When U.S. companies start exploring Latin America as a hiring destination, the first question they usually ask is some version of, “How much cheaper is it?” It’s understandable. Budget pressures are real, and the cost difference between hiring domestically and hiring in a country like Colombia or Mexico can be significant. But according to Eric Tabone, founder and managing director of Nearshore Business Solutions, that’s actually the wrong place to start.
“The better question in 2026 is, what actually works now?” Eric says. “Cost savings is a benefit. But it’s only one of many.”
Eric has spent the better part of 16 years building companies and placing talent across Latin America. Based in Bogotá, he works across four primary markets, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina, and his firm has helped U.S. growth-stage and mid-market businesses access skilled professionals while reducing their recurring hiring costs by millions annually.
The math does work out, and often dramatically. A company hiring a mid-level account executive in the United States might budget anywhere from $80,000 to over $100,000 annually once you factor in salary, benefits, and overhead. The same caliber of professional in Colombia, working in a compatible time zone, often fluent in English, and experienced with U.S. business culture, can come in at roughly half that. Brazil tends to run about 20 to 30 percent more expensive than Colombia, and Mexico sits somewhere in between, but all three markets offer meaningful savings compared to domestic U.S. hiring.
But Eric is quick to point out that the savings only hold up if companies think carefully about what they’re doing. “Nobody hiring with us is going at minimum wage,” he says. “Where you want to be is 10 to 20 percent above market rate. Pay fair, pay competitive, and you keep your people.”
That nuance matters more than ever in 2026. Colombia saw a significant minimum wage increase last year, 23.7 percent by decree from President Gustavo Petro, a move that created ripple effects across the hiring landscape.
“The dollar doesn’t go as far as it once did,” Eric explains. “So I tell every single client, have these conversations before it becomes a problem. If you don’t have that open and transparent conversation, your best talent could be looking elsewhere. But if you do have it, you can get ahead of it before it becomes a risk.”
There’s another wrinkle that often goes unexamined in the cost conversation, and that’s retention. The hidden expense of turnover, recruiting fees, onboarding time, and lost productivity often dwarfs the savings companies thought they were achieving by keeping wages low. Eric frames it simply: if paying 15 percent more annually keeps a strong performer in their seat for three years instead of one, the ROI isn’t even close.
“How much does it cost to replace someone? Cost to train? It just doesn’t add up,” he says. “The companies that pay a bit more, that treat it like a real investment, those are the ones building teams that actually perform.”
His checklist before any placement is deceptively simple. Is the role clearly defined? Can it be done remotely? Does the company have a communication infrastructure and a culture that supports distributed work? If those three things are in place, the economics of nearshoring tend to follow naturally.
For companies doing 30 or 40 placements a month, which some of Nearshore Business Solutions’ clients are, the operational savings compound quickly. But even for the company making its first hire outside the U.S., the model holds, provided expectations are set correctly from day one.
The math behind Latin American hiring is real. Eric just wants companies to understand all of it, not just the part that fits on a pitch deck.
