How to hire a vibe-coder without getting burned
The questions to ask, the red flags to spot, and the contract clauses that matter.
50% on kickoff, 50% on delivery · 30 days of free revisions · you own the code
Recent work
See all →
Why we wrote this. We ship work like this ourselves — not as a reseller or a marketplace. The timelines, deliverables, and price bands below come from real engagements we've run end-to-end at Smartly Built Ventures Limited (trading as Vibed Ventures).
Who this is for
- Founders evaluating their first AI-app builder
- Operators screening contractor proposals
- Anyone who can't tell a good portfolio from a templated one
What you get
- Five questions every vibe-coder should be able to answer
- Red flags: live demo only, no GitHub, no SSR, 'we'll send a Loom later'
- Contract clauses to insist on (IP assignment, source on day one, no platform lock-in)
- What a fair fixed-price quote looks like by project size
Dig deeper
Frequently asked
What's the biggest red flag?
'We host it for you' with no exit clause. If you can't take your code and database and walk, you don't own your business.
Should I ask for a fixed price or hourly?
Fixed price for anything well-specced. Hourly only for genuinely exploratory work — and then with a cap.
What happens next
- Step 1Tell us the problem60 seconds in the /solve box. You don't need a brief.
- Step 2Get a tailored reportROI, build plan and a rough price band — emailed to you.
- Step 3Book a 25-min callWe talk it through honestly. If it's not for us, we'll say so.
Related in guides
- How much does it cost to build an app in 2026?Real numbers from real builds. No 'it depends' filler.
- The 2-week MVP checklistEverything you need decided before kickoff so the build actually fits in 14 days.
- What is AI SEO — and does it actually work?What 'AI SEO' actually means, what it can't do, and what we've seen across real client builds.
- What is vibe coding?The plain-English definition, where it came from, and when it beats a traditional build.