How we calculate the comparison
No smoke and mirrors: every number has a source you can check.
1. The AgentUI side comes from the API
Files, credits and dollars for every module are pulled live from AgentUI's credits API, calculated across 2,986 real projects and 32,000+ generated files. We don't invent the price — it's the same one you'll see in your account.
2. The developer side comes from the market
We take the files your app needs and multiply them by the engineering hours a human needs per file, plus 35% for discovery, QA, code review and project management.
3. You choose where and who you'd hire
We apply fully loaded 2026 market rates for LATAM, USA/Canada and Europe at junior, mid-level or senior seniority. Switch the region and watch the number move.
Developer rates we use (USD per hour, 2026)
| Region | Junior | Mid-level | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| LATAMMexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina — nearshore rates | $28/h | $42/h | $60/h |
| USA / CanadaFully loaded in-house or contractor rates | $65/h | $90/h | $125/h |
| EuropeGermany, UK, Spain, Nordics — Western Europe average | $38/h | $58/h | $85/h |
Fully loaded rates: salary, payroll taxes, benefits and overhead included — or the equivalent contractor rate.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a developer in LATAM in 2026?
A nearshore LATAM developer costs $28–$60 USD per hour depending on seniority and country: in Mexico a junior runs $25–$35 and a senior can reach $80; Brazil starts lower. Annually that's $30,000–$50,000 for junior and $80,000–$120,000 for senior — roughly 40% to 65% below an equivalent US hire.
What about the USA or Europe?
The BLS puts the median US developer salary at $133,080; add payroll taxes, benefits and overhead (another 25%–40%) and the effective hour lands around $80–$90, with contractor rates reaching $250. Western Europe averages about $66 per hour, with Germany at $45–$53 for seniors and the UK between $50 and $100.
Where do the AgentUI costs come from?
Straight from AgentUI's public credits API. Every module you select returns its real file count, credits and dollars, calculated across 2,986 projects already built on the platform. Nothing on that side is hardcoded into this page.
Is it fair to compare a developer to a platform?
That's why we compare a full first year: the app generation plus twelve months of plan. Even so, a developer doesn't disappear after the first sprint — that cost repeats every month, while on AgentUI your team can change the tool without filing a ticket.
How long does a developer take to build an internal tool?
Custom internal tools typically take 300 to 1,500 development hours — 3 to 12 calendar months with a single developer. The calculator shows the estimated weeks right next to the cost.