Why the Philippines
World-class talent, UK accountability.
Offshorly has built its teams in the Philippines since 2014, for companies in the UK and the US, with British account management throughout. This page is the long answer to the question we are asked most: why there, and why it works. The short version: experienced, English-speaking developers whose day overlaps with yours, trained to one standard, at a cost that makes a full dedicated team affordable, with UK leadership on top to make it accountable.
A deep pool, and we take from the top of it
The Philippines has one of the largest technology workforces in the world: 1.9 million people in its IT and business process industry in 2025, by the industry association’s count. We recruit Computer Science graduates from universities in Metro Manila, the top 5 percent of their year, and every one of them completes Compass, our own training platform, before taking a junior role. The experienced developers who join us go through the same assessment.
Partner universities
The University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University, the University of Santo Tomas, Mapúa University and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Compass
Every engineer, designer and QA engineer is trained and assessed on our playbooks and on the best use of AI before they join a client team, and the curriculum changes whenever our R&D team finds something better.
Not only developers
65+ people: AI developers, designers, QA engineers, project managers and the AI Excellence team that keeps the playbooks current.
See how every person here is trained: how we work.
English is the language of business here
English is an official language of the Philippines and the language its professionals work in. The country ranks 28th in the world in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index. In practice that means your standup, your tickets, your code reviews and your documentation are in English from day one, with nothing lost between you and the person doing the work.
Easy to work with
A strong Western influence in business culture, and a natural empathy that our clients notice in the first week.
A work ethic you feel
A deep culture of teamwork, professionalism and commitment to quality, in every interaction.
Straight talk, by design
Politeness can hide disagreement in any culture. Our playbooks, peer review and show-and-tells make disagreement part of the job, so problems reach you early.
Flexible working hours
Our teams adapt to your working hours, whether you are in London, New York or anywhere in between: a UK client gets a full overlap of the afternoon, a US client gets the morning, and dedicated teams shift their day to improve the overlap. Two-week sprints end with a demo, the daily standup is yours to join, and we work inside your tools and channels rather than asking you to join ours. A project manager on the team runs the sprints; an account lead from our UK leadership team is a phone call away.
Cost-efficient, not cheap
Building a team in the Philippines costs a fraction of hiring the same team in London or New York, and that is why most clients first look. It is not why they stay.
Not the lowest rate
We are not the cheapest option you will find, and we do not compete with marketplaces on hourly rate. You pay for a trained, assessed team working to one set of playbooks.
Everything included
Recruitment, training, project management and British account management are in the monthly rate, with no recruitment fees, HR overhead or notice periods to manage.
From $4,500 per team member per month
Each person on a fixed monthly rate by role and seniority, part-time roles pro rata, starting with a single developer.
See team pricing on the Teams page, or everything we charge on the pricing page.
The team you start with is the team you keep
Attrition is the risk every offshore buyer has heard about. Ours is answered three ways.
Clients stay
91% client retention in 2025, with engagements that have run for years.
People stay
Developers tend to stay where they are getting better, and Compass and the R&D team make them measurably better.
When someone moves on
We replace them at no cost, and because the team works from shared playbooks and documentation, the knowledge stays with the team and a new person reaches the same standard quickly.
Led from the UK, delivered from the Philippines
Offshorly was founded in 2014 by its two UK co-founders and is registered in England and Wales. The commercial relationship, the account management and the quality bar are UK-led; the delivery is a Philippine team that has worked together long enough to know each other’s strengths. Every engagement has a project manager who runs the sprints and an account lead from our UK leadership team who you can call when something needs more than a standup.
UK
Alex, Co-founder
More than 20 years in technology as a developer, project manager and founder.
UK
Chris, Co-founder
Heads up commercial direction and the long-term partnerships that have lasted years.
PH
Nicole, General Manager
Holds the whole operation together: clients, teams, projects.
PH
Maeko, Head of AI Excellence
Leads the four-person team that turns what works into the playbooks every team uses.
Meet the rest of the team: about Offshorly.
Right for some companies.
Not for others.
A good fit if:
- You want a team that works only on your business, month after month, and grows with the roadmap
- You can give that team an owner on your side: someone senior who will judge the work
- You are in the UK, the US or Australia and want a working day that overlaps yours
Not the right choice if:
- You need the whole team in your office
- You are buying the lowest hourly rate on a marketplace
- You want a finished product handed over with no one on your side involved: our teams work with you, not around you
Not sure? Tell us in the form below. We’ll say so if we are not the answer.
Questions people ask about building a team in the Philippines
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Why do companies build software and AI teams in the Philippines?1
A large, educated, English-speaking technology workforce, a business culture that works easily with the UK and the US, working hours that can be shifted to overlap yours, and a cost that makes a full dedicated team affordable where an onshore one would not be.
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Do Filipino developers speak English well?2
Yes. English is an official language and the language of business and higher education. The Philippines ranks 28th of the countries measured in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index. All our work with you, written and spoken, is in English.
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How do the time zones work with the UK and the US?3
Manila is 8 hours ahead of London and 13 ahead of New York. Our teams adapt to your working hours, so a UK client shares the afternoon and a US client shares the morning; dedicated teams move their day to yours.
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Is it cheaper, and why?4
Yes. Salaries and the cost of living in the Philippines are lower than in the UK or the US, so a trained team costs a fraction of the same team onshore. We price on the team’s standard, not the lowest rate: from $4,500 per team member per month, with recruitment, training, project management and British account management included. See pricing.
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Is our code and IP safe with a team in the Philippines?5
What we build for you is yours from the first commit. You hold the repository, you decide which data any tool may touch and where it is processed, and every change is reviewed and scanned before it reaches you.
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Who manages the team day to day?6
A project manager on the team runs the sprints and standups. An account lead from our UK leadership team owns the relationship. You see the repository, the project board and the standup for yourself.
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What is Compass?7
Our own training platform, built with AI in a month. Every engineer, designer and QA engineer completes it before joining a client team, and it is the basis of our graduate programme with five universities in Metro Manila. See how we work.
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What happens if someone leaves?8
We replace them and you do not pay for the gap. The playbooks and documentation keep the knowledge with the team, so a new person reaches the same standard quickly.
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Do you work with clients in the Philippines?9
Our teams are in the Philippines; our clients are in the UK and the US.
Tell us what you want to build.
Whether it’s a quick question or a detailed brief, we’d love to hear about it.
- Honest assessment of whether we’re the right fit
- Fixed pricing, no hidden costs
- 10+ years of trusted delivery
No lengthy process.
Thank you for contacting us!