Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia are all good places to build a nearshore software team, and the differences between them are smaller than most comparison articles suggest. Mexico has the largest talent pool and the closest ties to the US. Colombia sits on Eastern time in the US winter and usually quotes the lowest rates of the three. Costa Rica has the strongest English scores of the three and a long track record with US companies, but a much smaller pool. In practice, the individual engineers and the company managing them matter more than the flag.
Key takeaways
- All three countries stay on the same clock all year (no daylight saving time), so overlap with US teams is a full workday in every case.
- In the EF English Proficiency Index 2025, Costa Rica ranked 55th, Colombia 76th and Mexico 103rd. Country averages say little about the engineers you will actually interview.
- Mexico has roughly 130 million people, Colombia about 53 million and Costa Rica about 5 million. That shapes how fast you can hire for niche skills.
- Rate differences between the three are usually smaller than the difference between a mid-level and a senior engineer in any one of them.
- Vet the engineer and the vendor, not the country.
We're based in Costa Rica and have been building teams for US companies since 2009, placing more than 300 engineers from across Latin America. We get asked this question often, usually by someone who has read three different "best country" lists that disagree with each other. Here is how we would compare the three, including where Costa Rica is not the obvious answer.
Time zones: all three work, with one detail
None of the three countries uses daylight saving time. Costa Rica and most of Mexico (including Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey) are on UTC-6 all year. Mexico dropped daylight saving time for most of the country in 2022; a few border areas still follow the US schedule. Colombia is on UTC-5 all year.
That means the alignment with the US shifts twice a year on your side, not theirs:
| US winter (Nov to Mar) | US summer (Mar to Nov) | |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | Same as US Central | Same as US Mountain (1 hour behind Central) |
| Mexico (most of it) | Same as US Central | Same as US Mountain (1 hour behind Central) |
| Colombia | Same as US Eastern | Same as US Central |
For a team in New York, Colombia is an hour closer all year. For a team in California, Costa Rica and Mexico are an hour closer. Either way, you get six to eight hours of shared working time, which is the point of nearshore. We wrote more about why that overlap matters in Distributed teams: why time zone overlaps matter.
English proficiency
The most cited source is the EF English Proficiency Index. In the 2025 edition:
- Costa Rica ranked 55th, in the "moderate" band.
- Colombia ranked 76th, in the "low" band.
- Mexico ranked 103rd, in the "very low" band.
Two caveats. First, Costa Rica's score fell noticeably compared with the previous year, so the gap is narrower than it used to be. Second, these are national averages across adults of all professions. Software engineers who work with US clients are a very different group. In all three countries you will find senior engineers who run standups, write clear tickets and push back in English without any trouble, and plenty who cannot.
The practical test is simple: interview in English, ask the candidate to explain a past technical decision, and include a written exercise. That tells you more than any index.
Cost
Rates depend on seniority, stack and the type of engagement far more than on the country. That said, the general pattern in published rate surveys is:
- Colombia tends to quote the lowest rates of the three.
- Mexico tends to sit higher than Colombia, especially in the large hubs.
- Costa Rica salaries tend to sit at the higher end of the region, partly because large multinationals have operated there for decades and compete for the same engineers.
The spread between countries is usually a few dollars an hour at the same level. The spread between a mid-level and a senior engineer, or between a freelancer and a fully managed placement, is much larger. When you compare quotes, compare the same seniority and the same scope of service: who handles payroll, compliance, replacement if someone leaves, and day-to-day management. Our post on salaries in Latin America vs the US has more detail on how pay compares.
Talent pool and tech hubs
This is where the three differ most.
Nearshore software development in Mexico has scale. With roughly 130 million people and major tech hubs in Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey, it is the easiest of the three to hire large teams in, and it has the closest business ties to the US through USMCA. If you need ten Java engineers next quarter, Mexico has the depth.
