Embedded engineers vs a recruitment agency
Use a recruitment agency when you want a permanent employee on your own payroll and can wait about four months before they start. Choose engineers who join through Miyagami when you need senior people working in your team within days and want the employment risk to stay with the supplier.
How the two compare on what matters
The table covers the eight criteria buyers ask about most, from time to start to compliance.
| Miyagami engineers | A recruitment agency | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to start | Three working days to a shortlist, five to a hire | About four months, including the time before the candidate can leave their job |
| All-in cost | from €5,600 a month per engineer, no recruitment fee | A fee of around 20% of first-year salary, then salary and employer costs |
| Who vets the engineers | Two live assessments, AI off and on, scorecards shared | The agency screens CVs, you run the technical interviews |
| Who manages the work | Your lead, in your sprints | Your lead |
| When it goes wrong | Replaced at our cost | A rebate period, then a new search |
| Commitment | Three-month minimum | Permanent employment |
| Compliance and IP | Employed by us, ISO 27001, IP yours on payment | Your employee, your obligations |
| Best for | Senior capacity in your team for months or years | Permanent roles where you can wait for the right hire |
When a recruitment agency fits better
Where a recruitment agency does better
A permanent member of staff
The person joins your payroll and builds knowledge that stays in the company for years.
Wide reach in your own market
A good agency knows local candidates who aren't actively looking, which matters for senior permanent roles.
Where embedded engineers do better
Days instead of months
A shortlist within three working days and a hire within five, against about four months for a local search.
Technical vetting you can see
Engineers have already passed two assessments in a real codebase, with AI tools off and on, and you see both scorecards.
Questions about this comparison
You can read how we vet engineers, then compare the cost against a local hire.
How we vetWhen should I choose a recruitment agency over embedded engineers?
Use a recruitment agency when you want a permanent employee on your own payroll and can wait about four months before they start. Choose engineers who join through Miyagami when you need senior people working in your team within days and want the employment risk to stay with the supplier.
How fast can embedded engineers start compared with a recruitment agency?
You get a shortlist within three working days of your brief and can hire within five. A recruitment agency: about four months, including the time before the candidate can leave their job.
Who vets Miyagami engineers?
Miyagami engineers run two sixty-minute assessments in a real codebase, the first with AI tools off and the second with the candidate's own agents on, and you see both scorecards.
Embedded engineers vs
Hiring in-house
Hiring in-house makes sense when the role will exist for years and you can wait three to four months.
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Freelancers
A freelancer suits small, bounded work you can specify, such as a short specialist task or testing an idea.
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Software agencies
Pick an agency when you want a defined product built and handed over, with someone else owning delivery.
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Nearshore teams in Eastern Europe
Nearshore teams in Eastern Europe make sense when you need a full working day of timezone overlap and cost matters less.
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Offshore development companies
A large offshore development company suits you when you need volume on well-specified work and have the management capacity to run it.
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Freelance platforms
A freelance platform suits short, self-contained work where you want to browse many profiles quickly.
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Managed services
Choose a managed service when you want a provider to run a whole function, such as support or infrastructure, against an SLA and a monthly fee.
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An employer of record
Use an employer of record when you've already found the engineer you want abroad and only need someone to employ them legally.
CompareGet a shortlist within three days
You share the roles and the stack in a short form or a thirty-minute call. Within three working days you get named senior engineers to review, each with both scorecards, and you can hire within five.
ISO 27001Certified