Building software is hard enough. Hiring the right engineers shouldn’t make it harder. South America has become a go-to region for U.S. companies that want to scale product teams without sacrificing quality or collaboration.
The biggest advantage is simple: you can hire strong developers who work in U.S.-friendly time zones, communicate clearly, and plug into modern workflows (standups, code reviews, sprints, and async documentation) without the “overnight turnaround” problem.
But “South America” isn’t one market, and neither is pricing. Where you hire, what you build, and the seniority you need can change compensation ranges a lot. A senior backend engineer with cloud experience and excellent English won’t cost the same as a junior frontend developer, just like anywhere else.
This guide breaks it down in a practical way: where to hire in South America, what to expect to pay in 2026, and how to avoid the most common hiring mistakes. If your goal is to build a reliable team fast and without constant re-hiring, you’re in the right place.
Why South America for software development
If you’re hiring developers, you’re not just buying code; you’re buying speed of collaboration and reliability over time. South America tends to work well for U.S. teams for a few practical reasons:
- Real-time time-zone overlap: Developers are online during your workday, which means faster feedback loops, standups, pair debugging, quick product decisions, and fewer “we’ll pick it up tomorrow” delays.
- Strong, modern engineering talent: You’ll find experienced developers across today’s most common stacks, including JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Node, Python, Java, .NET, mobile, cloud, and DevOps, plus people who’ve shipped production software for U.S. and global clients.
- Easier communication than you’d expect: Many teams hire here because English proficiency + shared work culture makes day-to-day collaboration smoother (clear updates, better requirements alignment, fewer misunderstandings).
- Better cost-to-seniority balance: You can often access mid-to-senior talent at more manageable compensation than major U.S. tech hubs without defaulting to “cheap” hiring that creates quality problems later.
- Lower friction for long-term teams: South America is a strong fit when you want developers to feel like part of the team; consistent schedules, stable velocity, and ownership, not just task-by-task delivery.
Best fit if you: need a dependable team that can collaborate daily, ship continuously, and stay aligned with product and engineering leadership.
Where to hire in South America
The “best” country depends on what you’re optimizing for: scale, English, seniority, or specific specialties. Here are the most common picks (and why):
Brazil
Best for hiring at scale and finding niche specialists (biggest market, lots of options across stacks). GitHub’s Octoverse highlights Brazil as one of the largest developer communities globally.
Top hubs: São Paulo, Rio, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba (and more).
Argentina
Strong choice for product-focused engineering and communication. It also scores high on English proficiency in EF’s ranking (EF EPI score 575).
Top hubs: Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza.
Colombia
Great for building balanced teams (frontend, backend, full-stack, QA) and scaling steadily. English levels vary by candidate, so screen for it early.
Top hubs: Medellín, Bogotá, Cali.
Chile
Often a good fit if you care about stability and teams with experience in regulated industries (fintech, enterprise). EF EPI places Chile at 517.
Top hubs: Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepción.
Uruguay
Smaller talent pool, but frequently chosen for strong English and reliability (EF EPI score 542).
Top hubs: Montevideo.
Quick shortcut:
- If you want the biggest pool → Brazil
- If you want English-first → Argentina / Uruguay
- If you want a well-rounded team → Colombia / Chile
What to pay in 2026
Budgets vary by country, stack, and seniority, but if you want a clean starting point, these ranges are a practical baseline for South America in 2026:
- Junior: $18k–$28k USD/year
- Mid-level: $35k–$48k USD/year
- Senior: $55k–$70k USD/year
If you want a quick “country feel” for typical developer pay levels, recent verified benchmarks put average annual salaries around:
- Brazil ~ $53k
- Colombia ~ $56k
- Chile ~ $61k
- Argentina ~ $63k
- Uruguay ~ $62k
- Peru ~ $61k
For contractor/agency-style hiring, hourly ranges commonly land around:
- Brazil: $20–$58/hr
- Colombia: $22–$60/hr
- Argentina: $18–$55/hr
What pushes offers up (and usually should):
- Specialized roles (DevOps, AI, security) often command ~15–20% premiums.
- Strong English + ownership (leading projects, mentoring, writing clear updates)
- Hard-to-fill stacks (cloud, data engineering, mobile, niche backend)
One more reality check: if you’re competing for the top slice of remote talent (especially data/DevOps) and want to close fast, some market snapshots show median remote engineer pay around ~$99k in Latin America, so “South America pay” can go higher when you’re aiming for top-tier profiles.
Hiring process that actually works (fast + low-risk)
If you want a solid hire without dragging the process for weeks, aim for 2–3 interviews + one practical signal. Here’s a simple flow that works:
1. Define the role in one page
Before you source anyone, lock in:
- Must-have stack (and what they’ll build in it)
- Seniority (what “good” looks like in 30/60/90 days)
- Time-zone overlap required (e.g., 4 hours/day minimum)
- Non-negotiables: English level, ownership, code quality, availability
2. 20-minute screening call (don’t skip)
Goal: validate fit quickly.
- Ask them to walk through one real project (what they owned, trade-offs, mistakes)
- Confirm communication style (clear + structured)
- Confirm work hours + overlap
- Quick red flags: vague answers, blaming teams, can’t explain decisions, inconsistent timeline
3. Technical interview (45–60 min)
Pick one approach:
- Deep dive: architecture + debugging + performance decisions
- Pair session: small feature or bug fix together
- System design (senior): APIs, data model, scaling basics, failure modes
4. Practical test (keep it short)
Best option: a paid mini-task (2–4 hours) that resembles your real work.
