Cost of Nearshore Development vs In-House Hiring: What Startups Miss

Is In-House Hiring Still Worth It?

Hiring developers in-house is the traditional route—but for fast-growing startups, tradition can come with hidden costs. While it may seem like the safer bet, the true cost of nearshore development compared to in-house hiring tells a very different story.

So what’s the real price you pay—not just in salary, but in time, risk, and scalability?

The Surface-Level Cost Comparison

Let’s start with the basics—what you actually pay on paper.

Salary Benchmarks: US vs LATAM

When comparing average compensation between U.S.-based developers and their LATAM nearshore counterparts, the difference is clear. For roles such as Senior Backend Developers and Full-Stack Developers, companies can expect to save between 30% and 50% on salary costs without compromising on talent or expertise, making nearshoring a strategic advantage for scaling engineering teams.

Hiring Timelines

• In-house: Average 10–16 weeks (recruiting, vetting, onboarding)

• Nearshore: 1–4 weeks (pre-vetted talent, instant deployment)

Recruiting Costs

• In-house: 15–25% of annual salary via recruiters

• Nearshore: Usually $0 recruiting fees when using a partner like Necodex

But that’s just the visible layer. The real story lies underneath.

The Hidden Costs of In-House Hiring

You don’t just pay salaries. You pay in time, turnover, and infrastructure.

Time Lost to Hiring Delays

In-house hiring can take 3–4 months per engineer. During that time, your roadmap stalls, and your competitors gain ground. That’s lost opportunity—not just lost headcount.

HR, Benefits, Taxes, Compliance

You’ll need to handle:

• Payroll setup

• State-by-state tax compliance

• Health insurance

• Retirement plans

• PTO and legal employment protections

These add 15–30% overhead to the base salary.

Onboarding Ramp-Up Time

New hires don’t ship code on Day 1. Between documentation, tooling, and cultural acclimation, you’re looking at 4–8 weeks before a new dev is productive.

Turnover and Retraining

When engineers leave, it’s not just a hiring problem—it’s a team productivity crisis. You lose tribal knowledge, delay projects, and restart the hiring cycle again.

The Cost Efficiency of Nearshore Teams

Now let’s look at the cost of nearshore development with the full picture in view.

Faster Deployment = Quicker ROI

Nearshore partners like Necodex have talent ready to go. No 3-month hiring window. You can add capacity in under 4 weeks and start shipping right away.

No HR or Legal Overhead

All the messy details—payroll, benefits, tax compliance—are fully managed by your nearshore partner. You just get productive devs, without the paperwork.

Pre-Vetted Senior Talent

You get engineers who’ve already worked in agile environments, understand startup velocity, and speak fluent English. Many even have experience in your industry vertical.

Predictable, Transparent Pricing

Unlike in-house hiring (where surprise costs show up constantly), nearshore partners offer flat, all-inclusive monthly rates—with no recruiting fees or unexpected markups.

When Nearshore Makes the Most Financial Sense

Nearshore is especially cost-effective when:

• You’re an early-stage startup under runway pressure

• You need to ramp up your team fast without overhiring

• You’ve burned time and budget trying to hire in-house

• Your CTO wants to scale without burning out the team

Sound familiar?

How Necodex Adds Value

Necodex goes beyond staffing—we’re your full-cycle engineering scale partner. With us, you get:

• Transparent, predictable pricing

• Zero recruiting or setup fees

• HR, retention, and payroll management done-for-you

• Fully integrated engineers, onboarded into your stack and culture

You’re not just buying hours—you’re investing in output. Learn how nearshore teams accelerate product delivery.

See what you could save by switching to nearshore. Talk to a team expert!