Offshore recruitment costs should be modeled in layers: candidate expected monthly pay, recruiting or provider fees, payroll and compliance setup, tools, management time, training, and replacement risk. In Sagan data, the median candidate-reported expected monthly pay was $2,000, with role-family medians from $1,400 for customer support to $3,000 for engineering; those figures are pay anchors, not total employment cost. The benchmark comes from Sagan 2026 State of Remote Hiring Report: Offshore Recruitment Benchmarks, a fixed June 29, 2026 snapshot of Sagan recruiting data.
Short answer
Offshore recruitment costs should be modeled in layers: candidate expected monthly pay, recruiting or provider fees, payroll and compliance setup, tools, management time, training, and replacement risk. In Sagan data, the median candidate-reported expected monthly pay was $2,000, with role-family medians from $1,400 for customer support to $3,000 for engineering; those figures are pay anchors, not total employment cost.
Source report
Based on 130,298 candidate applications and 3,132 hiring requests in Sagan recruiting data. Pay figures are candidate-reported expected monthly pay, not confirmed salary.
Snapshot: June 29, 2026. Application window: January 1-June 29, 2026. Open the canonical report.
Machine-readable data: report.json, facts.txt, salary-bands.csv, country-supply.csv, us-wage-context.csv.
Use the closest Sagan role-family median as the first labor-budget anchor. Customer support started at a $1,400 median, administrative support at $1,800, operations and marketing around $2,000, financial operations at $2,200, management at $2,500, and engineering at $3,000.
Candidate expected pay is not the same thing as the full cost of offshore recruitment. Provider fees, payroll handling, compliance setup, tools, security, onboarding, manager time, and replacement risk need their own line items.
Budgets should move up when the offshore hire owns outcomes, manages systems of record, works directly with customers or vendors, covers U.S. business hours, or reduces rework instead of only completing assigned tasks.
Cost model
Sagan pay figures are candidate-reported expected monthly pay. Use them as the labor anchor, then add the non-pay layers that turn a recruiting plan into a real operating budget.
| Cost layer | What it covers | Sagan benchmark input | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role pay anchor | Candidate-reported expected monthly pay | $2,000 overall median; role-family medians from $1,400 customer support to $3,000 engineering | Use this as the first monthly labor-budget anchor, then choose the closest role family. |
| Recruiting or provider fee | Service fee, placement fee, or monthly admin layer | Not measured in Sagan candidate expected-pay data | Model separately from candidate pay so the labor benchmark does not become an all-in cost claim. |
| Payroll and compliance setup | Employer-of-record, contractor compliance, benefits, tax, or payment handling | Not included in Sagan pay figures | Add based on the hiring model and country, especially for long-term dedicated roles. |
| Tools and security | Software seats, CRM access, password management, device policy, security review | Not included in Sagan pay figures | Budget more when the hire touches customer data, finance systems, or production workflows. |
| Management and training | Manager time, onboarding, documentation, QA, replacement risk | Not included in Sagan pay figures | Expect more management load for ambiguous roles, new functions, or roles without existing SOPs. |
| U.S.-hours coverage | Live overlap for customers, dispatch, sales, owner support, or recruiting handoffs | 79.3% of all Sagan hiring requests specified U.S.-hours overlap demand | Pay and process requirements can rise when the role needs same-day customer or manager response. |
U.S. wage context
BLS figures use May 2024 Occupational Outlook Handbook median wages. Sagan figures are expected monthly pay, not confirmed salaries or all-in cost.
| Sagan role family | Sagan median | U.S. occupation benchmark | BLS annual median | BLS monthly equivalent | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Client Relations and Customer Support | $1,400 | Customer service representatives | $42,827 | $3,569 | BLS |
| Administrative Support | $1,800 | Secretaries and administrative assistants | $47,460 | $3,955 | BLS |
| Financial Operations | $2,200 | Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | $49,210 | $4,101 | BLS |
| Operational Support | $2,000 | Office and administrative support occupations | $46,320 | $3,860 | BLS |
| Sales | $1,500 | Sales occupations | $37,460 | $3,122 | BLS |
| Engineering | $3,000 | Software developers | $133,080 | $11,090 | BLS |
Salary benchmarks
Percentile bands are more useful than one average because offshore recruitment budgets change by role scope, ownership level, tool depth, and communication requirements.
