What Will It Cost for You to Hire Developers in the Netherlands?

The Netherlands boasts the 4th innovation economy in Europe and 5th globally. The country hosts 5 top IT hubs, 45k IT companies, and around 473k tech professionals. The average salary of a front end developer Amsterdam is $6,675. So is it a good idea to contract, for instance, a website development company Netherlands? Or hire a WordPress developer Amsterdam?

Dutch IT Market Overview

Researchers expect the revenue generated by the Dutch IT sector to reach $22bn in 2023 and $30bn in 2028. They project the industry’s annual growth rate during these five years will be 6.23%. This indicator is close to the CAGR 2023-2028 of 6.70%, which belongs to the USA — the country with the most significant IT services market volume. 

During 2008-2020, the quantity of IT specialists in the Netherlands grew by 43% from 331,000 to 473,000. This number keeps increasing due to the governmental digitization strategy and its ICT support. In their turn, technology professionals have helped Dutch high-tech exports reach $101bn in 2021.

IT Outsourcing in Netherlands: Dutch Developer Specifications

The statistics above show that hundreds of companies find qualified software developers in the Netherlands. The most popular programming languages in the country are PHP, .NET, Python, Lua, and Ruby. So if you want to hire a Python developer Amsterdam or a PHP developer Eindhoven for your project, you can get them. 

PHP possesses a 38% market share, while .NET and Python have 4% and 1%, respectively. This means that web development Netherlands is among the most popular specializations. Dutch tech experts help businesses host their websites on WordPress (79%), Wix, Shopify, Drupal, and Joomla CMS. Apache, Nginx, IIS, and LiteSpeed are the top-used web servers.

Top programming languages according to Netherlands-based company TIOBE

Offshoring & Outsourcing in Netherlands

Let’s check why hiring a web developer Amsterdam, a .NET developer Rotterdam, or a Unity developer Eindhoven can be beneficial. Here are a few reasons international companies trust Dutch technicians for their projects. 

• Cost-effectiveness. Software developers’ salaries in the Netherlands are often higher than in other European countries. For example, an iOS developer Amsterdam can be paid around $77,603 per year, while this engineer in Berlin gets $71,172. However, American companies can save almost 37% of their costs by outsourcing to Dutch programmers, as NY-based iOS specialists earn $106,247 annually. 
• High business confidence index (BCI). Since December 2020, the Netherlands has had the BCI index over 100. This helps foreign investors and business partners stay confident about their Dutch assets and teams. The July 2023 number was 100.2. This means that if you hire a WooCommerce developer Amsterdam now, you won’t face any legal, compliance, data security, or similar issues. 
• English fluency. The Netherlands was Europe’s first country by English skills in 2022. The Hague, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Eindhoven are among the top English-speaking cities. So US companies can outsource a Laravel developer Amsterdam or a C++ developer Eindhoven and rest assured of effective communication with their team members. 
• Top tech education. The Netherlands has over 20 universities offering technical degrees. And its Delft University of Technology was ranked 20 in Western Europe in 2022. This country is known for well-known tech innovations like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This became possible due to high engineering education standards. For instance, when you contract a Java developer Amsterdam, you hire a true expert in the field. 

Offshoring IT services to a web development company Netherlands has gained popularity. That’s because it helps cut costs and hire skilled English-speaking coders. The revenue generated by IT outsourcing is expected to grow at a 10.08% annual rate during 2023-2028. During these years, the Dutch IT outsourcing market volume might increase from $8.7bn to $14.1bn. 

According to the Centre for the Promotion of Imports in Europe, the Netherlands is among the European countries that demand development outsourcing and offshoring services the most. Due to the shortage of programmers in the Netherlands, more and more companies are opting to outsource or offshore their development services to other countries because there are not enough Dutch developers.

According to the British consultancy company Consultancy.UK, the demand for IT outsourcing and offshoring in the Netherlands is exhibiting strong growth and is expected to continue growing. As of 2015, 49% of Dutch companies plan to outsource IT services more, while 36% plan to retain their current IT outsourcing arrangements. Among the respondents, the top reasons for outsourcing are to focus on the core business and to save on costs.

