Freelance developers and entire companies are making a business out of fixing shoddy ‘vibe coded’ software, according to a recent report by 404 Media. The report highlights the growing market for developers who offer services specifically catering to people with poorly executed projects. Hamid Siddiqi, a freelance developer on Fiverr, described his work as helping clients improve their ‘vibe coded’ projects, which often suffer from inconsistent UI/UX design, poorly optimized code, and misaligned branding elements. He mentioned that his clients include a variety of individuals, from product managers to small business owners, who attempt to build digital projects without the technical expertise to do it correctly. These clients often face challenges such as performance issues, clunky features, and an overall lack of user experience.
Swatantra Sohni, the founder of VibeCodeFixers.com, emphasized that the platform is a response to the increasing number of non-technical individuals attempting to build software without proper guidance. He noted that the platform has already attracted over 300 experienced developers and has connected 30-40 projects with fixers, though Sohni has not yet focused on promoting the service. He explained that the biggest issue he has encountered is ‘credit burn,’ where clients waste money on AI usage fees during the final stages of development, when adding new features often breaks existing ones. Despite these challenges, Sohni believes that ‘vibe coding’ is not going anywhere, but he also acknowledged that human developers will still be needed to ensure that AI-driven projects remain functional and maintainable.
Established software development companies like Ulam Labs are also capitalizing on this trend, offering services to clean up after ‘vibe coding’ has been done. Ulam Labs pitches its services by highlighting the technical debt that results from rushed or poorly structured projects. They argue that the lack of testing, unstable architecture, and the difficulty of maintaining changes are all problems that human developers can resolve. As more individuals and businesses attempt to create digital products without proper expertise, the market for fixing ‘vibe coded’ software is expected to grow, prompting a shift in the software development industry towards a more specialized and professional approach to managing these projects.