To hire an iOS developer: shortlist people with apps on the App Store that you can download today, ask how they choose between SwiftUI and UIKit, ask about the last App Review rejection they handled, and set up the Apple Developer account in your own name before work starts. For a company account that takes longer than people expect.
Native iOS work is a narrower hire than "mobile developer", and that is its strength. Someone who writes Swift every day knows the platform's conventions, Apple's review rules and the yearly upgrade cycle in a way a generalist does not. The general process is in how to hire a freelance developer without Upwork or Fiverr. This post covers what is specific to iOS.
When native iOS is the right call
Hire a native iOS developer when:
- Your users are mostly on iPhone, and an Android version is not planned for the next year.
- The app leans on Apple features: home screen widgets, the Apple Watch, Apple Health, Apple Pay, deep camera or audio work.
- It has to feel exactly like an iPhone app, because your audience will notice if it does not.
If you need both platforms from the start, a cross-platform framework is usually the cheaper first version. Flutter or React Native covers that choice.
Read their App Store listings like a buyer
Ask for links to apps they built, download at least one, and look at the listing itself, not just the app:
- The seller name. When an individual enrols in Apple's programme, their personal legal name is shown as the seller. If a client's app lists the freelancer as the seller, that tells you how they set up accounts for clients.
- Version history. Updates spread over a year or more mean the app was maintained through new iOS releases.
- The app privacy section. Someone had to declare what data the app collects. A careful answer there usually means a careful developer.
- Ratings and the developer's replies to reviews, if any.
Then use the app. Swipe back from the left edge. Turn on Dark Mode. Increase the text size in Settings and reopen it. A native iOS app that breaks under those basics was not tested by someone who cares about the platform.
SwiftUI or UIKit: the question that shows experience
Apple has two ways to build an interface. SwiftUI is the newer one and where Apple puts its effort. UIKit is older, very mature, and still underneath a great many apps.
Ask: "Which do you use, and when do you reach for the other one?"
A good answer is specific. Many experienced developers build in SwiftUI and drop into UIKit for a particular screen or component that SwiftUI handles badly. Someone who has only ever used one, and dismisses the other, has probably worked on fewer kinds of apps. Follow up with: "What is the oldest iOS version you would support for my app, and what does that cost us?" Supporting older phones limits which newer features they can use.
App Review experience is part of the job
Apple reviews every app and every update. Its own figures say it reviews at least half of submissions in under 24 hours and 90% in under 48 (App Review, checked in October 2026). The time is rarely the problem. Rejections are.
These four guidelines catch first-time apps often enough to ask about by name:
| Guideline | What it means for your project |
|---|---|
| 2.1 App Completeness | If the app has a login, the reviewer needs a working demo account, and the backend has to be up. |
| 4.2 Minimum Functionality | An app that is a repackaged website is likely to be rejected. It needs to be more than that. |
| 4.8 Login Services | If you offer Google or Facebook sign-in, you must also offer an equivalent option that limits data to name and email and lets users hide their email. |
| 5.1.1(v) Account deletion | If users can create an account in the app, they must be able to delete it in the app. |
Ask the developer: "Tell me about a rejection you got and what you changed." Everyone who has shipped a few apps has one. The current rules are in Apple's App Review Guidelines, and they change, so check them rather than relying on a summary.
The Apple account, in your name
The Apple Developer Program costs 99 USD a year. To enrol as a company, Apple requires a legal entity (not a trade name), a D-U-N-S number, a public website and a work email on your company's domain. The D-U-N-S number is free in most countries, but getting one takes time, so start that before development, not at the end.
Then invite the developer to your account. Do not let the app go out under theirs "to get started".
Builds need a current Mac
Since 28 April 2026, apps uploaded to App Store Connect must be built with Xcode 26 or later (Apple's upcoming requirements, checked in October 2026). Xcode runs on macOS, so your developer needs a reasonably current Mac, or a cloud build service set up in your accounts. Ask which. It sounds trivial until a deadline lands on someone whose Mac cannot run the version Apple now requires.
The same rule is the reason an iOS app is never truly finished. Apple moves the requirement roughly once a year, so budget for at least one maintenance update a year even if nothing else changes. How much app maintenance costs goes through the rest.
Where to look
On Shipfolks you can browse Swift developers who are open to work. Each profile leads with apps you can open, so the listing checks above take a few minutes per person. The project cost estimator will give you a first estimate in developer-weeks before you start those conversations.