How Much Does It Cost to Hire Software Developers in Mexico

The cost to run a project development in a particular country is rarely decisive, but always one of the most important questions the founders and stakeholders ask. That’s why in this article, Bridge experts suggest discovering the software developer salary in Mexico, as well as comparing the available opportunities, for you to make the most cost-effective choice. 

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Is Mexico good for software engineering – IT market overview

Mexico Quick Facts

• Mexico is one of the leading countries in offshore business services worldwide
• Talent pool – 223,000+ tech talents
• Higher engineering education – 7 leading engineering universities following globally recognized educational practices
• Average rate per hour – $25-50
• HackerRank rating – 33 out of 50
• The country’s engineers have competitive data analysis skills, according to Global Skills Report 2021
• Ranked second by Pentalog
• Guadalajara is the main tech hub in this country, known as “Mexican Silicon Valley”
• Mexico is ranked 60 among 190 economies in the “ease of doing business” rating
• Mexico is a politically stable country with a low business climate risk rate

In a nutshell, yes. Mexico is good for software engineering, and a reasonable software developer costs aren’t the only reason to pay attention to this country as a winning outsourcing destination. Let’s look at some other advantages.

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The benefits of sourcing a remote team in Mexico

• Wide talent pool of top-skilled professionals. There are more than 223,000 tech specialists in Mexico, representing the second-largest talent pool in the Latin American region. According to HackerRank, Mexican developers are best-skilled with Java, C++, and Python, plus have competitive data analysis skills. A lot of them are also well-educated, however, their English proficiency index is 436, which means a relatively low proficiency. Nevertheless, the practical experience of Mexican developers along with other advantages outweigh the possible communication barrier, which is usually solved by an English-speaking project manager assigned by a development vendor. 
• Attractive investment climate. Mexico is a country where doing business is relatively easy for both domestic entrepreneurs and foreign investors. It is also a politically stable country with a low business climate risk rate. 
• Cultural and geographical proximity, and time zones overlap. Mexico’s time zone is UTC-5, which is two hours ahead of California. This time zone also overlaps with the one of Texas, Nebraska, Illinois, Arkansas, and some other US states. Getting from the US to Mexico takes up to two hours when departing from such cities as Finix, CA, Dallas, TX, Los Angeles, CA, and Chicago, IL. Such a convenient location makes a good match for the projects prioritizing the opportunity to personally control the development process and getting in touch with the tech team frequently. 
• The reasonable average cost of software development. The average software engineer salary in Mexico is $25-50 per hour, which approximately equals $1500 per month and $18,000 per year. Such a figure isn’t high in the long-term perspective, taking the global software development market trends into account, but let’s estimate the possible cost to hire software engineers in Mexico depending on the job titles, computer science specialization, and years of experience of a particular tech specialist.

Feel like your project needs an urgent hiring cost assessment? Give us a call now to run the numbers!

How much do software developers make in Mexico?

As mentioned above, the average salary in Mexico for a software engineer is $1500 per month, however, this figure does not take into account the developer’s specialization and seniority, so let’s take a deeper look. 

Depending on the specialization:

For example, you may ask: “How much do web developers make in Mexico?” According to Glassdoor, the average figure is $1000 per month, while the more specific skill set is decisive for making more accurate estimates. Below are the most popular technologies Mexican developers are skilled with along with their monthly salary ranges. 

• A JS (frontend) developer makes $1600 per month
• A Python (backend) engineer earns $1700 per month
• The salary of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) programmer is $1700 per month

As for the cost to develop a mobile app by sourcing tech talent in Mexico, the mobile app developer salary is around $1600 per month, and here is a more detailed breakdown depending on the operating system the future app will run on. 

• The average salary of an Android developer is  $1800 per month
• The approximate cost to hire an iOS software engineer is $1900 per month 

Depending on seniority:

A software engineer’s salary also depends on the seniority level and the years of practical experience a particular engineer has, so let’s discover the costs. 

• A Junior software developer’s salary is around $900 per month in Mexico
• A salary of a software developer of Mid-level is $1500 per month
• A Senior software engineer’s salary in Mexico is $2700 per month

Also, keep in mind that these figures also depend on the technology an engineer is skilled with, and some of the skills, for example, database and iOS development can be paid higher compared to frontend programming. 

Feel the difference – the average software development salaries in the US

We have already reviewed the average software developer salary in Mexico, getting pretty reasonable figures as a result, but which country pays the highest salary for software developers? North America is the one with the highest salary for a software engineer, which is explained by the technological advancement of this region, the high cost of living, and the acute lack of tech talent. 

Let’s discover the average software developer salary in the United States and compare it with the market-adopted cost to hire an engineer in Mexico. 

Depending on the specialization:

On average, a web developer’s salary is $8100 per month, and here is the more detailed cost breakdown to hire specific programmers in the US. 

