​​How Much Does It Cost to Develop Software with Python?

Python is one of the most popular programming languages with a variety of libraries that fit a wide number of projects. It’s easy to use and read, it offers great productivity, there are many expert Python developers you can hire, and it is an open-source language. There are tons of reasons to use Python as the main programming language for your project, which begs the question of how much does Python software cost? To answer that question, we must look deeper into what Python is and what benefits it offers. 

It should be mentioned that Python is a rather old programming language as it was released back in 1991, but with all the updates, constant improvements, and all the new frameworks, it remains one of the most widely used and popular languages out there. Everybody knows about Python, even those who have little to no connection to the IT industry, and for a good reason: it is used extensively across the web by social media and networks like YouTube, Instagram, Reddit as well as many other services and companies like NASA, Pinterest, Spotify, Instagram, and many more. So, if some of the world’s largest and most innovative companies on the planet trust Python, you can trust it too.

So, if you plan to use Python as the basis for your software development project, you might also want to find out the cost of Python software, how much it would cost to hire skilled developers, and what the main factors contributing to the cost of the project as a whole are. As the experts who’ve been working with this programming language for 15 years delivering professional software development services to clients worldwide, we can help you figure all of those out. 

A Good Python Developer Skills

So, what kind of developer should you look for and how would it reflect on the cost of the project in the end? Well, the answer might seem simple at first, and you might think that it is enough to just look for the Python developers who have enough experience with the language and call it a day. The fact of the matter is that there are lots and lots of developers who are good with Python but it does not mean that any of those would fit your project. The problem here is that Python is rather simple to learn thanks to its relatively simple syntax, and there are lots of rookies out there who just learn the basics and proudly call themselves Pythonistas. That is exactly the kind of people you would want to avoid.

A real Python professional has to have extensive experience leveraging many Python frameworks such as Flask, Django, CherryPy, and many more. All of these have their specific applications as well as a license that approves their usability and security. Most of these frameworks are open-source, which reflects favorably on the overall Python development cost. So, you need a team of developers who have the relevant skills to leverage the capabilities of all the different frameworks to meet all the project objectives. Here’s a checklist you can use when choosing the right people for your project:

• Must have a solid understanding of basic Python concepts
• Has strong knowledge of Python web development frameworks such as Django
• Understands the Object-Oriented features in programming
• Can perform database integration
• Can use server-side languages to establish a robust performance
• Can develop web apps using Python

The best idea here is to hire a team of expert developers at a proven software development company. Here at Intersog, we offer you a talent pool of 250+ professional software developers who can get your project going fast. Thanks to our broad outreach, we can get you a whole team of developers in just a couple of weeks to kickstart your project and ensure continuous progress and tangible results. Partnering with a software development company that has a strong portfolio, a proven record of expertise, and a global talent pool is a good idea because that way you can just tell your partner what you need and they would get you a team of experts with relevant skills. 

The Cost of Hiring Python Developers

Considering how Python is a rather popular and sought-after language, the average hourly rates for the Pythonistas have grown by some 15% within the past couple of years. According to the information provided by Indeed, the average hourly rate of Python developers in the US is $51, which would also fluctuate back and forth depending on the individual developer’s expertise. This constitutes roughly $108,598 a year, which would also vary from state to state, so keep that in mind too. 

The cost of hiring people outside of the US is lower on average, which is why many companies outsource their projects to countries nearby and even to the countries on the opposite side of the globe. However, considering how sought-after the Pythonistas are these days, the average global salary stays around the same $50 per hour with some minor fluctuations across the board. So, the cost to hire a Python developer would differ slightly depending on where you hire and who you hire. Of course, you can pot on luck and try to hire developers really cheap and even find some at the measly price of some $15-20 per hour. However, such a low price often corresponds to the poor quality of coding, which is not what you want.

One of the main benefits of outsourcing your project is that you do not need to bother with all the administrative costs. Yes, there’s no need to pay sick leaves, days off, taxes, and bonuses to the outsourced developers – all of that is covered by your vendor who gives you the developers. Basically, your vendor covers most of the expenses associated with maintaining the staff. They pay the taxes, sick leaves, pay the office rent, bonuses, and all that – you just pay the hourly rate and that’s it. So, you can make some calculations right now: just take the average hourly rate for the developer, multiply by the number of developers you need, and by the approximate number of hours they are going to spend working on your project. Of course, calculating the project timeline is a tricky thing in its own right, but that way you can at least get an approximate figure on how much your project might end up costing you in the long run.

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Freelance vs. Dedicated Python Developers

The alternative place where you can find some decent Python developers are the freelance platforms, which might be a good option for when you need a single developer to augment your team or just a couple of developers at most. The prices here would range drastically from really cheap to some of the most expensive on the market depending on the freelancer’s rating and client reviews. 

The problem with freelancers is that they are generally less reliable than full-time employees you hire to work in-house or outsourced developers who work for custom software development companies. The latter can guarantee some stability, they employ the developers on a full-time basis, they work stable working hours and are bound by certain obligations to their employer. Freelancers, in contrast, are bound by nothing but their own financial interest. Of course, there are real professionals out there who stick to you throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC) and are quite loyal, but there also are those who can leave you midway just because they decided so. 

