The verdict in three sentences
Bespoke development for a Berlin company costs EUR 40,000-110,000 for an internal platform, delivered in 14-20 weeks and hosted in the EU under GDPR. The cost gap comes from the day rate: EUR 550-750 onshore versus EUR 350-500 for French-speaking nearshore, a 30-40 % saving at comparable quality. The real trade-off is the 3-year total cost of ownership, not the initial quote.
Day rates: local vs nearshore
The German Mittelstand faces a developer shortage and rising salaries. Nearshore gives access to senior profiles without Berlin's geographic premium.
| Profile | Local Berlin | French-speaking nearshore |
|---|---|---|
| Junior developer | EUR 400-500/day | EUR 220-300/day |
| Senior developer | EUR 650-800/day | EUR 420-520/day |
| Technical lead | EUR 800-1,000/day | EUR 500-620/day |
| UX/UI designer | EUR 550-700/day | EUR 350-450/day |
| Blended day rate | EUR 600-720/day | EUR 380-480/day |
On a 120-person-day project, that gap represents EUR 26,000-29,000 in savings, reinvestable into features or support.
Total cost of ownership over 3 years
| Line item (internal platform) | Onshore Berlin | Nearshore |
|---|---|---|
| Initial build | EUR 95,000 | EUR 62,000 |
| Maintenance / year | EUR 16,000 | EUR 10,500 |
| EU hosting / year | EUR 3,600 | EUR 3,600 |
| Year 2-3 enhancements | EUR 24,000 | EUR 15,000 |
| 3-year TCO | EUR 158,800 | EUR 114,800 |
At identical scope, nearshore saves about EUR 44,000 over three years, roughly 28 %, while keeping hosting and data inside the EU.
Mini case study
Lena, CTO of a 90-person industrial Mittelstand in Berlin, wants to replace a rigid ERP with an internal production-management platform. Local quote: EUR 98,000; French-speaking nearshore quote: EUR 64,000 for the same scope, in 16 weeks. The EUR 34,000 saving funds an extra reporting module. Over three years, including maintenance and enhancements, she projects a TCO of EUR 116,000 versus EUR 160,000 onshore, while staying 100 % GDPR on a German host.
FAQ
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Is nearshore GDPR-compliant?
Yes, provided data is hosted in the EU and a data-processing agreement (DPA) is signed. The team can sit outside Germany as long as infrastructure and processing respect GDPR.
How do you handle time zones and language?
A French-speaking team works largely overlapping hours with Germany and communicates in English and French. Daily stand-ups and a shared tracker remove most friction.
What is the real cost gap versus local?
Expect 30-40 % on the day rate, which translates to about 28 % saving on 3-year TCO once maintenance and hosting are included.
How long for a Mittelstand platform?
Between 14 and 20 weeks depending on the number of modules. An MVP focused on one critical process can ship in 8-10 weeks.
What if I want to bring it in-house later?
The source code is yours and documentation is delivered. You can take the project in-house or switch providers without lock-in.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your internal-platform scope, your GDPR constraints and target budget, and we'll compare a costed nearshore scenario. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
