Hiring a dev agency is a five-figure decision — sometimes six. Here's how founders and product teams actually evaluate Indian software studios in 2026, without falling for demo-ware.
Any agency can put "AI-powered", "world-class" and a stock hero image on their site. Ignore that. Look for three concrete signals:
Live case studies. Real URLs you can click, not screenshots. Bonus if they explain the trade-offs, not just the wins.
Open-source or public code. A GitHub org with real contributions tells you more than any deck.
Named team, LinkedIn-visible. If the "team" section is stock photos, walk away.
"Who owns the code?" Answer must be: you, from day one, in your GitHub org.
"Which team members are actually on my project?" Not "our senior engineers" — names, GitHub handles, and % allocation.
"How do we handle scope changes?" A clear change-request process signals a mature studio. "We'll figure it out" is a red flag.
"What happens if we part ways in month 3?" Every deliverable, every credential, every doc — in your possession.
Fixed-scope projects (MVPs, landing pages, defined migrations) — ₹4L–₹25L in India for a serious build. Anything below ₹2L for a real MVP is either a template or someone learning on your dime.
Monthly retainers for ongoing product work — ₹2L–₹8L per month per team pod (usually 2 engineers + a designer).
Time & materials — ₹1,500–₹5,000 per hour depending on seniority and stack. Only pick T&M if scope is genuinely unknown; otherwise it's a blank cheque.
No writing test / no design test / no discovery call before quoting.
NDAs before anything else (real agencies sign yours, not theirs).
Promising 4-week timelines for anything with real auth + payments + admin.
"We'll add AI to it" as the primary differentiator with no product context.
In 2026, no. Every serious Indian agency runs remote-first with async standups and a monthly on-site when needed. Optimise for the team, the case studies, and the process — not the pin code.
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