Search for the best app development companies and you get endless "top 10" lists, most of them paid placements. A ranking cannot tell you which company is best for your app. This guide gives you the questions and checks we would use ourselves if we were hiring an app developer, so you can compare application development companies on what actually predicts a successful project.
What the best app development companies have in common
- Relevant, live work. Apps in the stores that you can download, ideally in your industry or with similar features.
- A discovery phase. They ask about your users, business model and integrations before they quote.
- Full-stack capability. Design, Android, iOS or cross-platform, back end, QA and DevOps in one team.
- Transparent process. Sprints, demos, a shared backlog and direct access to the people building your app.
- You own the code. Source code and IP are yours, in your repository, from day one.
- Support after launch. A clear plan for updates, monitoring and new OS versions.
Ten questions to ask before you sign
- Can I see three apps you built that are live today?Download them, check reviews and ask what part the company built.
- Who will work on my project?Names and roles of the project manager, developers and QA, not just the sales team.
- Native or cross-platform, and why?A good answer weighs performance, budget and your roadmap rather than pushing one tool.
- How do you estimate?Look for a feature-by-feature breakdown, not one round number.
- What is included?Design, back end, admin panel, testing, store submission and launch support.
- How do you handle changes?Change requests should be estimated and agreed before work starts.
- How do you test?Manual and automated testing on real devices, plus a staging environment you can try.
- Where is the code kept?In a repository you control, with regular commits you can see.
- What happens after launch?Warranty period, maintenance plans and response times.
- Can I talk to a client?A reference call is the fastest way to learn how a company behaves when things go wrong.
Red flags
- A fixed price before anyone has asked about your features
- No live apps you can download, or a portfolio of mock-ups only
- Reluctance to put code in your repository or sign an NDA
- One person who is salesperson, designer and developer at once
- No plan or price for maintenance
Comparing proposals fairly
Put the proposals side by side on the same feature list. Check that each one covers the back end and admin panel, testing and store launch, and compare the team, timeline and support terms, not only the price. The cheapest quote often leaves out the back end or testing, and the difference comes back later as change requests. Our mobile app development cost guide explains what a realistic budget looks like.
Where ACS fits
ACS has built mobile and web applications since 2002 for clients in 15+ countries, with delivery teams in Indore and Navi Mumbai and offices in Houston, London and Dubai. See our mobile app development company and the case studies we have delivered, and ask us any of the ten questions above.