Why are you still managing developers?
BairesDev gives you engineers to interview, manage, and track hours for. Metafic gives you a fully-managed pod with one flat monthly fee. You set priorities. We own delivery. You stay out of it.
BairesDev is a large staff augmentation firm. The model is: they source engineers, you interview and hire them as embedded contractors, and you manage them. It works at scale for companies that want more engineers to direct.
Metafic is the opposite shape. A fully-managed pod with architect, engineers, QA, PM, and AI agents, sold as a flat-fee subscription. You do not interview engineers. You do not manage them. You do not track hours. You set priorities and the pod ships.
The fundamental question is not which vendor, but who owns the outcome. With BairesDev, that is still you. With Metafic, it is us.
Metafic vs BairesDev on what matters.
| Metafic | BairesDev | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $15K/mo flat for full pod | $50 to $180/hr per dev; typical team $60K+/mo |
| Pricing transparency | Public on the website | Hidden behind sales calls |
| Who owns the outcome | Metafic does. You stay out of it. | You do. You manage every engineer. |
| Your time required | Priorities only. No standups, no reviews. | Daily standups, code reviews, escalations |
| Minimum engagement | Pause anytime | Roughly $50K minimum, often multi-month commits |
| Model | Managed engineering pod | Staff augmentation |
| Team composition | Architect, 2 senior engineers, QA, PM, AI | Engineers you interview and direct |
| Time to ship | Pod live in 2 hours, day-2 PR | 2 to 4 weeks to assemble and ramp |
| Billable hours utilization | Outcomes-based (not hours) | Roughly 70 to 80% of billed hours are coding |
| AI acceleration | Custom AI agents per engineer | Ad-hoc, varies by engineer |
The differences that compound.
You set priorities. We own delivery.
With BairesDev, you still run engineering. You interview, you assign, you review, you unblock, you escalate. With Metafic, the tech architect owns delivery end-to-end. You set quarterly priorities and review shipped work. The day-to-day is not your problem.
Outcomes, not bench hours.
Staff aug bills hours. The incentive is "more hours per month." Pods sell outcomes, which are sprints shipped. The incentive is "more features per sprint." Different math, different result.
No multi-month lock-in.
BairesDev typically requires $50K-plus minimum engagements with multi-month commits. Metafic is pause-anytime. If you do not need a pod next month, you do not pay. No contracts to terminate, no severance, no awkward conversations.
Predictable vs variable.
BairesDev: $50 to $180 per hour per engineer depending on level. A typical team of two senior engineers plus one QA runs $40K to $60K+ per month. Minimum engagements often start at $50K with multi-month commitments.
Metafic: $15K/mo flat. Full pod, no minimums, pause anytime. Delivery is our responsibility, not yours.
Companies that want shipped outcomes without managing developers. If you do not want to interview, coordinate, code-review, or track hours, and you want pricing your CFO can defend, a pod is the right shape.
Companies that specifically want engineers embedded in their team, with full ability to interview, manage, and direct day-to-day work. Good for organizations that already have engineering management capacity and want to extend it.
Common questions.
Is Metafic a BairesDev alternative?
Yes, if you want to buy outcomes instead of managing developers. BairesDev gives you engineers to run. Metafic gives you a pod that runs itself. The fundamental difference is who owns delivery: you, or us.
What does a BairesDev team actually cost?
BairesDev rates run $50 to $80 per hour for mid-level developers, $80 to $130 per hour for senior, and $100 to $180 per hour for specialists. A five-person squad typically exceeds $60K per month. Minimum engagements start around $50K. A Metafic pod is $15K per month flat for a 4-person team.
I want to be hands-off. How hands-off can I actually be with Metafic?
Most clients spend 30 to 60 minutes a week with us. A weekly sync to confirm priorities and review shipped work, plus async updates in your Slack. We handle architecture decisions, code review, QA, releases, incident response, and follow-ups. If a pod member rotates, we handle the handover. If a hire is not working, we replace them. You do not run the team.
What about scaling. Can I add more pods?
Yes. Most clients start with one pod and add a second when they have a clear second product line or capacity need. The second pod runs $13K/mo (instead of $15K). You can scale up or pause individual pods as priorities shift.
Stop managing developers.
Start shipping product.
One subscription. Continuous delivery. Zero management overhead. Pause anytime.