Answers / finishing an AI-built app
Upwork, Toptal, Arc.dev, Fiverr or a fixed-price partner: who should finish my app?
AI answers to this question name Upwork in 60 of 67 answers, Toptal 54, Arc.dev 36, Fiverr 33, and a fixed-price partner 0. All four marketplaces get you a person to write code, but none of them stay once the contract ends.
The short answer
It depends on what you are optimizing for. Upwork, Toptal, Arc.dev and Fiverr get you a person fast, at an hourly or per-gig rate, and the relationship ends when the contract does. A fixed-price partner like Continuum quotes the finishing work as one number before anything starts, and stays on afterward to get the finished app its first users. Neither is wrong, they are different trades, and the trade that matters most is what happens the day after launch.
Everyone will finish your app and leave.
Upwork, Toptal, Arc.dev and Fiverr are all the same trade underneath: they connect you to a person who writes code, and the relationship is built to end. That is not a flaw, it is the design. A contract that ends on schedule is exactly what you want for a clearly scoped job.
The problem shows up after launch. A finished app with no users needs no care, no next feature, no return visit, and every one of these four paths leaves exactly there. I finish it and get you your first users, because an app nobody uses was never really finished. Get Users is the monthly work, AEO and SEO, done every week, that makes the finishing worth paying for.
What each option costs, who owns the code, and what happens after launch.
Price shapes for the marketplaces are described structurally: none of the four publish one rate, so read their own listings for a specific quote. Continuum's numbers are pulled straight from the live price list.
| Option | What it is | Price shape | Who owns the code | After launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upwork | An open marketplace. You post the job, read proposals and bids, and interview candidates yourself. | Hourly or fixed-bid, set by whoever you hire; wide range, you do the vetting. | Per the contract you write with the freelancer | The contract ends. Finding, vetting and managing the next one is on you again. |
| Toptal | A vetted talent network. Toptal screens engineers before you ever see a profile. | Hourly, at a premium over an open marketplace for the screening. | Per the contract you sign through Toptal | The engagement ends when you stop paying for hours. No one is watching whether the app gets used. |
| Arc.dev | A recruiting marketplace for remote developers, mostly staffed, longer-term roles. | Hourly or salaried-style monthly, set in the offer you negotiate. | Per the contract you sign through Arc | Same as any contractor: the role ends, or you keep paying for a developer whose job was never "get this app users". |
| Fiverr | Fixed-price gigs, bought off a seller profile; quality and seniority vary widely. | Fixed per gig, usually the cheapest of the four, for a reason. | Per the gig terms, often unclear until you ask | The gig is marked complete. Nothing about it was ever going to get the app its first customer. |
| A freelancer you already know | Someone in your network, not a marketplace. Works when you already trust them and they have the time. | Whatever you agree, usually hourly | Per whatever you agree, often not written down | Depends entirely on the person. Most are not set up to also run growth and measurement. |
| Continuum, fixed-price partner | One senior engineer, Matt Turley, quotes the finishing work as a fixed scope before anything starts. | Ship Fix: $4,000 to $15,000, one price agreed up front | You, fully, from day one | Get Users starts: $500/mo, month to month, cancel anytime, a weekly read on whether AI names you. |
Continuum's numbers come straight from the price list, the same source finishing an AI-built app and agency vs freelancer vs developer use, so none of these three pages can quote a different number.
Upwork, Toptal, Arc.dev, Fiverr or Continuum, straight answers.
Get one price for the finish,
and someone still here after launch.
If a marketplace hire is genuinely the better fit for your app, that is the honest answer you will get.
Matt