Who Nearshoring When comparing locations in Eastern Europe, people usually look first at hourly rates. However, how well a team fits with your project in the long term depends on more than just price—for example, the number of skilled workers available locally and how stable the current cost advantage will remain in the coming years.
In Germany, open developer positions often remain unfilled for months, and companies in industry and retail feel the impact directly in their IT projects—whether they’re connecting a new machine to the cloud or expanding their own online store. A look across the border reveals where capacity is actually available in Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic—and at what cost—as well as the limitations of this approach.
With around 400,000 software developers, Poland offers the widest selection, at rates ranging from 40 to 65 euros per hour. Romania is significantly lower, at 23 to 46 euros, with about 150,000 IT professionals. The Czech Republic falls in between at 37 to 60 euros and offers the advantage of a short travel distance. However, the cost advantage of all three countries is shrinking year by year, which is why it’s worth taking a look at Morocco.
Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic: A Comparison of Statistics
According to an analysis of my business future As of March 2026, the three largest nearshoring locations in Central and Eastern Europe differ significantly in terms of market size and hourly rates.
| Country | IT Professionals | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | about 400,000 software developers | 40 to 65 euros |
| Romania | about 150,000 IT professionals | 23 to 46 euros |
| Czech Republic | without a separate market size included in the analysis | 37 to 60 euros |
All figures are taken from the same analysis by my business future from March 2026. They are approximate values; actual rates may be higher or lower depending on experience level and technology. Poland offers the largest pool of skilled workers, but also the highest rates among the three countries. Romania is at the other end of the spectrum in terms of price, with a smaller but growing market. The Czech Republic lies between the two countries, both in terms of price and distance from Germany and Austria, and is therefore often overlooked, even though the short travel time for occasional on-site meetings remains a practical advantage.
Why German Companies Are Investing in Central and Eastern Europe
The shortage of skilled workers is driving investment. According to a survey by KPMG and the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations According to a February 2026 survey of 115 companies, 41 percent of respondents plan to invest in Central and Eastern Europe over the next twelve months. The previous year, that figure was 42 percent. According to the same analysis by my business future from March 2026, cost savings from nearshoring to a comparable time zone range from 30 to 50 percent compared to development carried out entirely within Germany.
This is how much you can save by developing at a nearshore location in a comparable time zone, compared to a team based entirely in Germany, while maintaining comparable quality.
my business future, March 2026
Added to this is the proximity in terms of time zones and daily work routines. Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic are in the same time zone or one that’s off by an hour; meetings take place during the same workday, without late-evening appointments for one side. For an industrial company that must closely coordinate its development with internal departments, this factor often matters more than the hourly rate down to the last euro.
Nearshoring Locations in Eastern Europe Face Growing Cost Pressure
The cost advantage is not a law of nature. Labor costs in Eastern Europe have been rising faster than productivity for years, and the gap between those costs and Western European salaries is narrowing year by year. At the same time, competition for the same skilled workers is intensifying; international corporations are establishing their own development centers in the region’s major cities and offering salaries that smaller nearshoring providers can hardly match.
Anyone doing the math today should therefore not base their calculations on the price levels from three years ago. A contract based solely on the current lowest hourly rate rarely holds up over the entire project duration. Roles related to Java, the cloud, and AI, in particular, are now in such high demand in Warsaw and Bucharest that rates there are approaching Western European levels more closely than they were just a few years ago. Anyone looking for the right contract model for a project can find the basics in the article Contract Models in Nearshoring.
North Africa as an alternative in the same time zone
One option that is often overlooked in the discussion of potential locations is to look south rather than east. Morocco offers German and Austrian companies a previously underutilized opportunity for software development in the same time zone. The country is in the UTC+1 time zone year-round, with virtually no time difference from Germany and Austria and a full overlap in working hours throughout the day. The software market there is younger than in Poland or Romania, but it is growing, and competition for skilled workers has so far been less intense than in the established Eastern European hubs.
How Torck Built Up Its Rabat Location
torck conducts development with its own teams at three locations: its headquarters in Maxhütte-Haidhof, Vienna, and Rabat. Rabat is not an external partner agency, but rather a torck subsidiary that meets the same quality standards as the other two locations.
Morocco is in the UTC+1 time zone year-round. Depending on the season, the time difference between Rabat, Maxhütte-Haidhof, and Vienna ranges from zero to one hour; in practice, the workday overlaps completely. An offshore team in India or Vietnam works with a four- to six-hour time difference, so some coordination inevitably takes place there in the early morning or late evening. It is precisely this “night shift” dynamic that is eliminated in the Germany-Austria-Morocco setup.
Project management and point of contact are based in Germany and Austria and communicate with the client in German. Development takes place across all three locations, following a common quality standard that includes reviews and a consistent CI/CD pipeline, regardless of where a component is developed. In all cases, the contracting party remains the German company torck GmbH, governed by German law, with a single contract covering the entire project rather than a chain of subcontractors spanning multiple countries.
The hourly rates and numbers of skilled workers cited in this article are approximate figures based on a single analysis; they do not constitute a quoted price. Actual quotes may be higher or lower depending on the level of experience, technology, and contract duration. The source does not provide separate market figures for the Czech Republic, so the comparison remains incomplete at this point. Furthermore, it is not possible to make a reliable projection based on current figures as to how quickly the cost advantage will continue to shrink.
Consider Morocco as an alternative
Whether a location outside the highly sought-after Eastern European hubs is a good fit for your project depends on the technology required and the desired time zone. A discussion of both points will reveal whether Rabat is a viable option for your specific project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country is the best fit for which project?
For projects with a high demand for specialized professionals—such as in the Java or .NET environments—Poland offers the widest selection, though at the highest rates of the three countries. Romania is a good fit for projects with tighter budgets and a bit more flexibility in terms of time when putting together a team. The Czech Republic falls in the middle in terms of price and stands out due to its proximity to Germany. For companies looking for a location outside the highly sought-after Eastern European hubs, it’s worth considering Morocco.
How sustainable are the cost savings?
Less stable than many calculations suggest. Labor costs in the three countries mentioned are rising steadily, especially in high-demand technology sectors. A cost advantage that stands at 40 percent today could be significantly smaller in two or three years. Contracts with terms spanning multiple years should factor in this trend rather than simply projecting the current market rate. A price adjustment clause with a cap—known to both parties in advance—is helpful. Those who renegotiate every year instead lose the planning certainty they were seeking in the very area where they needed it most.
What should you consider when choosing a location?
In practice, four factors matter: the availability of specialists in the specific technology needed, the time zone for daily collaboration, the team’s language proficiency in communicating with your own departments, and whether the provider assigns its own team or outsources work to a rotating group of freelancers. The lowest hourly rate does not address any of these four factors; rather, it obscures them if it is the sole deciding factor in the selection process.
Why torck
Nearshoring locations cannot be evaluated based solely on the hourly rate, as evidenced by the rising labor costs in Eastern Europe. torck, in partnership with Rabat, has chosen a location in virtually the same time zone as Germany and Austria, with its own on-site company rather than rotating partner agencies, and managed on a project-by-project basis from Maxhütte-Haidhof and Vienna. Anyone who wants to determine whether this model is a good fit for their own project is best advised to discuss it directly in a Initial Consultation.
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