Offshore Developers—Rates in 2024: Best Countries and Best Platforms to Hire a Remote Development Team

The Average Cost of Software Development Services

With modern technologies, you can outsource software development to an overseas programmer team and thus save costs. Offshoring also opens the doors to global talent pools. However, the average cost of software development services still greatly varies from country to country. Additionally, product development costs may change depending on a tech stack, the seniority of a developer, the hiring model, and the platform that you use to hire offshore developers.

In this article, we will analyze the offshore software development rates by country seniority and give some tips on how to hire developers reasonably well. We’ll be using data from reliable sources such as PayScale, SalaryExpert, Indeed, Upwork, TopTal, and us—YouTeam, a marketplace for on-demand engineering staff augmentation.

Regions Overview, 2024

*According to The World Bank, the max score is 100
** According to The World Bank, scale from -2.5 to 2.5

Please, always remember that average rates can differ a lot from the actual price for software development services, and this is why: 

• average rate combines rates for different technologies; some of them are the mainstream and less paid, others—are unique and will cost way more;
• average cost combines rates of junior and senior developers, and the first ones are the majority of the market;
• developers with good English, communication skills, and a proactive approach are always in demand; therefore, they are paid more than average.

Along with that, in this article, we tried to give the most realistic estimation of the hourly rate you need to pay for an experienced developer ready to work on international projects. We hope you will find it useful.

And now, let’s try to understand what market processes lead the global software development market to the current situation.

What Is the Current Situation on It Hiring Market in 2024?

According to our study, US-based companies prefer to hire senior software engineers. Many reasons can be behind this, such as the necessity to perform fast to be able to keep stable in a changing environment, the need for strong leaders in each role, and limited resources that make it impossible to hire and manage a big dev team, or even the opposite—receiving funding rounds that open new horizons. A similar situation is also observed in Western Europe (especially Germany and Netherlands), where many European businesses are concentrated.

Huge demand and a limited supply of senior engineers in these regions lead to a rise in salaries and intense rivalry for available resources. And if big enterprises can afford to pay the highest prices and win this competition, most smaller companies have to look for talent in countries with lower living costs. This is how Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa became known as regions for offshore software development.

What Are the Software Development Hourly Rates by Region in 2024?

Now we’ll give an overview of regions and offshore software development rates by country to help you make a more informed decision when hiring from overseas. We’ll review Eastern Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. But first, let’s take a look at rates in the United States and Western Europe–countries with the highest demand for offshore software development–and then compare the rates with those in offshore countries.

What Are the Software Development Rates in North America and Western Europe in 2024?

According to Indeed.com, the average base hourly rate of a software engineer in the United States is $71 per hour as of 2024. This number may vary depending not only on the experience and technology but also on location. And you should understand that the rate includes only the amount the developer earns​—it doesn’t include any taxes or additional expenses. Here are some examples of rates in various states:

Region Overview: the United States, 2024

Similarly, in Western Europe, the rates can vary by country, for example:

Region Overview: Western Europe, 2024

Now let’s proceed with the rates in offshore countries.

What Is the State of Offshore Software Development in Eastern Europe in 2024?

Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Poland, and Romania are now among the top global software development centers. The volume of IT exports in Ukraine was 3.74 billion dollars, in Poland–26 billion dollars, and in Romania–it was 3.2 billion euros in 2022.

Other noticeable players in this region are the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Moldova.

Here are some other numbers regarding the state of the IT industry in the Eastern European region:

• $5 billion: the profit of the 477 IT companies that participated in the research.
• 700,000: the number of IT specialists in the region (since this report, the number of IT talent has reached 200,000 professionals and is constantly growing).
• 60,000: the annual number of graduates from tech universities.
• 20-25%: annual revenue growth in the region.

More about outsourcing destinations in Eastern Europe

Offshore Software Development in Ukraine in 2024

Conveniently located in the center of Europe, Ukraine has been attracting foreign investors since the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the first software outsourcing companies started appearing in the country. Here are some numbers and facts regarding the state of the IT industry in the country:

• Since 2021, more than 126 Ukrainian startups have raised their venture capital funding.
• Over the last 2021 year, Ukraine’s number of certified IT specialists has increased by 29K, which in total means 212,000 professionals.
• The country’s IT industry has grown by about 36% since 2021.
• In 2022, Ukrainian IT export grew by 5.8% and brought in $7.3 billion.
• According to Coursera’s 2023 report, Ukraine is in the top 25 for Data Science expertise.

