--- title: "Freelancer, Agency or In-House: How to Hire a HubSpot Developer" description: "How to hire a HubSpot developer: freelancer vs agency vs in-house compared, where to find developers, how to check their work and the red flags to avoid." image: https://www.pixtheme.com/hubfs/Freelancer%20vs%20agency.png --- [Skip to content](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/freelancer-agency-or-in-house-how-to-hire-a-hubspot-developer#main-content) [![Pixtheme](https://www.pixtheme.com/hubfs/pixtheme-agency-demo/pixtheme-logo-light.svg)](https://www.pixtheme.com/) - [Services](https://www.pixtheme.com/services) Show submenu for Services - [Hire a HubSpot developer](https://www.pixtheme.com/hire-hubspot-developer) - [HubSpot CMS website development New HubSpot websites your team can edit without a developer.](https://www.pixtheme.com/services/hubspot-cms-development) - [HubSpot Website Redesign A fresh design for your HubSpot site, built on what already works.](https://www.pixtheme.com/services/hubspot-website-redesign) - [WordPress to HubSpot migration Pages, blog posts and redirects moved over with care.](https://www.pixtheme.com/services/wordpress-to-hubspot-migration) - [Custom HubSpot modules and integrations Custom modules, apps and integrations for your portal.](https://www.pixtheme.com/services/hubspot-custom-modules) [View all Services](https://www.pixtheme.com/services) [Themes and modules Ready-made HubSpot modules Calculators, countdowns, testimonials and more, built for the HubSpot Marketplace. Browse modules](https://www.pixtheme.com/themes-and-modules) - [Assets New](https://www.pixtheme.com/themes-and-modules) - [About Us](https://www.pixtheme.com/about) - [Contact Us](https://www.pixtheme.com/contact-us) [Book a call (opens in a new tab)](https://www.pixtheme.com/meetings/gotohubspot) [Book a call (opens in a new tab)](https://www.pixtheme.com/meetings/gotohubspot) [All posts](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog) / [Hiring](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/tag/hiring) # Freelancer, Agency or In-House: How to Hire a HubSpot Developer [![](https://www.pixtheme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/mexu-event-demo/photos/marcus-hale.jpg?width=44&height=44&name=marcus-hale.jpg) Rafayel Sh.](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/author/rafayel-sh) November 1, 2026 5 min read ![](https://www.pixtheme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Freelancer%20vs%20agency.png?width=1600&height=900&name=Freelancer%20vs%20agency.png) Share To hire a HubSpot developer, decide first whether you need a **freelancer**, an **agency** or an **in-house developer**. Then check real HubSpot work, not just general web development, and start with a small, clearly scoped project before you commit to a large one. We have been on both sides of this: we are HubSpot developers who get hired through our own site and through Upwork, and we see what goes wrong when companies hire the wrong kind of help. Here is how to choose well. ## Freelancer vs agency vs in-house | | Freelancer | Agency | In-house | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Cost | Lowest per hour | Highest per hour | Salary plus benefits, all year | | Speed to start | Days | Weeks | Months to recruit | | Skills | Deep in one area | Design, strategy and development | Grows with your stack | | Capacity | Limited by one person | Scales with the team | One person's time | | Best for | Modules, fixes, defined projects | Full websites with strategy and design | Constant, ongoing development | ### When a freelancer is the right choice Hire a freelancer when the job is clear: a set of custom modules, a theme customization, an integration or a migration. A specialized HubSpot freelancer is usually the fastest and most cost-effective option for this kind of work. The risk is capacity, so ask how they handle holidays, illness and urgent fixes. ### When an agency is the right choice Choose an agency when you need strategy, copywriting, design and development together, or a large site on a fixed deadline. You pay more per hour for project management and a bigger team. Ask who will actually write the code, because larger agencies often subcontract development. ### When to hire in-house An in-house developer makes sense when you have a steady stream of HubSpot work every week: new landing pages, modules, integrations and experiments. For most companies that need a website built or improved, a full-time hire is more than the work requires. ### The middle option: a small specialist team Small HubSpot-only studios combine the specialization of a freelancer with some of an agency's capacity. This is how we work at Pixtheme: a small team that only builds on HubSpot, with fixed prices and no retainer requirement. ## Where to find HubSpot developers - **The HubSpot Solutions Directory** lists HubSpot partner agencies, filterable by service and location. - **The HubSpot Marketplace** shows who builds themes and modules. A developer with published, well-reviewed products has passed HubSpot's quality checks. - **Freelance platforms** such as Upwork show verified work history, client reviews and job success scores. - **The HubSpot Community** forums show who gives good, specific answers to developer questions. ## How to check a HubSpot developer's work 1. **Ask for live HubSpot sites**, not screenshots. Open them on your phone and check how fast they load. 2. **Ask to see the editing experience.