Compare 11 countries for hiring developers abroad on employer cost, time zone overlap, termination risk and entity needs, using sourced country data.
The question "where should I hire developers?" has four parts: how much of the cost is the salary versus on-costs, how many hours overlap with your team, how hard it is to part ways, and how fast you can start. This guide ranks 11 countries on the dimensions our data files can support. It does not rank salaries, because our files do not contain developer pay benchmarks, and invented salary tables would mislead. Use it to shortlist, then price real offers.
What the data can tell you
For each country we hold: employer on-cost range (% of base), time zone, entity requirement, termination rules, contractor risk, and a note on talent. The talent notes are descriptions from provider guides, not rankings.
| Country |
Employer cost on base |
Time zone vs US Eastern |
Talent note (provider description) |
| Romania |
2.25% |
7 hours ahead |
Large English-speaking developer community in Bucharest, Cluj, Iasi |
| India |
5-10% |
9.5-10.5 hours ahead |
Largest English-speaking engineering and IT pool |
| Canada |
5-13% |
Same (Eastern) to Pacific |
Strong tech clusters in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Waterloo |
| Poland |
19.5-22.1% |
6 hours ahead |
Backend, data, embedded, QA; mature startup ecosystem |
| Philippines |
14-22% |
12-13 hours ahead |
Growing software development alongside support and back office |
| Vietnam |
21.5-23.5% |
11-12 hours ahead |
Mobile, backend and QA outsourcing in Hanoi, HCMC, Da Nang |
| Portugal |
24-27% |
5 hours ahead |
English-speaking engineering and product talent in Lisbon and Porto |
| Argentina |
34-40% |
1-2 hours ahead |
Engineering, design and data talent; high English proficiency |
| Mexico |
27-36% |
Mostly 0-1 hour behind Eastern (UTC-6) |
Software engineers and bilingual professionals in CDMX, Guadalajara, Monterrey |
| Colombia |
38-52% |
0-1 hour ahead |
Software, data, support in Bogota, Medellin, Cali |
| Brazil |
47-70% |
1-2 hours ahead (UTC-3) |
Large pool of software engineers; strong English among senior talent |
Sources: country files built from Deel, Remote, PwC tax summaries, KPMG India, Boundless Poland. Several ranges are our derived estimates (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Canada) or structure-dependent (India); each country page shows the working.
Cost comparison on a like-for-like base
To compare on-costs fairly, hold the base salary equal. This is hypothetical: a $60,000 base in every country, which is not a claim that developers are paid the same everywhere.
| Country |
Calculation |
Loaded cost |
| Romania |
$60,000 x 1.0225 |
$61,350 |
| India |
$60,000 x 1.05 to 1.10 |
$63,000-$66,000 |
| Canada |
$60,000 x 1.05 to 1.13 |
$63,000-$67,800 |
| Philippines |
$60,000 x 1.14 to 1.22 |
$68,400-$73,200 |
| Poland |
$60,000 x 1.195 to 1.221 |
$71,700-$73,260 |
| Vietnam |
$60,000 x 1.215 to 1.235 |
$72,900-$74,100 |
| Portugal |
$60,000 x 1.24 to 1.27 |
$74,400-$76,200 |
| Mexico |
$60,000 x 1.27 to 1.36 |
$76,200-$81,600 |
| Argentina |
$60,000 x 1.34 to 1.40 |
$80,400-$84,000 |
| Colombia |
$60,000 x 1.38 to 1.52 |
$82,800-$91,200 |
| Brazil |
$60,000 x 1.47 to 1.70 |
$88,200-$102,000 |
Caveats you must hold onto. Romania's 2.25% is the employer-side contribution only; the roughly 35% employee contributions are withheld from gross, so they do not add to the employer's cost for a given gross, but they reduce the employee's net, which affects what salary a candidate will accept. Brazil's upper end includes collective-agreement benefits and termination provisions. India's range depends on how the package is structured. Thailand (2-6%) is omitted from the table because its employer-side charges are low but severance liability, not shown here, is large (see below).
Add an EOR fee: at Deel's $599, $599 x 12 = $7,188 per developer. At Playroll's $399, $4,788; at RemoFirst's $199, $2,388. For Romania the fee is $7,188 / ($61,350 + $7,188) = 10.5% of the total. For Brazil's low end it is $7,188 / ($88,200 + $7,188) = 7.5%. When on-costs are small the fee is the larger share of the bill.
Time zone: what overlap you actually get
Rule of thumb: you need at least four overlapping working hours for daily collaboration.