Meanwhile, within development departments, the area that companies plan to use offshoring/nearshoring services the most is application development, maintenance and testing.

Offshoring and nearshoring plans of IT departments within Dutch companies, taken from Consultancy.UK

Top IT Cities To Hire Freelance Web Developer Netherlands

Dutch IT companies offer web development, UI/UX design, software development, and similar services. And most of them are located in the 5 largest cities in Holland, which simultaneously are the top IT hubs in the Netherlands. Below we’ll learn the average salaries of programmers and the number of IT companies in each location. 

• Amsterdam. IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, and Cisco are among the top tech companies with offices in Amsterdam. LinkedIn shows 1,600 software development companies in this city and 12,000 entities related to IT. A software developer Amsterdam earns around $87,729 per year. Researchers assessed 30 global IT hubs in 2022, and Amsterdam got the 2nd DCI (Digital Cities Index), ceding only to Copenhagen. Indeed shows 2,600 open tech vacancies in Amsterdam. 
• Rotterdam. This city hosts offices of Google, Amazon, IBM, Capgemini, ADP, and other large IT enterprises. Rotterdam has a vibrant digital infrastructure and a perfect tech ecosystem. Due to the governmental support of startups, this hub gets foreign investments into AI, robotics, health tech, big data, and sensors. The annual salary of a software developer Rotterdam equals $89,483. The city has become home to 806 software development and 6,700 IT-related companies. You’ll find 2,225 IT job postings in Rotterdam on Indeed.  
• The Hague. You’ll find Amazon, Apple, Capgemini, Siemens, and IBM offices in this city. The Hague is also known as a cyber security hub as the Hague Security Delta (HSD) is headquartered here. It hosts 300 organizations working on advanced security solutions. A software developer in this hub gets around $93,431 a year. 1,900 LinkedIn business profiles based in the Hague are related to IT, and 1,421 companies advertise tech positions on Indeed.
• Eindhoven. Amazon, Intel, IBM, Google, Luxoft, and Oracle have offices in Eindhoven. Moreover, this is the home city for the well-known Philps brand and two tech campuses comprising 380 companies. A software developer Eindhoven can get approximately $86,312 annually. You’ll find around  2,000 LinkedIn companies having “IT” mentions in their names or descriptions, and there are 904 Eindhoven-based IT vacancies on Indeed. 
• Utrecht. Oracle, Fujitsu, IBM, Salesforce, and Google are among world-known ICT businesses with offices in the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Utrecht hosts many startup incubators like Graduate Space and UtrechtInc. The average salary of a software developer Utrecht is around $91,852, which is higher than what technicians in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Eindhoven earn. The number of IT companies on LinkedIn is around 4,300, while Indeed shows 1,068 tech jobs for technicians in Utrecht.

Why Software Development Companies in Netherlands Are Popular?

It’s not a surprise that the demand for IT talent for outsourcing in Netherlands is constantly increasing. Large software development companies in Netherlands are ready to propose a great offer in order to win their specialists, especially in the country, where more than six hundred international IT corporations are located, one-third of which has its headquarters in the capital of the Netherlands. World name companies have their headquarters in Amsterdam, including Uber, Google, Netflix, and Cisco.

The key factors why Amsterdam occupies a top position in the list of the main destination goals for IT outsourcing companies in Netherlands are easily explained. In comparison with other European countries, the Netherlands has a high level of secondary and specialized education. In addition, the location of the country allows you to reach all major centers of Europe in 2-3 hours. English is one of the main languages in the country, and more than 90% of residents speak it fluently. At the same time, thanks to the high internet and fast access to the introduction of new technologies in this city, you can easily experience new technological products,  and create Netherlands dedicated team.

What are other companies and corporations that consistently choose the Netherlands when it comes to the location of their offices and enterprises in Europe?

• Multinational corporations that need development in various fields, such as LNG Bank, Philips, Amstel Brewers, and Heineken
• Remarkable Dutch startups such as Booking.com, TomTom, WeTransfer, Catawiki, Elastic, Takeaway.com

All three cities are on the top list of entrepreneurs in Europe are in the Netherlands – and these are Amsterdam, Eindhoven, and the Hague.