** A good developer can show you a module's fields in the page editor. If every change needs code, your team will depend on the developer forever. 3. **Ask about HubL and themes.** They should talk comfortably about themes, drag-and-drop areas, module fields and the HubSpot CLI. 4. **Check Marketplace products or certifications.** Published themes and modules, or HubSpot's CMS for Developers certification, show platform-specific skills. 5. **Read reviews for communication**, not just results. On a remote project, clear updates matter as much as clean code. ## Red flags - Portfolios full of WordPress or Shopify work with no HubSpot sites. - No written scope, or a quote that only says "website: $X". - Requests for a super admin login when the job only needs page or design access. - Plans to hard-code content that your team will need to change. - No plan for 301 redirects when replacing an existing site. ## A simple hiring process that works 1. **Write a short brief:** pages, features, integrations, your HubSpot edition and your deadline. 2. **Shortlist 2 or 3 developers** and send them the same brief. 3. **Compare fixed-price quotes** by what they include: testing, revisions, training and support. 4. **Start with a paid pilot**, such as one module or one template, before the full project. 5. **Give limited access**: add the developer as a user with only the permissions the job needs, and remove it when the work is done. For typical budgets, see our guide on [how much it costs to hire a HubSpot developer](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-hire-a-hubspot-developer). ## Frequently asked questions ### Should I hire a HubSpot freelancer or an agency? Hire a freelancer or small specialist team for clearly defined development work, and an agency when you also need strategy, content and design under one contract. ### Does my developer need to be a HubSpot partner? No. Partner status reflects sales of HubSpot subscriptions, not development skill. Check their HubSpot sites, Marketplace products and reviews instead. ### How long does it take to hire a HubSpot developer? A freelancer or small team can usually start within days. Agencies often need a few weeks, and recruiting in-house can take months. ### Can a HubSpot developer work in our portal safely? Yes. Add them as a user with limited permissions, or have them build in a sandbox or on test pages before anything goes live. ## Hire a HubSpot developer from our team We have built on HubSpot since 2017, publish themes and modules on the HubSpot Marketplace, and are Top Rated on Upwork with 100% Job Success. [See how hiring us works](https://www.pixtheme.com/hire-hubspot-developer) or [send us your brief](https://www.pixtheme.com/contact-us) for a fixed-price quote. - [Hiring](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/tag/hiring) ## Keep reading [All posts](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog) - [![](https://www.pixtheme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HubSpot%20developer%20cost.png?width=800&height=500&name=HubSpot%20developer%20cost.png)](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-hire-a-hubspot-developer) Hiring Oct 24, 2026 ### [How Much Does It Cost to Hire a HubSpot Developer?](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-hire-a-hubspot-developer) Read - [![](https://www.pixtheme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pixtheme-agency-demo/hubdb-lookup/hero.png?width=800&height=500&name=hero.png)](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/how-we-built-a-hubspot-breeze-agent-tool-that-answers-from-hubdb) HubSpot Development Oct 30, 2026 ### [How We Built a HubSpot Breeze Agent Tool That Answers From HubDB](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/how-we-built-a-hubspot-breeze-agent-tool-that-answers-from-hubdb) Read - [![](https://www.pixtheme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HubSpot%20custom%20modules.png?width=800&height=500&name=HubSpot%20custom%20modules.png)](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/how-to-build-a-custom-module-in-hubspot-step-by-step) HubSpot Development Oct 30, 2026 ### [How to Build a Custom Module in HubSpot, Step by Step](https://www.pixtheme.com/blog/how-to-build-a-custom-module-in-hubspot-step-by-step) Read Work with us ## Need help with your HubSpot site? 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