Software development outsourcing companies in Vietnam
Software development outsourcing companies in Vietnam are popular because they can deliver strong engineering output at competitive rates—but only if you choose the right engagement model, vet the team properly, and set up the contract for predictable delivery. This guide walks you through a buyer’s checklist (with templates) so you can pick a Vietnam vendor without stepping on the usual landmines.
If you’re deciding between an outsourcing company versus building your own team, you may also want to browse VietDevHire’s talent paths: /developers and current openings at /jobs.
How to choose software development outsourcing companies in Vietnam
Treat vendor selection like hiring a senior engineer: evaluate capability, communication, process, and risk—not marketing. Here’s a practical scoring rubric.
1) Start with the right engagement model (and don’t mix them)
Most failed outsourcing relationships come from a mismatch between your needs and the vendor’s operating model.
A) Project-based (fixed scope, fixed price)
- Best when scope is stable and you can define acceptance criteria up front.
- Risks: change requests become expensive; vendors may optimize for “deliver contract” vs “deliver outcome.”
B) Dedicated team (monthly retainer for a squad)
- Best when you have an evolving roadmap and want a stable team that learns your domain.
- You should still define weekly deliverables and quality bars.
C) Staff augmentation (you manage individuals)
- Best when you already have engineering leadership and need to scale capacity.
- You’ll want clear onboarding and standards.
If your product is React-heavy, a good dedicated model plus strong front-end leadership often wins. See: /hire-developers/react.
2) Define what “good” means in measurable terms
Before you talk to any vendor, write the three constraints:
- Quality bar: testing expectations, review gates, security requirements.
- Delivery bar: sprint cadence, demo frequency, definition of done.
- Communication bar: response time, escalation path, written updates.
A simple, effective default is:
- Weekly demo
- Daily async update (short)
- “Definition of Done” includes tests + code review + deploy to staging
If you’re building an API-driven product, specify your backend stack and quality expectations early. Example stack pages: /hire-developers/nodejs and /hire-developers/python.
3) Vendor shortlisting: what to ask for in the first 30 minutes
You’re not trying to learn their life story. You’re trying to test fit.
Ask for:
- Two relevant case studies (same domain or similar complexity)
- Team composition (roles and seniority distribution)
- Your exact delivery process (how requirements become working software)
- Sample artifacts: PR examples, architecture diagram, test plan, postmortem
- Security posture: access controls, secrets management, incident response
Red flags:
- They won’t show any artifacts (even sanitized)
- They promise exact dates without seeing requirements
- They avoid talking about QA and deployments
4) Technical evaluation: audit their engineering system, not just their pitch
A great Vietnam outsourcing vendor will have a repeatable system:
Code quality & review
- Two-person review for non-trivial changes
- Linting and formatting automated
- Clear branching strategy
Testing discipline
- Unit tests for core logic
- Integration tests for key flows
- End-to-end tests for the money paths
CI/CD
- Every PR runs checks automatically
- Staging deploy is routine, not ceremonial
Useful references to align on expectations:
- OWASP Top 10 (security baseline): https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/
- NIST Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF): https://csrc.nist.gov/Projects/ssdf
- The Scrum Guide (if they claim “Scrum”): https://scrumguides.org/
- GitHub Actions docs (common CI standard): https://docs.github.com/actions
5) Pricing: how Vietnam outsourcing is typically structured (and how to compare)
To compare software development outsourcing companies in Vietnam fairly, normalize pricing into effective cost per outcome, not just hourly rates.
Common structures:
- Hourly: flexible, but requires strong management.
- Monthly team retainer: predictable; best for ongoing roadmap.
- Milestone-based: good if you can define acceptance and test criteria.
What you should always request:
- A rate card (by role level)
- A sample team plan for your first 6–8 weeks
- A definition of what’s included (PM? QA? DevOps? design?)
6) Contract essentials (non-negotiable)
Most “outsourcing disasters” are contract disasters. Put these in writing:
IP ownership
- You own all work product upon payment.
Access and escrow
- You control repositories, cloud accounts, and CI/CD.
- No single vendor-controlled gate that can hold you hostage.
Security and confidentiality
- NDAs are not enough; require basic controls.
- Align on how secrets are stored, rotated, and revoked.
Termination and transition
- Include a transition period (e.g., 2–4 weeks) with handover artifacts.
- Require updated documentation.
If you want a safer middle ground, consider building a core internal tech lead and using Vietnam vendors for execution. Pages that help:
External references:
- ISO/IEC 27001 overview (security management): https://www.iso.org/isoiec-27001-information-security.html
- Google SRE book (reliability mindset): https://sre.google/books/
7) Communication & timezone: make it boring (boring is good)
Vietnam time (ICT, UTC+7) overlaps well with much of Asia and gives partial overlap with Europe. For US teams, you’ll likely need:
- One overlapping meeting window
- Strong async culture
- Written decisions and requirements
A lightweight operating rhythm:
- Weekly planning + demo
- Mid-week check-in
- Daily async status
8) The “first 2 weeks” pilot plan (copy/paste)
If you’re unsure, run a short pilot that forces reality:
Week 1: Foundations
- Repo + CI configured
- Coding standards agreed
- Skeleton service/UI running in staging
- First small feature end-to-end
Week 2: Delivery and quality
- 2–3 real features shipped to staging
- Test coverage demonstrated
- Monitoring/logging basics
Exit criteria
- Velocity is measurable
- Quality issues are visible (or absent)
- Communication is consistent
9) Checklist: how to compare 3–5 Vietnam vendors quickly
Score each vendor from 1–5 on:
- Technical leadership quality
- Testing/CI discipline
- Communication clarity (written)
- Ability to show artifacts
- Contract clarity (IP, access, termination)
- References / reputation (verifiable)
If two vendors are close, pick the one that:
- Writes better documentation
- Shows better process artifacts
- Has a clear escalation path
FAQs
Are software development outsourcing companies in Vietnam good for startups?
Yes—especially if you have a clear MVP and can run a 2-week pilot. The key is to avoid “fixed scope fantasy” and focus on measurable delivery and quality signals.
What’s the biggest risk when outsourcing to Vietnam?
Not Vietnam specifically—the biggest risk is weak specification + weak QA, which turns into rework. Solve it with a clear Definition of Done, CI gates, and a weekly demo.
Is outsourcing better than hiring developers directly?
If you have strong engineering leadership and want maximum control, direct hiring is often best. If you need speed and a ready-made delivery machine, a dedicated team can be better. You can also blend: hire a core lead and augment execution.
Where can I hire developers in Vietnam directly?
Start here: /developers. If you want stack-specific routes, browse /hire-developers/nextjs or other stacks.
Next step: If you want a vendor-free approach, browse vetted candidates on /developers, or post the work on /jobs.