India, the Philippines, and Vietnam are the three markets US companies most often weigh for offshore engineering. All three offer strong talent at a fraction of US cost — but they differ on scale, English, timezone, and retention. Here's an honest comparison to help you choose.
Talent depth & scale
India is the largest by far — millions of developers and unmatched depth for large-scale staffing. Vietnam has a smaller but fast-growing pool (500k+ engineers, ~10%/yr growth) with a strong reputation in product engineering, fintech, and AI. The Philippines has a solid pool that's especially deep in web, QA, and support-adjacent engineering.
English & communication
The Philippines leads on spoken English fluency thanks to its education system and BPO heritage. Vietnam has rapidly closed the gap in tech — strong written English and increasingly strong spoken English among engineers, especially at senior levels. India has excellent English overall with wide variance across regions.
Timezone overlap with the US
All three are Asia-Pacific and require some schedule flexibility for US collaboration. Vietnam (GMT+7) and the Philippines (GMT+8) can typically offer ~3–5 hours of daily overlap with US-East by shifting hours; India (GMT+5:30) offers similar. None gives full-day overlap, so async discipline matters everywhere — plan for a few hours of live overlap rather than a shared workday.
Cost
All three deliver 55–70% savings versus a US hire. Vietnam and the Philippines tend to be very close on senior-engineer cost; India's range is wide, with top product talent in major hubs approaching Vietnam/Philippines levels. For a concrete Vietnam breakdown, see what it costs to hire an engineer in Vietnam.
Retention
Attrition is the hidden cost of offshore hiring. Large, hyper-competitive hubs can see high job-hopping. Vietnam is often cited for comparatively lower attrition in product teams, which protects institutional knowledge — one reason it's become a favorite for long-lived product work.
When each is the right call
- India — maximum scale, deep specialization, large teams spun up fast.
- Philippines — strongest spoken English, great for collaboration-heavy and customer-facing engineering.
- Vietnam — strong product engineers, competitive cost, lower attrition, and a growing AI/fintech bench — a balanced choice for durable product teams.
Hiring in any of them still needs a local employer
Wherever you land, you either set up a local entity or use an Employer of Record. If Vietnam is on your shortlist, our complete hiring guide and pre-vetted talent pool are the fastest way to start.
This comparison reflects general market patterns and will vary by role, city, and individual candidate.