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Not Enough Dutch Developers in the Netherlands?

Unfortunately, it’s true. Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, has a strong shortage of IT talent. At a time when the demand for technical specialties is growing annually, the number of specialists within the country does not increase at all. According to the Amsterdam Economic Board, the need for personnel has increased to 26 requests for vacancies per freelance web developer Netherlands in the market.

Usually, part of the vacancies cannot be filled by Dutch developers, so the companies have to look for and hire specialists from other countries. In this case, recruitment and lack of staff are some of the most pressing problems on the market when it comes to IT development companies in the Netherlands. Today there are many vacancies for Java developer Netherlands, Amsterdam but they cannot be closed due to the lack of these specialists.

In the past three years, 20 percent of entrepreneurs in the Netherlands have experienced problems in the lack of specialists and have indicated this as a major obstacle in the expansion and development of the programming sector. So, what could be a solution to this expert shortage problem?

Software Development Team Amsterdam vs Ukraine

As mentioned earlier, Amsterdam has long been an explored location for IT outsourcing in Netherlands and housed the top companies in the IT field. This is what introduces a number of positive and negative factors that should be considered before choosing a place for your startup or outsourcing software development.

No surprise that many smaller enterprises tend to pay attention to other European countries to locate their business there. If we compare the Netherlands and Ukraine as countries with a potentially growing IT market, we can find that economically, Ukraine has an advantage in potential over the already stable and strong country-based markers. Here are just a few points to consider:

• The location of Amsterdam in relation to European countries is advantageous, but nevertheless, you can also quickly get from Kyiv by taking a direct flight to all major countries of Europe, and the time difference is not significant.
• The level of English in Ukraine is a bit lower than in Amsterdam, but the number of young professionals looking for work is several times higher than the number of ones in Amsterdam. At the same time, you can observe the outflow of specialists from Ukraine to Amsterdam.
• The best places require higher wages. Amsterdam has attracted both IT professionals and employers for a long time. In this city, more than 25% of the population works in the field of technology. Yes, Amsterdam has long won the title of the best technical city for a freelance web developer (Netherlands), but this is what the high demand from employers dictates. The average software developer salaries in Netherlands are more than 4 thousand euros per month.
• At the same time, given that it is hard to find a frontend developer Netherlands, it is necessary to come up with more favorable conditions in order to find and retain a specialist for your project. While in comparison, the average wage for a website developer Netherlands is two times higher than in Ukraine, and often you can here find Middle and Senior developers at affordable costs.

Comparing Software Developer Salaries in the Netherlands and Abroad

Are you not yet ready to hire a PHP developer Amsterdam or a .NET developer Utrecht? Do you consider other outstaffing or outsourcing destinations? If so, let’s compare how much you’ll spend contracting an engineer in several countries. We’ll check tech salaries in 5 EU countries, including the Netherlands, the USA, and Ukraine — a popular IT hub in Eastern Europe.

Please note that each salary is the sum of the base and additional pay. The second part varies in companies, so some salary levels may seem inconsistent. However, we show annual rates of engineers with three experience levels as they’re reported on Glassdoor and converted into US dollars. 

The table shows that US programmers have the highest annual salaries, while Spain-based engineers have the lowest ones. If you want to hire a mid-level front end developer Rotterdam or a PHP developer Utrecht, you’ll spend around 30% less than contracting a US coder. Finnish and Belgian technicians would cost you even less.

However, one of the most cost-effective opportunities is hiring developers from Ukraine. You’ll spend around 50% less than contracting US experts. And getting them on board with a reliable provider to the Ukrainian market of IT specialists should be fast and easy.

6 Benefits of Outsourcing the Hiring Process to Professionals

Even if you have in-house recruiters, they might not be able to find professionals as quickly to find a Python, Java, or React developer Amsterdam for you. That’s because the market of tech professionals is specific and requires certain skills and tested approaches. Below we’ll highlight 6 key advantages of delegating recruiting to IT recruiters. 

