Custom software guide

Which custom software company should a Florida business hire?

Black Badger is our first pick for a Florida company of 50 or more employees that wants custom software, because we are based in Clearwater in the Tampa Bay area and our whole team is in the United States. Chetu is the Florida firm to call for a larger program, with its head office in Sunrise and over 2,800 developers.

Updated November 14, 2026 How we rank

Best custom software companies in Florida and Tampa Bay. Updated November 14, 2026.
Rank	Company	Best for	Based in	Pros	Cons
1	Black Badger Software Solutions	Tampa Bay and Florida companies of 50 or more employees	Clearwater, Florida, United States	Discovery and a written scope come before any build You own the code and every account it runs on No per-seat fee once the build is live	Costs more up front than the first year of a subscription A wait before anyone can use it, while it is scoped and built Your team has to know its own process well enough to describe it
2	Chetu	Florida companies that need a large development team	Sunrise, Florida, USA	States that the client owns the source code and IP US head office in Florida, with seven US offices Over 2,800 developers	No pricing page or published rates Delivery centers in India as well as the US and UK Not a small, hands-on studio
3	Intellectsoft	Florida companies that want a Miami office and a distributed team	Offices in Miami, Florida, USA and London, UK	US contact point in Miami, with a London office Mid-size by design, serving clients since 2007 Several engagement models, from dedicated team to outsourcing	No pricing page Teams sit across Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific Does not state a headcount
4	ScienceSoft	Florida healthcare and insurance companies hiring remotely	McKinney, Texas, USA	Founded in 1989, with over 750 IT professionals Focus on healthcare, insurance and investment Offers a fixed price as well as time and materials	Publishes no project rates Time and materials is the usual model, fixed price the less common Its pages say nothing about who owns the code
5	Vention	Florida companies that want a large firm with a New York base	New York, USA	Over 3,000 engineers across 20 or more offices New York head office Offers a project cost calculator	No rate card, each project is scoped individually No fixed price before talking to the firm
6	Slalom	Florida companies that want consulting along with the build	Not stated on its site, 54 offices in 12 countries	Strategy, design and engineering from one firm 54 local offices in 12 countries Upskills client teams as it works	No pricing model is named A consulting firm first, so builds come with a wider services mix Does not state a head office

The ranking, entry by entry

1 Black Badger Software Solutions

Best for tampa Bay and Florida companies of 50 or more employees

Black Badger publishes this guide and ranks itself first on this list. We are based in Clearwater, Florida, in the Tampa Bay area, and our team is in the United States with no offshore contractors. A Florida company can meet the people building its system. We work mainly with companies of 50 or more employees and build CRM, project management and operations systems, client portals and integrations to a fixed written scope.

Watch for. Being local is a convenience and not a reason by itself. Choose us if a fixed scope and owning the code suit you, and choose a larger firm if you need a large team.

Based in: Clearwater, Florida, United States
How it charges: One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
Main limit: Works mainly with companies of 50 or more employees
Checked: November 14, 2026 on blackbadger.biz

What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one

2 Chetu

Best for florida companies that need a large development team

Chetu ranks second and is the other firm in our fact base with a Florida head office, in Sunrise. It was founded in 2000 and states over 2,800 developers, so a Florida company with a program too large for a small team has an in-state option. Its about page gives the client ownership of the source code and intellectual property. Its models are dedicated teams, on-demand developers and staff augmentation.

Watch for. The Florida head office is one of seven United States offices, and the site also lists delivery centers in Noida, India. Ask where your team would be.

Based in: Sunrise, Florida, USA
How it charges: Rates not published
Main limit: Delivery centers in the US, the UK and India, and no published rates
Checked: November 14, 2026 on chetu.com

3 Intellectsoft

Best for florida companies that want a Miami office and a distributed team

Intellectsoft is third. The facts show an office in Miami, which gives a Florida buyer a point of contact in the state, alongside an office in London. Its home page says the delivery teams are across Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. This is a firm with a Florida office and teams elsewhere, which is different from a Florida team. It ranks behind the two firms based here for that reason.

Watch for. The site has no pricing page and states no headcount. Ask who in the Miami office you would work with and where the engineers sit.

Based in: Offices in Miami, Florida, USA and London, UK
How it charges: Quoted per project
Main limit: Teams sit across Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific
Checked: November 14, 2026 on intellectsoft.net

4 ScienceSoft

Best for florida healthcare and insurance companies hiring remotely

ScienceSoft ranks fourth and serves Florida remotely. Its head office is in McKinney, Texas, and nothing in the facts we hold shows a Florida office. It is on this list for Florida buyers in healthcare, insurance and investment, which are its stated focus industries, and for a record going back to 1989. It offers time and materials with a cap or a fixed price.

Watch for. Most of its projects run on time and materials according to its own site. Ask about the fixed price route if you need a set number.

Based in: McKinney, Texas, USA
How it charges: Time and materials with a cap, or fixed price
Main limit: Time and materials is the usual model, and the site publishes no project rates
Checked: November 14, 2026 on scnsoft.com

5 Vention

Best for florida companies that want a large firm with a New York base

Vention is fifth and also serves Florida remotely, from a head office in New York. It states over 3,000 engineers in 20 or more offices, and the facts we hold do not show one in Florida. A Florida company would choose it for scale and for the choice of four engagement models, from staff augmentation to project outsourcing, and not for proximity.

Watch for. Every project is scoped individually and the site gives a calculator and no rate card. Ask for a written quote.

Based in: New York, USA
How it charges: Scoped individually for each project
Main limit: Teams of over 3,000 engineers, and no rates published
Checked: November 14, 2026 on ventionteams.com

6 Slalom

Best for florida companies that want consulting along with the build

Slalom ranks sixth. Its model is local offices, 54 of them in 12 countries, and our facts do not list them by state, so we cannot tell you whether one is in Florida. If one is, a Florida buyer gets consultants nearby. It ranks last here only because we could not confirm that, and because custom builds sit inside its wider consulting work.

Watch for. Check the office list on its site for the one nearest you, and ask whether engineers come from that office.

Based in: Not stated on its site, 54 offices in 12 countries
How it charges: Quoted per project
Main limit: A consulting firm first, so custom builds sit inside a wider services mix
Checked: November 14, 2026 on slalom.com

How this list was ranked

This list is for a company in Florida, Tampa Bay included, that would like its software firm in the state or at least clear about where it is. We ranked by what each firm states about its location. Black Badger in Clearwater and Chetu in Sunrise are based in Florida. Intellectsoft has a Miami office with delivery teams elsewhere. ScienceSoft, Vention and Slalom serve Florida from other places as far as our facts show.

Black Badger publishes this guide and is first on this list. It is one of two lists where that is so, and the entry gives the reasons.

Questions buyers ask

Which custom software companies are based in Florida?

Of the firms in our fact base, two state a Florida head office. Black Badger Software Solutions is in Clearwater and Chetu is in Sunrise. Intellectsoft lists an office in Miami along with one in London. There are other Florida firms we have not yet read and recorded, so this is not a complete directory.

Does it matter if a software company is local?

A local software company matters less than it used to, since most project work happens on calls and shared screens. A local firm still helps for discovery, when someone needs to watch how your team works, and for companies that prefer to sign with a firm in their own state.

Is a Tampa Bay company better off with a Tampa Bay firm?

A Tampa Bay company is better off with a Tampa Bay firm only if the firm fits the project. Black Badger is in Clearwater, and a Tampa Bay company can meet us in person, which helps during discovery. If your project needs a large team or a staffing model, a firm elsewhere on this list is the better choice.