Software outsourcing is the business practice of hiring an outside organization to complete specific tasks that could be taken care of within an organization, like building a minimum viable product (MVP).
Software outsourcing has its merits, as well as its disadvantages, one of them being its inexpensiveness, especially with offshore companies, compared to building in-house teams.
As the costs of hiring a developer are relatively higher in Western countries, companies benefit greatly from the diverse and affordable offshore talent markets.
Also There are several rules to know about copyright ownership and outsourcing.
In this post, we compare software outsourcing hourly rates among six main offshore development destinations, look into each region in detail, and go over the hourly rates for some skills and programming languages in two locations.
All the rates were last modified in September 2020.
Global software outsourcing rates comparison
Software outsourcing rates (and the costs of labor in general) are higher in North America, Australia, and Europe compared to South America, Asia, and Africa.
For instance, the rates begin with 25€ for hiring a junior developer in North America and can go as high as 85€ (or much higher) with senior and more experienced developers.
In Australia, the rates for hiring a software developer begin with 21€ an hour and can go as high as 85€ (or even 152€ or higher). Software outsourcing is cheaper in Europe compared to the two previous regions, starting from 18€ and rising to 56€ an hour.
Whereas hiring a junior developer from Asia costs about 15€ an hour on average, and more experienced developers usually charge 34€ an hour or less.
Rates are moderately similar in South America and Africa, beginning with 17€ and rising as high as 42€ an hour based on a developer’s skillset.
You can see the average software outsourcing hourly rates by region below:
| Region | Minimum Hourly Rate | Maximum Hourly Rate |
| North America | 20€ | +80€ |
| South America | 17€ | 42€ |
| Europe | 18€ | 55€ |
| Asia | 15€ | 34€ |
| Australia | 21€ | +80€ |
| Africa | 17€ | 36€ |
Software outsourcing rates in North America
Software outsourcing rates are notably higher in North America than anywhere else.
Consequently, most North American companies choose to outsource their software products to cut their costs of product development.
| Field | Hourly Rates |
| Junior Developer | 25€ – 31€ |
| Mid-Level Developer | 32€ – 40€ |
| Senior Developer | 37€ – 52€ |
| Lead Developer | 43€ – 65€ |
| Business Analyst | 19€ – 29€ |
| Project Manager | 23€ – 40€ |
| Junior Mobile Developer | 21€ – 34€ |
| Mid-Level Mobile Developer | 25€ – 46€ |
| Senior Mobile Developer | 42€ – 65€ |
| Junior QA | 18€ – 27€ |
| Mid-Level QA | 32€ – 44€ |
| Senior QA | 37€ – 59€ |
Software outsourcing rates in South America
South America is a popular outsourcing destination, especially for North American companies; many choose this region because of its reasonable prices, negligible time zone difference, and geographical proximity.
Hiring a junior developer from North America can cost up to 59€ an hour. A vendor from North America can cut its costs up to 25% if it hires a junior developer from South America, as they charge 30€ an hour, or less.
| Field | Hourly Rates |
| Junior Developer | 24€ – 46€ |
| Mid-Level Developer | 23€ – 50€ |
| Senior Developer | 27€ – 55€ |
| Lead Developer | 23€ – 59€ |
| Business Analyst | 19€ – 33€ |
| Project Manager | 34€ – 57€ |
| Junior Mobile Developer | 21€ – 25€ |
| Mid-Level Mobile Developer | 27€ – 39€ |
| Senior Mobile Developer | 38€ – 44€ |
| Junior QA | 28€ – 38€ |
| Mid-Level QA | 32€ – 42€ |
| Senior QA | 34€ – 50€ |
Software outsourcing rates in Europe
Despite their geographical proximity, software outsourcing rates differ a lot in Eastern Europe and Western Europe.
Hourly rates are much lower in Eastern Europe (in countries such as Ukraine and Poland, two very notable IT nations), and double or even triple in some countries in Western Europe (such as Belgium and the UK).
The data we collected shows the average hourly rates in all of Europe, combining its Eastern and Western regions.
