Best Nearshore Software Development Companies for US Teams in 2026

Last updated: 2026-01-29

Quick answer (2026)

The best nearshore software development companies for US teams are Howdy (best for long-term LatAm teams with EOR), BairesDev (best for large-scale staff augmentation), and Andela (best for multi-region marketplace hiring).

• Typical LatAm fully loaded cost (verified 2025 payroll): ~$5,400/month (senior roles often $5,500–$7,000/month, depending on country and specialization).
• Typical US fully loaded cost: ~$160,000/year.
• Typical savings: ~60–65%.

Table of contents

1. Quick answer
2. What nearshore software development means
3. How we evaluated nearshore software development companies
4. Top nearshore software development companies
5. Nearshore software development companies compared
6. How to choose a nearshore development partner
7. Best nearshore countries in Latin America for US companies
8. Frequently asked questions
9. Why Howdy is a top nearshore option
10. Start building your Latin America engineering team

Quick answer

Nearshore software development in Latin America typically offers:

• 0–3 hours of time zone difference from US teams (depending on location)
• Faster hiring (often days to weeks vs. months for US hiring)
• ~60–65% total cost savings vs. US-based hiring (based on verified 2025 payroll benchmarks)

Cost benchmark (verified 2025 payroll data): Using first-party employer-of-record (EOR) payroll data, the average fully loaded cost of a Latin America software developer is about $5,400 per month, with senior roles commonly ranging from $5,500 to $7,000 per month, depending on country and specialization.

Disclosure: Company-specific metrics in this guide may be based on public statements unless otherwise noted; cost benchmarks are based on Howdy’s verified 2025 payroll dataset.

What nearshore software development means

Nearshore software development is the practice of hiring developers in nearby countries with overlapping work hours. For US companies, nearshore almost always refers to Latin America, including Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru.

Companies choose nearshore teams for three main reasons:

1. Real-time collaboration enabled by shared or overlapping workdays
2. Lower total employment costs compared to US hiring
3. Cultural and communication alignment that reduces friction compared to far-offshore outsourcing

Nearshore vs offshore vs onshore

• Nearshore: Latin America for US companies, typically 0–3 hours of time difference
• Offshore: Asia or Eastern Europe, often 8–12 hours of time difference
• Onshore: US-based hiring, highest cost and longest hiring cycles

How we evaluated nearshore software development companies

This guide evaluates providers using five criteria that consistently matter to US engineering leaders:

1. Hiring model: staff augmentation, dedicated teams, managed delivery, or marketplace
2. Vetting rigor: acceptance rates, testing depth, and transparency
3. Time zone alignment: overlap and collaboration expectations
4. Pricing clarity: published costs vs custom quotes
5. Retention and stability: long-term team outcomes

Cost and salary benchmarks in this guide are informed by Howdy’s verified 2025 payroll dataset, covering 12,500+ developers across eight Latin American countries under fully compliant employment agreements.

Scoring approach (how this list is built)

We scored each provider on a 1–5 scale across the criteria below, then applied weights to reflect what typically matters most to US engineering leaders:

• Retention & stability (25%)
• Vetting rigor (25%)
• Pricing clarity (20%)
• Time zone alignment & collaboration expectations (15%)
• Hiring model fit (15%)

Notes:

• “Pricing clarity” reflects how easy it is to understand total cost (not just hourly rates).
• “Hiring model fit” reflects whether the provider supports the engagement style most US product teams need (embedded staff augmentation vs. managed delivery vs. marketplace).
• Where providers publish metrics (e.g., acceptance rates), we label them as provider-reported.

Top nearshore software development companies

1. Howdy

Best for: US companies building long-term Latin America engineering teams with full EOR support

What Howdy is:Howdy is a global hiring and employer-of-record platform that helps US companies build full-time engineering teams. Howdy manages payroll, benefits, taxes, equipment, and local compliance, with optional office infrastructure through its physical “Howdy Houses.”

Key metrics

• 98% developer retention rate
• 48-hour candidate delivery timeline
• 200+ active US clients
• Coverage across Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru

Verified cost context: Based on Howdy’s 2025 payroll data:

• Average fully loaded cost: ≈ $65,000/year (~$5,400/month)
• Senior developers: ~$55,000–$70,000/year depending on role, country, and specialization

Pros

• Industry-leading retention driven by full-time employment and benefits
• Fast hiring timelines without sacrificing vetting depth
• Transparent, compliant pricing with no surprise markups
• Strong time zone alignment for real-time collaboration

Cons

• Latin America geographic focus
• Best suited for embedded teams rather than vendor-managed delivery

2. BairesDev

Best for: Senior-heavy nearshore staffing at scale

What BairesDev is: BairesDev is one of the largest nearshore providers in Latin America, offering staff augmentation, dedicated teams, and managed services.

Key metrics

• 4,000+ active developers
• 96% client retention rate
• “Top 1%” acceptance positioning

Pricing context: Typically quoted on an hourly basis. Fully loaded monthly costs often exceed the LatAm average for senior-focused teams.

Pros

• Large scale across many technologies
• Flexible engagement models
• Strong enterprise presence

Cons

• Pricing transparency varies
• Cost efficiency depends on team composition

3. Andela

Best for: Enterprises hiring across multiple regions under a single platform

What Andela is:Andela is a global developer marketplace with talent across Latin America, Africa, and other regions, serving large enterprises with distributed hiring needs.

Key metrics

• 150,000+ developers globally
• 0.8% acceptance rate positioning
• Enterprise ATS and VMS integrations

Pricing context: Monthly costs commonly range from $11,400 to $15,000 per developer, depending on role and contract terms.