• You’ll access specific talent pools. This task might be challenging when you need to get a senior web developer Rotterdam on board. Experts might not advertise themselves on job portals or social media. In this case, professional recruiters build talent pools of local tech specialists. These lists are regularly updated so that you can get relevant CVs soon. 
• You’ll build your team faster. Once tech recruiters get all the requirements for your app developer Amsterdam position, they need around 1-2 weeks to show you the first resumes of candidates. Such rapidity is possible due to the professionally-crafted and well-promoted vacancy. Advanced search techniques on job boards and LinkedIn also help find relevant applicants faster. 
• You’ll save on payrolls. Decreasing costs is the critical reason to outstaff technicians in other countries. And though you can find a front end developer Eindhoven cost-effectively, professional recruiters can let you save even more. That’s because they know the local IT services market and salary levels well. They’ll do their best to find the best-fit specialists with payrolls optimized for your budget. 
• You’ll delegate the recruiting process. Searching, categorizing, assessing, and interviewing candidates is demanding. For instance,  finding a Java developer Utrecht with the necessary skills and expertise might take lots of time and effort from you. But by contracting professionals, you define terms, costs, and results of their work. And you can stay focused on business while they do the search for you.
• You’ll get guarantees for replacement. When trying to find the right WordPress developer Eindhoven yourself, you can never be 100% sure this person will complete tasks effectively and fit your corporate culture. Once this happens, you’ll have to start the search again, spending more time and money. With professionals, you’ll get such a risk covered and get a new team member soon and at no additional cost. 
• You’ll be able to scale up. Suppose that you find a full stack developer Amsterdam yourself. And the next month, you understand that you need three more devs to complete the project on time. Professionals can grow your team within several weeks, no matter how many new members you demand. So with IT recruiters, scaling your tech team won’t become another stress for you.

Mobilunity Is Your Reliable Provider of Dedicated Developers

The Mobilunity team also has expertise in hiring engineers in the Netherlands. Once you need a .NET developer Amsterdam, an app developer Rotterdam, or a Java developer Eindhoven, we can help. Our recruiters have a vast professional network and maintain their own lists of ready-to-work tech experts. This allows them to build teams faster. 
With us, you also benefit from access to talent pools of Dutch programmers and leverage top-notch candidates’ search techniques. We need 5-8 weeks to find, for instance, a WordPress developer Utrecht or build a dedicated team for you. So contact us today and get a high-end IT solution in a few weeks!

It would therefore be much more practical to hire dedicated developers from Ukraine or hire Power Bi developer, as doing so will net you enormous savings. A dedicated teams provider like Mobilunity, which is based in Ukraine, is an excellent option because we provide developers with top-notch skills at incredibly affordable rates.

When it comes to hiring an IT workforce in a foreign country, it’s important to find a local IT services provider with a proven track record of successful collaborations and extensive experience working on the global market. Luckily, Mobilunity has got it all.

With 10+ years of operating with companies of different sizes all over the world, we at Mobilunity mastered the sourcing, hiring, and management methodology that allows us to meet the needs of every business and provide the high-quality solutions you deserve. Our clients note our dedicated approach to work and attention to detail, and we are happy to work with 40+ companies around the globe, including a Danish trading platform Byg-E and a Canada-based social media management agency ICUC.

3 Ways to Hire a Tech Professional in the Netherlands with Us

Once you decide to address a recruiting agency to hire a dedicated Android developer Eindhoven or other tech experts, you’ll need to find a reliable provider. Ideally, this company should have at least 2 years of experience and expertise-proving cases. Also, your future vendor should allow cooperation models optimized for various needs and budgets. And Mobilunity is happy to offer you its three formats of work: 

• Dedicated development teams

This option provides you with a dedicated full-time team of software developers. You functionally manage your remote team while we handle operating issues. These include signing cooperation agreements, transferring payrolls, and submitting related official reports. We equip your coders with the hardware, software, and other instruments needed for work.  This format assumes that once a month, you pay an invoice. It includes salaries, office rent, and other related expenses. You can leverage the benefits of this cooperation model even if, for example, you need only one full-time .NET developer Eindhoven. We’ll not only find and recruit your team member, but our HR specialists will also onboard and retain this person.

