10 Best Countries to Outsource Software Development For Your Next Project

When outsourcing your product, choosing the right location plays a key factor in the product’s overall success. You might think it’s absurd, but industry experts have proved this.

Sometimes, you can only find the right outsourcing partners in the right regions, and choosing a reliable partner can make or break your product. With that in mind, let’s look at the top ten countries to outsource software development.

But before that, there are a few things you need to consider before outsourcing software development.

Factors To Consider Before Outsourcing Software Development

1. Educational Qualifications

You should always consider the educational qualifications of every technical specialist you plan to onboard, regardless of where you’re hiring them from. Having basic computer science knowledge and in-depth knowledge can make a big difference.

The ones studying more in-depth can take on more complex projects revolving around AI development.

2. Tech Stack

When outsourcing, you must consider the effect of the right tech stack to overcome development-related issues effectively. Countries you consider as an option will always differ in their preference of tech stack, and you need to choose the right one that’s compatible with your project.

3. Efficiency In English

English is considered an international language, and being fluent in English is a must-have for any team you outsource your project. Communication is key, and fluency in English can ensure seamless communication to solve issues and for retrospectives.

4. Mentality And Perspective

Different countries have different work cultures, ethics, and mentality. It’s best to outsource from a country with the most similar mindset to yours to avoid a culture clash during development. Mismatched cultures can cause dismay among teammates and delay the entire development cycle in cases.

5. Expenses

While the primary goal of outsourcing is to reduce overall costs, the focus shouldn’t just be on the pricing. While any company can offer you your required services for a lower price, better outsourcing vendors always charge higher for more polished service.

6. Time Zone Differences

Time zone differences can work with or against you, depending on the nature of your project. If you’re looking to run a 24/7 improvement+ customer care operation, collaborating with a team from the other side of the globe is a great idea.

You should consider hiring from nearby regions to operate within a similar time zone.

The 10 Best Countries To Outsource Your Next Software Development Project

While every country has a great array of talents that you can choose from to add to your team, the following countries have become industry favorites over the years for multiple reasons.

1. Bangladesh

Bangladesh is currently housing thousands of freelancers with an amazing 1,500 outsourcing firms. With a high literacy rate of 75.6% and fluent English speakers with a friendly workplace attitude, it’s the best place to outsource your projects with an affordable pricing range.

The business-friendly nature of the country in the international market also brings a lot of benefits for clients to the table with a 100% tax exemption for IT-related services.

Organizations like  BASIS (Bangladesh Association for Software and Information Services) and BCC (Bangladesh Computer Council) are continuously working to build up and improve an already great outsourcing sector currently present.

• Rates: $30/mo
• Education: High focus on IT education with the project “Digital Bangladesh” by the Government of Bangladesh
• English: 12% of experts in Bangladesh are fluent in English. While the percentage is low, the professionals are all equipped with great communication skills.
• Mentality: With freelancing becoming one of the main income sources for the current youth in Bangladesh, they all possess great workplace ethics and mentality that fit international standards.
• Popular Programming Languages: Node. js, Python, C#. ASP.NET, PHP, Java
• Time Zone: GMT+6

2. Ukraine

Ukraine currently has a pool of 240 thousand talents for you to choose from. By October 2022, about 44% of all services exported from Ukraine were done by Ukrainian IT outsourcers.

The country has an open culture, a convenient time zone, and high professionalism regardless of the vendor or the individual.

Ukraine’s labor costs and tax policies allow you to set affordable rates that make it one of, if not the best, outsourcing destinations for large enterprises.

• Rates: Hourly rates for developers from Ukraine are $35-$76, which helps to reduce costs by 60% in countries based in Europe.
• Education: While IT is a high education focus in Ukraine, students also take advanced training courses on programming and other niche software development skills from large companies.
• English: 80% of Ukrainian Specialists are fluent in English, making them highly effective during team collaboration.
• Mentality: The European mentality of developers from Ukraine promotes higher flexibility and transparent communication.
• Popular Programming Languages: Ukraine’s most popular programming languages are JavaScript, C#, Python, Node.js, C++, PHP, .NET, Java, and React.
• Time Zone: GMT+2

3. India

India was the first country to capitalize on IT and BPO outsourcing, and they have constantly developed skillsets to meet traditional demand since then. India is predicted to have 5 million developers by 2024, making it the largest developer base in the world.

As the second largest English-speaking country in the world, India is the choice of outsourcing location for both US and UK employers.

• Rates: $40/ hour on Upwork and Clutch
• Education: Focuses heavily on mathematics and STEM education and produces as many as 2.6 million STEM graduates yearly.
• English: Most Indians have a strong knowledge of English. But their heavy accent often interferes with communication.
• Mentality: Indians are more hierarchical and obedient to higher-ups. However, clients often require innovation through being challenged. Indians still have a long way to go regarding shedding their cultural constraints.
• Popular Programming Languages: Python, Java, C++, TypeScript, Kotlin.
• Time Zone: GMT+5.30

4. Poland

Poland currently houses 295,000 specialists, of which 57% are programmers, the rest being QA specialists.