- Clear requirements + acceptance criteria
- You review for readability, edge cases, tests, and commit hygiene
- Avoid long take-homes. They filter out great candidates.
5. Final check: collaboration + ownership (30 min)
This is where great hires stand out.
- How they handle unclear requirements
- How they estimate work
- How they communicate risk early
- How they document decisions
6. Offer with a safety net
To reduce risk without being “heavy”:
- Start with a 30–60 day trial period (or probation)
- Define success metrics: delivery, quality, communication, reliability
How to set developers up for success
A good hire can still fail if the setup is messy. The fastest way to get strong output is to give developers clarity, context, and clean execution lanes from day one.
Nail the first-week onboarding
- Share a one-page overview: product, users, roadmap, and “what matters most”
- Give a clear 30/60/90-day plan (even if it’s simple)
- Assign a single point of contact for questions (tech lead or EM)
Remove the “access friction” early
On day 1, they should have:
- Repo access + CI/CD visibility
- Local dev setup instructions that actually work
- Staging environment access
- Tools: Slack, Jira/Linear, Notion/Confluence, calendar
If a dev spends their first 3 days asking for permissions, you lose momentum fast.
Make expectations obvious
Define these upfront:
- Definition of done (tests, docs, QA checks, deployment steps)
- Code style + PR standards (PR template helps a lot)
- Response times + overlap expectations (e.g., 4 hours/day of real-time collaboration)
Keep communication lightweight but consistent
- Daily: quick async update (“yesterday / today / blockers”)
- Weekly: 30-min sync for priorities + trade-offs
- Always: encourage early “I’m blocked” messages (no silent delays)
Protect quality with simple guardrails
- Mandatory code review (at least 1 reviewer)
- Small PRs > big PRs
- Basic testing expectations (unit/integration where it matters)
- A clear release process (who deploys, when, how rollback works)
Common mistakes to avoid
Most hiring problems in South America aren’t “region” problems; they’re process problems. Avoid these, and your success rate jumps fast:
- Hiring only on price. If the goal is “cheapest,” you’ll usually pay later in rewrites, missed deadlines, and constant supervision. Optimize for reliability + ownership, then negotiate fairly.
- Vague requirements (“we need a strong developer”). Be specific about the stack, scope, and what success looks like. Great candidates opt out when the role sounds unclear.
- Skipping the English/communication screen. A developer can be excellent technically and still struggle to collaborate. Validate clear explanations, structured updates, and comfort asking questions early.
- Long take-home tests. Top candidates won’t do them. Keep it to 2–4 hours paid, or do a pair session. You want signal, not free labor.
- No real onboarding. If day one is “here’s the repo, good luck,” you’ll get slow output and frustration. A clean first week saves weeks later.
- No standards for PRs and reviews. Without guardrails, quality becomes subjective. Define PR expectations, testing, and the definition of done so everyone ships the same way.
- Treating remote developers like “extra hands” instead of teammates. The best outcomes come when developers have context, ownership, and a clear feedback loop.
The Takeaway
South America is a strong place to hire software developers when you want real-time collaboration, solid technical talent, and a team that can grow with your product. The difference between a great experience and a frustrating one usually comes down to two things: hiring with a clear process and setting people up with the right expectations, access, and support.
If you want to move fast, start simple: pick 1–2 target countries, decide the seniority you actually need, use a short interview loop, and make a competitive offer for the level of ownership you expect.
If you’re looking to hire South America developers without wasting weeks sourcing and screening, South can shortlist vetted candidates for your role and help you build a reliable team in U.S. time zones.
Schedule a free call and tell us what you’re hiring for; we’ll help you find the right fit!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the best South American countries to hire software developers from?
Brazil is often best for scale, Argentina and Uruguay are common picks when English and communication are priorities, and Colombia and Chile are strong choices for building well-rounded teams. The best fit depends on the role, seniority, and how fast you need to hire.
How much do South American software developers cost in 2026?
It depends on seniority and stack, but as a baseline, many companies budget roughly: junior $18k–$28k, mid $35k–$48k, senior $55k–$70k USD/year, with higher ranges for niche specialists (DevOps, security, AI) or top-tier senior talent.
Is it better to hire full-time or contract developers?
If you want long-term ownership and stable velocity, full-time usually wins. If you’re validating a project, filling a temporary gap, or need a specific specialist fast, contract can make sense. Many teams start with contract and convert to full-time once fit is proven.
What skills are easiest to find in South America?
You’ll commonly find strong candidates in JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Node.js, Python, Java, .NET, mobile, plus cloud and DevOps profiles, though the most senior cloud/security talent can be more competitive.
What’s the biggest risk when hiring developers in South America?
The biggest risk is usually not the region, but hiring without a clear process: weak screening, unclear requirements, or poor onboarding. Those issues can make any remote hire fail.
How do I make sure I’m hiring a good developer remotely?
Use a short, structured process: a quick screen for communication + time-zone overlap, one solid technical interview, and a small paid practical task (2–4 hours) that resembles your real work. Then check for ownership and reliability before you finalize the offer.
