Gigster Review

All you need to know before hiring from Gigster, in one comprehensive Gigster review:

1. What is Gigster?

Gigster is a platform that helps companies develop their projects by hiring a team of developers. Their aim is to make it easy and convenient for any budding entrepreneur that wants to develop an app or a system to be able to hire a company and have their product delivered.

Gigster is known to utilize AI in its process of matching developers and designers to prospective clients based on their own experience and expertise.

Gigster claims that their talent comprises A-list freelance developers and designers hailing from some of the biggest ivy league universities with experience working for the largest tech companies in the biz.

They operate an invite-only network of freelancers and ensure that their output will guarantee a successful outcome due to the expertise of their talent.

 

2. How does Gigster work?

In 2015 Gigster joined Y-Combinator, and that was the start of many things to come. With the goal of creating a software development agency that was convenient to use for the upcoming SaaS startups and large corporations that could not find quality full-time developing talent, Gigster made its mark as the go-to hub for hiring teams of developers.

 

3. Gigster’s business model

The Gigster working model is pretty self-explanatory. Gigster assists founders that have an idea for an app but does not require hiring full-time developers. They allow these founders to take on a team of Gigster devs who generally work for A-list companies on a freelance, per-project basis.

Once you have communicated your needs to Gigster they would produce a quote utilizing their AI-powered software and if you’re happy, you can begin the process of building. The dedicated development team that Gigster puts together for you comes with a project manager that can oversee the entire process as well as a designer.

Gigster will provide you with a project status dashboard that’s regularly updated so you are aware of its progress. If at any juncture you feel the need to communicate anything, the project manager is available to clarify any doubts and ensure they meet your deadline.

Once your project is completed, you are provided complete ownership of the project.

 

4. What are the pros and cons of using Gigster?

Pros:

• Top-quality talent – According to Gigster, all their talents are A-listers that work full-time for the biggest tech giants in the industry the likes of Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.
• Pre-vetted talent – Gigster claims to hire only the top 7% of their applicants with most of them hailing from the best tech schools such as MIT, Stanford, and Caltech. Even with these accolades, the talent still has to go through a screening process. Gigster’s hiring process entails an analysis of the applicant’s past work followed by an interview and a paid test to determine the quality of their code.
• AI technology – Gigster’s project quotes are determined by AI technology. Additionally, they utilize this system to match their talent to new projects.
• Provides an entire development team – Gigster is renowned for offering a team comprising of devs, designers, and project managers so that your entire project can be outsourced to them without you having the need to intervene to keep things going.
• Transparent processes – Gigster’s project dashboard allows their customers to always be updated on their project’s progress.

While these positives might seem like Gigster is a perfect choice, there are some potential drawbacks to using their service.

If you’re planning on signing up with Gigster these are factors that you may want to consider.

 

Cons:

• Only part-time devs available – While Gigster’s main strength is having access to the top talent employed at major tech firms, it is also seen as a weakness. This is because they all work for Gigster on a part-time basis. As a result, it’s been observed that most do not bring in the same level of passion for their side projects at Gigster.
• Talent may change mid-project – Due to the fact that all of Gigster’s talents are part-timers, there are instances where they quit mid-project and you have to wait till new people are assigned, which is not what you need when working on tight deadlines.
• You do not have managerial control – Since all of Gigster’s teams comprise of a project manager that oversees the entire process, it is not the place for you if you would like to have some managerial control.
• Design is not their strong suit – While you have a designer on board your team that delivers a polished UI for your app, it has been noted that Gigster is not the best out there for design elements. If you wish to have a high-end look and finish for your application, you may have to hire a third-party design team at an additional cost to get things done.
• Inaccuracy of project estimation – while depending on AI for a project cost estimation appears as a benefit, if insufficient information is fed into the system, you may not receive an accurate cost. This tends to happen often in the case of highly customized projects where it is difficult to set an estimation due to non-existing data points.
• No free trial – Unlike most other Gigster alternatives, you do not receive a free trial period with Gigster to determine if you want to continue with them.

5. Gigster pricing

Due to the exceptional talent Gigster has onboard and the comprehensive service they provide for the entirety of the project development, Gigster prices themselves on the higher end of the scale.

Their minimum charge is priced at $52,000 per project but it often goes above that based on the customizations that you require.

If what you have in mind is a small development project, it’s doubtful that you find Gigster’s rates reasonable.

 

6. Is Gigster the right fit for you?

Gigster stands out in the freelance talent company space due to its unique offering where teams of devs are allocated on a per-project basis.

The fully comprehensive package they offer includes development, design, and project management which enables their customers to free themselves from the tedious tasks of vetting and hiring their own talent.

If you have an extensive project that requires only the top talent in the market and you are happy to bear the cost of Gigster, it is worth looking into.

However, do keep in mind that Gigster is not your only option for this level of premium dev services, as there are plenty of other more reasonable platforms to hire your freelance tech talent.

 

7. Gigster alternatives to hiring developers

If you don’t belong to the above category of firms with big budgets, and you do not require a fully outsourced project developed without your involvement, there are other alternatives you can consider.

Visit our page on Gigster alternatives for a more in-depth and detailed overview of Gigster’s eight closest competitors in the market today.

To break it down, here’s a bit of insight:

If you require the same standard of services as Gigster at a lower cost, you should check out CloudDevs

If you want the cheapest option and do not quite care about the quality and the expertise of talent, go with Upwork

If you need to make a fast hire and you do not want to waste time having to interview and screen talent yourself, go with CloudDevs

If you wish to find developers from your own timezone, your best bet is, once again, CloudDevs!

 

8. Gigster Competitor Comparison

 

9. A brief summary of our review of Gigster

In the following infographic, we have laid out all the key takeaways from this article for your easy reference: