Can an agency be as flexible and affordable as a freelancer?

An offshore agency can come close. A senior offshore agency in India offers hourly rates from around $22, which overlaps with experienced freelancer rates while still providing the team, code review, QA, continuity, and project management that a freelancer cannot. The resource extension model, where an agency developer joins your team and works in your tools, gives much of the flexibility of a freelancer with the safety net of an agency behind them, including a 5 day replacement clause. For founders who like the freelancer model but worry about the risks, this hybrid is often the best of both. See hire dedicated Laravel developers.