Introduction

Brazil’s booming tech sector, large talent pool, and largely English-speaking workforce make it an attractive nearshore destination for US companies. Brazil also offers a strong time zone overlap and cultural fit for Western business, allowing straightforward communication, real-time collaboration and efficient project scaling without the high costs of hiring domestically.

Brazil offers senior-level talent at significantly lower rates than local US developers, making it ideal for building high-performing remote teams.

Why is Brazil popular for tech hiring?

Brazil is popular for US tech hiring due to its geographic proximity and aligned time zones, alongside its large and growing pool of cost-effective and skilled talent.

Brazil shares a strong time zone overlap with the US, enabling real-time collaboration during normal business hours. This nearshoring approach avoids the communication delays and scheduling difficulties associated with offshoring to distant regions like Asia or Eastern Europe, leading to improved productivity and faster project delivery.

US companies can achieve substantial cost savings of up to 60% by hiring tech professionals in Brazil compared to domestic markets. The lower cost of living in major Brazilian tech hubs means these competitive local salaries still provide a high quality of life for the employees, improving talent retention.

Brazil also offers the largest tech workforce in Latin America, with hundreds of thousands of developers, making it easier to find specialized skills, and the country ranks high in innovation, supported by government initiatives and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, making it a reliable source of skilled IT professionals.

How many developers are in Brazil?

Brazil has a large and growing developer community, with estimates around 750,000 to over 1 million tech professionals, including roughly 500,000 to 750,000 active software developers, making it Latin America’s largest tech talent pool, ranking globally among the top countries for tech workforce.

Top cities to hire developers in Brazil

The leading cities for hiring tech professionals in Brazil include:

• São Paulo: Brazil’s financial and tech powerhouse, home to major tech giants and unicorns like Nubank.
• Rio de Janeiro: A significant talent hub with strengths in digital media and technology, offering a great time zone overlap with the US.
• Belo Horizonte: A key city for startups and tech, known for its vibrant ecosystem and skilled developers.
• Porto Alegre: An emerging center for web, AI, and fintech, leveraging strong local universities.
• Recife: A growing tech hub known for both software and hardware development, sometimes referred to as “Brazil’s Silicon Valley”.
• Florianópolis: A city well-known for its innovation and skilled professionals from top local universities.

How does Labor Law work in Brazil?

All Brazilian employment falls under the Consolidated Labor Laws (CLT). Key clauses to note include:

• A bonus known as Décimo Terceiro, equal to one month’s pay each year, is mandatory.
• Employers deposit 8% of gross wages into a government-managed severance fund (FGTS) each month.
• Employers cover payroll taxes, work accident insurance (RAT), and social assistance (eg SESI, INCRA).
• Brazil forbids forced full-time exclusivity for contractors.
• All contracts must be in Portuguese.
• Employers can request up to 2 hours per day of overtime, but this must be paid at 150% of the normal hourly rate.
• Employees must have at least an 11-hour break between workdays and one full rest day per week.
• Brazil observes 12 national holidays each year.
• After 12 months of employment, a worker earns 30 calendar days of paid vacation.
• Employees are entitled to 15 days of paid sick leave per illness.
• For terminations without cause, the law requires advance notice of at least 30 days.

Brazilian Labor Law can be difficult to navigate for US companies looking to hire in Brazil without the support of a specialist firm like HireDevelopers.com.

Is it hard to hire a developer in Brazil?

As a major tech hub, it can be hard to find highly skilled developers in Brazil that fit your budget. Brazil has a highly competitive tech talent market, with startups and small businesses struggling to compete with the salaries and benefits offered by major players in the region.

Talent retention can also be a challenge, with many developers looking to start their own companies as a result of Brazil’s strong startup culture.

As a result, many companies are turning to dedicated tech hiring platforms like HireDevelopers.com to simplify the process of hiring developers and tech talent across Brazil. These platforms offer a faster alternative to traditional hiring, offering thousands of pre-vetted engineers currently looking for new opportunities.

How much does it cost to hire a developer in Brazil?

Payscale reports a Software Developer in Brazil averages R$79,764/year ($15k USD), while Glassdoor suggests São Paulo software engineers make ~R$11k–12k/month ($2k) on average.

With pre-vetted platforms like HireDevelopers.com, companies can save up to 80% on salaries and hiring costs when hiring Brazilian developers.

How to hire a developer in Brazil

The first step to hiring a developer in Brazil is to decide on a hiring method. Traditional hiring methods include local job adverts, LinkedIn job posts and using your professional network to identify potential candidates.

However, these methods are often time consuming and can be expensive. The median time to hire a developer is around 41 days, with the slowest 10% taking up to 82 days and 38% of companies reporting project delays due to recruitment problems, according to the Linux Foundation’s 2024 State of Tech Talent Report.

Alternatively, many companies are now turning to services like HireDevelopers.com to cut costs and speed up the hiring process. With HireDevelopers.com, you can hire Brazil-based developers at any price point and in just 24 hours.

You should also consider using coding challenges alongside a traditional interview during the hiring process – if you’re using a pre-vetted talent pool like HireDevelopers.com, this has already been done for you. Coding challenges allow you to assess problem-solving skills and coding expertise in a realistic, real-time environment.

If you need help putting together a job description or conducting a job interview, you can check out our helpful and comprehensive guides below. Alternatively, to cut your time-to-hire by 90% and unlock savings of up to 80%, get in touch and book your free HireDevelopers.com consultation today.

Why hire Brazilian developers with HireDevelopers?

Hiring the right Brazilian developer for your team is a huge undertaking, and the process can be intimidating, especially for startups and small businesses.

At HireDevelopers.com, our pre-vetted, global tech talent marketplace streamlines your hiring journey and cuts time-to-hire by over 90% without compromising on quality or stretching your budget. Receive a custom shortlist of top developers at any seniority level and at any price point within just 24 hours of your consultation.

Plus, we’ll handle all payroll, legal compliance and HR completely for free, giving you more time to start building with your new Brazil-based dev.

Get in touch today and start hiring top-notch Brazilian developers in just 24 hours with HireDevelopers.com