The Price Of Quality: Understanding Offshore Software Development Rates In 2023

People in the ‘tech’ industry have often questioned how offshore software development rates have differed over the years. While some claim that the rates are skyrocketing, others argue that the rates can go higher based on various factors affecting the possible rates by country, development quality, culture, time differences, expertise, etc.

This topic, which is a decision to be made by many companies, especially those in the technology space, is a significant and influential one to be discussed as organizations and companies still explore the impending benefits of offshore software development. In this article, we will discuss offshore software development rates by country, what factors affect them, how it affects them, and the benefits and disadvantages.

Table of Content

1. What Is Offshore Software Development?
2. How Offshore Software Development Operates
3. Benefits Of Offshore Software Development
4. Price of Quality
5. Factors To Consider For Offshore Software Development Rate In 2023
6. Rates In Different Regions
7. Disadvantages Of Offshore Software Development
8. How To Choose The Right Offshore Software Development To Match The Price Of Quality
9. Conclusion
10. FAQ

What Is Offshore Software Development?

Offshore software development refers to hiring or contracting a third-party company or team and, in some cases, freelancers located in a different country to develop software for your organization. The concept of offshoring came to the limelight in the late 1990s and the early 2000s when companies could not contain the cumbersome workload of their services.

As a solution, they started outsourcing their IT services to countries such as India and China. Now, it is a recognized common practice in the technology industry, with hundreds of companies outsourcing their software development needs and wants to professionals worldwide.

How offshore software development operates

This practice operates with a guided procedure of searching or doing research on professionals or experts in the area where they are needed to function. It requires a binding contract and a great deal of communication between the two parties to reach their goals.

They are like permanent employees, just like a company’s onsite employees, but they always function as remote development teams from another country. Companies outsourcing for developers and offshore software developers never have to meet, they make their bargain from their different spaces, and the outsourcing companies do not influence the development process except when needed until the time of delivery.

Benefits of Offshore Software Development

Companies that engage in offshore software development get to enjoy the following benefits:

1. Reduction in costs and budgets
2. Access to worldwide talents and the best developers
3. Speedy project delivery
4. Access to high-end and latest technologies
5. Low development risks
6. Attention to other core activities
7. Detachment from sentiments
8. High scalability

Reduction in costs and budgets

Offshoring benefits companies and organizations in the sense that they don’t have to cover the cost of many things required by an onsite worker because offshore software developers operate from their base and space remotely. Things like setting up a workspace, day-to-day infrastructure, or any equipment or IT system are not involved in the company’s cost or budget.

Access to worldwide talents and the best developers

In this practice, companies and organizations will likely open to more creative and talented minds. Therefore, their innovations would not be limited to the same pattern the in-house developers bring on board.

It also allows for new, fresh, and probably up-to-date minds and ideas to be brought to the creative table of the board in the company. Further, it provides the opportunity to scan through and scale up competent technical experts in the business domain.

Speedy project delivery

Unlike when the company would be fully stacked with other projects, offshore software development promises a quicker delivery of projects. This is because it is a body of external people outside the company paid to work on developing software or project. So, internal projects or activities have nothing to do with them. Hence, they don’t multitask.

Access to high-end and latest technologies

Most companies are not as heavily equipped as the offshore software developing company or freelancer they are outsourcing to. Offshore outsourcing allows their projects or software applications to be built with the latest technologies, unlike when they have to do it within their company and face inadequate technologies or equipment usage.

Low development risks

Companies will be more at ease because the pressure of development risk is not on them. The offshore software development company is responsible for bearing any risks, testing, or failures during software development.

Attention to other core activities

Offshore software development benefits the companies because, while the project is off their hands, so is the pressure. They can focus on other projects and activities without worrying about delays in other projects. This hikes their concentration level and promotes the activeness of members.

Detachment from sentiments

As much as this may not seem like a popular benefit, it is a vital one. When offshoring software development, this company is cut off from the development process and only waits till delivery time to own the software developed or project. This is to say that the company can give an unbiased view, opinion and suggestions regarding the project without fearing hurting anyone’s feelings. Offshoring lifts the burden of being biased and gives room for objectivity and sincerity.

High scalability

The development process is highly unpredictable. Companies cannot dictate the resources or time the project development may take. Predictability is more reliable from an offshore software developer because the developer is sanctioned to only that duty without extra activities to perform.

The Price of Quality

Valuable software developments have excellent quality and unique significance that they possess. It can be bothersome to offshore your project because it has a downside. Yet, the end goal is high quality over anything. And that is why the offshore software development option is a payment for the price of quality.

