How Much Does It Cost to Hire Developers in Singapore
Whether you are planning to hire dedicated development team in Singapore or another Asian country, it’s important to understand the current state of the country’s IT market, as well as explore the possible alternatives to the chosen destination. As you navigate the costs associated with hiring developers in Singapore, remember to factor in the potential need for specialized roles, such as HTML5 programmers for hire or hire freelance mobile app developer for creating a compelling mobile presence.
In this article, we review IT services in Singapore, how much it costs to hire Singaporean developers, and what alternative options are worth taking into consideration. We’ll discover why more and more international businesses look for software development services in Singapore and compare software development outsourcing Singapore with other markets.
Brief Guide to IT Services in Singapore
In short, software development Singapore is well-established and continues to grow rapidly. What’s more, it attracts both tech talents and tech corporations. According to the 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness Index, Singapore was ranked second globally and first in the Asia Pacific region.
Notably, all five FAANG giants (Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Netflix) have offices here and continue to hire developers Singapore, as mentioned by Vulcan Post. Recently, Facebook announced the opening of a 1.4b SGD, 11-story data center in Singapore in 2022, which will be the very first in the Asian region.
No wonder that for organizations planning to hire developers in Singapore, the costs are pretty high. The main things that are driving the IT outsourcing Singapore market rate up include:
- Cost of living;
- High demand for IT experts;
- Government requirements for the employment pass.
These points directly influence the high salary rates of Singapore dedicated team members. Since it’s possible to find IT professionals at much lower costs in other countries, many businesses located or represented in Singapore tend to look for alternative dedicated services outsourcing destinations.
This is especially relevant for outsourcing software development and maintenance to highly skilled IT experts located in countries with a lower cost of living, thus, lower rates.
Another important factor to mention is an IT talent shortage forecasted in the upcoming years. According to TechWire Asia, since more and more companies are interested in opening R&D centers in Singapore, plus local companies are developing, with the current number of IT graduates, it will be not possible to meet the market demand for software development services in Singapore in the next three years.
Let’s take a look at the main characteristics of the IT market in Singapore:
- Time zone: GMT+8
- Tech talent pool: 200,000
- Biggest tech hubs: the whole IT sector is concentrated in Singapore
- Popular technologies: PHP, .Net, Ruby, Node.js, Java
- Average monthly rate: 7,950 SGD for Middle ($5,982)
Alternatives to Singapore: Popular Outsourcing Destinations
The companies interested in developers for hire in Singapore often do global market research to determine available options and their specifics. The following outsourcing destinations are also popular among businesses that want to hire developers in Singapore:
- Latin America:
- Strong points: low rates, large talent workforce.
- Weak points: limited IT expertise, quality of work, cultural disparities.
- Asia:
- Strong points: cheap rates, well-established outsourcing procedures, good command of English. The main player here is India as many Western companies prefer to hire developers in India.
- Weak points: time zones overlap, cultural differences.
- Western Europe:
- Strong points: high level of IT expertise, good command of English (+local languages).
- Weak points: moderate rates, relatively small IT talent pool.
- Eastern Europe:
- Strong points: large and highly-educated talent pool, affordable rates, good command of English.
- Weak points: economic stability.
Ukraine: Beneficial Alternative to Hiring Dedicated Development Team in Singapore
Among the alternative outsourcing destinations to hiring a dedicated development team in Singapore, Eastern Europe, and Ukraine, in particular, face a rapidly growing demand.
As per the latest KPMG report, Ukraine is a cost-effective outsourcing destination that can boast of a huge and growing IT talent pool and highly-skilled developers. As mentioned in the recent Deloitte report, a number of US and European organizations have already opened 160+ R&D centers in Ukraine (including IBM, Microsoft, Apple, and Samsung Electronics, to name a few).
Here’s why companies make choice in favor of Ukrainian programmers instead of Singapore developer for hire:
- Well-known IT expertise and good reputation of Ukrainian developers
- High education level (14m+ people with higher education, according to the latest KPMG report)
- Rapidly growing IT talent pool (400,000+ graduates annually, as per the KPMG report)
- Excellent command of English
- Convenient location and time zones difference with the US and European businesses
- Similar business culture and values to European
- Ukraine complies with data protection rules (GDPR and more)
“After trying different remote collaborations in several countries, Mobilunity has been outstanding in hiring extremely talented people.”
