Heads up: we're Ryz Labs, so we have skin in this game. What follows is the advice we give buyers on calls, including the times we tell them to go with someone else.
Revelo is a nearshore talent platform. US companies hire full-time Latin American engineers through it, and Revelo handles payroll, benefits, taxes and compliance in 18 countries. They say they have 400K+ vetted developers and that engineers work within two hours of US Eastern time. People look elsewhere for a few structural reasons. It's a platform model, so ongoing technical management sits with you. No rate card is published. Independent review evidence on Clutch is thin (one review when we checked). And its own pages give different acceptance rates (top 2% on some, top 5% on others). If you're happy managing engineers yourself and want speed and flexible terms, Revelo may still be your best option.
If you want senior engineers embedded in your team on US hours without doing all the screening yourself, start with us. Fortune 500 engineering teams trust us, and only the top 1% make it. The main difference from Revelo is how much work we do before you meet anyone. Recruiters source, our in-house ranking system and structured interviews narrow the pipeline, and recruiters review every candidate before and after. You get a recruiter-curated shortlist and run the final interview yourself. Engineers join your standups and repos from week one, within an hour of US time zones, and you keep the person. We also do direct-hire placement if you'd rather employ them yourself. Details are on our vetting process page.
Where we're not the right fit: we don't publish prices or a self-serve trial, and we don't offer employer-of-record. If you want to browse profiles yourself on month-to-month terms, or have engineers employed with benefits through an EOR, Revelo is built for that. See Ryz Labs vs Revelo for the full comparison.
If you want the closest swap for Revelo's EOR model, it's Howdy. Like Revelo, it employs LatAm engineers for you through an employer-of-record setup. Unlike Revelo, it publishes its fee structure: they say 85% goes to the professional and 15% to Howdy, covering recruiting, benefits, coaching, equipment and access to "Howdy Houses" offices in cities like Buenos Aires, Medellín and Mexico City. They claim 98% retention through two years, and psychologists help screen for soft skills. The catch: they say a full hiring cycle takes four to six weeks, slower than Revelo's 48-72 hour shortlists.
Tecla offers direct hire through EOR, staff augmentation, or fractional engagements across 18+ LatAm countries, and says fewer than 1% of applicants are accepted. That flexibility is useful if some roles should be full-time hires and others shouldn't. The catch: you'll need a quote, and as with any vendor, check how much management help comes after the hire.
Near gives you a choice: pay a one-time recruiting fee and employ the engineer yourself, or use a monthly staffing model. They claim a 180-day replacement guarantee on placements, which is much longer than a two-week trial. The catch: a recruiting-fee model means you take on employment and management once the hire is made.
South says you pay nothing until you hire, and that it handles contracts, payroll and compliance after the hire. They highlight Colombia as a good match for Eastern time and claim an average time to hire of about 16 days. The catch: like Revelo, it's mostly a hiring model, so day-to-day management stays with you.
Stay if speed and low commitment matter most. Revelo says you'll get a curated shortlist in 48-72 hours and most developers are shipping code within 14 days. Stay if you value its published two-week risk-free trial and month-to-month billing with no upfront contract. Stay if you need niche stacks, where a pool of 400K+ LatAm developers (their claim) lets you browse widely on your own. Stay if you're hiring for AI roles too: Revelo calls itself a nearshore talent platform for the AI era, and its pool is big enough to search widely. And stay if you already have strong engineering managers who'd rather run the team themselves.
Consider moving if your managers are stretched and you want more vetting and support around each hire, or if you want a clearer fee structure. Our guide to hiring Latin American engineers directly compares the EOR and recruiting-fee models in detail.
Both employ the engineer for you in Latin America. Howdy publishes a 15% fee and adds offices, coaching and benefits. Revelo leans on speed, a large pool and month-to-month terms.
Near claims a 180-day replacement guarantee, and South says you pay nothing until you hire. Our guide to hiring LatAm engineers directly compares published terms.
With Revelo, South and Near's recruiting-fee option, mostly yes. Howdy adds coaching. With us, engineers work inside your team and you direct the work, with our recruiters involved before and after the hire.
All five recruit in Latin America, which generally sits close to US Eastern time. Confirm the specific country for each hire.
Last checked October 2026. Pricing, trials and services move fast in this market, so verify the details with each vendor.