Software development in Colombia has grown fast over the last decade, with Bogotá and Medellín as the main hubs. The pool is large, the rates are competitive and the time zone is the best fit for East Coast teams.
Software development in Costa Rica has a much smaller pool (about 5 million people in the whole country), concentrated around San José, Heredia and Alajuela. What it lacks in volume it makes up in maturity: companies like Intel and Amazon have run large operations there for years, which built a workforce used to US processes and expectations. Costa Rica is also an OECD member and one of the most stable democracies in the region. The tradeoff is that hiring for a niche skill can take longer simply because there are fewer candidates.
Side by side
| Mexico | Costa Rica | Colombia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time zone (no DST) | UTC-6 (most of the country) | UTC-6 | UTC-5 |
| US winter alignment | Central | Central | Eastern |
| EF EPI 2025 rank | 103rd | 55th | 76th |
| Population | ~130 million | ~5 million | ~53 million |
| Main tech hubs | Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey | San José, Heredia, Alajuela | Bogotá, Medellín |
| Typical rate position | Mid to high | Higher end | Lowest of the three |
| Best fit | Large teams, scale hiring | Senior roles, strong English, long tenure | East Coast teams, cost-sensitive roles |
Which one should you choose?
For most teams, the honest answer is "it depends on the role, not the country." A few patterns we see:
- You need a lot of people quickly: Mexico's pool gives you the most options.
- Your team is on the East Coast and cost is the main driver: Colombia is a strong fit.
- You need senior engineers who will talk directly to your clients: Costa Rica's English and long history with US companies help.
- You need one or two specialists (Drupal, GIS, AI training work): look across all three. Limiting yourself to one country shrinks the pool for no real benefit.
That last point is why we don't recruit in only one country. weKnow is based in Costa Rica, but we place vetted engineers from across Latin America, so the search starts from the skills a client needs rather than a postal code. If you are still weighing whether nearshore is the right model at all, our Nearshore vs Offshore page compares it with offshore teams in Asia and Eastern Europe.
What matters more than the country
After 15+ years of doing this, these are the questions we would ask any vendor, wherever their engineers are:
- How do you vet? Technical tests, English interviews, and reference checks on real past work.
- Who manages the engineer day to day? Someone has to handle payroll, local compliance, equipment and the inevitable questions.
- What happens if someone leaves? Ask about replacement time and how knowledge is handed over.
- What is your average tenure? Ours is over four years. Short tenure means you keep paying for onboarding.
- Can I talk to the engineer before they start? You should always interview the person who will join your team.
A good engineer in a "lower ranked" country, managed well, will outperform an average engineer in a "top ranked" one every time.
Frequently asked questions
Is Costa Rica good for software development?
Yes. Costa Rica has a mature tech workforce shaped by decades of multinational operations, the best English scores of the three countries in this comparison, and a time zone that matches US Central in winter. Its main limitation is size: the talent pool is smaller than Mexico's or Colombia's.
Is Mexico or Colombia cheaper for software development?
Published rate surveys usually put Colombia slightly below Mexico at the same seniority. The difference is small compared with the gap between seniority levels or between a freelancer and a managed placement.
Which Latin American country has the best English for developers?
In the EF English Proficiency Index 2025, Costa Rica ranked highest of the three, ahead of Colombia and Mexico. Individual developers vary widely in every country, so always interview in English.
Do Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia use daylight saving time?
No. Costa Rica and Colombia have not used it in decades, and Mexico dropped it for most of the country in 2022. Your overlap with them shifts by one hour when US clocks change.
Can I hire one team across several countries?
Yes. Many nearshore teams combine engineers from different Latin American countries. With all of them within a few hours of each other and of the US, it works well as long as one company handles payroll, compliance and management in each country.
Building a nearshore team?
If you are comparing countries because you need engineers soon, we can help you skip that step. We place vetted engineers from across Latin America through IT staff augmentation, working your hours and fully managed on our side. Tell us what you need at yes@weknowinc.com or visit our homepage to see how we work.