Alternatives · Agencies found in B2B directories
An alternative to the directory-and-RFP route to a development agency.
B2B directories such as Clutch, GoodFirms and DesignRush list development companies with client reviews, an hourly-rate band and a minimum project size. They are useful for making a shortlist. What follows is weeks of requests for proposals, calls and estimates before the first line of code. Ship in Hours starts with a written scope and a trial build instead.
Two ways to buy
A shortlist is not a plan. A trial build is.
Directories do their job well: they show who exists and what clients said. The expensive part comes after the shortlist.
Agencies compared by reviews, rate band and minimum size
Clutch's help centre states that a company profile is free to create, that client reviews are verified by Clutch before publication, and that profiles prompt an average hourly rate and a minimum project size so buyers can filter by them. GoodFirms describes a free listing after a research-team verification. DesignRush describes a free marketplace where a brand posts a project and the platform selects agencies to send proposals. Each listed agency then sets its own engagement model, usually hourly, retainer or a per-project estimate (checked 9 November 2026).
- Shortlist by reviews, hourly-rate band, minimum project size and location
- Request proposals or estimates from several agencies; calls and presentations follow
- Engagement model set by each agency; often time-and-materials or a per-project estimate
- The buyer compares estimates that are rarely like for like
Sources, checked 9 November 2026:
A defined scope at a fixed price, delivered as tested code packages
AIPOS OÜ sells a result, not people or hours. The architecture and specification are designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ and agreed with you in writing; a multi-agent system then builds, tests and documents production code around the clock. Twenty-four hours of its work equals four to eight weeks of a small software company, measured on AIPOS OÜ's own production systems.
- A written scope description before any money changes hands
- A trial build: a real piece of your plan, delivered within 72 hours of written confirmation, for a fixed 9,900 euros
- The full scope at one fixed price, quoted in writing after the trial; the trial price deducted in full
- Architecture and specification by AIPOS OÜ, agreed with you before any code is written; the multi-agent system builds, tests and documents 24/7
- Every change tested and reviewed by an independent review agent before you see it; delivered as a tested package at every milestone
- Full intellectual property to you; remote only; all communication in writing
24/7 from sign-off
Your project starts. It never stops.
Whichever route you compare it with, the delivery model is the same: from the moment your scope is signed off, an autonomous development system works on it 24/7 — no nights off, no weekends, no handovers. Months of team output, delivered in days.
Starts within hours
Work begins within hours of your written scope sign-off. No recruiting, no onboarding, no waiting for a sprint to open.
Runs around the clock
Autonomous and continuous until delivery: no nights off, no weekends, no handovers, no pauses.
Progress you can see daily
Every change is tested and committed in AIPOS OÜ's own secure development environment. You receive a written progress report every day, and tested code of your product is delivered at agreed milestones — in full after final payment.
Architecture agreed first
The architecture and specification are designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ and agreed with you in writing before any code is written.
Choose this if you need serious development capacity fast, without hiring a team.
Side by side
The directory route versus a fixed-price build.
The comparison is structural on purpose: it describes how each model works, not how good any individual provider is. Prices and durations on the other side vary by provider and market, so they are stated only where published.
| Dimension | Directory-listed agency | Ordering from Ship in Hours |
|---|---|---|
| How you start | Shortlist from directory pages, then an RFP or briefing round with several agencies. | One form. You receive a written scope description for a trial build. |
| Time to first code | After proposals, calls, estimates and contract negotiation. | Within 72 hours of your written scope confirmation. |
| How the price is formed | Per agency: hourly band, retainer or estimate; comparisons are rarely like for like. | One fixed price per confirmed scope, quoted in writing after the trial build. |
| Evidence you decide on | Reviews, portfolios, presentations. | A working preview and tested, documented code from the trial build. |
| Architecture | The agency's team, within the agreed estimate. | Designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ and agreed with you in writing before any code is built. |
| Meetings | Discovery calls, pitches, steering meetings are the norm. | None. All communication is in writing. |
| Working hours | The agency's business hours and time zone. | Continuous 24/7 cycles with automatic continuation. |
| Quality control | The agency's process. | Test suite plus an independent review agent before every merge; every outgoing change scanned. |
| Intellectual property | Per each agency's contract. | Full IP in the deliverables transferred to you; platform and methodology stay with AIPOS OÜ. |
Where each route fits
When each option is the better choice.
Most large organisations end up using both. The question is which parts of the plan go where.
You want a long-term, in-person agency relationship
- Work that needs workshops, on-site presence or design facilitation
- A retainer for ongoing, loosely defined work
- A requirement for a local vendor in a specific city
- Procurement rules that require three comparable proposals
You want the project to start, not the selection process
- A specifiable scope with a deadline
- A fixed budget that must be known before work begins
- A team that prefers written communication and tested deliveries to review
- Willingness to judge a vendor by a delivered trial rather than a pitch
The process
What switching to a fixed-price build looks like.
There is nothing to onboard and nobody to interview. The sequence is identical for every project and every country.