- Eastern-aligned (same or within 1 hour): Canada, Colombia (UTC-5), Mexico. Pacific teams add about 2-3 hours of gap.
- Light shift (1-2 hours ahead): Brazil and Argentina at UTC-3.
- Europe (4-7 hours ahead): UK 4-5, Portugal 5, Poland 6, Germany 6, Romania 7. A morning overlap with US East Coast afternoons works; US Pacific is a stretch.
- Asia (9.5-13 hours ahead): India 9.5-10.5, Vietnam and Thailand 11-12, Philippines 12-13. This is a follow-the-sun model rather than a collaboration model, unless one side shifts hours.
Entity, hiring speed and termination
| Country |
Entity to employ directly? |
Claimed EOR start |
Termination notes |
| Poland |
Yes (sp. z o.o. or branch) |
Days to ~2 weeks (not verified) |
Genuine reason required for indefinite contracts; notice 2 weeks to 3 months by tenure |
| Romania |
Yes (SRL) |
Not verified |
Minimum 20 working days' notice; no statutory individual severance (Remote) |
| India |
Yes |
Days to ~2 weeks (not verified) |
Notice contractual (30-90 days common); retrenchment compensation 15 days' pay per year |
| Philippines |
Yes |
Days to ~2 weeks (not verified) |
Separation pay of 1 month or 1 month per year on authorised cause; illegal dismissal means reinstatement with back wages |
| Vietnam |
Yes |
Days to ~2 weeks (not verified) |
45 days' notice on indefinite contracts; wrongful termination means reinstatement and back pay |
| Mexico |
Yes |
1-2 business days (Deel claim) |
Unjustified dismissal: 3 months' salary plus 20 days per year (Deel) |
| Colombia |
Yes |
Under 5 working days after documents (Deel claim) |
30 days' salary for the first year plus 20 per additional year (below 10 minimum wages) |
| Brazil |
Yes |
5-10 business days (Deel claim) |
30 days' notice plus 3 days per year up to 90, plus 40% FGTS fine |
| Argentina |
Yes |
3-5 business days, start in about 15 days (Deel claim) |
Severance rules reformed in 2026; recheck status |
Sources: Deel Mexico, Deel Colombia, Deel Brazil, DLA Piper on Argentina. Termination detail in EOR termination and offboarding.
Contractor versus employee for developers
B2B contracting is common in Poland's tech sector, but the legal test is subordination and direction, and Poland's labour inspectorate can reclassify. In Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Germany and Spain, a full-time dedicated developer under a contractor agreement is the textbook risk case. In the Philippines, full-time dedicated freelancers are rated moderate to high. See misclassification by country.
Shortlists by goal
Rules of thumb:
- US-aligned hours, lower statutory on-cost: Canada (5-13%), then Mexico or Colombia if the higher on-cost (27-52%) is acceptable. Mexico's range is a derived estimate.
- European overlap, predictable employer cost: Poland (19.5-22.1%) or Romania (2.25% employer-side). Poland has the better-documented rate structure in our data.
- Largest English-speaking pool, accept a time shift: India.
- Cost-light on-costs and a night shift fit: Philippines (14-22%).
- Avoid unless the role needs it: Brazil, where the on-cost range is 47-70% (the highest in our table, with the upper end including benefits and termination provisions) and labour litigation is common; Colombia if on-cost is the main driver.
Worked decision: two senior developers
You need two developers with at least four hours of US Eastern overlap, and you want to stay under a loaded budget of $80,000 each at a $60,000 base. From the table: Canada ($63,000-$67,800), Poland ($71,700-$73,260), Portugal ($74,400-$76,200) and Mexico's low end ($76,200) clear it before the EOR fee. Add Deel's $7,188 and Portugal's high end becomes $76,200 + $7,188 = $83,388, which breaks the budget, while Poland's high end is $73,260 + $7,188 = $80,448, just over it. Switching the EOR to Playroll ($4,788) gives Poland $78,048. This is why fee choice can matter when you are close to a budget line, and why base salary assumptions deserve a real quote.
Bottom line
Shortlist on three facts: on-cost percentage, hours of overlap and termination exposure. In our data Romania, India, Canada and the Philippines have the lowest employer on-costs, Canada, Mexico and Colombia have the best US overlap, and Brazil has the highest cost and litigation exposure. We have no developer salary benchmarks here, so validate pay with local sources before you set a budget. Country rules and EOR prices change; verify with provider. This is general information, not legal or tax advice, so check employment terms with a qualified local adviser.