Onshore vs Offshore Hiring Cost Calculator | PeopleStack

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    Onshore vs offshore: what does the hire actually cost?

    Compare the first-year cost of hiring a role in Australia against hiring it in the Philippines - salary, on-costs, recruitment and placement fees, side by side. Free to use.

    These are illustrative assumptions, not advice or a quote. Every rate below is editable - change them to match your state, your insurer and the offers you actually get.

    The role

    Australia: assumptions

    Philippines: assumptions

    Placement fee: 25% of first-year salary, capped at $8,000, paid once.

    First-year cost

    Hire in Australia

    Base salary
    $130,000
    On-costs (14.35%)
    $18,655
    Recruitment fee
    $19,500
    Total, year one
    $168,155

    Hire in the Philippines

    Base salary
    $36,000
    Employment on-costs (incl. insurance)
    $6,120
    EOR fee, 12 months (USD)
    USD 2,988
    Placement fee
    $8,000
    Total, year one
    $53,108

    On these assumptions, the offshore hire costs $115,047 less in year one, about 68% of the Australian figure. That only matters if the work genuinely suits being done from another timezone - cost is the second question, not the first.

    Payoneer also collects a one-month security deposit (or your notice period, whichever is higher) before signing, refunded per the agreement terms - not included in the totals above.

    Worth checking: the R&D Tax Incentive

    If your company is an eligible R&D entity with turnover under $20 million, the salary of staff doing eligible R&D work can attract a refundable tax offset of up to about 43.5%. That can narrow the gap between an Australian and an offshore hire a lot, and offshore R&D has its own extra rules. Eligibility depends on the work and the entity, so it is left out of the totals above. Talk to your accountant or an R&D tax adviser before you count on it.

    Illustrative 2026 figures, not advice. Salaries are rough starting points and move with seniority, location and the market. Excludes equipment, software, travel, management time and currency movement. Reviewed 22 October 2026.