We're Not the Right Fit for Every Project
Here's how we compare against in-house teams, big consultancies, freelancers, and no-code platforms — and when to pick each. Including the honest list of when to NOT pick us.
Differentiators
Six Things That Make Us Different
Not marketing positioning — operational practices we'll hold ourselves to in writing during scoping.
Senior engineer on every engagement.
Andrew Purcell is on every project as primary architect and lead engineer. We do not subcontract overseas, we do not hide a junior team behind a senior face, and the person scoping your project is the person building it.
Fixed-price scope, signed before code starts.
No hourly billing surprises. We scope the work upfront with written requirements, a fixed price, and a clear timeline. Scope changes get a written change order — no quiet rate creep.
You own the code, the infrastructure, and the runbook.
We deliver into your repo, deploy to your infrastructure, and hand off complete operational documentation. Any other developer or firm can pick up where we left off. We've never held a client hostage with code only we can run.
We ship the same stack we use ourselves.
Purcell Analytics operates 14+ web properties on the same Django + React + Postgres + AACC platform we deploy for clients. Our tools are battle-tested in our own production, not just demos.
We won't take an engagement we can't make pay back.
If the math says no-code is cheaper, we'll tell you. If your project would be better served by a freelancer, we'll refer you to one. The engagements we take are the ones where we're genuinely the right call.
30 days of operational support included.
Production launch is when most agencies disappear. Ours includes 30 days of free operational support to catch the edge cases that only surface under real load. After that, optional retainer or you operate it with your team — your choice.
Comparison
vs. The Alternatives
Four genuine alternatives to hiring us. Each is the right answer for some projects. Here's how to tell which.
In-house dev team
- Time to first shipMonths (hiring)
- Cost per project$150K+/yr/headcount
- Switching costHigh
- Deep expertise on day 1Hiring lottery
- Best forLong-term roadmap
Big consulting firm
- Time to first shipMonths (SOW + ramp)
- Cost per project$$$$$
- Switching costProcurement-grade
- Deep expertise on day 1Pitched, not delivered
- Best forEnterprise procurement
Freelance contractor
- Time to first shipDays
- Cost per project$
- Switching costLow
- Deep expertise on day 1Specific skill
- Best forSingle-task work
Purcell Analytics
- Time to first ship2 weeks (prototype) → 4-12 weeks (full)
- Cost per projectFixed, $$
- Switching costZero — you own everything
- Deep expertise on day 1Senior, multi-disciplinary
- Best forProduction systems you'll own for years
When to pass
When We're Not the Right Call
Six common situations where another option is better. If you see your project here, we'll tell you in the discovery call — and refer you to whoever's better suited.
- →You need someone in your office Monday-Friday. We're remote. We won't pretend to be a local hire.
- →Your budget is sub-$8K. The smallest engagements we take are focused integrations or single-workflow automations. Below that, a freelancer or Zapier setup is probably the right call — we'll refer you.
- →You need native iOS or Android. Not our specialty. We do web apps that work great on mobile (PWA, responsive) and refer to native partners when the use case genuinely needs it.
- →You want lowest-bidder pricing. Our economics target senior engineering quality at fixed-price predictability — we're not the cheapest option and we don't try to be.
- →Your spec is "build me an AI agent that does everything." The good engagements have a specific workflow, a measurable hours-saved-per-month number, and a clear definition of done. Speculative open-ended AI work usually doesn't pay back.
- →You need someone to write your code from scratch in the cheapest possible way. We bring opinions, engineering practices, and a quality bar. If those feel like overhead, we're not your match.
Who we are
The Honest Facts
No fabricated metrics, no inflated team size. Here's who you'd actually be working with.
Founded
2018
Originally a sales engineering practice; pivoted to custom dev + AI + integration when client demand made it obvious.
Andrew Purcell
Lead
10+ years shipping production Django + React. Previously sales engineering, ERP integrations, SaaS internals. On every engagement.
Internal stack
14+ properties
We operate 14+ web properties (this site included) on the same stack we ship to clients. Battle-tested, not pitched.
Programmatic SEO
10,000+ pages
purcellanalytics.com runs the same programmatic SEO system we deploy for clients. Visible proof, not vapor.
Process
How We Work
Discovery → scope → build → launch → operate. What you'll see from us each week.
Pricing
Pricing
Fixed-price scope per service. No hourly surprises. What each tier covers and what it doesn't.
Proof
Case Studies
Engagements we've shipped, the stack we used, and what changed for the client.
Still Reading? We're Probably a Fit.
Schedule a 30-minute discovery call. We'll discuss your project + send a written assessment within a week — including whether we're the right call.