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Swift Developers

In so many different areas of our daily lives today, we are using apps. Whether it is to order a product online, share business projects, connect with friends, or learn a new skill, applications can make our lives easier and help us to complete tasks more efficiently and conveniently. Not only do apps impact our daily lives, but utilizing digital technologies have also become key parts of running an effective business, connecting with new customers, and improving the experience of clients that are working with your business. Because of this, the demand for mobile app development has been steadily growing and there are hundreds of app developers online offering their skills and experience with designing high-quality apps.

However, it can be difficult to know where to begin. How do you know which kind of developer would be the right one for your projects? Do you want a developer who works with Android or iOS? Which app developer would be the best for the business needs and objectives of your team? How much will it cost to hire a developer for an iOS application?

These questions can all be difficult to answer, but this article on how to hire Swift developers will help you to answer some of these questions so you can feel ready to hire the best developer for your team! 

iOS vs Android Apps 

Before you start looking to hire an app developer, one of the first questions you should ask is whether you want the app to be on Android or iOS. This is essential because they use different programming languages and frameworks, which influences the type of software developer that you will want to hire for your project team. For instance, if you decide that you want to hire a developer to develop an app for the Android operating system, then you may want to look to hire a Javascript developer. However, if you decide that you want your apps to be available on iOS, then starting your search to hire a Swift programmer is your best option. If you want to learn more about how to hire developers for apps, check out or 2021 guide for hiring app developers!

What is Swift?

If you have reached this article, it may be that you have heard about the programming language “Swift,” but maybe aren’t sure exactly what it is or want to learn more before you feel ready to start the hiring process. If this is the case, then you have come to the right place! We are going to outline some of the basic elements of Swift as a programming language, discuss essential skills, qualifications, and considerations when hiring Swift developers, and then offer our expert advice for where you can go to hire the best Swift developer for you or your project. 

First, let’s hit the ground running and look at the main components of Swift and then outline why it is considered by many developers to be one of the best programming languages to know in 2021. 

Swift & Objective C

Swift is a relatively new software development language. Swift was developed by the team at Apple Inc. in Silicon Valley, San Francisco as a new iOS development tool and was first released in 2014 as a replacement for their previous language, “Objective-C.” Since then, many developers who work with iOS have transitioned from Objective C to using Swift for all of their iOS development needs. 

According to Github, Swift is becoming one of the most popular programming languages. Swift has been used to design apps as large as Messenger, Firefox, and Instagram and is an industry standard for iOS development. For any business interested in working with iOS development, iOS apps, and mobile iOS app development, Swift is one of the best languages to look for in your search to hire a developer and here we are going to outline some of the key reasons why.

Pro’s of Swift

As a coding language, Swift has many features that make it a leader in the category of mobile app development. Here are some common reasons why Swift is a good program for building your iOS apps:

- Can develop iOS apps that are fast, reliable, and easy to use

- Apps are more secure from malware, viruses, or bugs

- Apps can be designed for iOS, OS X, WatchOS, and tvOS

- Compatible with Objective-C, Visual Basic, or Cocoa

- Ability to make mixed-language apps 

- Apple provides developers with detailed guidelines and learning resource tools

- Has features like rate ARC can save development time

Swift is a very convenient and straight-forward program for iOS application development. While iOS has tighter limits on the accessibility to the source code compared to Android, it does ensure that apps that are developed with Swift are more secure, which reduces the possibility of needing to spend time fixing bugs later on in the development process. Because of this, Swift developers can make apps quicker which can reduce the expenses of development without sacrificing the quality of the apps. All of these components combined make iOS apps built with Swift some of the best apps on the market. 

Role of a Swift Developer

Now that we have outlined some of the main components that make Swift a valuable software tool, we are going to take a look at some of the common roles, tasks, and jobs that are performed by a Swift developer within an iOS development team. Because of the complexity involved in developing a fully functioning app, there are multiple roles that a Swift developer should be prepared to do. For instance, Swift developers are often expected to:

- Be responsible for the development and maintenance of iOS applications 

- Organize development of applications and communicate with the backend engineer

- Design, plan, and implement iOS applications

- Test for quality, performance, and user experience of the apps

- Communicate with the development team to add features 

- Fix and identify bugs or errors in the apps

- Identify areas of improvement and find app solutions

These roles could change depending on the needs of the project, the plan of the project managers, or the goals of the director of engineering, but these are commonly expected abilities for iOS developers and programmers when joining a team. An expert Swift developer should be capable of offering all of these development services and be able to complete different tasks along the development project. This is why we suggest that if you want to hire, hire a developer that has experience with as many of these areas as you can.

