Yes, for many roles, but not all. We took the indicative costs in Flink's savings calculator for 20 roles at three levels of experience. That gave us 59 role and experience pairs. Then we added the costs a UK employer must pay by law. On that basis, a South African hire came out between 35% and 57% cheaper. About one pair in four landed below 40%. None reached 60%.
So the headline is roughly right in the middle, and wrong at the edges. The gap gets smaller once you add the costs that do not show on a payslip. These include a setup fee and your own management time. The exchange rate matters too. This post shows the sums and the roles where the gap is smallest. Then it adds back the costs that close it.
Where does the 40-60% figure come from?
You will often see a headline that hiring in South Africa is 40-60% cheaper than hiring in the UK. A percentage like that is only a comparison of two totals. Change what goes into each total and the percentage changes too.
Most savings figures use one of the methods below.
- Salary against salary. You put the UK salary next to the South African cost. This leaves out UK employer costs, so it shows the smallest gap.
- Salary plus UK on-costs. You add employer National Insurance and the minimum pension to the UK side. This is fairer, and it is the method we used below.
- Full cost of the hire. You add one-off fees, management time, equipment, recruitment and currency risk to both sides. This is the most honest. It is also the hardest to do, because some of the numbers are yours alone.
When you read any savings claim, ask which of these three it uses. Two people can both be "right" and still be 15 points apart.
How we did the maths
We used two sets of numbers.
The South African side. Flink's savings calculator shows an indicative yearly cost for a hire in South Africa through Flink, by role and experience. These figures are indicative, from Flink's savings calculator (September 2026). A once-off setup fee also applies, and your exact quote depends on the role. The calculator also shows a typical UK salary for the same role and level. We used that as the UK salary.
The UK side. We added two costs set by law for the 2026 to 2027 tax year:
- Employer National Insurance. HMRC's rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 show a rate of 15%* for most employees, on earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year*.
- Minimum workplace pension. GOV.UK's guide to what you and your employer pay into a workplace pension shows a minimum employer contribution of 3%. In most schemes this is based on earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year.
Then the sum is simple. The UK total is the salary, plus 15% of the salary above £5,000, plus 3% of the salary between £6,240 and £50,270. The gap is the UK total minus the South African cost. The percentage is that gap divided by the UK total.
We left out everything else on purpose, on both sides. That means no recruitment fees, desks, laptops or management time yet. We add those later, one at a time, so you can see what each one does.
The results: eight roles side by side
Here are eight roles at 2 to 5 years' experience. We picked them to show the full spread, from the smallest gap to the largest.
| Role (2 to 5 years) | UK salary (calculator) | UK total with NI and pension | South Africa through Flink (indicative, + VAT) | Gap per year | Gap as % of UK total | Gap on salary alone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ops Assistant | £31,200* | £35,878.80 | £23,250* | £12,628.80 | 35.2% | 25.5% |
| Customer Support (Non IT) | £31,200* | £35,878.80 | £21,955* | £13,923.80 | 38.8% | 29.6% |
| Bookkeeper | £36,000* | £41,542.80 | £24,545* | £16,997.80 | 40.9% | 31.8% |
| PA / VA | £36,000* | £41,542.80 | £23,250* | £18,292.80 | 44.0% | 35.4% |
| Full Stack Developer | £62,400* | £72,330.90 | £38,145* | £34,185.90 | 47.3% | 38.9% |
| Payroll | £45,600* | £52,870.80 | £25,840* | £27,030.80 | 51.1% | 43.3% |
| Sales Development Representative | £45,600* | £52,870.80 | £23,250* | £29,620.80 | 56.0% | 49.0% |
| Web Developer | £62,400* | £72,330.90 | £31,669* | £40,661.90 | 56.2% | 49.2% |
All Flink figures are indicative and + VAT, from Flink's savings calculator (September 2026). A once-off setup fee also applies, and your exact quote depends on the role.
The first thing to see is the last column. On salary alone, the gap is 25% to 49% for these roles. Add UK National Insurance and pension, and it rises by about seven to ten points. So a good part of any headline saving is UK employer cost, not lower pay. For a closer look at how that cost grows with pay, see what employer NI at 15% costs at every UK salary band.
