In the last decade, remote work adoption saw the numbers beside the positive lane, especially in the field like IT. Companies were seen hiring remote developers to meet their software development needs. If not individual developers, organizations were shifting their focus towards hiring a software development outsourcing company to meet their needs.
However, getting software developed requires you to devote a lot of time to research. Software development costs have become a serious concern for businesses of all sizes. Moreover, the competitiveness of the market has increased in such a way that organizations are ready to pay high to get quality.
Additionally, finding software developers online was hard until the last decade. Moreover, the availability of open-source tools has made it easier for developers to work even for free. Combining both the above factors can help organizations in finding the best fit to meet their requirements.
Despite the easy availability of developers, determining the cost of software outsourcing is still difficult. Are you also finding it hard to estimate the cost of hiring remote developers for software development? Then sit & relax as we’ll cover everything you need to know about the cost of hiring remote developers.
Let’s begin. Firstly, let’s understand who is a remote developer.
An IT professional who possesses specialized technical skills required for software development & who is working remotely. Remote developers are located in different parts of the country or continent & work in flexible shifts.
Based on the working hours & geography the charges of hiring remote developers for software development vary. For example, hiring remote developers from Europe would be costlier as compared to hiring one from Asia.
Not only this, but other factors might affect the cost of hiring remote developers. We’ll learn about it all in the further sections of the blog.
Now, let’s jump into the next section & understand what are the factors that affect the cost of hiring remote developers.
Are there any hidden costs associated with hiring remote developers that you should be mindful of? Yes, hiring remote developers can benefit your business, starting from cost reduction to providing access to better talent.
However, numerous factors can affect the pricing of hiring remote developers, five of which are mentioned below.
Let’s learn about all of them in detail.
Project size is always a guesswork. There is a close correlation between the cost of the project & its size. There are four categories of project size, let’s unfold them all:
Small Projects
Small projects usually contain a set of small changes like a bug fix or a UI optimization. Moreover, customer interaction will be limited in this project, hence making it less time-consuming.
Medium Size Projects
Medium-size projects are usually larger than small-size projects but contain a clearly defined scope & are a standalone software solution. Moreover, in these types of projects, you will deal with a single source.
Projects like mobile app development, web interfaces, or inventory management will fall under this category. Additionally, external requirements like interacting with the customer are more robust as compared to small projects.
Large Projects
These projects are more complex & come with a lot of depth. Large projects would require integration with multiple systems, databases & logging capabilities. Moreover, it would also require module-based design & frameworks.
Moreover, multi-party platforms like (iOS, Android & Web) fall under this category. There are a lot of external requirements in large development projects.
Enterprise-level Projects
These are larger projects & the most complex. Enterprise-level projects are usually on the top-line framework. Moreover, security, logging & error handling are more complex.
Additionally, Data integrity & security are quite important at this level of project. Mobile applications like Uber are examples of this level of project.
Determining & identifying the size of the project is a fine starting point in estimating the cost of hiring remote developers.
Features can highly impact the cost of software development. The more features a software requires, the higher its price gets. There’s a simple logic behind this, i.e. more features require more manpower thus the cost increases.
It becomes necessary for the developer to complete each feature of the software, or else it won’t work as per requirements. Therefore, whatever the software was intended to perform, it should have all the commands to function properly. However, certain features would require specific skills that all developers wouldn’t possess.
Various levels of engineers have different salary grades, & their jobs are assigned based on experience & knowledge. Delegate simpler tasks to less skilled developers & delegate complex activities to seasoned developers. Being a company you should consider what it requires to create the desired software & assign the number of developers accordingly.
As developers are paid based on hours of work it can impact the schedule of the project. Moreover, the daily hours of work dedicated can shift the project completion time from early to late or late to early. Additionally, project time would also impact the final cost of the project.
Analyzing how long the project completion will take is a challenging task in itself. Small team issues can lead to big delays. We suggest using an incremental approach to split your project into phases and budget each one. Being an organization you can adjust the budget after the completion of each phase.
While working on a software development project, the workforce & timeline would be usually fixed, but the scope may change based on project progression. Usually, this happens due to the constant feedback from your stakeholders.
Being a software developer you can decide to reduce costs by removing features that are unnecessary or can increase the price by adding more features. The more the scope of work, the more hiring the costs will go.
When you are on the hunt to hire developers, you would have a couple of options to choose from. The first option would be to hire a developer directly as a permanent employee, who would work for the organization. But, this option would be costly, specifically if you are a startup or a small business.
Whereas, the second option is to hire an outsourced software development company & delegate software development work to them. Using the outsourcing model can help you hire a qualified candidate at a reasonable cost.
In-house development would be more convenient when you want to retain control, over who works on your project. But, if you want to get quality products outsourcing developers is a comparatively better option.