Europe is famous for its density of skilled software developers and a popular region for outsourcing, and most of its developers speak intermediate or upper-intermediate English.
| Field | Hourly Rates |
| Junior Developer | 7€ – 19€ |
| Mid-Level Developer | 25€ – 50€ |
| Senior Developer | 38€ – 59€ |
| Lead Developer | 42€ – 76€ |
| Business Analyst | 34€ – 59€ |
| Project Manager | 25€ – 50€ |
| Junior Mobile Developer | 21€ – 27€ |
| Mid-Level Mobile Developer | 27€ – 36€ |
| Senior Mobile Developer | 35€ – 52€ |
| Junior QA | 17€ – 42€ |
| Mid-Level QA | 21€ – 50€ |
| Senior QA | 25€ – 59€ |
Software outsourcing rates in Asia
Software outsourcing rates are significantly lower in Asia because of its rather adverse work conditions.
China and India are the two main outsourcing destinations in Asia, each with a large number of software developers.
Western companies choose Asian outsourcing companies because they charge less than their Western nearshore counterparts, but dealing with language, time zone, and cultural disparities is almost always a challenge.
| Field | Hourly Rates |
| Junior Developer | 17€ – 21€ |
| Mid-Level Developer | 21€ – 25€ |
| Senior Developer | 20€ – 28€ |
| Lead Developer | 20€ – 29€ |
| Business Analyst | 21€ – 29€ |
| Project Manager | 20€ – 42€ |
| Junior Mobile Developer | 13€ – 18€ |
| Mid-Level Mobile Developer | 17€ – 23€ |
| Senior Mobile Developer | 25€ – 34€ |
| Junior QA | 15€ – 20€ |
| Mid-Level QA | 18€ – 22€ |
| Senior QA | 18€ – 24€ |
Software outsourcing rates in Australia
Australia falls a bit behind in outsourcing and software development because of its geographical remoteness; this factor prevents the region from cultural exchanges and business cooperation with neighbor labor markets.
Even though a digital nomad lifestyle allows developers to work remotely with other companies from across the globe, managing time zone difference is extremely difficult when working with Australian developers.
Not to mention, the rates are high.
By taking a look at the Australian Skilled Occupation List (2017-2018), we realize that the country lacks skilled software developers and QA engineers. So, local specialists are expensive and charge up to 152€ an hour sometimes.
| Field | Hourly Rates |
| Junior Developer | 24€ – 46€ |
| Mid-Level Developer | 18€ – 51€ |
| Senior Developer | 24€ – 96€ |
| Lead Developer | 25€ – 39€ |
| Business Analyst | 15€ – 59€ |
| Project Manager | 23€ – 50€ |
| Junior Mobile Developer | 15€ – 46€ |
| Mid-Level Mobile Developer | 32€ – 50€ |
| Senior Mobile Developer | 29€ – 51€ |
| Junior QA | 13€ – 27€ |
| Mid-Level QA | 14€ – 37€ |
| Senior QA | 23€ – 67€ |
Software outsourcing rates in Africa
The market is newly discovered and lacks experienced specialists due to its freshness in Africa.
The prices are more affordable in the Northern parts and offer similar prices as Asia. But in South Africa, the rates rise to 84€ sometimes; such fluctuation is caused by the severe skill shortage in the area at the moment.
The chart below shows the combination of Northern and Southern regions’ data.
| Field | Hourly Rates |
| Junior Developer | 3€ – 10€ |
| Mid-Level Developer | 9€ – 21€ |
| Senior Developer | 11€ – 37€ |
| Lead Developer | 10€ – 24€ |
| Business Analyst | 8€ – 25€ |
| Project Manager | 12€ – 25€ |
| Junior Mobile Developer | 1€ – 8€ |
| Mid-Level Mobile Developer | 9€ – 25€ |
| Senior Mobile Developer | 25€ – 39€ |
| Junior QA | 3€ – 6€ |
| Mid-Level QA | 4€ – 13€ |
| Senior QA | 6€ – 20€ |
Hourly rates by skills and programming languages in the US and Germany
We have picked two locations to look into and compare in this section: the United States and Germany.
