Mexico has declared its intention to be the number one country in offshore services. For technology companies in the United States ̶ who for many years have bet for distant outsourcing destinations such as India, Ukraine, or China ̶ this represents an opportunity to access an untapped pool of IT professionals familiarized with North American culture.
What are the top offshore destinations to outsource technology?
The popularity of certain countries in Europe, Latin America, and Asia is based primarily on their cost competitiveness. However, when choosing an outsourcing destination, it is essential to consider whether it is a highly developed IT market, whether or not it has a high-quality educational infrastructure, and the ability to communicate in the language of your choice (in this case, English).
If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick rundown of the most popular countries to outsource software development, plus how much you can expect to spend when hiring any of the most popular roles:
| Role | United States | Mexico | India | Ukraine | Poland |
| Full Stack Developer | $8,582 | $3,156 | $4,564 | $5,435 | $7,587 |
| Project Manager | $7,399 | $2,780 | $4,021 | $4,787 | $6,683 |
| Web developer | $7,352 | $2,656 | $3,675 | $4,392 | $6,508 |
| Back End Developer | $7,328 | $3,377 | $4,671 | $5,583 | $8,274 |
| Developer Operations Engineer | $7,005 | $3,710 | $5,366 | $6,390 | $8,920 |
| Front End Developer | $6,693 | $3,162 | $4,574 | $5,446 | $7,603 |
| Mobile Developer | $5,461 | $3,083 | $4,459 | $5,309 | $7,411 |
| Technical Support Specialist | $5,347 | $1,310 | $577 | $615 | $1,367 |
Interestingly, software engineers’ salary in the United States differs significantly from those in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Consequently, companies can reduce costs between 40% and 60% by hiring a remote team in these outsourcing destinations without losing quality. If you want to know the complete table, you can find it in the 2021 Technology Salary Report.
Why are India and China no longer an option for outsourcing IT?
We’ve talked about how the tech giants hire remote software developers or expand their operations to offshore countries before. This has helped them broaden their international value, optimize their resources through budget savings, and apply more efficient software development strategies like the Follow-The-Sun model.
For many years, the US technology sector opted to grow its teams in India and China. However, these countries have been caught in the crossfire of an intense geopolitical confrontation. Companies such as Facebook, Google, Dropbox, Apple, among others, have been blocked from operating in these countries.
Now, large technology companies and startups, and SMEs turn to Latin American countries to expand their operations and hire remote software engineers.
Top 5 countries to outsource software engineers in Latin America
According to CodersLink’s 2021 tech salary report, right now, the top countries in Latin America to outsource programmers and other tech roles are:
- Mexico
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Costa Rica
- Colombia
IT outsourcing in Latin America can also offer cost savings and resource optimization for US technology companies. At the same time providing access to a pool of highly trained talent fluent in English and cultural affinity. In addition to the advantage of similar or identical time zone, which allows real-time communication and proximity to travel.
Latin America Outsourcing Destination Salary Rates
When choosing where in Latin America to select an outsourcing provider, you should examine the different benefits each region offers you, education statistics, available workforce, government technology initiatives, and private, and of course, the wage rates.
Since the latter is the main deciding factor, and the reason you are reading this, we are going to compare in the following table the salary averages of the most sought after IT roles (with intermediate level) in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Colombia.
| Role | México | Brasil | Argentina | Costa Rica | Colombia |
| Full Stack Developer | $3,156 | $5,584 | $6,049 | $4,159 | $2,170 |
| Front End Developer | $3,162 | $5,595 | $6,060 | $4,167 | $2,174 |
| Back End Developer | $3,377 | $5,975 | $6,472 | $4,451 | $2,322 |
| Mobile Developer | $3,083 | $5,455 | $5,909 | $4,063 | $2,120 |
| Tech Support | $1,310 | $2,318 | $2,511 | $1,726 | $901 |
| DevOps | $3,710 | $6,564 | $7,111 | $4,889 | $2,551 |
| Project Manager | $2,780 | $4,919 | $5,328 | $3,664 | $1,911 |
| Web Developer | $2,656 | $4,700 | $5,090 | $3,500 | $1,826 |
The CodersLink salary report abounds in detail salaries and benefits for other roles and can give you a closer look at Mexico’s technology ecosystem, business opportunities, business climate, programs, and government incentives for US companies looking to hire or expand operations to Mexico.
In summary
While looking for an IT outsourcing provider, don’t overlook the rising stars of Latin America, like Mexico. With the convenience of a similar time zone and the benefits of a highly-skilled workforce at competitive rates, companies can access an untapped pool of talent. Contact us to help you meet your hiring needs in a more personalized way.