What the full set of 59 shows
We ran the same sum for every role and experience level in the calculator.
| Gap as % of UK total | Number of role and experience pairs |
|---|---|
| Below 40% | 16 |
| 40% to 50% | 33 |
| 50% to 60% | 10 |
| 60% or more | 0 |
The smallest gap was an Ops Assistant, at about 35% for every level of experience. The largest was a Sales Development Representative with 5+ years, at 57.3%. Most pairs sit in the 40s.
So "40-60% cheaper" is a fair summary of the middle of the range. It is not a promise for any one role. If you only look at salaries, the range drops to roughly 25% to 50%.
Why the gap changes from role to role
The pattern is easy to spot once you see it. The South African costs sit in a fairly narrow band. Six of the 19 roles with a 2 to 5 year figure cost £23,250* + VAT. The UK salaries move much more.
Roles with a lower UK salary show a smaller gap
An Ops Assistant, a junior content writer and a customer support agent all have UK salaries near the low end of the calculator's range. The South African cost does not fall by the same amount. So the gap, as a share, is smaller. These are the roles where you are most likely to see a figure under 40%.
Roles where UK pay is high show a bigger gap
Sales development, web development, payroll and social media roles have high UK salaries in the calculator. The South African cost rises more slowly. That is where the gap reaches the 50s. If you run a software firm, our guide on how software and app companies keep costs down looks at the wider picture for tech roles.
Experience does not always widen the gap
You might expect the saving to grow with seniority. Often it does. A General Admin goes from 37.5% with up to 2 years to 49.2% with 5+ years. But it is not a rule. A Full Stack Developer goes from 47.3% at 2 to 5 years down to 44.1% at 5+ years. A Customer Support (Non IT) hire stays close to 38% at every level. Check your own role and level. Do not assume.
The pension cap matters at higher salaries
The minimum pension only applies to earnings up to £50,270*. Above that, the UK pension cost stops rising, but National Insurance keeps going. So for high UK salaries, National Insurance does most of the work on the UK side.
What closes the gap
The table above is a fair start. It is not the full cost. Here are the things that make the gap smaller, roughly in order of how often they matter.
1. The Employment Allowance
Small employers may be able to cut their National Insurance bill. GOV.UK's guide to the Employment Allowance says eligible employers can reduce their annual National Insurance bill by up to £10,500*. Check the eligibility rules on that page for your business.
If you have allowance left over, a new UK hire may cost you little or no employer National Insurance this year. That changes the sum a lot. For the PA / VA at 2 to 5 years, the gap falls from 44.0% to 37.0%. For the Ops Assistant, it falls from 35.2% to 27.2%.
If your other staff already use up the allowance, ignore this line. That can happen sooner than you think. At a UK salary of £31,200, employer National Insurance is £3,930 a year, so three such staff already cost more than £10,500.
2. The setup fee
Flink charges no upfront cost to engage, but a once-off setup fee applies. It covers sourcing, onboarding, equipment and testing. Ask what it is for your role, and spread it over the years you expect to keep the hire.
A simple rule: every £1,000 of one-off cost, spread over two years, takes £500 a year off the gap. A one-off cost hits hardest in year one and on short hires. It matters least on hires who stay.
3. Your management time
A remote hire needs clear tasks and regular check-ins, at least at the start. Written processes help too. That time has a cost, even if nobody sends you an invoice for it.
Example (hypothetical): you spend 2 extra hours a week briefing and checking a new remote hire. You value your time at £40 an hour. Over 46 working weeks, that is £3,680 a year. (We took 52 weeks less the 5.6 weeks of paid holiday that GOV.UK's holiday entitlement page sets as the minimum for most full-time workers*.) On the Ops Assistant row, that one line cuts the gap from £12,628.80 to £8,948.80.
Some of this time is not extra. You would brief a UK hire too. Count only the time you would not spend on a UK hire in the same role. For ways to keep that time down, read the UK manager's playbook for remote teams in South Africa.