The charts below include the hourly rates for the most popular software development skills and programming languages in 2019 and 2020.
Data collected from salary.com and payscale.com.
| Skill/Programming Language | Hourly Rates |
| Mobile | 31€ – 42€ |
| Product | 42€ – 56€ |
| Ruby On Rails | 26€ – 34€ |
| C | 27€ – 36€ |
| Python | 30€ – 39€ |
| Java | 32€ – 43€ |
| Linux | 30€ – 43€ |
| Backbone.Js | 24€ – 38€ |
| Agile Methodology | 39€ – 53€ |
| Maven | 44€ – 50€ |
| Product Marketing | 39€ – 51€ |
| Product Management | 30€ – 40€ |
| Agile/Scrum | 39€ – 53€ |
| User Experience Design | 26€ – 33€ |
| IOS Development | 30€ – 40€ |
| JavaScript | 37€ – 45€ |
| User Interface Design | 21€ – 27€ |
| Jira | 26€ – 37€ |
| Django | 27€ – 62€ |
| CSS | 34€ – 42€ |
| Project Management | 49€ – 67€ |
| Online Marketing | 33€ – 43€ |
| Android | 39€ – 50€ |
| Web Developer | 23€ – 29€ |
| Sales Strategy and Management | 40€ – 56€ |
| Business Strategy | 39€ – 75€ |
| MySQL | 49€ – 67€ |
| HTML | 39€ – 48€ |
| Digital Strategy | 35€ – 50€ |
| Web Design | 23€ – 29€ |
| HTML5 & CSS3 | 50€ – 65€ |
| Web Analytics | 21€ – 29€ |
| Business Development | 24€ – 34€ |
| Graphic Designer | 19€ – 24€ |
| Social Media Marketing | 34€ – 50€ |
| Sales and Marketing | 55€ – 72€ |
| JQuery | 37€ – 43€ |
| PHP | 29€ – 37€ |
As we’ve already mentioned, the rates are significantly higher in North America compared to anywhere else.
The chart above shows the data concerning the United States.
Java takes the lead, with an hourly rate of 37-45€. Python comes after, with an hourly rate of €30-39, and C comes last, with an hourly rate of 27-36€.
| Skill/Programming Language | Hourly Rates |
| Mobile | 9€ – 21€ |
| Product | 18€ – 38€ |
| Ruby On Rails | 14€ – 18€ |
| C | 9€ – 48€ |
| Python | 9€ – 71€ |
| Java | 9€ – 58€ |
| Linux | 14€ – 25€ |
| Backbone.Js | 9€ – 52€ |
| Agile Methodology | 45€ – 50€ |
| Maven | 67€ – 90€ |
| Product Marketing | 16€ – 74€ |
| Product Management | 62€ – 100€ |
| Agile/Scrum | 53€ – 60€ |
| User Experience Design | 25€ – 60€ |
| IOS Development | 9€ – 73€ |
| JavaScript | 9€ – 19€ |
| User Interface Design | 17€ – 47€ |
| Jira | 11€ – 22€ |
| Django | 17€ – 29€ |
| CSS | 8€ – 43€ |
| Project Management | 56€ – 59€ |
| Online Marketing | 17€ – 37€ |
| Android | 9€ – 56€ |
| Web Developer | 8€ – 43€ |
| Sales Strategy and Management | 15€ – 104€ |
| Business Strategy | 34€ – 63€ |
| MySQL | 13€ – 24€ |
| HTML | 14€ – 19€ |
| Digital Strategy | 16€ – 38€ |
| Web Design | 8€ – 57€ |
| HTML5 & CSS3 | 8€ – 38€ |
| Web Analytics | 8€ – 57€ |
| Business Development | 15€ – 41€ |
| Graphic Designer | 9€ – 48€ |
| Social Media Marketing | 9€ – 24€ |
| Sales and Marketing | 11€ – 24€ |
| JQuery | 9€ – 23€ |
| PHP | 12€ – 26€ |
The chart above shows the data concerning Germany.
The price range is wide in Germany, and the minimum hourly rates and maximum hourly rates can differ considerably.
