How to hire an iOS developer: what to check, what to ask and what it costs
A good iOS developer does more than write Swift. They know how Apple’s platform behaves, how the App Store works and how to keep an app healthy through years of iOS updates. This guide covers the choice between native and cross-platform, the skills to test, interview questions, cost and the first months together. Building for Android too? See our Android developers and mobile app developers.
Native or cross-platform
The first question is whether you need a native iOS developer at all. Native apps are written in Swift with Apple’s own frameworks. They get new Apple features first, tend to feel smoother and make full use of widgets, Apple Pay and the camera. Cross-platform tools such as React Native and Flutter share one codebase between iPhone and Android, which can save money when an app is mostly forms, lists and content. Many companies start cross-platform and add native screens where speed or polish matters. If most of your users are on iPhone, or the app depends on Apple features, native is usually worth it.
Skills to check
- Swift: optionals, value and reference types, protocols and error handling.
- SwiftUI: state and data flow, navigation, and lists that stay smooth with lots of data.
- UIKit: enough to work on older screens and to wrap UIKit views inside SwiftUI.
- Concurrency: async and await, tasks, actors and keeping heavy work off the main thread.
- Data and networking: API calls, caching, offline use, SwiftData or Core Data.
- Shipping: signing, TestFlight, App Store Connect and the review guidelines.
Five interview questions
- A list stutters when users scroll through a few hundred items. How do you find the cause?
- How do you pass data between screens in SwiftUI, and when would you use an observable object instead of plain state?
- Our update was rejected in App Store review. Walk me through how you would respond.
- How would you keep the app useful when the phone has no signal?
- Tell me about a crash you tracked down in a live app. Which tools did you use?
Listen for real examples. Strong candidates mention Instruments, crash reports and specific screens they rebuilt, and they ask how many users you have and which iOS versions you support.
Sample job description
A short, concrete post attracts better applicants. For example: “We are hiring an iOS developer to build new features in our iPhone app. You will write Swift and SwiftUI, move older UIKit screens over step by step, connect to our REST API and ship releases through TestFlight and the App Store. You will work with a product designer and two back-end developers. Must have: an iPhone app you helped ship, SwiftUI and async/await. Nice to have: StoreKit subscriptions, widgets and CI with Xcode Cloud.” You can adapt our software engineer job description template for the full version.
What drives the cost
Seniority is the biggest factor. A senior developer who can plan the structure of the app and lead releases costs more than someone who builds screens from finished designs. Location matters next, with higher pay in the US and Western Europe than in Latin America, Eastern Europe, South Africa or India. After that come your hours and special skills such as payments, health data or Apple Watch apps. Remember Apple’s side as well: publishing on the App Store needs a paid Apple Developer Program membership.
Try a short paid task
Ask your final candidate or two for a few hours of paid work close to your real app. For example, build one screen that loads data from a sample API, handles errors and works in dark mode and with large text. Then read the code together: how they structured state, named things and tested their work. Give every candidate the same task, so you can compare their work side by side. Paying for the time keeps it fair for everyone.
Freelance or dedicated
A freelancer can handle a one-off fix or a small feature. An app you plan to grow needs a steady owner. Apple releases a major iOS version every year, and each one brings new rules, new devices and features your users will expect. A dedicated developer keeps up with those changes and knows your app well enough to move fast.
Your first three months
In week one, give access to the repository, App Store Connect, TestFlight and your crash reports, and pick one small fix to ship. In the first month, hand over one area of the app along with its tests. By month three, your developer should plan releases with you, review other developers’ Swift code and suggest what to improve next, such as launch time or the oldest screens.
Mistakes to avoid
- Hiring for a long list of libraries instead of solid Swift and SwiftUI basics.
- Leaving App Store Connect access with one person or an old agency account.
- Skipping beta testing, so users find the bugs after the release.
- Ignoring VoiceOver and larger text settings, which shuts out part of your audience.
Building a wider remote team? Read our remote software engineering hiring playbook.