Can LATAM Remote Talent Really Cut Your Hiring Costs by 50 %?

Understanding the real cost to hire LATAM talent might be the competitive edge your company needs in 2025.

Salary math that speaks for itself

Software engineering. The average U.S. software engineer earns US $137,329 per year, according to Built In. Across Latin America, the same role commands roughly US $ 32k on average, with many countries falling well below that figure. Next Idea Tech Blog. That delta alone represents a 76 % gap—and even after you bump salaries to the top quartile of the region, you can still land senior talent for half the U.S. market rate.

Customer support is a vital role in many organizations. In the United States, a Customer Support Representative typically earns an average total compensation of $59,717, according to Built In. In contrast, a similar professional in Latin America earns between $9,600 and $30,000, as reported by Contrata Talento Remoto Latam. This means that companies can save over 70% by hiring for this common remote position from LATAM.

These numbers prove that the base salary portion of the cost to hire LATAM talent instantly unlocks room in your budget.

Beyond wages: hidden savings that add up

• Benefits & taxes. U.S. employers spend an extra 29.5 % on benefits beyond salary Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many LATAM contractors operate as independent professionals or through Employer‑of‑Record (EOR) platforms—meaning you sidestep U.S. payroll taxes, retirement matching, and pricey health plans.
• Office overhead. Fully remote LATAM employees use their workspaces and equipment, sparing you real estate, utilities, and hardware budgets.

• Turnover costs. Competitive pay in local terms breeds loyalty and lowers churn, reducing the expense of rehiring and retraining.

When you stack these factors atop low base salaries, total savings of 40 – 60 % become realistic for most knowledge‑work roles.

A quick scenario: scaling a SaaS support team

Imagine a growth‑stage SaaS firm that needs five Tier‑1 support reps. Hiring domestically at US$59,700 apiece equals US$298,500 in annual payroll. Shift the search south and budget US$22,000 per LATAM rep—now your outlay is US$110,000. That’s US$188,500 saved before counting benefits or office expenses. Redirect the difference toward product R&D, advertising, or simply extending the runway.

Time‑zone alignment & talent depth

LATAM’s GMT‑5 to GMT‑3 span overlaps the U.S. workday, enabling real‑time collaboration—something offshore regions can’t match. English proficiency scores in countries like Argentina, Costa Rica, and Colombia consistently rank among the world’s highest for non‑native speakers (EF EPI 2024). Combine that with robust STEM education pipelines and you gain a deep bench of developers, marketers, and CX specialists ready to plug into agile workflows.

How to access world‑class LATAM professionals fast

• Define must‑have skills and salary ceilings up front to accelerate screening.
• Use EOR platforms to comply with local labor laws while avoiding entity setup.
• Prioritize cultural alignment during interviews—soft skills keep distributed teams humming.
• Start with a pilot hire, refine onboarding, then scale.

If you’re ready to move quickly, you can hire LATAM professional profiles already vetted for English fluency, technical chops, and remote‑work discipline.

Final thought—let the savings fuel your growth

Every dollar you don’t burn on inflated payroll is a dollar you can invest in innovation, marketing, or extending runway. With salary gaps of 50 % or more and additional overhead reductions, the real cost to hire LATAM talent is a fraction of U.S. benchmarks—yet the performance can be every bit as strong.

Talent scarcity isn’t going away, but talent geography is no longer a barrier. Shift your hiring lens south of the equator and watch your budget—and your business—scale further, faster.