4. Overlap hours
South Africa is on UTC+2, as Flink's homepage notes. GOV.UK's page on when the clocks change shows UK clocks go back on 25 October 2026*. So South Africa is 2 hours ahead of the UK in winter (GMT) and 1 hour ahead in summer (BST).
For most office roles, this costs nothing. A hire can start and finish an hour or two later in local time and cover the full UK day. It costs more if the role needs UK evening cover, because that falls late at night in South Africa. If you need that, agree the hours up front and ask what they mean for the pay and the contract.
5. The exchange rate
South African salaries are paid in rand. If your price is fixed in pounds, you may be shielded for a time. If it moves with the rand, or is reviewed each year, your cost can rise or fall.
Example (hypothetical): your yearly cost is £23,250 + VAT and the pound weakens by 10% against the rand at a price review. If the full move is passed on, your cost rises by £2,325 a year. A stronger pound would do the opposite. For the options, read how to manage GBP and ZAR exchange-rate risk.
6. A hire who leaves early
Any hire can leave or not work out. If that happens in the first year, you pay some one-off costs twice. This is true in both countries, so count it on both sides. Flink's post on why remote hiring is about value, not just price argues the same point: hiring only to cut cost often goes wrong.
What widens the gap
To be fair, some costs push the other way. They sit on the UK side, and our table left them out.
- Recruitment fees. A UK agency fee for a permanent hire can be a large one-off cost.
- Desk space and equipment. A UK office hire needs a desk and a laptop. With Flink, the setup fee covers equipment, and Flink handles IT and VoIP setup.
- A pension above the minimum. Many UK employers pay more than 3%. Every extra point adds to the UK side.
- Higher local pay. The calculator shows a typical UK salary. In London and some other cities, you may pay more.
Count these with the same care as the costs that close the gap. A comparison that only counts costs on one side is not a comparison. For a full list of the costs that often get missed, see the hidden costs of hiring abroad.
Worked example: two roles, every line added
Example (hypothetical): two small UK firms each want a hire with 2 to 5 years' experience. Both have used up their Employment Allowance on existing staff. Both expect 2 extra hours a week of management at £40 an hour. One wants an Ops Assistant. The other wants a Sales Development Representative.
| Line | Ops Assistant | Sales Development Representative |
|---|---|---|
| UK total with NI and pension | £35,878.80 | £52,870.80 |
| South Africa through Flink (indicative, + VAT) | £23,250 | £23,250 |
| Gap before other costs | £12,628.80 (35.2%) | £29,620.80 (56.0%) |
| Less extra management time | £3,680 | £3,680 |
| Gap after management time | £8,948.80 (24.9%) | £25,940.80 (49.1%) |
| Setup fee that would wipe out the year-one gap | More than £8,948.80 | More than £25,940.80 |
Now change one thing. Say the Ops Assistant firm still has Employment Allowance left. Its UK total drops to £31,948.80. After management time, the gap is £5,018.80, or about 16%. That is a long way from 40%.
For the sales role, the same change still leaves a gap of £19,850.80, about 42%. Both answers are honest. They are just different roles, with different UK pay.
Will your saving be at the top or bottom of the range?
Score one point for each "yes". This takes two minutes and tells you whether the headline is likely to hold for you.
| Question | Yes = 1 point |
|---|---|
| Is the typical UK salary for this role above £40,000? | |
| Has your business already used up its Employment Allowance? | |
| Do you expect to keep this hire for 2 years or more? | |
| Does the role fit within UK office hours, with no late evening cover? | |
| Do you already manage at least one person who works remotely? | |
| Is the work full time and steady, not a few hours here and there? |
5 or 6 points: your gap is likely to sit in the upper part of the range. Get an itemised quote and check it line by line.
3 or 4 points: expect something in the middle. Do the full sum with your own management time and the setup fee.
0 to 2 points: the gap may be well under 40%, and may not be worth the change. A part-time freelancer or a UK hire might suit you better. Be honest with yourself about this one.
Before you score, it helps to know what each country charges on top of pay. Our guide to South African employer costs, UIF, SDL and COIDA explains the South African side. For the full method on both sides, read how to compare the total cost of UK and South African hires.
