Software Developer Per Hour Rate By Country: Here’s What I’ve Found

Over the last decade, I’ve spoken with hundreds of founders who all ask a version of the same question:
“What’s a fair hourly rate for a good software developer in this country?”

The honest answer is: it depends more than most online calculators admit. Recent 2024–2025 reports put global software developer hourly rates anywhere from around $20–$40/hour in lower-cost regions to well over $100/hour in North America and Western Europe for senior talent, with specialised contractors and agencies going higher. 

Across thousands of hires, I keep seeing the same three variables drive the real software developer hourly rate by country:

• Location & labour market – local cost of living and demand (US, UK, DACH, and Australia sit at the top end; Eastern Europe, Latin America, parts of Asia and Africa are usually 30–60% lower on average).
• Experience level – junior, mid-level, and senior developers can easily sit two-to-three price brackets apart for the same role.
• Type of development work – niche skills (cloud, data, AI/ML, security, or complex enterprise work) command a clear premium over more general web or mobile development. 

I’ll break down software developer hourly rates by region and seniority—North America, Europe (including Eastern Europe), Latin America, Asia, and Africa—using the latest available benchmarks combined with what we see every week at Remote Crew when we’re actually closing offers.

Why software developer rates vary so much by country

Software developer hourly rates can differ by more than 3× between regions, and the gap isn’t random. Every market is shaped by a combination of economic, talent, and industry forces. Across the data we track at RemoteCrew — and across recent 2024–2025 research from Index.dev, Netclues, DistantJob and others — four factors consistently explain the global differences.

1. Local cost of living and market salaries

Developer rates move with local economies. Countries with high living costs and strong tech ecosystems — like the U.S., Canada, UK, Netherlands, Germany, and the Nordics — command higher hourly rates. In contrast, regions such as Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia offer significantly lower average salary benchmarks, which directly lowers hourly pricing.

2. Supply and demand of tech talent

Regions with a high concentration of developers and established outsourcing industries (Ukraine, Poland, Romania, India, Vietnam, the Philippines) typically have more competitive hourly rates. Meanwhile, markets with intense local demand (the U.S., UK, Australia) see upward pressure on senior and specialized roles.

3. Developer experience level (Junior → Senior)

Experience is one of the strongest price levers. Based on 2025 data, junior developers in most regions sit at the lower end of the range, while mid-level and senior engineers may cost 2–3× more — especially in backend, DevOps, cloud, AI/ML, or enterprise software roles.

4. Specialization and technical stack

Not all development work costs the same. Skills like mobile development, DevOps, data engineering, cloud infrastructure, or AI/ML command higher hourly rates across every region. Generalist web development (e.g., JavaScript, PHP) tends to fall in the mid-range globally.

Because these factors play out differently across regions, the only accurate way to compare costs is to look at fresh, region-specific data—which is what you’ll find below.

Average software developer rates by region

These ranges show the most realistic rates companies can expect in 2025 across full-time contractors, vetted freelancers, and remote employees. The sections below break down each region in more detail so you can align your budget with skill level, timezone, and expected quality.

North America

North America consistently ranks as the highest-cost region for software development, driven by strong demand, mature tech hubs (San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Toronto), and high local salary benchmarks. In 2025, multiple industry reports show that companies hiring in the U.S. or Canada pay a significant premium for mid-level and senior engineers compared to other global markets.

According to aggregated 2025 data from Index.dev, Netclues, and DistantJob, here’s what organizations realistically pay:

• Junior Developer: $40–$70/hour
• Mid-Level Developer: $60–$100/hour
• Senior Developer: $90–$150+/hour
• Specialized contractors (cloud, AI/ML, security): often $150–$200+ depending on scope and engagement model

North America is the right region when companies need:

• niche technical expertise,
• deep enterprise experience,
• or senior engineers capable of leading architecture or high-risk systems.

For companies optimizing for cost without sacrificing quality, North America usually becomes the benchmark rather than the hiring destination — which is why many teams compare these figures to Europe, LATAM, or Asia when evaluating offshore or nearshore options.

Europe

Europe offers one of the widest pricing ranges globally because hourly rates differ significantly between Western, Central, and Eastern subregions. The continent combines some of the world’s most expensive markets (UK, Nordics) with some of the most cost-efficient and highly skilled talent pools (Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia).

Based on 2025 data from aforementioned research, and RemoteCrew’s regional hiring experience, here’s how rates break down:

Western Europe (Germany, UK, Netherlands, France, Nordics)

Western Europe sits just below North America in terms of hourly rates due to high labor costs, strong enterprise presence, and a competitive engineering market.

• Junior: $30–$50/hour
• Mid-Level: $45–$80/hour
• Senior: $70–$110/hour
• UK & Nordics may exceed $120/hr for advanced cloud, DevOps, or data roles.

These markets are ideal for companies needing senior autonomy, enterprise compliance familiarity, or EU regulatory experience — but not for cost savings.

Southern Europe (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece)

A strong mid-cost region with growing remote-first hubs (especially Portugal and Spain).

