How to Choose a Software Development Company in Romania: A Practical Checklist

Romania has hundreds of software companies. Here is how to separate the ones that will ship your product from the ones that will burn your budget — the questions to ask, the red flags, and what good looks like.

By Alin at Artificially · · Product

Romania is one of Europe's most established places to build software. It has a large pool of experienced engineers, strong English, EU contracts and GDPR, and working hours that overlap with the UK and the rest of Europe. That also means there are hundreds of companies to choose from — from two-person studios to large outsourcing firms — and the difference between a good and a bad choice is usually measured in months and tens of thousands of euros.

This checklist is what we would want a client to go through before choosing any partner, including us.

1. Decide which engagement model you actually need

Most mismatches start here. Before talking to anyone, decide which of these three models fits your situation:

Some companies only do one of these well. Ask directly which model most of their revenue comes from.

2. Check proof, not promises

Every company's website says "senior engineers" and "agile delivery". Look for evidence you can verify:

3. Ask who will actually work on your project

The people in the sales call are often not the people who write the code. Ask:

Direct access to the engineers is one of the strongest predictors of a smooth project.

4. Understand the pricing — and what is not included

In Romania, senior developers through a company typically cost around 4,000–7,000 EUR per month, depending on technology and experience. For complete projects, realistic ranges in 2026 are roughly:

A quote far below these ranges usually means junior developers, missing pieces (testing, deployment, documentation) or change requests that will cost extra later. Ask what is included: discovery, design, testing, deployment, documentation, and support after launch.

5. Prefer time and materials with a budget cap

Fixed-price contracts feel safe but encourage padding estimates and fighting over every change. For most projects, time and materials with an agreed budget cap works better: you pay for work actually done, keep flexibility as requirements evolve, and still have a ceiling. Fixed price makes sense for small, well-defined scopes.

6. Make sure you own everything

Ownership problems are the hardest to fix later. Before signing, confirm that:

7. Look at how they communicate in the first two weeks

The sales process is a preview of the project. Did they ask good questions about your business before talking about technology? Did they send what they promised on time? Was the proposal specific about team, hours and budget? If communication is slow before you sign, it rarely improves after.

8. Start small

The lowest-risk way to choose a partner is a short paid first step: a discovery phase (typically 2,000–5,000 EUR) or a proof of concept of a few weeks. You get a concrete deliverable, see how the team works, and keep the option to stop before committing to a large budget.

Red flags

The short version

Choose the model first, verify proof, meet the actual team, understand the full cost, keep ownership of everything, and start with a small paid step. If you want a second opinion on a proposal you have received — from us or anyone else — we are happy to take a look. Book a 15-minute call, or read more about software outsourcing to Romania and what custom software costs.

Need help with a similar project? Book a free 15-minute discovery call with Artificially.

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