• Consultancy services

Will your project last only for several months? Do you need an expert for a few hours a day or a week? If so, this type of cooperation is the best. Let’s assume you hire a senior front end developer Utrecht part-time at an agreed hourly rate. Once a month, you’ll pay for the hours worked by this professional. Overhead expenses aren’t included, so you pay as you go without spending extra budget. You can engage our tech talents according to your schedule and without long-term commitment. You can start collaborating with a tech consultant pretty soon. That’s because we always keep updated the lists of top-level experts ready for part-time cooperation. 

• Recruiting services

The Mobilunity team has recruited hundreds of IT specialists for 12+ years in the market. And we allow our clients to benefit from our expertise. Our recruiters start with the same steps as in the two previous models. We note your requirements and begin sourcing the best-matching candidates for your project. We find a developer Netherlands for you, and you hire this programmer directly. Our recruiters can help you find a tech professional in the Netherlands and Eastern Europe. We work across the globe and are happy to share successful cases in various countries. Mobilunity hired local IT professionals in Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Peru, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. So we know how to make your vacancy stand out and engage top experts. You pay only after contracting them.

Find out more about:

• How to hire developers in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

FAQ

• How much does a software developer Amsterdam earn?

According to Glassdoor, the salary of an Amsterdam-based software engineer is $87,796. However, the number may differ depending on the specialization and years of experience of a programmer. For instance, a junior PHP developer Amsterdam earns $51,993, while senior-level PHP professionals get $54,873 annually. A junior Python developer Netherlands is paid $58,880, and a senior coder’s remuneration equals $72,146.

• How fast can I find a developer Netherlands?

Typically our team needs 5-8 weeks to assemble your team. During weeks 1-2, we research the market research, show you the first CVs, and adjust searching criteria once necessary. Our recruiters move to the next stage within weeks 2-4. We run HR and technical interviews and test your future teammates. Then you get the short resumes list and decide on whom we should send job offers. During weeks 5-8, our specialists hire and onboard your team. 

• Which are the top 5 IT hubs in the Netherlands?  

The Dutch top tech hubs are the country’s largest cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague, Eindhoven, and Utrecht. These locations boast IT-friendly environments and host tens of startup incubators. Tech giants like Google, IBM, and Amazon have offices in these locations. The Hague is called the #1 cyber security hub in Europe. AI, quantum computing, sensors, big data, tech innovations, etc., are popular fields in the Netherlands.

• Can you hire a WordPress developer Rotterdam?

Yes. Our team has expertise in hiring software developers globally, so that we can hire an IT expert in any part of the Netherlands. Be it a web developer Amsterdam, a .NET developer Rotterdam, or a Java developer Utrecht, we’ll find this specialist for you shortly. Also, we can build your dedicated team in Serbia, Croatia, Albania, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Peru, Mexico, and even Japan. Our recruiters also hire top-level developers in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. 

• Do you assemble dedicated teams of PHP programmers Netherlands?

Yes. We can build a full-time web development team in Amsterdam, the Hague, Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and other Dutch cities. You can start small and, once needed, extend your team. Mobilunity also offers part-time consultancy from senior tech experts. This format is best for short-time and small projects requiring expert supervision. We also offer different cooperation options: either we contract technicians, or you hire them directly.   

• Is Mobilunity a software development company Netherlands?

Yes and no. We don’t deliver tech expertise; we deliver tech experts. This means Mobilunity hires people and builds IT teams that fulfill specific tasks and complete your projects. With us, you can hire local or remote software engineers in almost any country. These experts will help you design, develop, and maintain software solutions.

Looking for a website development company Netherlands? Hire your own dev Team instead!

Written by:

Anastasia Stefanuk

Market Researcher

Disclaimer: All salaries and prices mentioned within the article are approximate NET numbers based on the research done by our in-house Recruitment Team. Please use these numbers as a guide for comparison purposes only and feel free to use the contact form to inquire on the specific cost of the talent according to your vacancy requirements and chosen model of engagement.