Java takes the lead here as well, with an hourly rate that begins with 9€ and can rise to 58€. Python comes next with an hourly rate of 9-72€, and C comes last again with an hourly rate of 9-48€.
If we compare these three programming languages in the US and Germany, we see that the average price is much higher in the US, but the minimum and maximum rates fluctuate a lot more in Germany.
We’ve also written other posts about outsourcing; read Why Software Outsourcing Fails Most of the Time.
What does WINaTALENT do?
WINaTALENT offers numerous outsourcing and estimation services that help you develop your software product successfully.
We have a network of vetted freelancers who can take care of your every software need.
For a successful software outsourcing experience read these 5 tips.
We also help you get a better sense of your product’s deliverables and its completion process by tailoring an estimation document.
Great article!
Although I think the rates can be much lower in Asia and Africa. As low as $2/h actually.
Hi Emily,
That’s completely true. The rates CAN in fact be as low as you said, but we’re stating the average rates here.
That’s why they might seem higher than expected, because some regions are still a bit more expensive.
Such compelete statistics.
These rates will absolutely give companies a good insight about freelacers’ rate from all over the world.
Thanks a bunch Suzan!
Interesting article!
Do you have any info regarding the rates of software outsourcing services in the Middle East?
Hi Matt,
There isn’t much data available online regarding this matter, since a great number of Middle Easterns don’t have the resources to work internationally.
But I’ll definitely write a post about this very soon!
Hi. Definitely The rate in Asia cant be as high as Europe.
Hi, thank you for your detailed article about software outsourcing rates.
I’m looking to outsource the development of my application idea and this info will help me to choose the best country to look for developers.
What I’m looking for is a country which is not as expensive as Europe or USA, because I want to develop kind of an MVP. Also, I’ve had unpleasant experiences with very cheap developers (one of them was Indian and the other one was from Pakistan)
I’ve recently heard that Iranian developers have very high standards in their work compared to what they cost. One of my friends told me they deliver great results, comparable to programmers of West Europe which is surprising.
Do you have any info about the rates of Iranian application developers?
Hi Matthew, thanks for your comment.
Will soon add this data on this post in future updates.
You can also contact our experts at WINaTALENT’s website; we offer freelance services from IT experts with compatible rates which are a lot lower than the US and Europe. We can either develop your product from scratch or fix its features.
Can you please add rated specifically for Turkey? I’m interested in rates for DevOps engineers there
Hi Elias, thanks for your comment.
Will definitely add Turkey on future updates 😊
Hi there
I’m a software developer with 8+ years of experience and I would like to start working as a freelancer.
How can I get outsourcing projects from abroad? Could you please advise?
Thanks
Hi Monica,
Thanks for your comment.
Our platform is currently recruiting freelance developers. Check out our website https://winatalent.com/ and sign up.
Make sure to thoroughly complete your profile in order to get verified.
Best of luck.
Thank your for the report of the global hourly rates for software engineering. Now I can compare different countries.
I’m thinking how much will it cost to develop my e-commerce MVP (minimum viable product) application (iOS and Android). I’m looking for a developer to build this MVP, but if I get good signals from market, I wanna build a more reliable and scalable custom app to further develop it.
I don’t know what’s the best choice for me.
Hire an offshore remote developer?
Hire a full-time developer?
Or just contract-out the MVP on bidding freelancing platforms and later decide for the second version?
This decision will impact my estimation of charges and development fees. I wanna know how much should I pay for my IT services.
Do you have any comments on outsourcing software development pros and cons in different local markets?
For example, maybe freelancers of some areas are better in specific things… such as cultural fit or time-zone difference management… or quality of codes and communication skills??
Hi Balduin,
thanks for your comment.
The criteria that affects your relations with freelancers (factors such as their location and rate) is highly dependent on your own circumstances.
Whether your timezones and cultural differences can create a problem or not is entirely on you and the person you work with, but I can suggest Ukrainian and Iranian developers; they’re compatible with almost anyone.
Although Asian software engineers are unknown, they can do your projects with high quality!!
Thanks for the post!