Understanding the rates of offshore development in 2023 will enable companies to see the need to outsource their projects or software development. This article has helped in analyzing the various segments that come with offshore software development, and it has shown that there are more benefits and advantages than losses in offshoring.

Factors to Consider for Offshore Software Development Rate in 2023

The offshore software development rate depends on various factors. There are different qualifications and specifications for people that amount to or result in the rates at which they charge for their expected work effort and job delivered. These factors are, but are not limited to, the following:

1. The country or location of the offshore team
2. The size of offshore software developer
3. Level of the project’s complexity
4. Level of experience and expertise
5. Developers-owned technologies and equipment
6. Supply and demand
7. Scarcity in the programming language

The country or location of the offshore team

This has, over time, been proven to be the most significant factor to consider that determines the rate of offshore software development. The ideal practice and conception were for offshore software development to happen outside a given country. As defined earlier, companies reach out to developers in other countries to meet their demands in developing software.

Considerably, many factors differentiate countries, including average salary range, cost of living, and taxation system. It is essential to note the average salaries in the country you employ for offshore software development. Weigh salaries between different regions carefully, respect the laws that state the average salary of a person, and convert your payment into a single international currency.

Also, the cost of living differs in countries and regions. Therefore, there would be a visible difference in the rate offshore developers charge, particularly those with higher living standards. The cost of an item in one country will never be the same in another, which also goes for the taxation system.

The taxation system in each country’s legislative law is peculiar to the country’s economic standard, which reflects through the citizens’ wealth. In order words, some countries may deploy leniency towards the IT industry, while others could impose higher taxes.

The size of the offshore software development team

This factor should be highly considered when dealing with offshore software developing services companies or organizations. The offshore agency would have a whole team of people performing and carrying out duties to the satisfaction of their clients.

This makes offshore software developing companies charge higher rates than others, unlike freelancer’s offshore software developers that work alone and get paid for their singular efforts and duties delivered.

Level of the project’s complexity

Every business charges for their work done based on the workload of a project. They determine their rate considering the human effort, creativity, and sometimes capital put into delivering such duties. When projects take more than the expected effort, time, and creativity to bring them to success, there is every chance that projects like this would be charged at higher rates.

Level of experience and expertise

It is known across all fields of work that experienced personnel will demand more payment than a person with less experience. It is only factual to identify this in the charge rate of offshore developers, as their rates will stand out from that of an amateur. So, if you are going for an experienced developer, you would likely be charged a high rate.

Developers own technologies and equipment

Offshore software developers also include in their quotes the number and functionality of their technologies and equipment that would be used. While the availability of their owned technologies is an advantage to avoid hiccups in quality and timely delivery, the outsourcing companies will have to be charged for this.

Supply and demand

Like the law of demand and supply in economics, high demand with limited supply will increase wages and competition for available resources. This is seen in the United States, which is experiencing a shortage of IT experts.

The United States has a high demand for IT experts because they are highly advanced in technology. So, with new inventions and innovations, they have a shortage of experts to handle and maintain their technologies. With this in mind, getting an offshore software developer in the United States means the charge rate will be high.

Scarcity in programming languages

Of all the programming languages in the ‘tech’ market, some have a wide-ranging community and are well accepted, while others are scarce, complex and associated with a few experts in the software development field. Alongside this, some technologies under development require this scarce expertise for implementation. As a result, the cost for offshore developers will be higher for some coding languages and skills based on limited and scarce experts.

Offshore Software Development Rates In Different Regions

With the abovementioned factors, here are offshore software development rates by country from different regions in 2023.

Asia

Asia covers some countries broken down in this article due to the difference in rates by country.

1. India

India is the typical destination for offshore software development, offering highly skilled developers at affordable rates. In 2023, the average hourly rate for a software developer in India is expected to be $25 – $50 per hour. Java, C++, and Python are the popular tech stacks in this region.

1. China

China is another popular destination for offshore software development, which offers highly skilled developers at competitive rates. In 2023, the average hourly rate for a software developer in China is expected to be $50-$80 per hour. They are skilled and most popular in Python, Algorithm, and Functional Development tech stack.

1. The Philippines

The Philippines is an emerging destination for offshore software development, offering highly skilled developers at affordable rates. In 2023, the average hourly rate for a software developer in the Philippines is expected to be between $20-$40 per hour. The Philippines are popular with tech stacks that include PHP, ASP, NET, ASP.NET, and Ruby on Rails.