Describe the project
Send the project description, technology, approximate scope and deadline through the form. You receive a written scope description for a trial build.
Trial build, 72 hours
After your written confirmation, a real piece of your plan is delivered within 72 hours as tested, documented code with full IP. Fixed price 9,900 euros.
Fixed quote for the full scope
You judge the result on the preview link and in the delivered package. If you continue, you receive one fixed price for the whole scope; the trial price is deducted in full.
Continuous delivery
The system builds, tests, reviews and documents in 24/7 cycles until the scope is complete. Scope changes are agreed in writing before they are built.
Trust & delivery standards
Your systems stay untouched. Your product arrives tested.
All development happens in AIPOS OÜ's own secure environment. We never connect to your code hosting, servers, cloud accounts or development environment, so no outside party enters your systems and your supplier and security risk stays small. You receive tested code as a clean package, not half-finished changes in your main branch, and you follow progress every day without watching any technical tools.
How the code is built and handed over
- Tests and independent review. Every change passes the automated test suite and an independent review agent before it is merged.
- Documentation, tests, history. You receive the documentation, the tests and the complete git history of your product's code.
- No dependency on our tools. Code and intellectual property transfer to you without any dependency on AIPOS OÜ's tooling: the product builds, tests and runs from the delivered package with publicly available tools.
- 30 days of free fixes. Defects found within 30 days of hand-over are fixed free of charge, within the written scope description.
How you verify the work without seeing our environment
- Specification first. A written specification with measurable acceptance criteria, prepared by AIPOS OÜ and confirmed by you before development starts.
- A written report every day. By e-mail: what was done, which tests passed, where the work stands against the criteria, the next step, and whether anything needs your answer.
- Preview at every milestone. A password-protected preview link where you try your product working, at every milestone.
- Code you can audit. At every milestone, a test report and the product's code at that point as a file package: run it yourself or have an independent developer audit it. The complete code follows final payment.
- Written acceptance. You accept in writing against the agreed criteria. 50% is paid on scope confirmation and 50% only after acceptance; then 30 days of free defect fixing within the written scope. All communication is by e-mail.
Company details, security, warranty, payment and VAT terms in one place: Trust & delivery standards. The binding wording is in the terms of service.
Prices
Two steps, both at a fixed price.
You see the price before any work starts. There is no hourly billing and no staff rental. The trial build is a real piece of your plan, and its price comes off the main project in full.
A real part of your development plan, delivered within 72 hours of your written scope confirmation as a preview link, a test report and a code package. Full intellectual property to you. 50% on sign-off, 50% after written acceptance; 30 days of free defect fixing. Deducted in full from the main project.
The first three clients receive the trial build for 4,900 euros in exchange for a public reference once the work is delivered.
The whole scope at one fixed price, delivered in days and weeks. Every change is tested and committed. Every project is built on a software architecture and technical specification designed in-house by AIPOS OÜ — reviewed and agreed with you in writing before development begins.
Questions
Questions from buyers who have shortlisted agencies.
Are you listed in those directories?
Our public profile texts for the main directories are prepared, but what matters for your decision is not a listing: it is the trial build. You judge tested, documented code on the preview link and in the delivered package within 72 hours, at a fixed price, before deciding on the main project.
How does a fixed price compare with an agency estimate?
An estimate is a forecast of hours; the invoice follows the actual hours. A fixed price is the price. It is possible because the scope is confirmed in writing first and the trial build shows both sides what the specification means in practice. Scope changes are agreed in writing before they are built.
We need three proposals for procurement. Can you take part?
We answer in writing with a scope description and a fixed price, which can serve as one of the proposals. We do not join calls or presentations; everything we would say is on this site and in the written scope.
What replaces the discovery phase an agency would run?
The written scope description and the trial build. AIPOS OÜ designs the architecture and specification in-house and agrees them with you in writing; the trial delivers a real piece of the plan within 72 hours. That is a discovery phase with code at the end of it.
Can an agency we already use integrate your deliveries?
Yes. Each delivery is a tested package with documentation and git history that any team can review and integrate through its normal process. Scopes and interfaces are separated in writing so the streams do not collide.
Are the statements about Clutch, GoodFirms and DesignRush accurate?
They are limited to what those platforms publish on their own help and information pages, checked on 9 November 2026 and linked above. We make no claim about the quality of any agency listed there.
Read before you decide
Guides for this decision
How to write a software scope that can be fixed-priced
The format of a scope document that leads to a fixed price instead of an estimate, with before-and-after examples of vague wording.
Read the guideFixed price vs time and materials for large projects
Who carries the risk under each contract model, when each one is right, and how to make a fixed price work on a large project.
Read the guideHow to evaluate an autonomous AI development vendor
Who owns the architecture, how quality is gated, how your code is isolated, what you own, how claims can be verified, and how to run a bounded trial.
Read the guideSkip the RFP round. Start with the scope.
Describe the project in the form. You receive a written scope description for a trial build, delivered within 72 hours of confirmation at a fixed price.