Clearly, there are many pros of outsourcing software development to Ukraine, and it fairly earns its place in the rating of offshore software development rates by country.

More about software developers from Ukraine

Poland as an Offshore Development Destination

Poland is one of the most expensive countries for software development outsourcing in the Eastern European region. At the same time, it’s one of the safest and most stable economies in the region. The government is constantly supporting the Polish IT industry. Thanks to this, Poland became the home of R&D offices for many international corporations, including Google, Intel, and Siemens.

One of the biggest benefits of this country is that it is a member of the European Union. That makes it extremely attractive to Western European companies sharing the legal and geographical space with it.

More about software development outsourcing to Poland

What Is the Average Software Engineer Hourly Rate by Country in Eastern Europe in 2024?

The average software development rate is around $57 across Eastern Europe, yet it varies based on the country. For your convenience, we combined the average hourly rate for software developer talent in other Eastern European countries with an Index of Political Stability and Ease of Doing Business, according to The World Bank.

Region Overview: Eastern Europe, 2024

More about risks of working with European developers

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What Is the State of Offshore Software Development in Latin America in 2024?

According to IDC, the Latin American IT industry will be growing in 2024 despite political uncertainty and low economic growth. According to Statista, the IT market reached 7,7% in 2021 and will continue to grow by 6.5% up to 2028. IDC reports an increase in business spending on technologies related to AR/VR, AI, IoT, 3D printing, cloud, security, and robotics.

Argentina and Chile made it to the world’s top 100 in Data Science (Machine Learning, Data Management, Data Visualization, Statistical Programming), according to Coursera.

More about offshore software development in Latin America

Offshore Software Development in Brazil in 2024

Brazil is one of the leading software outsourcing countries in Latin America and South America. According to an earlier study by Agile Engine, Brazil is the country with the greatest number of software engineers in the region – over 500,000. Additionally, Brazil is in 54th place among the top digital nations in the Global Innovation Index 2022. The average software developer hourly rate in Brazil in 2024 is $65.

More about software development in Brazil

What Are the Top Performing Outsourcing Destinations in Latin America?

Despite the fact that Brazil is the biggest country in South America and consequently has the biggest talent pool, more often, companies prefer to refer to other Latin American countries in their search for engineers. The simple reason behind this is that Brazil is the only country with a population speaking Portuguese. In contrast, the rest of the continent uses Spanish. So it’s easier for companies to expand hiring to several different countries, knowing that their overseas developers will perfectly understand each other.

One of the most popular countries for nearshore software development is Mexico which is close to the United States and has developers that are used to working with US clients and perfectly understand their business culture.

The second and third offshore development countries of the region that we want to mention here are Argentina and Panama.

• As per the same study by Agile Engine, Argentina has ranked 73rd among the best software outsourcing countries and is number 2 in the region. It is also the world’s 38th digital nation in the Global Innovation Index 2023.
• According to the World Bank Group, Panama has been one of the fastest-growing major economies during the last couple of years, with an incredible technological advance in the IT market.

More about nearshore software development in Argentina

Average Developer Hourly Rate by Country in Latin America in 2024

The latest data shows that the average software developer hourly rate in Latin American countries is higher than in Eastern Europe, while stability scores are lower.

Region Overview: Latin America, 2024

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What Is the State of Offshore Software Development in Asia in 2024?

A pioneer of software outsourcing, Asia boasts the biggest number of offshore software developers as compared with other regions.

China is also an attractive offshore development destination. Chinese developers are the first across all HackerRank challenges. The Chinese government supports the tech sector by offering economic incentives. For example, now the Haidian Park Entrepreneurship Service Center includes more than 200 national high-tech enterprises.

In the Philippines, Cebu City is the country’s fastest-growing IT industry with over 200 offshore companies and 95,000 tech positions to fill. The Philippines ranks 56th among the top digital nations in the Global Innovation Index 2023, with the capital Manila being the world’s second super city.