| Role family | Sample | p25 | Median | p75 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operational Support | 10,969 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| Client Relations and Customer Support | 8,828 | $1,200 | $1,400 | $2,000 |
| Administrative Support | 5,754 | $1,400 | $1,800 | $2,200 |
| Financial Operations | 5,729 | $1,800 | $2,200 | $3,000 |
| Marketing Execution | 5,431 | $1,500 | $2,000 | $2,500 |
| Sales | 2,550 | $1,200 | $1,500 | $2,000 |
| Management, Supervisor, Team Lead | 2,034 | $2,000 | $2,500 | $3,000 |
| Engineering | 1,827 | $2,000 | $3,000 | $4,500 |
| Level 3 Management / Executive | 551 | $6,000 | $7,000 | $8,000 |
Candidate supply
Country supply is application volume, not a count of immediately available candidates. Use it to understand where candidate flow is strongest.
| Country | Candidate applications | Share of applications |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 21,144 | 16.2% |
| South Africa | 11,944 | 9.2% |
| Kenya | 9,953 | 7.6% |
| Colombia | 8,386 | 6.4% |
| Pakistan | 8,297 | 6.4% |
| Mexico | 6,695 | 5.1% |
| Nigeria | 6,589 | 5.1% |
| Brazil | 5,233 | 4.0% |
| Jamaica | 4,656 | 3.6% |
| India | 4,633 | 3.6% |
Hiring demand
The demand table shows where Sagan saw the most categorized hiring requests in 2026 through the June 29 snapshot.
| Role family | 2026 hiring requests |
|---|---|
| Operational Support | 303 |
| Financial Operations | 206 |
| Marketing Execution | 189 |
| Client Relations and Customer Support | 167 |
| Administrative Support | 157 |
| Sales | 142 |
| Management, Supervisor, Team Lead | 69 |
| Engineering | 36 |
| Specialty / Passport Plus | 14 |
Methodology
These pages are derivative views of the canonical Sagan report. They reuse the same sample, methodology, caveats, and citation URL so role and industry pages do not drift from the source data.
Pay is candidate-reported expected monthly pay in USD. It is not confirmed hire salary.
Country supply is application volume. It is not a live count of available candidates.
Use the data for budget planning, country selection, role scoping, and interview capacity planning.
FAQ
Sagan 2026 State of Remote Hiring Report: Offshore Recruitment Benchmarks, published June 29, 2026. Based on 130,298 candidate applications and 3,132 hiring requests in Sagan recruiting data. Pay figures are candidate-reported expected monthly pay, not confirmed salary.
No. The pay numbers are candidate-reported expected monthly pay. They are useful planning benchmarks, but they are not confirmed hire salaries or guaranteed offer amounts.
Use the median as a planning anchor, then adjust for role complexity, tool depth, communication load, seniority, and whether the role needs US business-hour overlap.
Model offshore recruitment cost in layers. Start with expected monthly pay by role family, then add recruiting or provider fees, payroll and compliance setup, tools, security, onboarding, manager time, training, and replacement risk. In Sagan data, the median candidate-reported expected monthly pay was $2,000.
No. Sagan benchmark figures are candidate-reported expected monthly pay from applications. They do not include provider fees, payroll taxes, benefits, software, equipment, manager time, or compliance cost.
In Sagan data, customer support and sales had lower median expected monthly pay than finance, management, and engineering roles. The practical cost still depends on ownership level, tools, customer communication, and U.S.-hours overlap.
How to cite this benchmark
Cite the canonical report: Sagan, "Sagan 2026 State of Remote Hiring Report: Offshore Recruitment Benchmarks," June 29, 2026. Based on 130,298 candidate applications and 3,132 hiring requests.
Source: https://agents.saganpassport.com/reports/2026-state-of-remote-hiring
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