For whatever reason, a freelancer can just drop out from the project at any moment, which would leave you looking for the new developers who would have to pick up the unfinished project, get to know the existing code, figure out what to do next, and continue the development process. This would cost you considerable timeline breakdowns and delays, which is something you do not want to deal with in the middle of the development cycle.

It is not to say that freelance platforms are not a viable option, but if you want some confidence and consistent performance, you might not want to make that bet. The best idea is to either hire in-house developers or partner with a professional software development partner of which latter is a more efficient option. 

Python Software Development Cost Factors

Of course, the hourly rate is not the only factor that defines the Python software cost as the project’s timeline, the design complexity, number of features, the state of readiness, and more. You need to take all of those into consideration if you want to make a more or less precise estimation of the cost of your software. These factors are relevant to not just Python, so you might want to keep those in mind even if you are not sure which programming language you’ll end up using.

Features and Functionality

The number of features and the functionality of the software are defined by your requirements. Web apps, as an instance, contain a variety of features such as graphics, animations, built-in video players, images, web server connectivity, and many more, depending on what type of software you are building. The functionality of the application would also differ drastically depending on your objectives; from single-page apps to complex and diverse databases – all of that would put a different price tag on your app. The cost of Python web app development, thus, is defined by what kind of product you are looking up to.

The number of screens, the number of elements on each screen, and the complexity of those elements would all add to the working hours the developers spend on your project, which would then translate into the higher Python web app development cost. Since Python is free, you do not have to pay for using it, unless you want to purchase some pre-made solutions. At the end of the day, it will come down to how much time it would take for the developers to get your project from start to finish.

Data Migration and Software Integration

Add data migration and software integration into the mix and you’ll get yourself more human-hours. Though data migration and software integration are not separate features in their own right, they surely are important if you’ve been working with large amounts of data within your previous ecosystem. The amount of time and money spent on those would depend on how much data you have in storage and how compatible your legacy system is with your new software.

Design

The layout of the web application is also essential for usability, which is why the designers put a lot of work into making it visually appealing, intuitive, interactive, and simply enjoyable to use. The designers charge separately and generally less than Python developers, so you can hire designers in the US at around $22 per hour, according to Indeed. This would also vary depending on the location and the experience of the web designer. Usually, designers come with their own set of tools they use in their daily hob, so you probably would not have to pay for any software.

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Developer Location

The wage disparity between developed and developing countries is one of the factors you can benefit from. The developers in North America would generally charge higher than developers in Central Europe, and the latter might do as good a job for you. That is exactly why offshoring has become so prominent in recent years. You can get yourself a team of expert developers at a lower hourly rate, which allows you to save up a considerable amount of money. We would not recommend going too cheap though; the cheaper you go, the worse your chances of hiring a truly reliable team become, so you should probably shoot for the industry’s average of $50 per hour of Python developer’s work or somewhere around that mark.

How Intersog Estimates the Python Project Cost

Estimating the Python software cost is not that hard, especially if you know what you are doing. Is it possible to make a precise estimation of the development price from the get-go? It depends on your state of readiness. If you have clear requirements for the project and know exactly what features you want to see in the final product, we can give you a rather precise figure to put on your budget. 

It is much easier if we know exactly what you want, however, if you are not sure what the final product is going to be like, we can help you get through the ideation stage and map out the project. Once we have all the requirements figured out, we can give you a quite precise budget and timeline estimation. Depending on the scope of the project, you might be looking at price tags approaching $50,000 to 70,000 for a large project, $30,000 for a mid-sized project, and somewhere around $5,000 for a small project. We do not want to pull the prices out of the hat, though, so it is best that we look at your requirements first; only then can we tell you what the Python software cost is going to be in your case. There are lots of variables here – the number of developers, the project timeline, its complexity, the number of features, the existence of a legacy ecosystem, the number of features, and more. That is why putting a price on a project not knowing what that project is going to be is simply impossible. 

What we know for sure is possible is hiring a team of dedicated developers who match your needs. Here at Intersog, we leverage a talent pool of 250+ developers located in our offices across the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East, which allows us to hire people from all parts of the globe. Our developers are not contractors, they are full-time employees, so you can count on consistent and reliable performance throughout the SDLC, and to guarantee the flawless performance of your final product, we also supply you with our quality assurance experts who will run frequent tests to make sure there are no bugs that could potentially cripple your product in a long run. We also offer a favorable time and cost to hire, so you would not have to spend months of your time and thousands of dollars simply looking for the right people to fit your project.

Final Thoughts

Python is a rather efficient and popular programming language that offers numerous benefits while having few flaws. What you should keep in mind is that coding in Python is a rather slow process, so you should brace for quite a long journey, especially if we are talking about a large-scale project. However, it also offers stable performance, comprehensive code, system portability, and many more, not to mention that it is free to use. We leverage a wide variety of Python frameworks as well as other programming languages to deliver tangible results that take you on the new leap on your digital transformation track.

Based on the information above, you can already make some rough budget estimations based on the size of your future project, but if you need a more precise figure, the best idea is to reach out to the developers at Intersog and see what they have in mind. The vast experience and hundreds of successful projects behind our belts give us the right set of knowledge and tools to give you the exact figure for your project budget.