$25/hr
Starting rate for senior engineers
70%
Cost savings vs Canadian developers
10+
Years delivering for CA clients
Why Canadian companies choose Philippines developers
60–70% cost savings vs Canadian developers
Canadian developer rates run $120–160/hr locally or $100–140/hr via CA-based agencies. Philippine senior engineers direct-hire run $25–50/hr. A 4-person Manila team costs roughly the same as one Canadian mid-level developer — without the overhead of a full-time employee.
Async-first workflow built for CA timezone
Manila is UTC+8. Toronto is UTC-5 (EST), Vancouver is UTC-8 (PST). The overlap is minimal but the async pattern works extremely well: your team scopes work in CA morning, Manila executes overnight, and you wake up to completed PRs. Most CA clients find this faster than synchronous local teams.
English-first, Western sprint norms
Filipino engineers are educated in English, document in English, and communicate in English without a translation layer. Sprint ceremonies, PR reviews, Slack standups, and client calls run cleanly. This alone removes weeks of overhead from a 12-month engagement.
CAD invoicing, no tax complications
Invoicing in CAD or USD — whichever is cleaner for your Canadian entity. Non-Canadian supplier, so HST/GST does not apply. Familiar with CA startup patterns: IP assignment, non-disclosure, contractor vs employee classification. No onboarding surprises.
What this engagement covers
- Full-stack development — React / Next.js front-end, Node.js / Laravel / Django back-end
- Dedicated development teams — 2 to 8 engineers, fractional CTO oversight included
- MVP builds for CA seed-stage startups — 8–16 week delivery timelines
- Mobile development — React Native and Flutter for App Store and Google Play
- Legacy modernisation — PHP to Node.js, on-prem to AWS/GCP, monolith to microservices
- Ongoing product engineering — async sprints, weekly sprint reviews, monthly architecture sessions
- Technical due diligence for CA investors — code quality audit before a term sheet
- CTO advisory — engineering strategy for CA founders stepping out of code
Frequently asked questions
How does the timezone work for Canadian companies hiring Philippine developers?
Manila is UTC+8. Toronto (EST) is UTC-5, Vancouver (PST) is UTC-8. The raw overlap is small — but most CA clients use an async-first model that actually works faster: scope work in CA morning, Manila team executes overnight, PRs are ready for review when you start your day. For teams that need real-time overlap, Manila engineers can shift schedules to cover CA morning on a premium schedule — still well below CA-local costs.
What does it cost for a Canadian company to hire Philippine developers?
Direct-hire Philippine senior engineers: $25–50/hr USD (~$34–68 CAD). A typical 3-person team (2 full-stack + 1 devops): $60–110k CAD/year all-in, versus $360–480k CAD/year for equivalent CA-local hires. Most CA startups find they can fund an entire product engineering team for the cost of two CA-local mid-level developers.
What is the difference between hiring Philippine developers direct vs through a staffing agency in Canada?
A CA staffing agency adds 30–60% margin on top of developer rates, locks you into rigid contracts, and adds account management overhead between you and the engineers. Direct hire through DevWithZach means you deal directly with me, rates are transparent, and there is no markup layer. You get a practitioner-led engagement, not a staffing transaction.
Can Philippine developers work on Canadian government or regulated-industry projects?
For most SaaS, startup, and SMB projects: yes, with standard IP assignment and NDA. For projects that require Canadian data residency or government security clearance, there are constraints worth discussing upfront. AWS Canada (ca-central-1) and Azure Canada Central can be used for data residency. I am transparent about what requires a CA-resident team vs what is fine to execute offshore.
How do I pay Philippine developers from Canada?
CAD or USD invoice — whichever is cleaner for your entity. Payment via Wise Business, which settles at near-interbank rates with no hidden FX spread. Typical settlement: 1–2 business days. No wire complexity, no intermediary banks. Invoice terms are net-15 for retainers, milestone-based for project work.
Ready to talk specifics?
30 minutes, no slides, no pitch — just a working session on your engagement.
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