Engineering team cost calculator
What does your engineering team really cost?
Compare the estimated cost of U.S. direct hiring with a senior nearshore team in Brazil. Adjust the numbers to fit your business.
01 / Set your assumptions
Build your team scenario
Set your team size, U.S. base salary and employer overhead. The nearshore estimate updates automatically. All amounts are in USD; defaults are illustrative, not market benchmarks or a formal quote.
Range: 1 to 20.
Range: $85,000 to $350,000.
For context: the U.S. median annual wage for software developers was $135,980 in May 2025; the highest-paid 10% earned more than $214,670. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National wages vary by role, experience and location and are not fully loaded employer costs. The $85,000 minimum, default inputs and nearshore discount are calculator assumptions, not BLS estimates.
Range: 0 to 60%.
Overhead can include payroll-related expenses, benefits, equipment and amortized recruiting. Categories vary; this percentage does not include every cost. Internal HR coordination and interviewer time are not separately modeled.
Nearshore is modeled at 30% below the U.S. base salary, subject to an $85,000 annual minimum per engineer. No employer overhead is added to nearshore. This is an illustrative modeling rule, not a pricing guarantee.
Free preview. No email needed.
02 / Your free preview
One team. Two cost models.
Annual estimates for 3 engineers, based on your supplied inputs.
Estimated annual savings for your team
$195,000
43.3% of the U.S. direct-hire total
Nearshore costs less in this scenario.
There is time behind every hire. Internal HR coordination and interviewer time are not separately modeled. If your overhead assumption excludes them, direct hiring may cost more than shown.
Illustrative cost model based on your inputs. Actual pricing, employment costs, hiring costs and productivity vary. Not a formal proposal. Costs do not represent like-for-like business outcomes.
No report request needed.
Your team. Your savings. The full picture.
Email yourself the detailed PDF with a year-by-year comparison, cumulative savings and the assumptions behind your results.
- Annual cost per engineer and total team costs
- Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 costs and cumulative differences
- Time-zone overlap, hiring flexibility and delivery responsibility
Your 3-engineer scenario
$195,000 / year
Estimated savings · 43.3% of U.S. direct-hire costs
*Three-year projection assumes flat rates, constant headcount and no inflation or raises, FX adjustments, one-off transition costs, ramp-up costs, taxes or productivity differences.
*Working-hour overlap varies by location and daylight saving. Contract terms determine flexibility. Embedded engineers work with your leadership; managed delivery needs a separately agreed scope.