Once a founder decides an automated scan alone isn't enough, and it usually isn't for anything handling real customer data, the next question is how to get an actual human to look. Two common paths: a fixed-price audit like Harbova's Deep Audit, or hiring an independent freelance security tester directly. Worth comparing honestly.
Pricing certainty
A fixed-price audit means exactly that, you know the number before agreeing to it. Freelance security testing is usually quoted hourly or scoped per engagement, and the final number depends heavily on how complex your app turns out to be once someone's actually inside it, which is genuinely hard to estimate accurately before starting. Neither approach is wrong, but one gives you certainty upfront and the other doesn't.
Turnaround time
A structured audit built specifically around common AI-tool patterns can move faster simply because the tester already knows the specific shapes these gaps tend to take, database rules, key placement, ownership checks, rather than starting from a completely open-ended assessment. A general freelance engagement can certainly move quickly too, depending entirely on who you hire and their own familiarity with how these particular apps get built.
What you actually get at the end
This is where quality varies the most in either direction. A good freelance tester delivers a thorough, well-explained report. A rushed or unfamiliar one might hand you a technical document you can't act on without translating it yourself. Harbova's audits are built specifically to be readable by a non-technical founder, plain language, ranked by what to fix first, exact fix instructions rather than just a list of problems.
The honest comparison
Neither path is universally better. A freelance tester with real, specific experience auditing AI-built apps can absolutely deliver excellent, tailored work, sometimes at a price that beats a fixed package for a very large or unusual app. A fixed-price audit trades some of that flexibility for price certainty and a process built specifically around the patterns these tools tend to produce.
If you want price certainty and a report you can act on without translating it yourself, that's exactly what Deep Audit is built for.
Related reading
- A One-Time Deep Audit vs Continuous Shield: Which Actually Fits Where You Are
- A One-Time Audit vs Recurring Checks: Which Does Your App Actually Need?
- Encryption at Rest vs in Transit: What Each One Actually Protects Against
See what's included in Deep Audit and the fixed price.
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