Levi9 Alternative: StepTo vs Levi9
StepTo is a 15-20 engineer team in Belgrade, run from Belgrade. Levi9 is an Amsterdam-headquartered firm stating 1200+ people across five engineering cities in Serbia, Ukraine and Romania. Here is how to choose, with sources.
Reviewed by Igor Gazivoda, Founder & CEO of StepTo · Published · Updated
How Does StepTo Differ From Levi9?
StepTo is a Belgrade company with one Belgrade team: 15-20 engineers who have worked together since 2014, with published rates of $25-85/hr. Levi9 is a Dutch company with engineering hubs in three countries. Its About page gives an Amsterdam head office, a 2005 founding, "1200+ people", and locations in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kyiv, Lviv and Iasi.
So the choice is less about Serbian engineers, which both companies employ, and more about where the company is run from and how many places your team might be spread across. Levi9 describes itself as a technology partner that helps clients create digital products, scale their software and build digital platforms, and it lists "Team as a Service" among the ways it does so. Its founding idea, in its own words, was that Eastern Europe has many highly trained IT experts "with a good cultural match to Western Europe". StepTo does a narrower version of the same thing: dedicated product teams and staff augmentation for web, mobile, backend and AI work, from one city.
Where Does Levi9 Operate?
The locations below are the ones Levi9 lists on its About us page, read on 25 September 2026. StepTo's equivalent table would have one row: Belgrade, Serbia, where everyone works.
| City | Country | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | Netherlands | Headquarters (Muiderstraat 1) |
| Belgrade | Serbia | Engineering location |
| Novi Sad | Serbia | Engineering location |
| Kyiv | Ukraine | Engineering location |
| Lviv | Ukraine | Engineering location |
| Iasi | Romania | Engineering location |
A spread like this is a strength when a programme needs more people than one city can supply, and it keeps delivery going if one location is disrupted. The cost is that a team can be split across borders and time zones, which is worth asking about before you sign.
Three Structural Differences Between Levi9 and StepTo
Where decisions are made
Levi9: Amsterdam, where Levi9 was founded in 2005 and keeps its head office.
StepTo: Belgrade. The people who price, staff and review your project work in the same building as the engineers.
How many places your team could sit
Levi9: Five engineering cities in three countries, so a team can be assembled across Serbia, Ukraine and Romania.
StepTo: One. Every StepTo engineer works from the Belgrade office on Central European Time.
Size, in each company’s own words
Levi9: "1200+ people" and "100+ customer cases" on its About page.
StepTo: 15-20 engineers, and a client list short enough that each account matters to the whole company.
Levi9 figures are quoted from www.levi9.com/about-us as of 25 September 2026 and were not confirmed with Levi9 directly.
When Is Levi9 the Right Call Instead of StepTo?
- You need more than one team, soon. A company stating 1200+ people can open parallel workstreams. StepTo's ceiling is its own 15-20 engineers.
- Your procurement prefers an EU head office. Levi9's is in Amsterdam. StepTo is a Serbian company, so EU personal data moves under Standard Contractual Clauses.
- You want delivery spread across countries. Serbia, Ukraine and Romania under one supplier gives a kind of resilience a single office cannot.
- Your security review asks for certificates. Levi9's About page lists ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and ISO 9001. StepTo holds no ISO certification and covers the same ground contractually, with an NDA, a data processing agreement and IP assignment terms.
- You weigh third-party satisfaction studies. Levi9 reports ranking first for general satisfaction in Whitelane Research's 2026 IT sourcing study for the Netherlands (Levi9 news).
- You want a platform partner as well as a build team. Levi9 positions itself around digital platforms as well as products; StepTo builds custom software and stops there.
When Is StepTo the Right Call Instead of Levi9?
- One product, three to ten engineers. That is the only engagement shape StepTo sells, so it is never the small account.
- A budget you can read in advance. Published rates of $25-85/hr, and a two-week paid trial with a free replacement within the first 30 days if someone is the wrong fit.
- Everyone in the same room. No team split between Belgrade and another country, and no handover between hubs.
- AI designed in from the start. StepTo calls itself an AI-first software house, and every engagement carries an AI strategy layer rather than a separate AI practice to bring in later.
Which Companies Provide Augmented Software Teams in Eastern Europe?
Buyers looking for team extension in Eastern Europe usually meet the same few names. Levi9, HTEC Group and Vega IT are the large ones with engineering in Serbia; StepTo is the boutique option, a single 15-20 engineer team in Belgrade. We keep a separate, unranked overview of staff augmentation providers in Eastern Europe, and a table of every provider we compare ourselves with. The individual comparisons are StepTo vs HTEC Group and StepTo vs Vega IT. For how a Belgrade team works with Dutch and German companies, see nearshore development from Serbia, the best nearshore countries in 2026 and a dedicated React team case study.
Levi9 or StepTo: Common Questions
Where is Levi9 based, and where do its engineers work?
Levi9 gives its headquarters as Muiderstraat 1 in Amsterdam and says it was founded in 2005. Its About page lists engineering locations in Belgrade and Novi Sad in Serbia, Kyiv and Lviv in Ukraine, and Iasi in Romania. StepTo has a single office, in Belgrade.
Source: Levi9, About usHow big is Levi9 compared with StepTo?
Levi9 states "1200+ people" and "100+ customer cases". StepTo is 15-20 engineers. Levi9 can therefore staff several teams in parallel and across countries; StepTo can give one product the attention of a whole company, but not headcount on that scale.
Source: Levi9, About usAre both on the same working day as the Netherlands and Germany?
The Serbian locations of both companies, and Levi9’s Romanian and Ukrainian ones, keep Central or Eastern European Time, which means the Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Zürich working day is shared in full, or with a one-hour offset for Kyiv, Lviv and Iasi. StepTo is entirely on CET. US buyers get 3-4 hours of East Coast overlap with a CET team.
Does Levi9 publish its rates? Does StepTo?
We found no rate card on Levi9’s About or home pages, so pricing there is quoted per engagement. StepTo publishes $25-85/hr by seniority and prices three engineers from $13.5K/month, with management and HR included, with equipment agreed per engagement.
Source: Levi9, About usWhen should a buyer choose Levi9 over StepTo?
When you need capacity across more than one country, a large team soon, or a supplier whose head office is in the EU. Levi9 offers all three. Choose StepTo when a single product needs a stable senior team: engineers average 2.5+ years on a client engagement, and nobody is moved to another account because a bigger one came in.
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