Good engineering hires can be hard to find, especially if the labor market is tight in your country. Fortunately, engineering relies on fundamentals and systems that are essentially true no matter what country an engineer is from.
With modern remote work capabilities, it has become more viable to hire engineers from all over the globe. For startups seeking to hire software engineers, one of the smartest moves a company can make is hiring remote engineers in other countries to fill in the skill gaps.
Another benefit to hiring remote engineers is that the average cost to hire an engineer in other countries may be lower than your own.
This is because the cost of living and supply-and-demand of high-value roles can vary from country to country. This article will explore the top 10 countries to hire remote software engineers. Important note: the average salaries listed in this article were sourced from levels.fyi in May of 2023.
1. India
- Average Cost to Hire: $25,000 to $40,000
- Primary Languages: Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, and English
India is one of the most popular locations for outsourcing technical talent in English-speaking nations. Most Indian professionals are already well-versed in English and have experience working with a remote company. India is well-known for the skills of their technical professionals while the cost of hiring engineers in India is comparatively low.
India has a well-established IT infrastructure, meaning your engineers will likely have a reliable remote connection and a foundation in technical matters. However, navigating Indian labor laws and regulations can be challenging.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in India, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $25,000 to $40,000.
2. Ukraine
- Average Cost to Hire: $56,000 to $68,000
- Primary Languages: Ukrainian, Russian, and English
Ukraine has appeared abundantly in the news lately, but what you haven't heard is that Ukraine is a tech hub of skilled programmers. Ukraine is known in Europe for its educational foundations with a vast workforce of highly educated professionals who know many programming languages.
However, the cost of hiring an engineer in Ukraine is significantly lower than in countries further west, and the country has quite a favorable tax regime welcoming IT companies. Ukranian engineers are likely to speak English along with a variety of other European languages and are innovatively forward-leaning.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Ukraine, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $56,000 to $68,000.
3. Poland
- Average Cost to Hire: $53,000 to $68,000.
- Primary Languages: Polish, German, English, and Russian
Like Ukraine, Poland is a Balkan state with deep roots in high-tech education. A significant number of Polish citizens hold a master's degree and there are a growing number of software engineering specialists in their workforce. However, the global economy has more demand for engineers than the local Polish labor market requires.
Poland has a familiar European culture, but with competitively affordable salaries in the IT sector. Poland also has a favorable tax regime for foreign IT companies looking to hire Polish citizens.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Poland, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $53,000 to $68,000.
4. Bulgaria
- Average Cost to Hire: $43,000 to $58,000.
- Primary Languages: Bulgarian, Turkish, and English
Another one of the Balkan countries, Bulgaria is a sophisticated Eastern European nation with a growing tech sector. Bulgaria is quickly increasing their number of IT professionals who often seek opportunities to work with countries outside their national borders. Bulgaria has a well-educated workforce and expertise in a range of programming languages.
You may notice that Bulgaria also has competitively low hiring costs for software engineers compared to Wester Europe and a welcoming tax arrangement for IT companies looking to hire.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Bulgaria, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $43,000 to $58,000.
5. Hungary
- Average Cost to Hire: $38,000 to $50,000.
- Primary Languages: Hungarian, German, and English
Hungary is an ancient nation that has been known throughout history for its sophistication and high standards of education. Hungary's software engineers are experts in programming languages including a great many who work in C++, Java, and Python. While the political climate is lively, the country has favorable taxes for IT companies, and the cost of hiring Hungarian software engineers is affordable for ambitious startups.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Hungary, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $38,000 to $50,000.
6. Croatia
- Average Cost to Hire: $45,000 to $63,000.
- Primary Languages: Croatian, English, German, French, and Italian
Croatia is a beautiful and often underestimated country that resides along the Adriatic sea, facing the Western coast of Italy. English is broadly spoken in Croatia, along with the usual rich blend of European languages including German, French, and of course, Italian. Croatia is well-educated and has a software engineering workforce familiar with many programming languages.
Coratia has a high quality of life, a stable political climate, and a welcoming tax regime for IT companies. This makes it a great target for location expansion or hosting in a multi-national team.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Croatia, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $45,000 to $63,000.
7. Serbia
- Average Cost to Hire: $50,000 to $60,000.
- Primary Languages: Serbian, Hungarian, and English
Serbia is a unique country dotted with stone fortresses and beautiful forests. In spite of its sight-seeing reputation, Serbia has a highly skilled workforce with expertise in Java, Python, C#, and other programming languages. As one of the Balkan states, the cost of hiring these skilled engineers is comparatively low if you are also looking at engineers in Western European countries. Like its neighbors, Serbia also has a favorable tax regime for IT companies looking to hire local Serbian technical professionals.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Serbia, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $50,000 to $60,000.
8. Romania
- Average Cost to Hire: $35,000 to $60,000.
- Primary Languages: Romanian, Hungarian, and English
Romania may have a reputation for spooky stories, but their population has a significant percentage of technical professionals holding master's degrees. Highly educated and motivated, you will find that Romanians share a similar culture and a dedication to great products.
Romania has a favorable tax regime for IT companies and is also a great location for occasional company meet-ups with low venue costs that match the competitively affordable cost to hire their skilled engineer workforce.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Romania, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $35,000 to $60,000.
9. Costa Rica
- Average Cost to Hire: $48,000 to $66,000.
- Primary Languages: Spanish, English, and Creole
Costa Rica is a beautiful Central American country located just north of Panama; there is a large English-speaking and highly skilled professional population, including software engineers with experience in a wide range of programming languages. Costa Rica shares Central America's lower hiring costs across the board, including IT professionals who often accept jobs outside of Costa Rica's borders.
IT companies will find a welcoming taxation regime when hiring Costa Rica professionals, compliments of a practical and stable political climate.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Costa Rica, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $48,000 to $66,000.
10. Mexico
- Average Cost to Hire: $35,000 to $58,000
- Primary Languages: Spanish, English, Aztec, and Mayan
Hiring software engineers from Mexico is the definition of nearshore talent for US teams, sharing both time zones and cultural roots with countries based in the US. Mexico's highly educated tech workforce is growing quickly to meet both local and global demand.
The cost to hire a software engineer in Mexico is relatively low compared to the US and Mexico has favorable tax policies for IT companies. However, navigating policy differences may be challenging for startups inexperienced with international hiring.
The average annual cost for hiring an engineer in Mexico, including employer taxes and benefits, is around $35,000 to $58,000.
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