1. Vietnam

Vietnam is ranked among the top global outsourcing destinations. In 2023, the average hourly rate for a software developer in Vietnam is between $20-$40. They are popular with tech stacks like Java, PHP, and . NET.

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe includes countries such as Ukraine, Poland, and Romania. These countries are becoming popular in offshore software development.

In 2023, the average hourly rate for a software developer in Eastern Europe is expected to be between $35-$60 per hour. Eastern Europe hubs majorly deal with PHP, JavaScript, Java, Python, SQL, Ruby, and C++ tech stacks.

Latin America

Latin America includes Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and Colombia. These countries recently got recognized as offshore software development hubs.

In 2023, the average hourly rate for a software developer in Latin America is expected to be between $30-$55. This region specializes in JavaScript, HTML, Python, SQL and Node.js tech stack.

Africa

Africa includes countries in regions such as South Africa, East Africa, North Africa and West Africa. Africa recently came into the offshore software development destinations. In 2023, the average hourly rate for a software developer in Africa is expected to be between $20-$50.

Key IT hubs are Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, and Nigeria. They majorly operate in these tech stacks, Python, JavaScript, PHP and SQL

Disadvantages Of Offshore Software Development

Even though this common practice carries so many benefits and advantages, it still has its downside and adverse effect, mainly against the outsourcing company or organization. These include:

1. Communication
2. Risks
3. Security issues
4. Differences in the time zone

Communication

Communication is an essential tool in business. It is the avenue to convey what needs to be done, the expected end product and the monetary bargain. A slight error in communication, probably through misinterpretation or a language barrier, can cost the whole project to fail.

Risks

In this practice of offshore software development, there are potential risks that may stall the completion of a project. It requires a certain level of trust for the offshore developer, hoping that the developer delivers quality work.

There is also the risk of the company’s private ideas and innovations getting leaked to the public. So, in the absence of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), there is every possibility that developer integrity is not stellar, and that spells danger to the company’s project.

Differences in time zone

When you work with an offshore development company, the difference in the time zone poses a significant challenge. Due to the geographical locations, communication hits a barrier and gets complicated. This can cause a delay in the development and delivery of a product or project.

How to Choose the Right Offshore Software Development to Match the Price of Quality

Below are a few factors to consider when gauging the cost to hire a development team for offshore software development:

1. Quality-to-price ratio
2. Assessment of available qualified developers
3. Ability to communicate
4. Ratings and recommendations
5. Total experience in the field

Quality-to-price ratio

To properly quantify quality in offshore software development, ensure your company pays worthy rates for expected work done. Though you work within your budget, still aim for quality. It is believed that the higher the price, the better the quality.

Assessment of available qualified developers

Your company should properly scan through available expert developers to ensure they pick the best. Get some referrals and testimonials to help your decision.

Ability to communicate

Offshore software development teams or freelancers should possess high language proficiency in the language they would communicate with their potential clients. This way, companies or organizations can be sure there would be no miscommunication.

Ratings and recommendations

It is vital to do proper research on offshore software developers’ ratings on previous work done. Also, the recommendations are given to them by people, especially if it is their first time working with them.

Total experience in the field

Organizations should also consider the level of experience offshore software development team has. With many years of experience, there is a certain degree of maturity they would handle the project with.

Conclusion

The whole idea behind offshore software development, which also serves as its topmost benefit, is the savings in cost. As beneficial as this can get, it can make or mar the quality of work to be done or developed. This has led tech experts to question the price of quality in the field of understanding the cost of offshore software development in the year 2023.

Certified engineers

Convenient rates

Fast start

Profitable conditions

Agreement with
EU company

English and German
speaking engineers

Contact Us

FAQ

What is offshore software development?

Offshore software development is when an organization hires a dedicated development team in another country to work on projects and fill technical roles. They often operate as permanent employees, and in some cases, it is based on contract.

What are offshore software development rates by country?

This is how a country’s law or situation affects the prices charged by an offshore developer to the organization that hires them.

Is offshore software development highly recommendable to startup companies?

Yes, it is. This is because it serves better benefits and ease of workflow for the company, except when the startup company is yet to settle with its brand voice.

How can I handle security confidentiality with the offshore team?

Have them sign an NDA before getting started with project meetings. This will ensure that they are bound by law not to share your ideas with your competitors.

Can I use the same rate for different countries in offshore software development?

No, you cannot. Rates differ by country, region, and individual. It is best you work in the same price range within your budget.

If you need highly qualified software developers at the right price for your project, contact us now!