Which Countries Should You Hire Contractors From? Here's What to Consider

US companies — particularly consulting firms, software development and marketing agencies, as well as other professional services companies — are increasingly tapping into international talent to grow their businesses. “When it comes to engineers, for instance, it’s very hard to find local talent in the US,” Staszek Kolarzowski, co-founder of Plane, said. “You’ll find a lot of engineers in Silicon Valley, but the competition is huge.” And while it’s often true that international contract workers may be less expensive to hire than their US counterparts, he added that going global in your search also helps you land the most talented candidates possible. More and more US companies are doing just that. Currently valued at $122 billion in 2024, the global offshore development market is expected to hit $283 billion by 2031, according to Verified Market Research. But with the world’s developers, designers, writers, and more all at your fingertips, it can be a challenge to even know where to start. As a US company looking to leverage the benefits of hiring international talent, how can you begin whittling down your search to find the right region to hire from? It’s a critical decision that can have a big impact on the trajectory of your company.

How to find the right geographical region for your remote workers

While top-tier talent can be found in any major region around the world, there will be realities unique to your business that make some areas more suitable than others. Below, you’ll find a handful of important points to consider that will help you hone in on the ideal location of your new contractors:

1. Know your preferred time zone

If your team likes to collaborate in real time as often as possible, then the time zone of your contract workers should be a major decision factor. Kolarzowski noted that US companies that want to manage remote teams in the same general time zone will often remove Asian countries from their consideration set right off the bat, because it’s just too large of a time gap. On the other hand, Irene Chao, Head of Operations at Plane, points out that some US companies prefer that their contract workers are in a different time zone. “People sometimes assume that different time zones are an issue, but it can actually bring a lot of value to some companies,” she said. “The US employees can review work, compile feedback, and assign new tasks during their office hours, and the next day they have new work ready to move forward on schedule.” It can also be particularly beneficial when customer support specialists are online across time zones to ensure 24-hour availability for your clients.US companies that want their workers in the same time zone will often gravitate toward countries in Latin America, Kolarzowski says. In 2024, some of the most popular Latin American countries for Plane customers to find contractors were Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Uruguay.If time zones don’t have to totally overlap, Kolarzowski said that many companies will give strong consideration to Eastern Europe. “Countries like Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, and Croatia have a reputation for world-class engineering talent,” he said. “For employers, a five- to nine-hour time difference may be worth it.”

2. Consider country size

The size of the country might not seem all that important, but Kolarzowski said that it can have an impact if you need more than one or two contract workers. For example, Kolarzowski said that in Colombia, the developers are amazing, but the country is relatively small. “Finding one developer will be easy, but if you’re looking to build a team of 10 to 15 engineers in Colombia, that will be more challenging than if you were looking to staff within a larger country like Brazil or Argentina,” he added.

3. Keep an eye on taxes and regulations

Plane helps US companies navigate the local compliance requirements of foreign countries, but some countries pose greater tax and regulatory challenges than others. Kolarzowski offered Argentina and Venezuela as examples of countries that have challenging economic environments. “In countries like these with unstable currencies, workers want to get paid in US dollars, but it’s actually illegal to pay them in anything other than their local currencies,” he said. Other countries might not have income taxes for their citizens, which can help keep wages down for US companies that hire them. The United Arab Emirates, Monaco, and Bermuda are a few examples of countries without income taxes.

4. Think about English proficiency

Coding languages like Python, SQL, and Java are the same no matter what country you’re in, which is a big reason why there’s such a large supply of global engineering talent. “Coding is a universal language,” Chao said. “If your US team can pass code back and forth with international contractors with minimal verbal or written feedback, then the language barrier might not be much of a concern.”But sometimes teams need to communicate through developer notes, email, and in meetings. Or, you’re looking for a designer, assistant, or other skilled professional that you need to be able to easily communicate with. In those cases, it’s important that you can get your message across. Today, it’s very common for international contractors to know English. Sometimes, they know just enough to get the job done. Other times, you might not even know that English is their second language. While it’s true that European countries are in general highly proficient in English, Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines also feature a high number of English speakers. And Kolarzowski noted that experienced foreign professionals are more likely to be strong English speakers than the general population, no matter what country they live in.

5. Compare the cost of talent

More US companies are looking to hire global contractors to solve critical business challenges rather than simply save money on labor costs. Even so, the cost of even world-class talent is often a big consideration when hiring international contractors — and the differences can be significant from country to country. For example, the median annual salary for a backend developer in Puerto Rico is $72,635, but in Guatemala it’s $58,850. Kolarzowski and Chao both know firsthand that there is high-quality talent ready to work in every region around the world because Plane works with them. You can use Plane’s Remote Compensation Data to explore and compare salary data across countries and job titles as you weigh all the factors above and find the region that makes the most sense for your business.

Find the perfect region to hire your global remote contractors

To source talent from the right country, it helps to know what you’re looking for. Time zones, country size, taxes, regulations, language proficiency, and cost can all guide you to the geographical region that’s the best fit for your company. Have you determined where you want to hire? Be sure you understand what you need to know before hiring an independent contractor — from compliant contracts to payments to taxes — so that you’re prepared to bring someone aboard.