Jimmy Beauregard, 3e Joueur
Here’s a short profile of Ukraine as a favorable alternative destination to hiring a dedicated development team in Singapore:
- Time zone: GMT+2
- Tech talent pool: 200,000
- Biggest tech hubs: Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa
- Popular technologies: JavaScript, PHP, .Net, Java
- Average monthly rate: $2000, based on Mobilunity’s Recruitment Team research on the local job markets
Cost of Hiring Dedicated Development Team in Singapore Vs Ukraine
Let’s compare the costs of developers in Singapore for hire vs. Ukrainian ones. For a detailed review, we highlighted the salary rates of both Junior and Middle experts for the most in-demand programming skills, based on our Recruiting Team research over several local job portals and SalaryExplorer data.
* Ukrainian salaries are provided based on Mobilunity’s Recruitment Team research on the local job markets. All salaries are net and do not include the service fee (in case of hiring on a dedicated team model). The salaries are provided for comparison purposes and could be not entirely accurate. Contact us to know the exact cost of hiring a developer corresponding to the required parameters.
| Singapore | Ukraine | |
| PHP Junior | 3,910 SGD ($2,942) | $1000 |
| PHP Middle | 5,110 SGD ($3,845) | $2000 |
| Java Junior | 5,290 SGD ($3,981) | $1000 |
| Java Middle | 6,680 SGD ($5,025) | $2000 |
| .Net Junior | 3,960 SGD ($2,979) | $1000 |
| .Net Middle | 5,310 SGD ($3,994) | $2000 |
| Python Junior | 4,090 SGD ($3,077) | $1000 |
| Python Middle | 5,460 SGD ($4,107) | $1800 |
| C# Junior | 4,900 SGD ($3,686) | $500 |
| C# Middle | 6,400 SGD ($4,815) | $2000 |
| JavaScript Junior | 4,430 SGD ($3,332) | $500 |
| JavaScript Middle | 5,940 SGD ($4,468) | $2000 |
| Android Junior | 4,640 SGD ($3,490) | $1000 |
| Android Middle | 5,870 SGD ($4,416) | $2500 |
As can be seen, hiring dedicated Ukrainian programmers costs two times less than recruiting Singapore dedicated developers of the same expertise and experience. Therefore, if you are in search of high-quality alternatives to software development in Singapore, Ukraine can stand as the much-needed option.
Hire Developers in Singapore Vs Ukraine: A Detailed Comparison
To summarize the specifics of hiring Ukrainian vs. Singapore developers for hire, we included all the important data regarding both locations in the table below.
| Singapore | Ukraine | |
| Time zones overlap | GMT+8 | GMT+2 |
| Size of a tech talent pool | 200,000 (with a tech talent shortage expected in the upcoming years) | 200,000 (and rapidly growing) |
| English proficiency | High | High |
| Education level | Good | Good |
| Data safety and insurance | High level (#15 in global NCSI) | High level (#25 in global NCSI) |
| Quality to price correspondence | Good (high quality for high cost) | High (high quality for affordable cost) |
| Ease of doing business | Moderate | Easy |
Depending on your company’s needs and requirements, the complexity of the project, as well as the budget for it, you can find the most suitable software development services Singapore or Ukraine.
For instance, if you want to hire a web developer in Singapore but stay within your budget, it may be beneficial to consider Ukrainian web programmers with the same experience but much more affordable rates.
The rule of thumb is, whether you are hiring a dedicated development team in Singapore, Ukraine, or any other country, it’s crucial to cooperate with a reliable vendor.
Mobilunity – A Ukrainian IT Vendor You Can Rely On
Mobilunity is a renowned Ukrainian IT company that has been providing dedicated IT services to small startups to large-scale businesses all over the world for 9+ years. If you are interested in hiring highly qualified Ukrainian experts, looking for extended reality companies or want to get a dedicated development team that will fit your project perfectly, get in touch with Mobilunity representatives today, and let us recruit a dedicated dream team for your business needs.
