Flat 15% Management Fee.
No Hidden Costs.
Unmanaged platforms look cheaper - until a project fails, a bad match drains your momentum, or a billing dispute wastes your time. Our pricing reflects what it actually costs to get remote hiring right.
Cheap remote hiring
is actually expensive.
The hourly rate is only the beginning. Every unmanaged engagement hides costs that most clients only discover after the damage is already done.
Hidden Cost #01
Failed Projects
Restarting a project from scratch is the most expensive outcome. Without managed oversight, misaligned delivery goes undetected until it's too late.
Hidden Cost #02
Bad Matches
Poor vetting costs far more than the hourly rate. A wrong hire derails momentum, delays launches, and forces another expensive search cycle.
Hidden Cost #03
Founder Time Drain
Billing disputes, scope arguments, and constant follow-ups pull founders away from building. That management overhead is never on the invoice.
The OTF reframe
A managed engagement is not more expensive. It is more predictable - which, over time, is the cheapest thing you can buy.
A failed project is
the most expensive project.
When a remote engagement lacks oversight, misalignment quietly builds. By the time it is obvious that something has gone wrong, months of work may need to be restarted. That is not a hiring cost - it is a business setback.
Sunk contractor costs
Paid for work that cannot be used or built upon
Restart recruitment time
Starting another search from scratch after a failed engagement
Lost delivery window
Missed market timing while the project stalled
Team morale impact
Internal confidence damage from a visible external failure
How OTF prevents this
Weekly milestone tracking, structured delivery cycles, and our managed oversight mean that misalignment is caught early - not discovered after months of waste.
A bad match costs
more than the rate.
Poor vetting passes the identification problem to you. When a mismatched developer joins, the real cost is not their hourly rate - it is the momentum your entire team loses waiting for a replacement.
Lost sprint velocity
Weeks of delivered work that does not fit the architecture
Second search cycle
Starting the hiring process again from scratch, delayed by weeks
Team time spent onboarding
Onboarding a developer who cannot stay wastes your senior engineers
Confidence debt
Leadership begins to doubt remote hiring as a model entirely
The OTF difference
Our 5-stage vetting accepts fewer than 3% of applicants. Every shortlist is reviewed by a human team member before it reaches you. The 14-day replacement guarantee backs every match.
Your time
has a price tag.
Every billing dispute, scope argument, and progress follow-up you handle is time you are not spending on your product or business. Unmanaged remote hiring quietly shifts management work onto you - and that cost never shows on an invoice.
Billing dispute resolution
Hours negotiating invoices that were never formally agreed to
Scope boundary enforcement
Manually tracking what was agreed and what is being asked for
Weekly progress chasing
Checking in because there is no structured reporting cycle
Contract ambiguity management
Interpreting vague agreements when something goes wrong
What OTF eliminates
We track hours, enforce scope, generate weekly reports, and step in as the neutral authority on disputes. You never manage the engagement - we do.
Six things you pay for.
Zero things hidden.
Every pound of the management fee is accounted for. Here is exactly what is covered - not as a marketing promise, but as platform-enforced reality.
Rigorous vetting
5-stage technical and professional screening. Fewer than 3% of applicants are accepted into our network.
AI-assisted matching + human review
AI identifies best-fit candidates. A senior team member reviews every shortlist before you see it.
Contract enforcement
Platform-enforced hourly limits, scope boundaries, and amendment approval - backed by our authority.
Predictable weekly billing
One clean invoice per milestone cycle. You only pay for approved, verified work.
Professional dispute handling
We act as neutral third-party arbiter. Disputes are resolved using objective delivery data within 48 hours.
Full fee transparency
The management fee is baked into the hourly rate. No hidden charges, no extra invoices, no surprises.
Who you hire matters.
We make sure it is right.
Pillar 01 - Vetting
Fewer than 3% of applicants make it in.
Every developer in our network has passed a 5-stage process covering portfolio review, technical assessment, live interview, and final professional evaluation. Self-reported skills are never enough.
Pillar 02 - Matching
AI shortlists. Humans decide.
Our AI ranks candidates by seniority, tech stack fit, and availability. A senior member of our team reviews every recommendation before it reaches you. The shortlist you receive has human accountability behind it - not just an algorithm.
The guarantee
If your matched developer does not work out within the first 14 days, we replace them at no additional cost. Our matching confidence backs it.
Agreements that hold.
Invoices that make sense.
Pillar 03 - Contract Enforcement
The platform enforces what the contract says.
Every engagement runs under a platform-managed contract that sets the hourly rate, weekly hour ceiling, scope boundaries, and amendment process. These are not advisory documents - they are enforced by the platform.