Where Flink fits
We would rather you see the real range than a single headline. That is why we ran these sums on our own calculator figures.
Flink Remotely is a recruitment partner and employer of record (EOR). We find the person in South Africa, then employ them there. We handle the contract and payroll there, and the benefits too. You manage the daily work. If the EOR model is new to you, see how an employer of record works, step by step.
As our customer support hiring page explains, every candidate is pre-vetted through video interviews and psychometric tests, plus reference checks. You can interview your shortlist on video before you decide. There is no upfront cost to engage us. A once-off setup fee covers sourcing, onboarding, equipment and testing, and we handle IT and VoIP setup. Many clients onboard their new hire within a few weeks.
This tends to suit a UK business hiring for a full-time, steady role where UK pay is well above the minimum. Think sales support, finance, marketing, design or development. It suits owners who plan to keep the hire for years and who will put time into briefing them.
It may not suit you if you need a few hours a week, or if the role needs someone in your office. It may also not be worth it for roles near the bottom of our range, if you still have Employment Allowance to use. In that case the gap can be small once you count your own time.
What you still manage: the tasks, the targets, the feedback and the day-to-day relationship. Before you decide, compare the setup fee, how the price is set against the rand, notice terms and what happens if a hire leaves. Ask us for an itemised comparison for your role, so every line is on the table.
What this means for you
Treat "40-60% cheaper" as a rough guide to the middle of the range. Our sums found 35% to 57% on salary plus UK legal costs. The result depends on the role and the level. It also depends on what you count.
Start with your own role and the UK salary you would really pay. Add employer National Insurance, unless you have Employment Allowance left, and your pension costs. Then put a number on your own management time, the setup fee and your currency risk.
If the gap is still large after that, it is worth a close look. If it shrinks to a small figure, you have learned something useful, and cheaply. Agencies will find the same sums apply to design and content roles, covered in how web design and digital agencies keep overheads low. If you want to sense-check the South African pay side, look out for our upcoming South African salary benchmarks for UK-facing remote roles.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to hire in South Africa than the UK?
For most roles, yes. Using Flink's indicative calculator figures and UK legal on-costs, we found a gap of 35% to 57% across 59 role and experience pairs. About one in four pairs came in below 40%, and the gap shrinks further once you add one-off fees and your own management time.
Why does the saving differ so much between roles?
The South African costs sit in a narrow band, while UK salaries vary a lot. Roles with high UK pay, such as sales development or web development, show the biggest gap. Roles with UK pay near the low end, such as an ops assistant, show the smallest.
Do I pay UK National Insurance on a hire in South Africa through an employer of record?
In most cases, no. The employer of record employs the person in South Africa, so South African rules apply. That missing UK National Insurance is part of the gap. Your own case may differ, so check with an accountant before you rely on it.
Does the Employment Allowance change the answer?
It can. GOV.UK says eligible employers can cut their National Insurance bill by up to £10,500 a year. If you have some left, a new UK hire may cost little or no employer National Insurance this year. In our sums, that took the PA / VA gap from 44% to 37%.
How do I get a figure for my own role?
Start with the calculator, then ask for an itemised quote. Put it next to your full UK cost, including National Insurance, pension, recruitment and equipment. Add your own management time and the setup fee spread over the years you expect to keep the hire.
Ready to test the headline on your own role? Compare the cost of your next hire with Flink's savings calculator.
Correct at the time of writing (October 2026). Rates and rules change, so check the linked source.
Sources
- Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027, HM Revenue and Customs on GOV.UK, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Workplace pensions: what you, your employer and the government pay, GOV.UK, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Employment Allowance, GOV.UK, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Holiday entitlement, GOV.UK, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- When do the clocks change?, GOV.UK, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Flink Remotely homepage, Flink Remotely, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Flink savings calculator, Flink Remotely, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Customer support: hire remote talent, Flink Remotely, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- About Flink Remotely, Flink Remotely, (accessed 24 October 2026)
- Remote Doesn't Mean Cheap. It Means Smart, Flink Remotely, (accessed 24 October 2026)
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