to view once you sign up and sign the Arca.ph Client Agreement. You pay for the tests you order. If you hire someone Arca.ph introduced, you pay a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay, charged only on hire. A developer paid $3,000 a month earns $36,000 a year, so the fee is $5,400, once. You hire and pay the developer directly. If the hire is not the right fit, there is a 3-month free replacement. See pricing and Staffing agency markup rates: how to hire your developer directly.
Done for you is the other way to hire an engineer. You bring the job. The Arca.ph team finds the people. Proctored English, cognitive and coding tests are included. The fee is 35% of first-year pay, charged once on hire. On the $3,000 example, that is $12,600, once. You still hire and pay the developer directly. There is a 3-month free replacement.
Create your account and start looking. Profiles are free to view once you sign up and sign the Arca.ph Client Agreement.
The cheapest way to hire a good developer is to keep the proof and pay a fee only if you hire. Your AI agent searches the Arca.ph network and ranks who fits. What the candidate tells us is free. You order watched tests for the top few. The marketplace fee is 15% of first-year pay, once, only if you hire.
Hire developers for a startup with a short job: the skills, the expected pay, and the US time overlap. Your own AI agent, such as Grok, Claude, or ChatGPT, searches the Arca.ph network and sorts who fits. You test and interview the top few. You pay a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay, only if you hire.
How much it costs to hire a software developer is the pay plus one fee. A developer paid $3,000 a month earns $36,000 a year. On the marketplace, 15% of first-year pay is $5,400, once, only if you hire. Done for you is 35% of first-year pay, charged once on hire. You hire and pay the developer directly.
You keep the bar by ordering proof before you hire. What the candidate tells us is free. What the candidate shows us is paid: proctored English, cognitive and coding tests with or without AI, the AI-build hackathon, the pair-programming Fire Drill, and recorded reference checks. A real person watches each test. You pay the hiring fee only if you hire.
What the candidate tells us is free. It is expected pay, location, working hours and US time overlap, the resume, LinkedIn activity and recommendations, DevPost wins, published apps, and testimonials. What the candidate shows us is paid. It is proctored English, cognitive and coding tests with or without AI, the AI-build hackathon, the pair-programming Fire Drill, and recorded reference checks.
On the marketplace, Arca.ph charges a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay, only if you hire someone it introduced. A developer paid $3,000 a month earns $36,000 a year, so the fee is $5,400, once. Done for you is 35% of first-year pay, charged once on hire. You hire and pay the developer directly. There is a 3-month free replacement.
Profiles are free to view once you sign up and sign the Arca.ph Client Agreement.