Software Developer Salaries in Chile and How It Compares to Other LATAM Countries

In one of our recent articles, we overviewed tech markets in different Latin American countries. LATAM region is pretty promising for software development outsourcing since it perfectly combines a diverse and qualified talent pool with a favorable business environment and reasonable cost to hire a remote development team. 

In this guide, we suggest taking a look at Chile – one of the most attractive software development outsourcing destinations in Latin America – so that you can carefully plan your future project budget and compare the hiring costs in this county with other LATAM destinations. 

Why hire a remote development team in Chile

Before discussing the cost to hire software developers in Chile, let’s quickly recap the main reasons to choose this country as a software development outsourcing destination. 

• Growing tech market. The software development market in Chile is growing in response to 5G adoption. It creates opportunities for artificial intelligence, augmented reality, the Internet of Things and cloud application development. According to the research, Chilean IT market growth is also largely supported by the government, which creates favorable conditions for foreign investment and encourages the growth of entrepreneurship capital.  
• A qualified tech talent pool. Despite the Chilean tech talent pool being smaller compared to other Latin American countries, the country’s engineers are highly qualified and pretty skilled with leading technologies. For example,  Global Skills Report 2021 highlights cutting-edge computer programming, mobile development, data analysis and statistical programming skills of Chilean developers. Employees in Chile are also pretty fluent in English; the English Proficiency Index (EPI) is 516 in this country (out of 663).  
• Competitive rates of Chilean developers. The average software developer rate per hour is $25-50, depending on the education and skills, core technology behind the project and its complexity. As for a monthly software developer salary, it is $2000 on average but let’s proceed with more accurate figures. 

How much does it cost to hire a tech team in Chile?

Let’s find out the average software developer salary in Chile, depending on the programmer’s seniority, the core technology they use and the role in a project. 

Chilean software developer salaries by seniority

The level of seniority and the years of experience are the first two factors that directly affect the average salary for software developers. In Chile, a salary range is $1500-2500, depending on the programmers’ experience level. 

• A starting salary for a Junior software developer is $1500 per month
• A Middle software developer can expect to earn $1950 as a monthly wage
• Senior software engineer makes $2500 per month in Chile

Chilean programmers’ wages by technology

The technology programmers are proficient with is also essential when analyzing software engineer salaries. The programmers skilled with the either most popular or difficult to handle languages and frameworks can expect to earn above average, depending on the project specifics. Take a look at the figures below.  

• Javascript developer salary is $2000 in Chile 
• Salary for a software developer skilled with Python developer is $1800 per month
• A Java developer salary can expect earning $2100 as a monthly wage
• Average salary for a PHP developer is $1800 per month in this country

The cost to hire tech professionals by role

Below are the programmers’ roles that usually constitute a full-fledged development team along with their monthly wages. 

• Front-end developer salary is $1700 per month
• Back-end developer salary is $1800 per month
• Business Analyst makes $1800 per month
• The salary of a Project Manager is one of the highest in the Chilean IT labor market. They earn $2400 per month on average.
• A salary for a QA tester is $1700 as a monthly wage
• How much does a UX UI designer make in Chile? An average wage for this specialist is $1400 per month
• Mobile app developer’s salary is $2000 per month in Chile.

You are also welcome to use our software developer salary calculator to get an idea of programmers’ wages across the countries and depending on their role. 

Do you need a more accurate hiring budget assessment? Get in touch with our recruitment experts to discuss your hiring needs! 

Software developer salaries in Chile vs other LATAM countries

So, let’s answer the main question – how much does the cost to hire remote developers in Chile differ from the cost of hiring a tech team in other Latin American countries? 

In our recent articles, we have already reviewed Brazilian developers’ salaries, looked at the cost to hire remote programmers in Argentina and researched the wages of tech specialists in Mexico. Now, let’s make a side-by-side comparison. 

So, the cost to hire software developers in Chile is a little higher compared to other LATAM countries, mainly because of the smaller talent pool. However, the cost to hire them is justified by their solid education and tech proficiency, plus there are some remote hiring tactics that will allow for optimizing your development budget. Let’s discover them. 

4 viable tactics to hire a remote development team in Chile

Below are four different tactics to hire remote developers in Chile. Let’s compare the options and find the one that suits you best. 

Hire freelance developers

Hiring a freelance development team is seemingly the simplest tactic. Such a strategy allows for hiring tech talent at a reasonable cost, and you can choose contractors with a specific skill set. However, this is not the most reasonable option when it comes to hiring developers in Chile. Chilean tech talent pool is smaller compared to other Latin American countries, so finding the perfect candidates can be challenging.

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Moreover, hiring and managing a freelance team requires strong leadership skills and even some previous experience with managing a remote freelance team, since you will have to establish clear and effective communication, align the time zones and ensure seamless collaboration between team members. 

Augment your in-house team

Hiring remote programmers from Chile can also be a wise choice if you have to quickly extend your in-house team with either specific talent or additional pair of hands. Chilean talent pool allows for reaching out to candidates with a solid technical background, high level of education and practical experience, so you can easily scale your team with remote programmers and avoid additional investment in office space and equipment. 

IT Team Augmentation: How It Compares to Other Models

Team augmentation becomes an even more cost-effective and smart tactic if you partner with a talent sourcing vendor like Bridge. Our recruitment experts can source pre-vetted developers on demand within several days so that you can keep your project running and bridge the talent gap. 

Ready to scale your team with qualified developers from Chile? Meet our hiring experts today to get started! 

Consider IT recruitment

Given the competitive cost to hire programmers and other tech specialists in Chile, it makes sense to consider gathering a full-fledged development team in this country. In this case, you have to run a local hiring campaign, invest in software and advertising and look for the talent you need on your own. While this approach has the right to exist, there is also a smarter way of talent recruitment that allows you to hire programmers in Chile at a lower cost and with less effort. 

Consider IT recruitment services for this goal. Bridge experts can help you with selecting the right candidates from Chile, and our local recruiters with the same cultural background will reach out to candidates, making the communication easier and more effective. What’s more, you can use our customer-only platform for candidate management and seamlessly get to the bottom of the hiring pipeline. Get started by creating your job requisition, access the suggested candidates, interview them directly and hire the best fits within a single platform.

Try tech-enabled IT recruitment right now to hire the best programmers from Chile! 

Use sourcing-as-a-service

In addition to team augmentation and IT recruitment, there is another quick-win hiring approach you are welcome to use. Sourcing-as-a-service for remote teams allows for getting the list of local tech candidates in a few days.

Tech Сandidate Sourcing Automation: How to Speed Up Hiring

This is a tactic for the projects that need to speed up the hiring process by assigning the most laborious task to a talent sourcing vendor. We at Bridge, in turn, use a data-driven engine and recruitment automation solutions to speed up candidate selection by up to 5 times and still ensure the best fits.

The hiring process can be almost instant if you follow the right tactic. Apply for sourcing-as-a-service to discover how it works for you! 

Conclusion

Chile is one of the Latin American countries that are worth your attention when choosing a destination to outsource software development and hire a remote team. However, a more limited talent pool, compared to other LATAM countries, can complicate finding the right candidates. Bridge experts would be happy to help you with this challenge.

Choose the hiring tactic that suits your project goals and reach out to our tech-savvy recruiters for qualified help!