Chetu is the strongest fit for a mid-size company that wants a large firm, because its site states that the client owns the source code and it serves organizations from small and mid-sized up to the Fortune 5000. Black Badger Software Solutions, the custom software firm that publishes this guide, ranks second and suits a company that wants a fixed written scope from a team based in the United States.
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Chetu
Best for mid-size companies that want a large US-headquartered firm
Chetu ranks first for mid-size buyers on the strength of what its site states. It is headquartered in Sunrise, Florida, lists over 2,800 developers, and says its clients run from small and mid-sized organizations to Fortune 5000 companies. Its about page says the client will own the source code and intellectual property, with no licensing fees on completion. That is a plain published statement on ownership, which a mid-size buyer should look for.
Watch for. No rates are published, and the engagement models named are dedicated teams, on-demand developers and staff augmentation. Ask which model your project would run under and where the team sits.
- Based in
- Sunrise, Florida, USA
- How it charges
- Rates not published
- Main limit
- Delivery centers in the US, the UK and India, and no published rates
2 Black Badger Software Solutions
Best for mid-size companies that want a fixed written scope and full ownership
Black Badger Software Solutions publishes this guide, so this is our own firm at number two. We are based in Clearwater, Florida, our team is in the United States, and we work mainly with companies of 50 or more employees. We build custom CRM, project management and operations systems, client portals and integrations. After discovery you get a fixed written scope, and at the end you own the code and every account. We are much smaller than the large firms on this list.
Watch for. We are not the right choice for a buyer who needs a bench of hundreds or wants to add developers to an in-house team. We build defined systems to a written scope.
- Based in
- Clearwater, Florida, United States
- How it charges
- One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
- Main limit
- Works mainly with companies of 50 or more employees
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
3 Intellectsoft
Best for buyers who want a mid-size firm with a Florida office
Intellectsoft ranks third. Its site calls the company mid-size by design, which is a reasonable match for a mid-size client that does not want to be the smallest account at a giant. It has offices in Miami and London and has served clients since 2007. The industries it lists include healthcare, fintech, insurance, retail, construction and logistics.
Watch for. The home page says its teams are across Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. If you need every engineer in one country, raise that at the first call.
- Based in
- Offices in Miami, Florida, USA and London, UK
- How it charges
- Quoted per project
- Main limit
- Teams sit across Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific
4 ScienceSoft
Best for healthcare, insurance and finance companies
ScienceSoft is fourth. It is based in McKinney, Texas, was founded in 1989 and states over 750 IT professionals, with healthcare, insurance and investment as its stated focus industries. A mid-size company in one of those fields gets an established firm that names its field as a focus. Its site says more than 90 percent of its development projects are priced on time and materials.
Watch for. A fixed price is offered but is the less common route there. If your budget has to be approved as one number, say so before scoping begins.
- Based in
- McKinney, Texas, USA
- How it charges
- Time and materials with a cap, or fixed price
- Main limit
- Time and materials is the usual model, and the site publishes no project rates
5 thoughtbot
Best for companies that want their own staff to learn as it is built
thoughtbot ranks fifth. It sells design, product management and engineering together and describes placing senior people alongside a client team, so it suits a mid-size company that wants its own staff to come out of the project knowing more. Its development list leads with Ruby on Rails, Hotwire, React and React Native, and delivery is fully remote.
Watch for. The pages we read do not state a pricing model or who owns the code. Ask both questions in writing, and check that your preferred stack is one they work in.
- Based in
- Not stated on its site, a fully remote team
- How it charges
- Quoted per project
- Main limit
- Fully remote teams, and a specialty in Ruby on Rails and React
6 10Pearls
Best for companies that want nearshore or offshore capacity
10Pearls ranks sixth. It was founded in 2004, states over 1,400 people and lists offices that include Washington DC. Nearshore and offshore development are sold as separate services, with offices in Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Pakistan among others. For a mid-size company it offers a larger bench than a small studio, and its process starts with a discovery call.
Watch for. No pricing page is linked from the site. Expect cost to come out of the discovery call, and ask which delivery location your team would be drawn from.
- Based in
- Not stated on its site, offices include Washington DC, USA
- How it charges
- Quoted per project
- Main limit
- Nearshore and offshore delivery from Latin America and Pakistan
7 Azumo
Best for buyers who want published tier pricing and a nearshore team
Azumo is seventh. It is based in San Francisco and is unusual on this list for publishing prices, set per Delivery Unit across Starter, Growth and Platform tiers. Its developers are in nearshore locations, mainly across South America, and the site says price and timeline are shared before work begins. It has been building apps since 2016.
Watch for. A Delivery Unit is the firm's own measure, so ask how many units a project like yours would use. The pricing page says nothing about who owns the code.
- Based in
- San Francisco, California, USA
- How it charges
- Per Delivery Unit, by tier, with a Custom tier
- Main limit
- Nearshore developers, mainly in South America, billed in Delivery Units
How this list was ranked
We ranked firms for a mid-size company, meaning roughly 50 to a few hundred employees, that wants one defined system built and not a permanent outsourced department. What a firm states on its own site counted most. That includes where it is based, how it prices, how it engages and whether it says who owns the code.
Every statement about a firm here comes from that firm's own website on the date shown in its entry. We make no judgment of the quality of anyone's work. Black Badger publishes this guide and is one of the ranked firms, which its entry says plainly.