Hire in-house or outsource?
An employee is paid every month whether or not there is work. An agency is paid for the hours you use. Move the workload slider to see where the crossover sits for your case.
Share of a full-time month the work actually needs
In-house
$201,952
- Gross salary
- $5,797/mo
- Fully loaded
- $7,787/mo
- Cost to hire
- $15,073
Agency
$153,600
- Hourly rate
- $40/hr
- Monthly cost
- $6,400/mo
- Upfront
- $0
worldwide median — too few local profiles to publish one
An agency is cheaper over this horizon by $48,352
Assumptions behind these numbers
- Salary is the median band for the city, multiplied by the role coefficient, from Wadline salary data.
- Employer contributions add 30% on top of gross salary.
- Workplace, equipment and software: $250 per month.
- Hiring and ramp-up cost the equivalent of 2 months of loaded salary.
- Agency rate is the median hourly rate published on Wadline profiles in the selected city's country, in USD.
Where this is rough
Employer contributions vary by country and contract type, and the database holds none of that — the figure used here is a published statutory rate, stated openly rather than hidden in the formula. The comparison also ignores what only one option gives you: an employee accumulates context, an agency brings a bench. Treat the crossover as the point where the money argument stops deciding for you.