• A JS (frontend) developer makes $9200 per month in the United States
• The monthly cost to hire a Python (backend) programmer is $8000 
• The AI and ML software developer’s salary is $9900 per month

As for the cost to run a mobile development project in the US, mobile developers earn $7700 per month in  this county. Based on salaries listed in relevant vacancies, the average Android and iOS software engineer salary is as follows. 

• An Android developer usually earns $9200 per month
• The monthly cost to hire an iOS programmer is $9200 too. 

Depending on seniority:

Below are the monthly costs to hire a software programmer in the United States based on their seniority level. 

• A Junior software developer’s average wage is $5400 per month
• A Middle software developer usually earns $9200 per month
• A Senior Mexico software engineer salary  is $10900 per month

So, the cost to hire American engineers is up to 5 times higher compared to the expected budget estimate to work with programmers from Mexico. While the software development outsourcing price shouldn’t be the only decisive factor, such significant savings can be a game-changer for the startups on a budget. 

Bridge team  would be happy to source a development team from Mexico and help your project grow. Schedule a free consultation to get started! 

The cost to hire other essential tech specialists in Mexico

A typical tech team never consists of software developers only. A successfully developed project is always the result of the joint work of several tech specialists, so let’s overview some other essential team roles and discover their average wages.

• A Business Analyst (BA) in Mexico earns $1450 per month. This is the specialist responsible for clarifying the requirements of the stakeholders, researching the current business environment and available resources, and suggesting the most winning development tactic. 
• A Project Manager (PM) is a person assigned to streamline the communication between the customer and the tech team, helping solve the urgent issues. Their salary is $2000 per month in Mexico. Usually, this is a person with an advanced English level. 
• A Software engineering Team Lead makes $2000 per month and, as the role suggests, is responsible for managing the team and balancing the workload. 

• A UI/UX designer‘s salary is  $1700 per month. This semi-creative semi-technical specialist is responsible for developing a design solution for your future app. 
• A market researcher is a person who works together with BA to help get a holistic picture of the target market, develop an outstanding value proposition, analyze the competitors and find the best way to solve the users’ problem. Their monthly wage in Mexico is $1300. 
• Quality Assurance (QA) and testing specialists earn $1400 per month. They are responsible for making sure that the app’s code is bug-free and that there are no security loopholes. 
• A Marketing Lead is a specialist responsible for the project’s promotion and marketing across the different channels. They earn $2400 per month on average. 
• A PR manager works on raising awareness of the project, getting $700 per month for their job. 
• A Content writer usually works together with an SEO specialist to grow the website’s position in SERP. Their average wage in Mexico is $1500 per month. 

Does your business need to quickly find the perfect-match candidates? Take a closer look at sourcing-as-a-service and learn more about this offer by reading Obvious.ly and Jasper.ai case studies. Get in touch with us now to get a well-validated list of suitable candidates and bridge the talent gap! 

The average cost to hire a full-fledged remote team in Mexico

Below is the approximate cost breakdown to hire a well-structured tech team in Mexico. The calculations are made based on salary ranges, taking into account the cost to hire such a team for 6 months (the average time to create a small-to-medium project). 

Ready to get started with effective hiring? Ask Bridge to source the tech talent you need! 

How to optimize the hiring costs – tips and best practices

So, the cost to hire a development team in Mexico is pretty reasonable, especially when compared with the average salary of the same specialists from the USA. Below are some additional tips to optimize hiring costs. 

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• Set clear project requirements. The structure of your tech team can be pretty different, depending on the project’s specifics and planned workload. That’s why setting clear project requirements, evaluating the expected scope of work, and deciding on the core technologies are essential steps you should make before getting in touch with the promising candidates. 
• Make sure Mexico suits you as a destination. Hiring a software development team from Mexico can be a good strategy, however, the choice of the destination is essential for future project success. Make sure Mexico suits you according to the crucial parameters (the specific talent availability, the budget, and investment climate). To make a fully informed choice, get started with the Latin America software development market overview. 
• Use our online calculator. To get the most benefit from running your tech project with remote talent, you have to carefully plan your hiring budget in advance. Our budget calculator is a simple and quick tool to check the average wages of the specialists you need depending on the location so give it a try right now. 
• Partner with a talent sourcing vendor. As for the last step to optimize the hiring cost, consider partnering with a talent sourcing company. In contrast to hiring on your own, such a simple tactic allows you to speed up the process of recruitment, quickly bridge the talent gap, hire for only project-essential roles and optimize the costs along the way.

Reach out to us for IT recruitment services and gather the best-in-class tech team to create market-disruptive software!

Conclusion

Hiring a development team in Mexico is a cost-effective solution perfectly matched with a great talent pool and favorable business climate. Having a talent sourcing partner nearby adds value to this strategy, unlocking the quick hiring opportunities at a reasonable cost.

Get in touch with Bridge for talent sourcing services and hiring support!