Though it can sound limited, Polish developers are known worldwide to be exceptional at every development aspect, from e-commerce to video game development. Poland is a favorite outsourcing zone for European businesses, as most Europe-based countries fall under the same time zone.

• Rate: $60-$90/hr
• Education: IT education has been the most popular in Poland since 2013 and is still ongoing.
• English: Poland ranks 11th globally for English proficiency, and it’s the language of business.
• Mentality: According to most client reviews, Polish developers demonstrate a great work ethic with minimal cultural differences.
• Popular Programming Languages: Javascript, Java, Python, TypeScript, PHP, and C#, followed by Swift, Kotlin, Scala, and Ruby.
• Time Zone: GMT+1

5. Argentina

As one of the most educated countries in Latin America, Argentina has over 120,000 software developers. Argentina is a great strategic location for US-based companies since they’re only 2 hours ahead of the US.

• Rate: $25-$99
• Education: Argentina ranked #21 in the QS Higher Education Rankings.
• English: Argentina has the highest level of English Speakers in all of Latin America, making it a favorite spot for US-based employers.
• Mentality: Developers from Argentina are hardworking and believe in delivering quality at an affordable price while being professional and friendly.
• Popular Programming Languages: Java, PHP, JavaScript, C, Python, SQL, blockchain technologies.
• Time Zone: GMT-3

6. China

China has one of the fastest-growing tech bases. In a hypothetical analysis of countries that could participate in a “Programming Olympics,” China ranked first.

As of 2021, the BPO outsourcing market in China was valued at $15.03 billion.

• Rate: $50-$100/hr
• Education: China produces around 4.7 million tech graduates every year
• English: Out of a 1.3 billion population, only 10 million speak English, making communication a drawback of their industry.
• Mentality: While the developers are efficient and productive, no intellectual property protection exists. There’s a high chance your innovation will be used somewhere else, and it will be used for free.
• Popular Programming Languages: Python
• Time Zone: GMT+8

7. The Philippines

Philippine currency, Peso, has a low global value, and it’s caused the Philippines to be one of the best outsourcing destinations. The country’s capital, Manila, has been ranked as the second-best city for outsourcing according to the Tholons Globalization Index.

• Rate: $18-$0/hr
• Education: The country has a specialized STEM high school system, increasing the literacy rate of the country to 92.6%.
• English: 92% of Filipinos speak English, making them one of the world’s biggest nation of English speakers.
• Mentality: 46% of Filipinos choose to work in outsourcing agencies and train in all the necessary qualities to deal with international clients.
• Popular Programming Languages: PHP, ASP, .NET, Ruby on Rails, ASP .NET Core
• Time Zone: GMT+8

8. The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic currently houses 105,000 specialists for various outsourcing services and is a great choice for outsourcing employers. The country houses offices from reputable industries like IBM, Google, NetSuite, Honeywell, etc. These organizations provide experiences to local specialists.

The Czech Republic is famous for building the widely popular anti-virus system Avast.

• Rate: $25-$50/hr
• Education: All Czech specialists are adept in all major programming languages, as the country strongly emphasizes IT education.
• English: Every specialist available in The Czech Republic is highly proficient in English.
• Mentality: The mindset is mostly flexible and agile thanks to gathering experience from locally established offices of different large enterprises.
• Popular Programming Languages: CSS, JavaScript, HTML, SQL, C#, and Python
• Time Zone: GMT+2

9. Romania

Thanks to tuition-free education, Romania has one of the most diverse tech scenes in all of Europe. Romanian developers ranked #20th in the world across different HackerRank programming tests.

Romania also has a great financial environment with many developers equipped with high skill levels and constant availability.

• Rate: $45-$99/hr
• Education: Tuition-free, egalitarian education has encouraged more and more developers to graduate from each other, specializing in diverse skills.
• English: Almost 90% of developers are highly fluent in English and equipped to deal with clients worldwide.
• Mentality: With Government support, Romania’s outsourcing landscape is going through a revolution as more and more specialists are learning advanced collaboration and development skills to provide the most value to their employers.
• Popular Programming Languages: JavaScript, Node.JS, .NET, C#, ReactJS, PHP
• Time Zone: GMT+3

10. Taiwan

Nicknamed “Asian Tigers,” Taiwan is one of the fastest-growing and most promising Asian countries in terms of outsourcing. Taiwanese Government has been investing heavily, and Taiwan aims to become “Asia’s Silicon Valley” with sophisticated IT infrastructure and STEM education.

Though they’re behind in the case of English proficiency, they’re trying to make English one of their official national languages to overcome the issue.

• Rate: $25-$49/hr
• Education: Improved STEM education has ensured a 98% literacy rate with 4th rank in Math and Science scores overall, making Taiwanese developers one of the smartest in the entire world.
• English: Taiwan currently ranks 40th out of 80 non-English speaking countries. 
• Mentality: Taiwanese developers are highly adaptable due to their high intellect and expertise and are laser-focused on delivering the best product within their abilities.
• Popular Programming Languages: Java, PHP, Ruby on Rails, ASP .NET Core.
• Time Zone: GMT+8

To Wrap It All Up

While there are tons of talents worldwide, limiting your search to only the best countries can ensure a higher chance of success. We hope our information can help you make the right decision. Good luck!

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