COMPARE / NEARSHORE VS OFFSHORE
Nearshore vs offshore staffing: which one fits your team
Offshore staffing puts your hire on the other side of the world. Nearshore staffing puts them a few time zones away, working your hours. For roles that talk to customers or sit in your meetings, that difference decides whether the hire works.
TRUSTED BY TEAMS WHOSE CLOUDTASK HIRES HAVE STAYED 5 TO 8 YEARS
THE SHORT ANSWER
Nearshore vs offshore, in plain terms
Both models hire outside the US to lower the cost of a role. The difference is distance, and distance decides how much of your workday you share with the person you hire.
What offshore staffing means
Offshore staffing hires people in a distant region, most often Asia. The Philippines runs on UTC+8 and India on UTC+5:30, so a US team and an offshore hire are usually 9 to 13 hours apart. The work gets done, but often while your team is asleep.
What nearshore staffing means
Nearshore staffing hires people in a nearby region. For US companies that is Latin America and the Caribbean, which sit between UTC-6 and UTC-3. Colombia, Mexico City and Jamaica share the clock of US Central or Eastern time for much of the year, so your hire joins the same calls, the same Slack threads and the same deadlines as the rest of your team.
Where onshore fits
Onshore means hiring in your own country. It gives full overlap and no distance at all, at the full cost of a US hire.
The question that decides it
Does the role need live conversation during your business hours? If it does, nearshore usually wins. If the work can run overnight without anyone waiting on it, offshore can fit.
SIDE BY SIDE
Nearshore vs offshore vs onshore
The same role, filled three ways.
Swipe to compare
| Offshore | Onshore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the talent is | Latin America and the Caribbean | Mostly Asia | The US |
| Time zone vs US Eastern | 0 to 2 hours | 9 to 13 hours | 0 to 3 hours |
| Works your business hours | Night shift or async | ||
| Live customer calls in your day | |||
| Cost vs a US hire | 40 to 60% lower | Varies by provider | Full US cost |
| Shortlist in 48 hours | Varies by provider | ||
| Replacement guarantee | 24 months on Managed Staffing, 6 months on Direct Hire | Varies by provider |
WHERE OFFSHORE GETS HARD
What changes when your hire shares your clock
Offshore staffing works well for some work. For customer-facing and team-facing roles, the distance shows up in the same places.
With a 12-hour gap
Questions wait overnight, and a one-day task turns into two.
With CloudTask nearshore
Your hire is online when your team is, so a question gets an answer the same hour.
With a 12-hour gap
Sales calls and customer meetings land outside the hire's working day.
With CloudTask nearshore
Discovery calls, demos and support tickets happen live, during US business hours.
With a 12-hour gap
Onboarding runs through recorded videos and handoff notes.
With CloudTask nearshore
Your hire joins standups, shadows calls and learns the role the way your team does.
WHEN EACH MODEL WINS
Choose by the work, not by the rate
Neither model is right for every role. This is how the work itself points to one or the other.
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Customer-facing roles: nearshore
SDRs, Account Executives, customer success and support need live conversations in your customers' hours.
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Roles inside your team: nearshore
Operations, marketing and assistants who sit in your meetings work best on your clock.
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Overnight coverage: offshore can fit
If you need a shift that runs while the US sleeps, a team on the other side of the world covers it naturally.
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Async back office: either model
Work that is queued and reviewed later, like data entry, can run well at a distance.
WHY CLOUDTASK
Nearshore hiring with numbers behind it
10,000+
hires placed
since 2016
85%
still in seat
past 90 days
40 to 60%
lower cost
than an equivalent US hire
12
countries
across Latin America and the Caribbean
HOW IT WORKS
From role to nearshore hire in four steps
The same process for every role, on either model.
Tell us the role
Share what the job needs. $299 starts the search.
Get 3 to 5 matches in 48 hours
Our team searches, screens on a live call and sends a shortlist matched to the role.
Interview and choose
You meet the people you like and pick your hire.
Start with a guarantee
Every hire carries a replacement guarantee: 24 months on Managed Staffing, 6 months on Direct Hire.
Which model
Two models. Open to every role.
The process does not change. What changes is who employs your hire and how you pay.
Direct Hire
You employ them. One fee, once.
- $299 to start your search, one time
- One-time fee when your candidate accepts
- Your hire joins your payroll
- 6-month replacement guarantee
Managed Staffing
We handle payroll. One monthly rate.
- $299 to start your search, one time
- No placement fee
- Compliance, contracts and payroll handled
- 24-month replacement guarantee
Testimonials
Why these teams chose Latin America
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After meeting my CX and CS team in Medellín, we immediately loved the culture and the work ethic. As a European-HQ company, we found LATAM to be perfect to service our American clients.
Carl Carell CRO and Co-founder, GetAccept -
LATAM has been a gold mine for talent. Our CloudTask hires understand our company culture and mission, and they connect with our customers in a way that drives high NPS and CX scores.
David Barrett CEO, Expensify -
At first we were an SF-based team only. Then I met Amir Reiter back in 2018. After visiting Medellín, I knew LATAM would be key to our growth and success.
Tim Zheng CEO, Apollo.io
FAQ
Nearshore vs offshore questions
What is the difference between offshoring and nearshoring?
Is India offshore or nearshore?
What is onshore and nearshore?
Can you give me an example of nearshore outsourcing?
Is nearshore staffing more expensive than offshore?
Which roles does CloudTask place nearshore?
Hire nearshore, on your clock
Tell us the role and get 3 to 5 matches in 48 hours.