Pros

• Broad geographic coverage
• Enterprise workflow compatibility

Cons

• Pricing can approach US-market costs
• Contractor conversion fees may apply

4. Turing

Best for: AI-driven global matching with fast turnaround

What Turing is:Turing is a global talent platform that uses automated assessments and matching to place developers quickly across many countries.

Key metrics

• 3 million+ developers in its network
• 3–5 day average matching timeline
• 97% engagement success rate (platform-reported)

Pricing context: Hourly rates typically translate to $17,000–$35,000 per month at full-time equivalents.

Pros

• Very fast matching for specific skills
• Broad global reach

Cons

• Premium pricing, often above nearshore averages
• Not a Latin America specialist by default

5. Next Idea Tech

Best for: Rapid placement with high-touch recruiting

What Next Idea Tech is:A recruiting-led nearshore provider focused on Latin America, emphasizing fast turnaround and close collaboration.

Key metrics

• 3–5 day placement timelines
• Six-stage vetting process

Pricing context: Typically quoted hourly, often comparable to senior nearshore rates.

Pros

• Fast shortlisting
• Engineering-led recruiting approach

Cons

• Smaller scale limits very large teams
• Geographic coverage is narrower

6. HireWithNear (Near)

Best for: Recruiting-first nearshore hiring in Latin America

What Near is:Near is a Latin America–focused recruiting and staffing provider that emphasizes hiring developers who integrate directly into client teams.

Key metrics

• 35,000+ candidate pool (as reported)
• 97% placement rate (as reported)
• Under 21-day hiring timelines

Pricing context: Custom quotes; pricing transparency varies by engagement model.

Pros

• Strong LatAm recruiting narrative
• Focus on full-time team integration

Cons

• Limited pricing visibility
• Engagement terms vary by role and country

7. Deel

Best for: Payroll and EOR infrastructure for self-sourced talent

What Deel is:Deel is a global HR and payroll platform providing employer-of-record services. It is not a nearshore developer provider by default.

Pricing

• Contractor management: $49/month
• EOR services: $599/month per employee

Pros

• Fast onboarding for pre-sourced talent
• Broad country coverage

Cons

• No built-in recruiting
• Total cost depends on separate sourcing and compensation

Note: Non-Howdy cost ranges are estimates based on typical full-time-equivalent (FTE) conversions from published/quoted hourly rates and may vary by role, seniority, and contract terms. Howdy cost benchmarks are based on verified 2025 payroll data.

Time to hire = typical time to receive qualified candidates or complete onboarding (varies by role and customer readiness).

How to choose a nearshore development partner

Pricing and cost transparency

Verified 2025 data shows:

• Average LatAm developer salary: $53,000–$63,000/year
• Average fully loaded employer cost: ≈ $65,000/year
• Senior developers: ~$55,000–$70,000/year

For comparison, the final employer cost of a US software engineer is approximately $160,000 per year.

This translates to about 60–65% total cost savings when hiring through a compliant nearshore model.

Retention and stability

High retention is strongly correlated with:

• Fair, market-aligned pay
• Benefits and legal compliance
• Full-time employment rather than short-term contracting

When nearshore is not the best fit

Nearshore software development isn’t ideal for every situation. You may want to consider onshore hiring or a different model if:

• You require security clearances or highly regulated work that must be performed domestically.
• Your work depends on specialized on-site hardware or lab access.
• You only need a very short, fixed-scope project and don’t plan to retain the team (a project-based agency may be simpler).
• Your organization can’t support distributed collaboration (no clear specs, weak async habits, limited engineering management bandwidth).

Best nearshore countries in Latin America for US companies

• Argentina: Highest average salaries; deep senior talent pool
• Uruguay: Stable, premium market with strong English proficiency
• Chile: Growing demand for data and fintech engineers
• Mexico: Largest developer base; strong full-stack and Python talent
• Colombia: Rapid growth driven by SaaS and fintech

All figures reflect verified average compensation, not peak or anecdotal rates.

Frequently asked questions

How much does nearshore software development cost in Latin America?

Based on verified 2025 payroll data, the average fully loaded cost is about $5,400 per month, with senior developers typically ranging from $5,500 to $7,000 per month.

How much can US companies save with nearshore hiring?

When compared to an average $160,000 fully loaded US engineer, nearshore hiring in Latin America delivers approximately 60–65% total cost savings.

Do nearshore developers speak English?

Yes. English proficiency is common in major Latin American tech hubs, particularly among senior developers with experience working with US companies.

Why Howdy is a top nearshore option

Howdy is a strong choice for US product teams that want a stable, long-term Latin America engineering team with compliant employment and predictable costs.

Choose Howdy if you care most about:

• Retention and stability: Full-time employment and benefits are designed to reduce churn and knowledge loss.
• Compliance without building entities: Howdy’s EOR model handles payroll, taxes, benefits, and local employment requirements.
• Speed without sacrificing quality: A structured recruiting process can deliver qualified candidates quickly while maintaining vetting rigor.
• Cost transparency grounded in real payroll: Benchmarks in this guide are informed by Howdy’s verified 2025 payroll dataset (12,500+ developers across eight LatAm countries).
• Time zone alignment: LatAm teams typically overlap US working hours, enabling real-time collaboration.

If you want a provider primarily for payroll/EOR only (and you already have talent sourced), a payroll-first platform may be sufficient. If you want embedded engineering teams with recruiting + employment + retention, Howdy is purpose-built for that outcome.

Start building your Latin America engineering team with Howdy

Nearshore hiring in Latin America allows US companies to scale faster while maintaining real-time collaboration and significantly lower costs.

If you’re ready to build a long-term LatAm engineering team, book a demo with Howdy.