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Offshore Engineering Team Cost Calculator

Estimate what an offshore engineering team in India costs in 2026 — and how that compares to the same team in the US, UK, or Western Europe. Edit any rate to model your specific quotes.

1. Build your team

Add the engineers you need by seniority. All counts default to a typical product squad.

Junior
0–2 years · $1,500/mo (India)
Mid-level
2–5 years · $2,800/mo (India)
Senior
5–8 years · $5,000/mo (India)
Tech Lead
8–12 years · $7,500/mo (India)
Architect / Principal
12+ years · $11,000/mo (India)

2. Your numbers

India — monthly
$19,600
$235,200 over 12 mo
United States (onshore) — monthly
$82,500
$990,000 over 12 mo
Estimated savings vs united states (onshore)
$754,800
(76% reduction over 12 months)
$62,900/mo × 12 months · 5 engineers

These are starting estimates from blended public market data. For a tailored quote with our actual rate card, including overlap-hour PMs and ramp-up timelines, talk to us.

Request a tailored quote →

Breakdown by role

RoleHeadcountIndia / moUnited States (onshore) / moSavings / mo
Junior1$1,500$9,500$8,000
Mid-level2$5,600$28,000$22,400
Senior1$5,000$19,000$14,000
Tech Lead1$7,500$26,000$18,500

Methodology

All figures are blended monthly cost-to-clientin USD. That means engineer base salary plus employer contributions (PF / ESI / gratuity in India; payroll taxes & benefits in US / UK / EU), plus facility and IT overhead, plus standard vendor margin. This is what a client actually pays a vendor — not the engineer's take-home salary.

Default rates were compiled from late-2025 public market data across multiple Indian Tier-1 / Tier-2 city vendors and Western salary benchmarks. They are starting points, not exact quotes — vendor pricing varies with engagement size, duration, exclusivity, and the specific tech stack.

Use the Override rate cards control above to substitute your own numbers — for example, if you have an active vendor proposal you want to compare apples-to-apples against the alternatives.

Default rate cards (USD / month)

SeniorityYearsIndia (offshore)United States (onshore)United Kingdom (onshore)Western Europe (nearshore)
Junior0–2 years$1,500$9,500$7,000$7,500
Mid-level2–5 years$2,800$14,000$10,500$11,000
Senior5–8 years$5,000$19,000$14,500$15,500
Tech Lead8–12 years$7,500$26,000$19,500$20,500
Architect / Principal12+ years$11,000$36,000$27,000$28,500

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this calculator estimate?

The blended monthly cost-to-client of an offshore engineering team in India, compared against equivalent teams in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe. Numbers cover engineer salary, employer contributions, facility / IT overhead, and standard vendor margin — i.e. what a company actually pays a vendor, not the engineer's take-home salary.

How accurate are the default rates?

They are blended public-market rates from late 2025 across Tier-1 and Tier-2 Indian cities (for India) and standard salary-plus-employer-cost benchmarks for the comparison geographies. They are deliberately rounded — meant as a starting point you can refine. Use the "Override rate cards" section to model your specific quotes.

Why is the India rate so much lower than US / UK / EU rates?

Three structural reasons: (1) cost of living and salary expectations are 50–70% lower; (2) employer contributions (PF, ESI, gratuity) are lower than equivalent US/EU payroll taxes; (3) facility / IT overhead in Tier-1/Tier-2 Indian cities is 40–60% lower than in major Western tech hubs. The skill bar — for senior engineers and above — is comparable; the cost difference is real.

Are these rates for staff augmentation, dedicated team, or fixed-bid?

These are dedicated-team / staff-augmentation rates (T&M, monthly recurring). Fixed-bid pricing is structured differently — usually a project-total quote that internally maps back to similar monthly rates plus a risk premium. For fixed-bid estimates, multiply the monthly result by 1.15 – 1.25 to approximate the risk-adjusted total.

What roles are not covered?

The calculator covers individual contributor engineering roles (junior → architect). It does NOT include dedicated project managers, dedicated QA, dedicated DevOps, or designers as separate line items. Most vendors include a part-time PM as part of a dedicated-team setup at no additional cost; specialist roles (DevOps, QA, design) typically run at the equivalent of a Mid-level / Senior engineer rate.

Does India work with my time zone?

Yes — most Indian vendors run a 4–6 hour overlap window with US East Coast, full overlap with UK / Western Europe, and full overlap with APAC. For overnight US West Coast support, dedicated-team setups commonly include a partial late-shift rotation. Stripe Systems specifically offers overlap-hour models calibrated to the client's timezone.

Can I use this calculator on my own website?

Yes — feel free to link to or screenshot the calculator results. We don't currently offer an embeddable iframe widget, but the page is fully public, free, and has no email gate. Attribution to Stripe Systems is appreciated but not required.

Need a real quote, not just an estimate?

Stripe Systems builds dedicated offshore engineering teams from our Kotdwara HQ and Greater Noida (NCR) office. Send us your team shape and timeline; we'll come back with a firm rate card and a 4-week ramp plan.

Request a custom quote →