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The straight answer

You can't answer this with an hourly rate. A U.S. hire's cost is spread across eight line items in different budgets. A managed offshore engagement is usually one monthly number. Compare totals, not rates.

BOTA GROUPThe salary is thesmallest question.What a U.S. hire actually costsESTABLISHED • PROVEN • TRUSTEDWhat most foundersbudget forRamp & vacancyRecruiting, equipmentPaid time offBenefits & insurancePayroll taxesBase salary

Every conversation about offshore employee cost opens the same way: what's the rate? It's a reasonable question and a nearly useless one, because a monthly rate on one side is being compared to an annual salary on the other.

What a U.S. hire actually costs

Eight components. Most budgets show one.

  1. Base salary, the number you already have in mind
  2. Employer payroll taxes: Social Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment
  3. Health insurance, retirement match and other benefits
  4. Paid time off and holidays, which you pay for and don't receive
  5. Recruiting: ad spend, agency fees, and your team's interview hours
  6. Equipment and per-seat software licenses
  7. Onboarding and ramp, before the person is fully productive
  8. The vacancy itself, while the seat sat empty

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes quarterly data on how much of total compensation sits outside base wages. Use the current release rather than a number you half-remember.

What a managed rate includes

With Bota, one monthly number covers the professional's compensation, recruiting and screening, HR administration, payroll, compliance, equipment and technology, ongoing performance oversight, and replacement if a placement doesn't work out.

Budget separately for two things: per-seat licenses on your own systems, and your own management time. The second is the most underestimated cost in any offshore engagement.

What "up to 80%" means

Clients may save up to 80% against the total cost of a comparable U.S.-based employee. That "up to" is doing necessary work.

Savings depend on three things. The position: administrative and support roles show a wider gap than senior specialists. The experience required: a bookkeeper with eight years in U.S. GAAP costs more than one with two, everywhere. Your compensation structure: a company with rich benefits sees a larger delta than one already running lean.

What makes the math worse than advertised

Turnover destroys savings. A placement that leaves at month five means you pay the ramp twice and lose the context in between, which is why retention and replacement policy matter more than a few dollars of rate difference. Shared resources cost you in coordination. Under-scoped roles get expensive. And partial time-zone overlap turns every question into a next-day question.

A worksheet you can finish today

Six lines, twenty minutes

  1. Annual base salary you'd offer locally
  2. Add payroll taxes, benefits and your PTO percentage
  3. Add recruiting, including your team's interview hours priced honestly
  4. Add equipment and per-seat software for one year
  5. Add ramp: weeks to productivity, plus senior time spent training
  6. Divide by twelve. That's your monthly comparison number.

Put the offshore quote next to it, add your own management time to that side, and confirm what each figure includes. If a provider can't tell you plainly what's inside their number, that's the finding.

Roles we place

Common questions

How much does an offshore employee cost per month?

It depends on the role, experience level and hours, so any single published figure would mislead. Compare two fully loaded totals: your all-in monthly cost for a local hire, and the all-in monthly cost of the offshore engagement including your own management time.

What's included in a managed offshore staffing rate?

With Bota: the professional's compensation, recruiting and screening, HR administration, payroll, compliance, equipment and technology, ongoing oversight, and replacement if the placement doesn't work. Per-seat licenses on your own systems and your management time are separate.

How do I calculate the fully loaded cost of a U.S. employee?

Add base salary, employer payroll taxes, benefits, paid time off, recruiting including your team's interview hours, equipment and software, ramp time to productivity, and the cost of the vacancy before you filled it.

Can I really save 80% by hiring offshore?

Up to 80% is a ceiling, not a guarantee or a typical outcome. Savings vary with the position, the experience required and your existing compensation structure. Administrative and support roles generally show a wider gap than senior specialist roles.

Are there hidden costs to offshore staffing?

Yes. The main ones are your own management time, per-seat software licenses, documenting processes that currently exist only in someone's head, and turnover. A placement that leaves at month five costs you the ramp twice.

One conversation

Bring your numbers.

Send us the role and what it costs you today, fully loaded. We'll show you what the equivalent engagement looks like and where the gap actually is, including the cases where it's narrower than you'd hope.

Schedule a consultation Or call (914) 506-5192 · White Plains, NY

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