How Much Should You Pay Remote Workers in Eastern Europe – The Complete Guide
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Here at Remote Scout we make finding a good employee easy. However, many business owners come to us with an important question: How much should I pay my remote employees? This guide is designed to help you set a fair and competitive salary.
Cost of living
Eastern Europe is an extremely attractive option for outsourcing for many reasons - including the excellent quality of work, large talent pool and low cost of living. The lower the cost of living, the lower the average salaries are in this country, meaning you can have a happy, talented, well-paid team at a lower cost than hiring in the US.
So let's take a look at the cost of living in Eastern European countries.
The Baltic countries
Of the three states on the east coast of the Baltic Sea, Estonia is the most expensive country, while Latvia has the lowest cost of living. According to Numbeo, the monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city center costs $450 in Estonia, $415 in Lithuania and just $350 in Latvia. For comparison: This is 10 times cheaper than an apartment in New York!
The Balkans
The Balkans include eleven countries in southeastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Greece. The cost of living is similar in most of these countries, especially in the areas that were formerly part of the former Yugoslavia.
Albania is one of the countries with the lowest cost of living in Europe, meaning you can get an espresso for just $1 or rent a great apartment in the city center for just $300. Croatia and Slovenia are the most expensive countries in this group (for a coffee you have to pay about 2 dollars, and the same apartment costs about 500 dollars).
Eastern Slavic countries
With a very low cost of living and an amazing talent pool, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are among the top outsourcing destinations for technical talent. This means that extremely talented developers and IT specialists from Ukraine can get a good meal for just $6 or a delicious cappuccino for just $1!
Western Slavic countries
If you want to rent a large one-bedroom apartment in Poland, the Czech Republic or Slovakia, you will have to pay around $600.
Other areas in Eastern Europe
In addition to these regions, we also offer remote workers from Moldova, Cyprus, Hungary and Georgia. The cost of living varies depending on the country (in Georgia and Moldova a one-bedroom apartment costs $300, in Hungary $400 and in Cyprus $500).
Average salaries in Eastern Europe
The map below shows average salaries in Eastern Europe:
Those: jobrack.eu
Due to the low cost of living in Eastern Europe, average salaries are much lower than you might expect. The talent you are likely to want to hire, such as: However, some professionals, such as highly skilled developers, designers, content writers, SEO specialists, and virtual assistants, are typically paid better than the national average, especially if they choose to work remotely.
With offers from all over the world, a talented remote worker can find a well-paying job no matter where they live.
Average salaries for job seekers according to our research
Here we have collected information from thousands of our remote workers and our satisfied customers and found the averages for remote worker pay from Eastern Europe:
| Rolle | Junior Position | Mid-Level | Senior Position |
| Developer | $1,000 | $2,500 | $5,500 |
| Graphic Designer | $1,000 | $2,000 | $4,500 |
| Content Writer | $800 | $1,300 | $2,700 |
| Project Manager | $1,500 | $2,500 | $3,500 |
| Sales / Marketing | $1,000 | $1,300 | $2,700 |
| Virtual Assistant | $800 | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Customer Support | $1,000 | $1,200 | $2,500 |
As you can see, the average salary depends on the experience and skills of your employees, as well as the position you want to fill.
