Programmer in Québec: Fiverr, Lovable or an agency? Prices and pitfalls

Are you an entrepreneur or a business owner looking for a programmer or developer to turn your idea into a technology solution? This article is for you.

Most people start the same way: they do some research and ask around. Then they find two things. First, a programmer costs more than expected. Second, there are alternatives that look much cheaper: Fiverr, Upwork, or even building the application yourself with Lovable.

By asking around, searching online or asking ChatGPT, you have probably seen figures of $100 to $200 an hour. That is often more than people expected, and it is what pushes entrepreneurs toward cheaper solutions.

As a benchmark, according to the Clutch directory, among the 22 Québec development firms that display their rate, 10 charge between $100 and $149 an hour and 4 between $150 and $199.

On Fiverr and Upwork you find programmers at very low prices. The problem is that they are on the other side of the world: they don't always speak your language, don't understand your vision and don't know Québec's reality.

They can deliver something. But they won't help you improve your business idea, clarify your needs and target audience, or think through marketing and sales. And that is often where a project succeeds or fails.

This is where a software development agency like Oriana Solutions is worth it. We truly care about the person and their need, and we always offer a solution adapted to their situation.

We are also one of the only agencies that publicly posts a $5,000 offer for an MVP in 14 days. Unfortunately, many agencies still charge $100,000 to $200,000 for custom software that can be built for $10,000 to $20,000.

Why? Because artificial intelligence now lets us work much faster and save money, and those savings can be passed on to the client.

Several platforms such as Lovable, Replit, Bolt or Base44 have appeared. They let you create an application without programming. But by working with them, you depend on their system, and since it is no-code, it is not necessarily scalable.

At the beginning, for a proof of concept or a first general idea, it is a good option (see our vibe coding tools). Afterwards, it is advisable to move to experts, to make sure you have a secure solution that protects data.

The risk is real. According to Veracode's 2025 report, which tested more than 100 AI models on 80 programming tasks, AI-generated code introduces security flaws in 45% of cases. And researchers documented in 2025 a flaw (CVE-2025-48757) in the configuration of Lovable's database security, which could let unauthenticated people read or write to the tables of some generated applications.

Some companies have already paid the price. In 2025, the founder of Enrichlead, a sales lead generation tool, claimed that 100% of his platform's code was written by Cursor, an AI tool. A few days after launch, basic security flaws were discovered: users could access paid features or alter data. The founder failed to fix the code using the tool, and the project was shut down (according to Kaspersky).

Whatever you choose, ask these five questions:

Before building your application yourself, keep these five pitfalls in mind:

That is why our team includes senior developers and programmers, including full stack programmers specialized in AI (see the team): they know where no-code tools stop and how to build a secure application that grows with your business.

For your next custom software or web application project, aim for the best value for money: a local team that understands your market, advises you and posts its prices. That is exactly what we aim to be.