Do you have any data about the rates in countries such as Kuwait and UAE?
I’m aware of software development rates in Eastern Europe, USA, South America and regions near Australia because of my experience in IT software outsourcing.
Although outsourcing rates vary by country and different companies, we finally decide with focus on the hourly rate and the professionalism of the developer.
This articles answers everything you need to know about outsourcing cost of programmers. I’m surprised.
I was able to compare hourly based developers outsourcing rates, eastern Europe vs Asia vs other continents.
I have one question though, are offshore developer rates different from these?
This article is so innovative and well constructed I got a lot of information from this post. Keep writing related to the topics on your site.
Is it possible to write about eastern European countries such as Poland in detail?
Hi Lily, thanks for the comment.
Sure! There’ll be updates on this matter very soon.
Are the rates that different in Eastern and Western Europe?
I feel like they could be almost similar.
Hi Emily,
Yes, in fact they’re very different.
We will update this post and give you some more info on the “why” soon.
I’ve heard some countries offer extremely good prices because of their currency value and inflation, such as Iran and its neighbors.
Can I assume this low price will not affect the quality of work and we can get decent work done? Because Indian freelancers offer low prices, too, but they sacrifice quality.
Hi Xavier, thanks for your comment.
Well, it’s true that India has made quite a reputation for itself regarding its rates and the quality it offers.
But low price doesn’t always mean poor quality; in some regions, the rates might be low because the costs of labor are lower. That doesn’t necessarily affect the quality.
We offer freelance services from Iranian and Middle Eastern regions as well, and we guarantee the quality!
If you’re interested, please check out our website and sign up for free!
winatalent.com
Outsourcing or Software Development Outsourcing has been one of the most talked about services for business development and strategies, especially after Globalization.
It had been a long time I was looking for a place to have all of these stats in one place. Software development is a hot topic these days, such stats can be really helpful.
It seems that middle east and europe has been considered in the same region, while I understand it may be because of the lack of information, it would have been a batter idea to count Middle east as it’s own location and show the info as incomplete in that region. A good idea for expanding this infographic is to link each country individually for anyone how wants to know more about a specific country. In general this is a nice informative work and helps deliver the information.
Hi Dear Ladan
I`m mohsen from iran, and I want to start working as a freelancer.
I really appreciate if you show me a way to do that, even an article to read.
thanks in advance
Hi Mohsen
Thank you for your comment.
I recommend the following posts so you can read about how to start to work as a freelancer.
https://winatalent.com/blog/2019/11/7-tools-in-the-roadmap-of-becoming-a-freelancer/
https://winatalent.com/blog/2019/12/how-to-land-more-jobs-on-online-freelance-platforms-win-your-clients-over/
Also in the following post, we talked about how WINaTALENT works for freelancers.
https://winatalent.com/blog/2020/05/how-does-winatalent-work-for-freelancers/
Well, in simple terms, outsourcing means delegating your business operations to a third-party to add expertise. In this kind of process, i.e., software development outsourcing, you analyze your business operations and identify the part of software development that requires expertise. It could be a particular feature of the software or the complete software development as well. Then, you find a technology partner or a software development company to join hands with. They analyze your requirements and start with the development process.
That more or less explains why software development outsourcing has been steadily on the rise over the last decade. Yet, even with its popularity, there are a lot of questions and myths floating around this practice. What does software outsourcing truly imply? What are their pros and cons? Can you really cut costs with it? How can you know if it’s the right fit for your company?
Hi Preethy,
Thank you for the comment. We try to answer some of your questions in our other posts. for example you can read our 5 tips for Successful Software Development Outsourcing in this post.
https://winatalent.com/blog/2020/05/top-5-tips-for-successful-software-development-outsourcing/
That’s the best you’ve ever done.
very informative for a software developer like me who is interested in design. Thank you,
Thank you for the article, very informative
Thanks for sharing this mind blowing information with us.
Hey, thanks for sharing! At least now I have an idea about these rates.
This article is so innovative and well constructed I got a lot of information from this post. Keep writing related to the topics on your site.
Thank you for your opinion.