Costs of iOS Developers

Next comes an important question for any business looking to hire iOS developers for their team, which is the question of the cost for developing iOS apps. Firstly, there are many factors that can impact the costs that are involved in developing an app and it is very difficult to predict the total budget for an iOS project. However, we will highlight some areas to consider as you start looking to hire a developer.

Firstly, it is not always the case, but often the cost of iOS applications can be more expensive than Android apps for a few different reasons. One important reason is that Swift can be difficult to learn to the point of being an expert developer, and that the process of developing an app is usually something that should be done by a team, not just a single software engineer. Apps that connect to the internet and need things like log-in authentication, account managements, custom layouts, can start to cost more than some businesses may expect. This is why a team of consultants, freelance iOS developers, iOS Swift mentor, a programming trainer, and project managers come in handy to speed up the process of development, however when you hire a team to build an iOS app, you can expect the cost to go up. It can go a long way to make special, complex, and unique iOS apps, but they aren't going to be cheap!

Furthermore, another reason that iOS apps may be more expensive is due to the fact that the quality that is expected with an iOS application today is very high and the more complex that you want to make the app, the higher the the cost of the development process. However, with the right team of Swift developers and a well organized development strategy, you can create apps that can be great for your business or startup. If you want to learn more about the cost of mobile app development, check out out our guide for mobile app development!

Average Salary of a Swift Developer

When it comes to the cost to hire Swift programmers, the overall salaries can be quite high. This is because of the rising demand for iOS apps and the growing popularity of Apple products that only support iOS apps. According to Glassdoor, iOS developers in the United States make an average of $96,000 a year. Of course, this number varies depending on the country where the Swift developer is working from, the skill level of the Swift developer, and the type of developer they are. However, Swift developers do tend to have a higher average salary than some other software languages. However, with the right business strategy and expert help, you can hire an iOS developer that can meet the needs of your budget and produce a high-quality iOS app if you know the right places to look for candidates!

This brings us to the next factor to consider when discussing salary, which is whether you are looking to hire a freelance iOS developer or an in-house iOS developer. The difference in cost between these two options can be very great, so we are going to break them down to explain them better.

Hiring a In-House Swift Developer

When you hire an in-house iOS developer you will have to be prepared to pay a higher price for their work because of the expenses for the on-boarding process, insurance, work spaces, equipment, taxes, ect. However, the higher cost to hire an in-house iOS developer does allow for the developer to become a more integrated part of your team and be more dedicated to the long term goals of your company. When it comes to the long term production apps, in-house developers may cost more, but they will likely be able experts who can maintain the support and development of the project. This can be helpful for complex apps that will take a team of developers months to develop. 

Hiring a Freelance Swift Developer

This brings us to the cost of hiring a freelancer. With a freelancer you can expect to save on the overall cost of developing apps because they usually work on a fixed price or hourly rates for their work instead of a monthly salary. Freelancers are also a good choice because they are more flexible about when they can work on your project and can work from remote locations, which means you can outsource some of the more costly areas of your project. 

However, there are some risks related to freelancers. It can be difficult to know if the candidates actually have skills and experience that they advertise, which can end up costing more in the long run. For instance, if you hire an inexperienced iOS engineer to develop an app and then after they complete the project, you realize that it has issues in the data structure or errors, you will waste time and money to hire iOS developers to fix their mistakes. 

This is why we always suggest that when hiring freelancers, that you test them in their abilities before you hire them. Even better is when you can outsource the hiring process to a company that can ensure that the developers that are listed on their site are qualified through a vetting process. In order to save you time and effort, this is something that we do here at EliteBrains. If you want to learn more about how we test developers, check out this guide for how we test developers before they are added to our site. 

How to Hire Swift Developers on EliteBrains

This is where EliteBrains can help to find the right Swift developer for your projects. EliteBrains aggregates some of the best programmers in the market today so you don’t have to look for them. Through their vetting process, EliteBrains has validated the claims and credentials of 8.300+ developers on the platform, and all of the iOS developers that you can find on our site or mobile app have to pass a 5-step testing process before being accepted to EliteBrains.

Furthermore, EliteBrains offers iOS developers with varying levels of expertise and experience to meet the needs of any kind of business. If you want to hire iOS developers on EliteBrains, you can sign up for an 8 hours risk-free trial to test out the skills of the candidates with zero hiring fees. EliteBrains makes hiring iOS developers quick and cost-effective while ensuring skilled and experienced developers for your projects.