The time-zone math
Offshore teams in South and Southeast Asia are 9.5-13 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. By the time your team logs off, theirs is just waking up, and every question becomes a full day's round trip. Chile doesn't have that problem.
Exact offsets shift during the year because the two hemispheres change their clocks on different dates. The pattern holds year-round.
| Location | Approx. offset from U.S. Eastern | Overlap with a U.S. workday |
|---|---|---|
| Chile (Santiago) | 0-2 hours | Full workday |
| Ukraine (Kyiv) | 6-7 hours | 1-2 hours |
| India (Bangalore) | 9.5-10.5 hours | Almost none |
| Philippines (Manila) | 12-13 hours | Overnight only |
Against U.S. Central and Pacific time the gap widens to 3-5 hours from the West Coast. It's still the same workday.
English, spoken daily
Chile's government has run a national English program, "English Opens Doors," since 2003, to build a workforce that can work internationally. On our team, English is the default language for specs, code review, and demos, because most of our clients are in the U.S.
How we work
A typical engagement runs on daily async updates plus a couple of hours of live overlap for calls, reviews, and pairing, scheduled during your morning or early afternoon. You talk to one person, with no account manager in between.
Who we've worked with
UX Ready has designed and built for clients since 2012, including ReserveBar, a U.S. spirits e-commerce retailer, alongside food-delivery, fintech, and hospitality brands across Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. See the work.
How Chile compares
The tradeoffs are laid out in Chile vs. India and nearshore vs. offshore.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Chile in?
Santiago is 0-2 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time and 3-5 hours ahead of U.S. Pacific Time, depending on daylight saving. A full U.S. workday overlaps with ours, which isn't true of teams in Asia or Eastern Europe.
Do Chilean developers speak English?
Ours do. English is our team's working language because most of our clients are in the U.S. Chile's government has also run a national English program, English Opens Doors, since 2003.
Is nearshore development to Chile cheaper than hiring in the U.S.?
Usually, yes. Against offshore teams, Chile's advantage is speed. Working the same hours means fewer round trips, so a question gets answered the same day. On most product work, we think that saves more than the difference in hourly rates.
How is nearshoring to Chile different from outsourcing to India or the Philippines?
Mainly the clock. India and the Philippines are 9.5-13 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time, so most communication happens asynchronously, overnight. Chile overlaps a full U.S. workday, so you can pair, review, and unblock your team in real time.
How do I start a project with UX Ready?
Book a 30-minute call to talk through what you are building, scope, timeline, and team fit.