The wrong question
When US companies start offshoring, the first question is usually "which country is best?" There is no single answer. A support desk that answers calls during US business hours needs something different from a back office team that works through invoices overnight.
The better question is which country fits which work. Four places come up most often: the Philippines, Latin America, India and Eastern Europe.
What actually decides it
- Time zone overlap. Live work, such as phones, chat and meetings, needs people awake during your hours. Work handed off at the end of the day does not.
- English for the role. Customer facing roles need strong spoken English. Back office roles need clear written English and attention to detail.
- Cost. Rates vary widely by country, role and experience. Compare quotes for the same role and the same hours, and count recruiting, management and replacement, not only the hourly rate.
- Depth of the talent pool. Some countries have long experience in support and back office work; others are better known for software and engineering.
How the four regions compare
The English scores below come from the EF English Proficiency Index 2025, which ranks 123 countries and regions on a scale of 1 to 800. Scores come from adults who chose to take EF's online English test, so EF notes they are not a representative sample of each country. Treat each score as a country level signal, not a measure of any one person: every candidate still needs their own assessment.
The Philippines
- Time zone: 12 hours ahead of US Eastern time (13 when the US is on standard time), so US hours mean night shifts.
- English: 569, in EF's High band.
- Strong fit: customer support, administrative work, bookkeeping, data work and other back office roles, especially work handed off overnight.
- Watch for: meetings during US business hours fall in the middle of the night.
Latin America
- Time zone: within about two hours of US Eastern time, so working hours overlap with yours.
- English: varies by country. Argentina scores 575 (High), Costa Rica 516 (Moderate), Brazil 482 and Colombia 480 (both Low), and Mexico 440 (Very low).
- Strong fit: live phone and chat work during US hours, roles that need Spanish or Portuguese, and teams that work together in real time.
- Watch for: English levels differ widely from one country, and one candidate, to the next.
India
- Time zone: 9 hours 30 minutes ahead of US Eastern time (10 hours 30 minutes when the US is on standard time).
- English: 484, in the Low band as a country average.
- Strong fit: commonly chosen for software development, IT support and large back office operations.
- Watch for: little overlap with US hours, and a wide range of experience across providers.
Eastern Europe
- Time zone: about 6 to 7 hours ahead of US Eastern time, which leaves a short overlap with US mornings.
- English: among the highest scores in the index: Romania 605 and Poland 600 (both Very high), and Ukraine 526 (Moderate).
- Strong fit: technical, engineering and analytical roles.
- Watch for: rates are usually higher than in Asia or Latin America, especially for technical roles.
Matching the work to the place
- Live phone and chat support during US hours: Latin America, or the Philippines on night shifts.
- Back office work handed off overnight (bookkeeping, invoices, data entry, data labeling): the Philippines.
- Work with Spanish speaking customers: Latin America.
- Technical and engineering roles: Eastern Europe or India.
These are starting points. The right person for the role matters more than the country they live in.
Where employmagic places specialists
We hire for qualifications and skills, not for a country. Our specialists work from the Philippines and Latin America, and specialists in both regions work across every area we staff: operations and back office, data labeling, accounting, customer support, marketing and sales, and process engineering.
Every candidate is vetted for the role itself: their skills, their experience, and their English for the work. Location comes into it only when the role needs it, for example when the work is in Spanish or has to cover live US business hours.
How to decide
- List the roles you need and the hours each one must cover.
- Mark which roles speak with your customers and which work behind the scenes.
- Compare cost for the same role and hours, including recruiting, management and replacement.
- Ask how each candidate's English and skills are tested, not only which country they live in.
- Ask any provider how they handle data protection and the employment rules in each country.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or employment advice.