Offshore Software Development in India in 2024

India is the leading software outsourcing country in Asia, also being in a top digital of the nation in the Global Innovation Index 2023. Indian software development companies are known for delivering one of the most cost-efficient outsourcing of web development processes. Every year, more than 1.5M IT specialists graduate from the country’s tech universities. The average developer hourly rate in India is $32.

More about software developers from India

Offshore Developers Hourly Rate by Country in Asia in 2024

The index that reflects the ease of doing business in the Asia Pacific region is similar to the one that has LATAM countries. At the same time, the situation with the political stability of this region is way worse than in the previous region.

The 2024 outsourcing rates in other Asian countries are as follows:

Region Overview: the Asia Pacific, 2024

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What Is the State of Offshore Software Development in Africa in 2024?

Africa’s IT outsourcing market is only emerging, but it has already demonstrated rapid growth and is now attracting overseas clients. It is predicted that the increasing number of the region’s young population will drive demand for high-quality service sector jobs, and the country will soon enter the list of the best countries for software engineers in 2024.

• North Africa, specifically Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, has quickly become a key outsourcing destination thanks to the time zone compatibility with Europe and a small time-zone gap with New York. Besides, Morocco and Tunisia attract clients from France because of the same language. North African programmers have expertise in technologies such as Python, Ruby, and SQL.
• South Africa is another preferable destination thanks to insignificant time zone differences and high proficiency in languages such as English, German, and Dutch. Besides, the region is featured in the Tholons Digital Nations and Super Cities rankings. South African developers are skilled in C++, PHP, and SQL.
• East African Kenya has a particularly high concentration of programmers. The capital Nairobi is home to thousands of Kenyan businesses, and the city’s infrastructure encourages technical innovation among young businesses and startups. East African developers are well-versed in Java, SQL, and mobile app development.

Still, African countries show the worst results in international skill rankings.

Offshore Software Development Rates by Country in Africa in 2024

The recent data shows that the software engineer hourly rate of African hubs is significantly lower than in any other outsourcing region. But for this, you will pay higher risks as this region has the worst stability index.

Region Overview: Africa, 2024

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Software Development Hourly Rates by Region in 2024: Conclusion

As you may see, the average cost of software development in offshore countries is far lower than in the United States or Western Europe. It can happen that even a senior software engineer’s hourly rate in an offshore country may be lower than the one of a junior or middle developer in the USA. Therefore, hiring offshore developers is the most cost-effective decision because the cost of living in offshore countries is lower than in the US or Western Europe.

However, you must be careful when choosing a country to outsource software development services. Unfortunately, not all offshore countries offer a good price/quality ratio. A promising contract may end in paying twice because you’ll have to look for another offshore development team to correct the mistakes of the previous one.

Limiting your search to the best countries to outsource software development is only the first step to fruitful cooperation.

What Are the Benefits of Hiring Offshore Developers in 2024?

In addition to affordable prices, you will get the following advantages if you hire offshore developers:

• Access to a wide tech talent pool. In 2022, the number of IT jobs continued to grow up (much faster compared to other fields). If your company belongs to these employers, outsourcing may be a solution.
• No overhead costs. As offshore software development occurs remotely, you pay only for the services. In most cases, you do not have to bother about insurance, office space rent, perks, etc.–either developers themselves or an intermediary agency takes over these costs.
• More time is dedicated to your project. If your remote employees work from home, they don’t spend time commuting and thus can devote the saved time to the project.

How to Hire Offshore Developers in 2024?

There are several ways to hire offshore developers:

Freelance Portals

Hiring remote developers at freelance portals seems to be quite an attractive option, and here’s why:

• Vast tech talent pool–for example, Upwork features more than tens of thousands of profiles of offshore developers.
• Quick hiring–it may take you less than a week to build an offshore development team of freelancers and sign contracts with them.
• Remote cooperation–you pay only for the development services and do not incur overhead costs.
• Direct communication–you can talk or video chats with your team in the safe space provided by your freelance portal.
• Low rates–to earn a reputation on a freelance portal, a freelancer needs to fill their portfolio with projects. To do that, they often agree to low-budget projects, though their rates “in real life” are typically higher.