The compensation of a mobile app developer living in the United States will not be the same as the compensation of a mobile developer in India. Why? Due to their cost of living.
When a business has a tight budget, but still wants to hire senior-level developers, but can’t find it locally then hiring globally is a good choice. For remote developers who are working for foreign countries, consider better salaries. This is an inverse case regarding the companies that are hiring remote developers.
Apart from the above six, are there any other expenses that can impact the cost of hiring remote developers?
Hiring remote developers is a cost-effective option as you do not need to rent an office space. One report by Lemon.io stated that companies offering remote work options saved up to $10,600 per employee
But, when you hire remote developers, there are a few more costs that you need to check before making the decision. This includes:
Hardware & Software
Despite organizations hiring developers that use their hardware, they still require the company to provide them with the licensed software & tools for the development process.
Communication & collaboration tools
Using effective communication & collaboration tools is necessary for remote project management. Organizations should provide tools like Trello, Grit, etc. for seamless project collaboration, which will add up to the final costs.
Data Security & Privacy
While working with remote teams, companies need to incur the cost of data security & privacy. These costs include the cost of setting up secure VPNs to protect information & setting up a Multi-factor authentication.
These six factors can duly impact the cost of hiring remote developers. While choosing an option make sure to consider these factors to make the right choice.
Now, let’s understand why strategies to hire remote developers cost-effectively.
Read: Budget Overruns in Software Development?
If you are seeking a high-quality remote developer at a lower cost compared to local talent then you should use the below-mentioned four strategies:
The first step in the hiring process starts by conducting a comprehensive need analysis & project scoping.
Doing this will help you understand the project & role requirements. In layman's terms, by understanding the needs you’ll save yourself from over hiring or underutilizing as you would be aware of whom you need to hire.
While evaluating candidates for tech positions, interviewers would find it difficult to ask questions due to a lack of proper technical knowledge. So, taking generic interviews with questions & answers should be avoided.
After, identifying the roles & responsibilities it is necessary to prepare technical interview questions to find the best fit. Moreover, you can blend these questions with a practical test to find the best one for the role.
If you feel that evaluating tech candidates is still tough, you can explore other recruiting options. IT Staff augmentation is the best option to hire remote developers that match your needs & wants.
By collaborating with Acquaint Softtech, you can gain access to a wider pool of talented remote developers.
Lastly, setting clear expectations is vital to mitigate risks & avoid delays by keeping costs under control.
That means you need to
Communicate project/role goals from the beginning.
The timeline of the project is also required to be discussed.
Defining project milestones & expected outcomes
Discussing project constraints & compensations
Establishing proper communication channels & listing down all project management tools
Following the above four steps will help you in hiring remote developers cost-effectively. Now, let’s understand why is India the best country for hiring remote developers.
Now, let’s understand how much it costs to hire remote developers.
Reach out to Acquaint Softtech, an IT Staff augmentation company that can help you to hire remote developers at the lowest rate.
The cost of hiring a remote developer would range from $70 to $150/hour in a country like the USA. However, the rates can vary based on the various skills & experience of the candidate.
What you could get from your developer in this price range:
Experience
A vast experience of 3 to 6 years in the development industry.
Programming languages
This skill range of developers would be skilled in languages like Python, Java & C++
Frameworks
These developers hold experience in front-end development frameworks like React & Angular, etc.
Software Engineering Skills: They understand & possess engineering skills like data structures, algorithms, software architecture, etc. which adhere to industry practices.
Project Management
They have experience in managing software projects from conceptualization to deployment, which also includes various tasks. Some of them are timeline estimation, team coordination & stakeholder communication.
Now, let’s understand the factors that can affect the cost of hiring remote developers.
We have highlighted key factors that affect the cost of hiring a remote developer. Let’s learn all the four in detail:
The cost of hiring a developer may vary based on their location & the experience they hold. The table below shows the cost of hiring remote developers based on location & experience.
Country | Junior Developer | Mid-level Developer | Experienced Developer |
United States | $49-$75 | $75-$99 | $100-$149 |
United Kingdom | $45-$60 | $75-$90 | $90-$120 |
Canada | $30-$45 | $45-$80 | $80-$100 |
Australia | $25-$40 | $40-$60 | $60-$90 |
India | $15-$20 | $30-$50 | $50-$75 |
Germany | $18-$25 | $25-$50 | $50-$75 |
Ukraine | $15-$25 | $25-$35 | $35-$60 |
Hiring freelance software developers is feasible for specific projects. But, when you are working on a long-term project it is advisable to choose either software outsourcing or an in-house team. However, the cost of hiring developers would still vary based on projects.
The below table highlights the cost of developers based on their types.