Pillar 04 - Weekly Billing
One invoice. For work you have approved.
Each billing cycle maps to a milestone you have already reviewed and approved. There are no surprise end-of-month invoices, no hourly disputes, and no work that slips through without your sign-off.
Disputes resolved fairly.
Fees explained fully.
Pillar 05 - Dispute Handling
We are the neutral authority.
When disagreements arise, we review objective delivery data - hours logged, milestones, scope documents, communications - and reach a documented ruling typically within 48 hours.
Pillar 06 - Transparency
The fee is baked in. Nothing extra.
The management fee is included in the hourly rate you are quoted. You see one total number. There are no hidden platform charges, no admin fees, no billing surprises. What you agree to is what you pay.
< 48h
Dispute ruling
0
Hidden charges
“Our fee is baked into the hourly rate. No hidden charges. You pay for managed, vetted, and enforced results.
”Open IT Freelancers
Managed Engagement Model
One invoice
Developer rate + management fee in a single, clear number
No surprises
No platform surcharges, no admin fees, no end-of-month extras
Developer keeps 100%
The management fee is charged to the client - never deducted from the developer
Pricing is not a cost.
It is an investment in certainty.
The businesses that choose OTF are not looking for the cheapest option. They are looking for the option that will not fail - and they understand there is a difference.
The investor mindset
You are buying certainty - not hours.
Every managed engagement is structured to deliver predictable outcomes. You know what will be built, when it will be reviewed, and what happens if something does not go to plan. That predictability is the product.
The gamble framing
Unmanaged hiring is a wager.
Without enforcement, you are betting that the developer is who they say they are, that they will deliver what they promised, and that you will not need to spend weeks resolving a dispute you never planned for.
Certain
Delivery outcome
Protected
Your investment
Managed
The engagement
Enforced
The contract
What everything actually
costs - all of it.
When you compare total cost of ownership - not just the invoice line - managed delivery is consistently more efficient than unmanaged alternatives.
The managed advantage
Everything is already paid for.
With OTF, your management fee covers vetting, matching, contracts, billing, disputes, and a 14-day replacement guarantee. With unmanaged hiring, you pay for each of these separately - in money and in time.
The unmanaged trap
The hidden invoice is yours to pay.
Unmanaged remote hiring shifts the cost of vetting, admin, disputes, and replacements onto your team. Those costs are real - they are just never on an invoice.
Cost Category
OTF Managed
Unmanaged Remote
Hiring process cost
Vetting cost
Contract preparation
Weekly management
Dispute handling
Failed hire replacement
Billing admin
This model is not
for everyone.
We are deliberately selective about the clients and engagements we take on. Our model is designed for businesses that value certainty over the appearance of savings.
Who we are built for
Serious builders who have been burned before.
Our clients are founders, CTOs, and technical leads who have tried open platforms, experienced a failed engagement, and decided that the management overhead is not worth the apparent savings.
Who we are not for
Price-first shoppers.
If the primary question is "who is cheapest?", we are not the right fit - and we say that clearly. Our pricing reflects the premium of end-to-end management, and we do not compete on the lowest rate.
Your pricing questions,
answered plainly.
Our pricing is built around the specific engagement - the role, seniority, tech stack, weekly hours, and duration all affect the total. Rather than publish generic tiers that do not fit anyone precisely, we discuss your project and provide a tailored engagement structure. The conversation takes 20 minutes and gives you an accurate picture.
0%
Dev commission
Flat
Client fee
< 48h
Dispute ruling
14-day
Free replacement
Still have questions?
Our team is happy to walk you through the pricing model before you commit to anything.
Talk to our team →Stop gambling with unmanaged risk.
Contact us to discuss your project and begin our premium vetting and matching process. Your developer shortlist is ready within 72 hours - no commitment required.
- Human-reviewed shortlist in 72 hours
- Platform-enforced managed contract
- Dispute authority backing every engagement
- 14-day free replacement guarantee
One flat fee. Six guarantees.
Every OTF engagement includes all six pillars of managed delivery - baked into the hourly rate. Nothing extra. Nothing hidden.
- 🔍 Rigorous 5-stage vetting
- 🤖 AI + human matching
- 📑 Platform-enforced contracts
- 📅 Predictable weekly billing
- ⚖️ Neutral dispute resolution
- 💡 Full fee transparency
0% commission from developers · 14-day replacement guarantee
Every engagement on our platform is fully managed - contracts, delivery tracking, dispute resolution, and payments - by Open IT Freelancers, not an algorithm.