At the same time, the cons are as follows:

• Unreliability–freelancers can leave your project at any time because they are not bound by any official agreements.
• Time zone differences–location in different time zones can be inconvenient for both you and your team because you have to catch up with each other.
• Commission fee–you have to pay a processing fee for every payment you make through freelance portals.
• Lack of commitment–freelancers can work on other projects except yours, so you cannot be sure that they will dedicate all of their time to your project only.

Outsourcing Companies

Collaboration with outsourcing companies is the most traditional way of forming an offshore development team. Such companies work with overseas clients and deliver software development services according to the client’s project requirements. If you choose this hiring option, you will get the following benefits:

• Reliability–the employment will be legal, with official agreements, so the developers cannot leave the project spontaneously, as freelancers would do.
• No overhead costs–the outsourcing agency will overtake all of the expenses.
• 100% commitment–the developers will be working only on your project until it is finished.

The drawbacks of outsourcing companies are:

• Slow hiring process–due to bureaucracy, it may take months to form a team for your project.
• Lack of communication–in most cases, a local project manager takes over the communication, so you can rarely talk to your developers in person.

YouTeam Platform

YouTeam, a platform for hiring remote dev teams, combines the advantages of a freelance portal and an outsourcing agency. As a result, you get the following benefits:

• Reliability. Each developer featured on YouTeam undergoes a multi-level vetting process, including verifying skills through HackerRank for Work.
• Quick hiring. With YouTeam, it will take you minutes to shortlist the candidates, one day to sign the contract, and a couple of weeks to kick off the project.
• Direct hiring. You personally interview developers for your project and then, after they are hired, continue direct communication and management throughout the project. At the same time, in the case of any disagreement, a dedicated customer success manager from YouTeam will be there for you, coordinating the communication between the two parties.
• No worries about financial and legal aspects. You pay for the development services by using a secure payment system.
• Dedicated teams. The team of your choice will appear as booked to other clients because it will be dedicated only to your project. Developers featured on YouTeam are not freelancers and thus cannot work on several projects simultaneously.
• Scalable teams. Need to extend your team? No problem–you’ll get a re-scaled team within two weeks.

What Is the Average Developer Hourly Rate on Hiring Platforms in 2024?

Now, let’s compare the software development hourly rates on three hiring portals: Upwork, TopTal, and YouTeam. These rates depend on several factors, such as language, platform, project scope, and geography. Based on these factors, the average rates as of 2024 are:

Developer’s average hourly rates on different hiring platforms, 2024

*Net developer’s salary — doesn’t include portal’s commission.

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What Are the Hourly Rates for Developers in 2024 Based on Technology and Experience?

We at YouTeam have collected statistics on the average cost of software development per hour based on technology (e.g., .NET, JavaScript, Python, etc.) and experience (junior, middle, and senior). The table below gives quite a good representation of the prices for custom software development because it’s aggregated from more than 500 outsourcing companies and 50,000+ of developer profiles from across the world. The table below presents the minimum, maximum, average, and median rates for developers featured on our platform.

General YouTeam rates based on technology, 2024

YouTeam rates based on seniority, 2024

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Offshore software development: FAQ

The Bottom Line

Hiring a team of software developers for your project can be a daunting task. If you are new to hiring remotely, it is important to familiarize yourself with the best countries for software engineers and offshore software development rates by country so you can focus your search in an effective way.

For example, the average base hourly rate of a software engineer in California is $85 per hour as of 2024. For comparison, this is how much you would pay a mid-level developer in offshore regions:

• Eastern Europe: $58 per hour
• Latin America: $61 per hour
• Asia: $35
• Africa: $28

Such a difference is caused by the lower cost of living in offshore countries. In many cases, you would get the same quality as from local developers, but still, you must be careful when choosing a region to outsource software development services.

If you hire offshore developers for your project, you will get the following advantages:

• Access to a wide tech talent pool
• No overhead costs
• More time dedicated to your project

However, it may take them months to build a team for you. And in many cases, you will get neither direct communication with your team nor the opportunity to scale the team. The good news is—we have solved this issue at YouTeam.

Contact us today, and we’ll be happy to provide you with more insights into the management of outsourced development.