• Junior: $25–$45/hr
• Mid-Level: $40–$65/hr
• Senior: $55–$85/hr

Portugal offers excellent English proficiency, similar time zones to Western Europe, and a rapidly growing tech ecosystem.

Central & Eastern Europe (Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Czechia)

One of the most in-demand regions for offshore development due to education quality, high English proficiency, and competitive rates.

• Junior: $20–$35/hr
• Mid-Level: $30–$55/hr
• Senior: $40–$70/hr

Ukraine and Poland sit toward the upper end; Serbia, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Czechia slightly lower but equally strong technically.

Latin America

Latin America has become one of the fastest-growing regions for nearshore software development, especially for U.S. companies that want strong overlap in working hours without the premium rates found in North America. The region combines strong English proficiency, competitive rates, and a rapidly expanding talent pool in countries like Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia.

Aggregated 2025 outsourcing and freelance data shows the following ranges:

• Junior Developer: $18–$30/hour
• Mid-Level Developer: $30–$50/hour
• Senior Developer: $40–$70/hour

LATAM senior developers are often priced similarly to Eastern Europe, though English proficiency and time-zone alignment can push experienced engineers toward the higher end of the range.

LATAM is particularly strong for:

• backend and full-stack development
• mobile engineering
• QA automation
• DevOps and cloud roles.

If you're hiring from the U.S., Latin America is frequently the “sweet spot” between cost, quality, and real-time collaboration.

Asia

Once you start looking at the per-hour rates in Asian countries, particularly India and the Philippines, you’ll see very competitive rates.

These countries are popular for offshore software development due to their competitive rates and established IT sectors.

Companies hiring locally within Asia often find that rates vary between countries and developer types.

South Asia:

• Junior Developer: $21 - $30 per hour
• Intermediate Developer: $22 - $35 per hour
• Senior Developer: $25 - $50 per hour

Southeast Asia:

• Junior Developer: $20 - $25 per hour
• Intermediate Developer: $25 - $30 per hour
• Senior Developer: $24 - $33 per hour

Africa

Africa’s emerging tech market offers opportunities to hire developers at competitive rates, especially in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, where the talent pool is steadily growing.

South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya: Rates may vary widely, typically in a range similar to South East Asia and Eastern Europe, depending on the developer’s experience and specialization.

• Junior: $15–$25/hr
• Mid-Level: $25–$45/hr
• Senior: $35–$55/hr

Strengths: mobile development, fintech, backend engineering, QA/testing.

How to choose the right country to hire a software developer

Hiring location has a direct impact on cost, communication, and product quality — and the best region for you depends on the type of work, level of seniority needed, and how quickly you need to scale. Based on 2025 global benchmarks and what we see helping founders hire every week, here’s how companies typically decide:

• If you need niche expertise or enterprise experience
North America and Western Europe remain strongest for senior engineers with deep cloud, security, AI/ML, or architecture backgrounds. These markets are the most expensive, but typically deliver the highest availability of specialized skills.

• If you want the best balance between cost and senior talent
Eastern Europe is still one of the most reliable regions for experienced backend, full-stack, DevOps, and mobile developers. Strong engineering education, high English proficiency, and competitive pricing make it a top choice for both U.S. and EU companies.

• If you want cost-efficient hiring without compromising availability
South Asia and Southeast Asia (India, Pakistan, Vietnam, the Philippines) offer the lowest hourly rates globally. These markets work well for scalable engineering teams, QA, testing, and ongoing development cycles — especially when cost is the primary driver.

• If time-zone alignment with the U.S. matters
Latin America provides a strong middle ground: competitive pricing, excellent communication overlap, and improving senior-talent availability. Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico are now among the most popular nearshore choices.

Most companies don’t choose a region by price alone. The best results come from matching budget + seniority + time-zone needs + specialization, rather than chasing the lowest hourly rate on a chart.

How RemoteCrew helps you hire reliable, high-quality software developers

Hiring developers across different countries is only easy on paper. In reality, founders struggle with inconsistent portfolios, unreliable marketplaces, unclear rate expectations, and large skill differences from one region to another. That’s where a vetted, region-based approach becomes essential.

RemoteCrew helps companies hire confidently by combining real market data with on-the-ground regional expertise in Europe (Portugal) and Latin America. Instead of browsing endless profiles or guessing whether a developer is worth the rate they’re asking, you get:

• Pre-vetted developers with verified experience
We review technical backgrounds, English proficiency, communication habits, and past project results — filtering out candidates who look good on paper but don’t perform well in practice.

• Accurate expectations for hourly rates by region and seniority
Because we hire across multiple markets, we can tell you what a fair rate looks like in each country and prevent you from overpaying or underpricing the role.

• Candidates matched to your tech stack and seniority needs
Whether you need backend, full-stack, mobile, DevOps, cloud, or AI-focused engineers, we match you only with developers who’ve already built similar products or systems.

• A streamlined hiring experience
You skip the initial vetting, testing, screening, and rate negotiations — we handle that part so you can focus on evaluating only the best-fit candidates.

For teams that want reliable, long-term remote developers—without months of trial-and-error—RemoteCrew provides a predictable, data-backed way to hire across global markets.