How cheap are programmers in India really?

How cheap are programmers in India really?

Introduction

India is one of the first players in the field of outsourcing programmers, and has been providing skilled workers constantly for more than a decade. Ever since then, the pool of tech talent has been steadily growing and many cities in India perfected their outsourcing system by providing steady talents and consistent work. Apart from the major cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, several other cities have also joined the foray like Pune, Kochi and Noida. Kochi has evolved to be one of the major hubs in IT and software development. Several tech giants have already established their base in India, and many companies have signed agreements to do business in the country. 

Indian programmers have immense talent

Since India is the largest provider of IT, the talent is immense. With a growing pool of software engineers, quality analysis and project managers you get anyone you need for the budget you plan. India is still among the top in the race of technologies, so if you are concerned about the budget, it would be good to know about the rates and learn how you can hire talented developers at cheaper rates. 

India is not just a provider anymore, the country has evolved to be a developer of innovative software technologies. The core technologies used by Indian developers are Python, C#, C/C++, Javascript and Java. All these are very popular programming languages, and several of them are really good with Kotlin, TypeScript, R, Scala etc.  

Even though USA is the first in software development programmers, India run a close second, and according to experts, the country will be top in the next few years, surpassing even the USA. The highest number of software developers are found in Bengaluru, and it is one among the top 10 software developer destinations in the world. Other top destinations are Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Singapore, London and Beijing.

India is still cost-effective when it comes to other countries

India provides exceptional IT talent at comparative rates. Even Bengaluru, which is considered to be one of the most expensive IT hubs in the country, is said to be several times cheaper than the cost of living in California. This is one of the biggest points of attraction to India. You can hire a team from cities like Kochi, Ahmedabad, Noida, Hyderabad, Pune etc. because the rates there are even cheaper. 

India’s rates with other Asian and Eastern European countries

Of all the countries in the world, India is a mix of superb talent with cheap rates. If you are looking for a custom software development project, India holds the first place. The software development countries are mostly ISO certified, so you can be assured of the quality, with timely delivery and prompt service.

Have a look at the Indian developer’s software developer’s rates when compared to other  Asian countries:

India has the lowest hourly charges with about $18-25 while China charges a bit more at $20 as starting rate. Philippines developers charge start at $22, even higher than China. 

Have a look at the Indian developer’s software developer’s rates when compared to other Eastern European countries:

Croatia beginner charges are at $22, with Romania following at $25, then Belarus at $26, Ukraine at $35 and Hungary even higher at $38. 

The reasons for lower charges in India

While Indian developers charge very less for their work, their quality is really supreme. Nothing can beat that. So if you are looking for a great work done at costs affordable to you, India is the best choice. You might have the notion that since India provides economical rates, the skill is not up to the par or they provide only mediocre work. But many companies have rated the country as the best, making it a lucrative choice. If you are wondering how is it that India can provide low rates and quality work, the answer is simple: As mentioned earlier, the cost of living in India is fairly low. Bengaluru is one of the most expensive places, other cities are cheaper in standard of living. So the developers can afford to charge low rates. And there are millions of software developers in India, as both permanent staff and freelancers, so the competition is really high.

Another reason why the charges are lower in India, is because of the low infrastructure costs. Kochi is a fairly rich city with heavy infrastructure and a plethora of resources, like Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru. And the biggest thing is that you get to hire a complete team of developers, saving the time for personally picking and whetting them. The outsourcing market is very varied, so when you have a requirement, a team will be on the project in the shortest time possible. 

European companies can save about 40% on an Indian developer, as hiring a European developer is much higher, at about 3000-9000 euros per month depending on which country you are hiring them from 

Thus, you can conclude that Indian developers are cheaper:

• Lower Infrastructure costs
• Low hourly rates
• Knowledge of all kinds of programming languages
• Exceptional work quality
• European developers are expensive
• Teams that are always ready for projects

Factors affecting the cost of Indian developers

India is one of the first choices among companies in European countries because of the following reasons:

The team structure and size are bigger – This allows for more room for negotiation and a bigger team for you to choose from.

Location choices – India has many cities offering a variety of talents and rates. So if you have a low budget and cannot tolerate any compromise in quality, India is once again the best choice. 

Time duration – The Indian developers are ready for long term engagement so that means you can engage them for the entire project, and they will be ready for support and scalability at any time. This gives more scope for cost negotiation. 

Multiple experience levels – The multi-layer expertise of developers makes it possible for you to hire developers with experience in different domains, even a good team for complex projects. 

Conclusion

This proves that India is not only a great destination for hiring software developers, but you get them for economical rates too. Indians are ready to work at the time zones of their English counterparts so that would be a win-win situation for all. 

Interesting Links:

Are Indians really good at computer programming?

How much is a software engineer paid per month in India?

Pictures: Canva

The author: Sascha Thattil works at Software-Developer-India.com which is a part of the YUHIRO Group. YUHIRO is a German-Indian enterprise which provides programmers to IT companies, agencies and IT departments.