Guide · AI-built apps
Hiring a developer to finish your AI-built app
You got your app most of the way with Lovable, Bolt or Replit. Now you need a person. Here's how to pick one who'll finish it rather than start again.
I vibe-coded my app, then hired a dev
It goes like this. The app came together quickly, people liked it, and then progress stalled. Every change the AI makes breaks something else. A customer asks where their data is kept and you're not sure. You want to take payments, or move off the builder, and you'd rather not get that wrong.
That's a perfectly normal point to bring in a developer, and it doesn't mean the vibe coding was a mistake. You've built a working prototype that shows exactly what you want, which is a much better brief than most developers ever get. The job now is to make it safe and solid, not to throw it away.
What a good developer does first
Reads it before quoting
Nobody can price finishing an app they haven't looked at. A good developer asks for access to the code (usually a GitHub repository) and spends some time in it before telling you anything about cost or timescale.
Checks the security first
Who can read which data, where the keys live, what's protected and what isn't. In AI-built apps that's where the serious problems usually are, and they need fixing before new features.
Writes down what they found
You should get a plain-English summary: what's fine, what's risky, what needs fixing and in what order. If you can't follow it, ask again. It's their job to explain it, not yours to decode it.
Fixes in place where possible
Most AI-built apps can be made safe and extended without starting again. A rebuild is sometimes right, but it should come with reasons you can understand, after they've looked.
Questions to ask a developer to finish your app
- Have you worked on apps from Lovable, Bolt or Replit before? They produce recognisable patterns. Someone who's seen them will get up to speed much faster.
- What will you look at first, and what will I get at the end of that? You want a written view of the app before any big commitment.
- Who will own the code and the accounts? The only right answer is you. Repositories, hosting, database and domain should all sit in your name.
- How will you keep me up to date? Regular, short updates in plain English beat a big reveal at the end.
- Will you keep using AI, and how will you check its work? There's nothing wrong with a developer using AI. The question is whether a person reviews every change before it goes live.
- What happens after it's finished? Apps need updates, fixes and the odd change. Know who does that, and how it's charged.
When to walk away
- "We'll need to rebuild it" before they've looked. Sometimes true, often a sales habit. Ask what specifically they found that rules out fixing it.
- They won't explain what they're doing. If you get jargon instead of answers, you'll be just as stuck with them as you were with the AI.
- They want the code or accounts in their name. That's how businesses end up held hostage when a developer moves on. Our guide on what to do when your developer leaves shows what that looks like.
- A fixed price with no look at the code. Either they've padded it heavily or they'll be back for more.
- No questions about your business. A developer who doesn't ask what the app is for will make decisions that don't fit it.
Upwork, a freelancer or an agency?
A marketplace like Upwork
Plenty of people search "upwork vibe coded app" for a reason: you can find someone quickly, and some of them are very good. The difficulty is telling who. You're judging from a profile and reviews, often across time zones, and if they disappear mid-job you start again. Fine for a small, clearly defined fix. Riskier for something your business depends on.
A freelance developer
A good freelancer is often the best value for a small app. The risk is that one person becomes the only one who understands it. If they get busy or move on, you're back where you started, so insist on documentation and on everything being in your accounts.
An agency or small software company
Usually dearer per day, but you get more than one person, holiday cover, and someone still around in two years. Worth it when the app is the business, or when it holds data you'd be in trouble for losing. Pick a small one where you speak to the people doing the work.
What does it cost to hire a developer to fix a vibe-coded app?
It depends far more on the state of the app than on its size, which is why nobody sensible quotes before looking. As a guide to the market, the median UK contract developer day rate was £513 in the six months to 11 October 2026 (ITJobsWatch). A week of a contractor's time at that rate is around £2,500.
Two things keep the cost down. First, a short paid review before any big commitment, so the quote is based on what's actually there. Second, fixing the security and structure before adding features, because new features on shaky foundations cost twice: once to build and again to fix.
How to brief a developer on your AI-built app
Give them this, and you'll get a better answer faster:
- Which tool you built it with, and access to the code, ideally a GitHub repository you own.
- What the app does, who uses it and how many of them.
- What data it holds, and whether it takes payments.
- The three things that worry you most, or that keep breaking.
- What you want next: launch it, take payments, move it off the builder, add a feature.
- Every account it uses: database, hosting, domain, email, payments, AI services.
How we finish AI-built apps
We're Rob, Jason and a small team in Gravesend, building business software since 2011. We use AI ourselves, which makes us faster and cheaper than traditional development, but an experienced developer decides what gets built and checks every line. Not anti-AI, just anti-slop.
We start with an AI Code Audit, a fixed-price written review of security, database, scale and maintainability. If the app needs work after that, our AI-built app rescue fixes it in place wherever we can, with the code and accounts in your name throughout.
What people ask
Yes. These tools produce real code, usually React with a Supabase or similar database, that a developer can pick up. A good one will read it first, fix the security and structure, and then carry on building, rather than starting again.
Fix it, in most cases. Rebuilding throws away working parts and costs more. A rebuild only makes sense when the structure underneath can't carry what the business needs, and a developer should be able to show you why after they've looked at the code.
It depends on the state of the app, so nobody sensible quotes before looking. As a market guide, the median UK contract developer day rate was £513 in the six months to 11 October 2026, according to ITJobsWatch. A short paid review first keeps the quote honest.
It can be, for a small, clearly defined fix. The risks are judging quality from a profile, and being left stuck if they disappear. Keep the code and every account in your own name, ask for documentation, and don't let one person be the only one who understands it.
Access to the code in a repository you own, a short description of what the app does and who uses it, what data it holds and whether it takes payments, the things that keep breaking, what you want next, and a list of every account it uses.
Tell us about your app
Tell us what you built and where it's stuck, and we'll tell you honestly what it needs.
Which tool you used, what the app does, and what keeps breaking. If a freelancer would suit you better, we'll say so.
What we will cover:
- Whether it can be fixed rather than rebuilt
- What we'd look at first
- How the work would run
- What an audit would cover
Rather talk now? Book a call or ring 01474 639 089.
We reply within one working day.
