Recent tariff policies and funding cuts are exerting pressure on the US economy, with entrepreneurs feeling the brunt of these changes. Sweeping tariffs have led to increased costs, surging inflation, supply chain disruptions, and heightened economic uncertainty, stretching many emerging enterprises to their limit.
Rising labor costs and financial concerns are prompting growth-stage companies to postpone hiring. Among small businesses, hiring fell 1.6% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to 2024.
Amid growing economic turmoil, resourceful startups are turning to Latin America for their recruitment needs. The up-and-coming tech hub is home to an abundant pool of qualified, English-speaking, cost-effective IT talent.
To meet the growing demand, numerous nearshoring vendors have emerged to connect US companies with Latin American workers. However, not all global hiring partners are created equal.
Thinking about partnering with a nearshoring provider to recruit LatAm talent? To help you find the ideal fit, we’ve created a guide to the best nearshoring vendors of 2025.
What is nearshoring?
Nearshoring is recruiting remote talent from nearby countries. As neighbors, these countries often share similar time zones and cultural norms. For US companies, nearshoring typically means hiring professionals in Latin America.
Nearshore vs. onshore vs. offshore outsourcing
Ahead, we've compared nearshore hiring to other outsourcing avenues:
- Onshore outsourcing. Onshore outsourcing means working with a service provider in the same country. The biggest advantage is ease of collaboration: there are no language barriers, time zone differences, or cultural disconnects. However, onshore solutions tend to be the most expensive option.
- Offshore outsourcing. Offshore outsourcing refers to hiring teams in distant countries, often in Asia or Eastern Europe. The main draw is low labor costs. However, offshore outsourcing can present challenges related to communication, time zone misalignment, and cultural differences.
- Nearshore outsourcing. Nearshoring strikes a balance between onshore and offshore. The practice involves working with neighboring or nearby countries, such as US companies hiring in LatAm. The best of both worlds, nearshoring blends cost savings with cultural and time zone alignment.
What are the benefits of partnering with a company to hire nearshore remote talent?
Wondering if nearshoring is right for your business? Here are some of the key benefits:
- Access to top-notch talent. IT professionals in LatAm have strong technical skills in coveted fields like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data analytics.
- Time zone compatibility. Similar time zones mean LatAm developers can work in real time with US teams.
- Cultural overlap. Shared cultural values create overlapping work styles and smoother collaboration.
- Cost efficiency. Due to a lower cost of living and competitive exchange rate in many LatAm countries, you can save on salaries and overhead without compromising quality.
16 Companies That Can Help You Hire Nearshore Talent
1. Howdy.com
Headquartered in Austin, Howdy.com specializes in connecting US companies with Latin American professionals. We offer candidates who are fluent in English and highly experienced in AI/ML, finance, and other high-demand fields. Our exclusive focus on Latin America means our hires are time zone-aligned and culturally compatible with US teams.
Compared to other nearshoring providers, Howdy stands out with its human-centric approach to hiring. While other platforms tend to treat developers like contractors, we invest in long-term relationships with talent, providing benefits, state-of-the-art equipment and workspaces, mentors, on-the-ground support, and community. Our commitment to keeping employees happy, productive, and thriving has given us global recognition as a top place to work in Latin America. It's why we're able to attract the top 1% of LatAm talent and have a 98% retention rate.
2. Deel
Deel is a global compliance and payroll platform. The company has a large talent pool of remote workers across 150+ countries, including Latin America. Because Deel is a massive platform built for scale, you may find it less personalized than boutique nearshore agencies. Deel is also more of a tech-enabled HR platform than a dedicated talent-matching service, which means you may need to bring your own recruiting pipeline.
3. Near
Near connects businesses with pre-vetted IT professionals in Mexico and Brazil. The platform helps you find, hire, onboard, pay, and retain top LatAm talent. Near follows a pay-per-success pricing model, which translates to a high per-hire cost due to traditional placement fees.
4. BairesDev
Headquartered in San Francisco but operating primarily out of Argentina, BairesDev is one of the largest outsourcing companies in the region. It offers talent from across Latin America and works with enterprise clients like Rolls-Royce, Google, and Johnson & Johnson. BairesDev offers fair salaries but limited benefits, health insurance, or career development support for employees.
5. Toptal
Toptal offers a large pool of globally sourced freelance developers. One of the fastest hiring platforms, Toptal can get you a freelance engineer in under two days. Because it focuses on freelancers, the platform is best for smaller, straightforward, and short-term projects. In addition, Toptal offers limited personalization when sourcing talent.
6. Softtek
Softtek is a global software engineering company with headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico. Founded over 40 years ago, Softek is a pioneer in the nearshoring space. However, concerns have been raised about low salaries, limited benefits, and potential challenges with project management and client transparency.
7. Revelo
Based in São Paulo, Brazil, Revelo connects US companies with Latin American tech talent. The platform manages contracts, compliance, and benefits. Focused primarily in Brazil, Revelo offers limited diversity across other nearshore regions.
8. Turing
Turing uses AI to match global engineers to US companies. Its broad focus on engineers worldwide sometimes means less regional cultural integration and limited nearshore-specific support. Developers may not always work in US time zones or share cultural alignment.
9. TECLA
TECLA curates pre-vetted developers from across Latin America, with a focus on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Because TECLA focuses on matching and vetting, companies are responsible for onboarding and managing the developers directly.
10. Terminal.io
Terminal builds remote dev teams for tech companies and has delivery centers in Europe, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Canada. The service handles HR, office space, equipment, and payroll. Many Terminal workers in Eastern Europe and Spain, where time zone differences may create communication challenges.
11. Arc.dev
Arc offers access to global remote talent. Its selling point is speed: Clients can hire in days, not weeks. Arc lacks an on-the-ground team in Latin America, limiting the support it can provide engineers and the compliance expertise it can offer clients. In addition, Arc.dev provides minimal support with employee onboarding and management.
12. CloudDevs
CloudDevs sources developers from Latin America and matches them with startups and scale-ups. Most developers are from Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Similar to Arc.dev, CloudDevs offers limited support with employee management and onboarding.
13. Jobsity
Jobsity specializes in staff augmentation, offering developers from Colombia, Ecuador, and other LatAm countries. The company has faced criticism for a lack of promotion opportunities, lower salaries, and limited professional development offerings.
14. Blue Coding
Blue Coding recruits developers from across Latin America, with a strong focus on the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Peru. It manages payroll and compliance. Blue Coding's smaller team may limit scalability for companies looking to hire quickly.
15. Admios
Admios is a nearshore software development company based in Panama, with developers throughout Central and South America. It provides small, high-performing teams to tech companies and startups. Admios is a good fit for companies that need mature teams for complex projects, though it may be less cost-effective for early-stage startups.
16. 10Pearls
10Pearls is a nearshoring software provider hiring in North America, Latin America, Europe, and South Asia. Its services include nearshore software engineering, AI consulting, and creative services. However, its global reach can sometimes result in inconsistent team continuity. In addition, 10Pearls' broad service offering may not be ideal for startups seeking leaner, specialized solutions.
Conclusion
As economic pressures mount and traditional hiring becomes cost-prohibitive, nearshore staffing offers a sustainable path forward. However, choosing the right partner is crucial.
Howdy.com is a leader in the nearshoring space thanks to our people-first approach, regional expertise, and commitment to quality. We don't just fill roles; we help you build resilient, high-performing teams that thrive.
Connect with Howdy today and see what nearshoring done right looks like.