Hiring Model | Cost Structure | Operational Costs | Estimated Rates |
Freelance Hiring Model | Hourly Rates | The cost would differ based on the project & its complexity | $30-$120/hour |
Offshore Development Model |
| Costs like salary, hardware & other utilities are often borne by an offshore company | $20-$150/hour |
In-house development model |
| Additional costs will include expenses like hardware, office space & employee benefits, etc. | $50k-$120k/year |
The complexity & scope of work of a software development project plays an important role in defining its cost. The below table covers everything about this topic.
Complexity Level | Software Type | Features | Cost |
Simple Software | Content Management Software |
| $30-$80/hour |
Complex Software | Supply Chain Platform |
| $50-$120/hour |
Highly Complex Software | Enterprise Resource Planning |
| $80-$150/hour |
Therefore, the complexity level - whether it is high, medium, or low can directly impact the cost of the overall software development project.
The experience & expertise of a developer would differ from each other. While hiring remote developers it is essential to analyze the experience held by a prospective developer. Hence, below is the table that represents the cost based on the experience level & expertise of a developer.
Experience Level | Years of experience | Expertise | Approximate Cost |
Experienced & skilled developers | 5+ years |
| $80-$120 |
Mid-level software developer | 2-5 years |
| $40-$80 |
Entry-level software developer | 0-2 years |
| $20-$40 |
In the above section, we discussed the situations & factors that can impact the cost of hiring remote developers. But in reality, it’s important to see that actual cost often exceeds the estimations.
We at Acquaint Softtech can help you hire remote developers who meet your budget & requirements. Moreover, our team holds an experience of 15+ years in custom software development
There are a few reasons that can cause the cost of software development to be overrun. Let’s understand each one of them in detail:
A poorly defined project requirement can lead to unexpected challenges & increases in the overall cost of software development.
Complex technical aspects or obstacles can extend the development timeline as it requires more resources.
A shortage of skilled professionals can lead to an increase in hourly rates which would add up to the final cost of the development project. Hence, this would increase the overall budget of the project.
Some external factors can cause software cost overruns. Some of them are mentioned as under:
Changes in market conditions
Legal Requirements
Industry standards
Read Beliefs Impacting Budget Overruns in Software Development
India is considered as an IT hub. The overseas market is getting attracted towards India being a hot spot for meeting their software development needs. Additionally, leveraging software development outsourcing services from India enables organizations to gain lots of benefits.
Some of the benefits are mentioned below:
Cost-effective solutions
Access to diverse skill sets
A strong work ethic
Remote work-friendly environment.
Now, let’s understand why Acquaint Softtech out passes its competitors in providing software outsourcing services or providing remote developers.
Acquaint Softtech is an IT Staff augmentation & outsourcing software development company that provides custom software development services. We have a team of skilled developers who possess the technical skills to meet the client's needs. Moreover, our team possesses communication skills to ensure smooth project management for our clients.
We have a wide pool of tech talent
We provide cost-effective solutions with the best quality of code.
You will get a time zone advantage as we are based out of India. Indian time zone overlaps with several countries.
Our project managers possess A+ proficiency in the English language.
Our team possesses a diverse skill set with a strong work ethic.
Also read: How to Hire Remote Developers for Your Tech Startup
Hiring remote developers has become a beneficial strategy to meet software development needs. The organization that is looking to hire temporary staff to fill the technical voids can use IT staff augmentation. The cost of hiring remote developers can vary based on various factors.
The article covers everything you need to know about hiring remote developers to find the best fit to meet your needs.
The average cost of hiring a remote developer in 2024 can vary widely depending on the developer's location, experience, and skill set.
Generally, rates can range from $20 to $100+ per hour for freelancers, while full-time salaries can range from $50,000 to over $150,000 annually.
Yes, the cost of hiring remote developers can significantly vary by country due to differences in living costs, demand for technology skills, and local salary standards.
Developers from countries with lower living costs may charge less, while those from high-cost regions may have higher rates.
Beyond salaries or hourly rates, additional costs can include recruitment fees, software licenses, hardware, and communication tools subscriptions.
Companies should also consider the costs related to onboarding, training, and potential time zone differences management.
Companies can save costs by hiring developers from regions with lower living costs, using freelance platforms to find talent without recruitment fees, and optimizing the onboarding and training processes to reduce turnover.
Besides cost, companies should consider the developer's experience, portfolio, communication skills, cultural fit, and ability to work autonomously. It's also important to assess their familiarity with the company's technology stack and their potential for long-term contribution to the team.
I love to make a difference. Thus, I started Acquaint Softtech with the vision of making developers easily accessible and affordable to all. Me and my beloved team have been fulfilling this vision for over 15 years now and will continue to get even bigger and better.
Acquaint Softtech possesses profound experience in developing top-grade websites, mobile applications, and software solutions that impeccably meet clients' unique needs in this competitive business world.
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