What is a nearshore developer?

A developer from a nearby European talent market who works remotely but as part of your existing team. At tre plus that developer works from our office in Pristina, in your tools, meetings and codebase. We employ them.

What is the difference between nearshore and offshore?

With nearshore the talent market is nearby and the working day lines up with yours, so questions and feedback land the same day. With offshore there is usually a bigger time difference, so you wait for each other more often.

Does a nearshore developer really work in our own team?

Yes. The developer joins your stand-ups and meetings, uses your tools and processes and works in your codebase. Daily direction stays with your team.

Do we keep control over our software and backlog?

Yes. You keep the product direction, the backlog, the priorities, the reviews and ownership of the code. We take on employment and the practical side around it.

Does nearshore also work if we need only one developer?

Yes. Many collaborations start with one open role. If it works well, you can expand later in consultation.

When does nearshore not fit an organisation?

When a one-off project with a fixed result has to be handed over completely, when there is nobody internally to guide technical work, when you only need a few isolated hours, or when the lowest hourly rate is the only criterion.

++Nearshore developers

Hire nearshore developers who become part of your own team.

Q: Who employs the developer?

tre plus. We recruit and select ourselves, employ the developer and take care of payroll, the workplace in Pristina and local support.

You get a dedicated developer from Kosovo who works as a full member of your existing team, in the same timezone and the same working day. No anonymous freelancer pool and no project outsourcing, but long-term capacity inside your team. First matching profiles within 7 working days, onboarding possible within 2–4 weeks.

The developer works in your codebase and your meetings. You do not hand over your product or your technical direction. We take care of recruitment, local employment, the workplace in our own Pristina office and the local support around it.

Book a 30-min intro call See how outsourcing development works

No obligation. You speak directly with Rens.

First matching profiles within 7 working days
Onboarding possible within 2 to 4 weeks
Dedicated from our own office in Pristina
Long-term capacity inside your team, not project outsourcing

Your local market does not always contain the person you need.

Recognise part of this? That is usually the point where companies start looking at nearshore.

Not every point applies to every company. Two or three are usually enough reason to look at the model.

An open role stays open longer than planned.
Recruiters keep coming back to the same limited market.
Larger employers and larger cities attract the developers who would fit.
Your current team absorbs the missing work.
Technical maintenance or roadmap work keeps getting postponed.
You depend more and more on one or two people.

What a nearshore developer is

Nearshore means working with a developer from a nearby European talent market. Working hours line up, so questions and feedback happen during your normal working day. At tre plus, the developer works from our office in Pristina.

The developer works remotely, but inside your existing team. Daily work stays in your tools, your meetings, your stack and your codebase. The employment and the workplace sit with us.

And what it is not

It is not handing a complete software project to an agency. It is not buying anonymous development hours either, and it is not working with a rotating group of freelancers.

You also do not transfer ownership of your product. You decide what gets built, in what order and to which standard.

See the profiles we are hiring for What a nearshore developer costs in 2026

Building a nearshore development team

Whether it is one role or a small team, we always work in the same steps, so you know when to expect who.

01
Sharpen the role
In a 30-minute call we go through the role, your stack and the team someone will join.
02
Profiles within 7 working days
We recruit locally in Kosovo and deliver the first matching profiles within 7 working days.
03
You choose
You speak with the candidates and make the final choice. We check technical level, English and fit upfront.
04
Onboard in 2 to 4 weeks
Onboarding is possible within 2 to 4 weeks. The final start date then still depends on your own interview and decision process.
05
Extend where needed
Working well? We build a second or third role in exactly the same rhythm.

Why this is often needed: in our own market measurement of August 2026 we analysed 957 open developer roles at 385 Dutch tech companies. Of the 110 vacancies with a traceable company-published posting date, 63% had been open for more than 60 days, with a median of 80 days. That is our own prospect market, not a nationally representative sample.

See the August 2026 market measurement What a software developer costs in the Netherlands How Developer as a Service works

++Pricing

The right profile. One clear monthly price.

From junior developer to tech lead. The monthly price follows the profile, the seniority and the technology you need.

Junior
Picks up tickets independently, with guidance.
from€2,495/mo
Medior
Builds features independently inside your architecture.
from€3,795/mo
Senior
Argues choices, guards quality, lifts others.
from€5,495/mo
Expert
Deep knowledge of a specific domain or stack.
from€6,795/mo
Tech Lead
Technical leadership and architecture for a team.
from€7,795/mo

Recruitment, local employment, payroll, the workplace in our Pristina office and local support are included. The final price depends on the profile, the experience, the technology and how scarce the role is. Any one-off costs are agreed upfront.

35 to 45% lower employer cost for medior and senior developers. Based on our representative 2026 employer scenario. See the calculation

See how our prices are built up →

The difference between the main options.

Four ways to add development capability, side by side on the points that matter in practice.

	Hiring locally	Freelancer	Project outsourcing	Nearshore via tre plus
Employer	You	Nobody, self-employed	The agency	tre plus
Daily direction	Your team	Your team	The agency	Your team
Knowledge stays in your team	Yes	Often temporary	Usually not	Yes
Nature of the role	Structural	Temporary	Per project	Structural
Recruitment and local employment	You	Not applicable	The agency	tre plus
You choose the person	Yes	Yes	Usually not	Yes

Hiring locally

Employer: You
Daily direction: Your team
Knowledge stays in your team: Yes
Nature of the role: Structural
Recruitment and local employment: You
You choose the person: Yes

Freelancer

Employer: Nobody, self-employed
Daily direction: Your team
Knowledge stays in your team: Often temporary
Nature of the role: Temporary
Recruitment and local employment: Not applicable
You choose the person: Yes

Project outsourcing

Employer: The agency
Daily direction: The agency
Knowledge stays in your team: Usually not
Nature of the role: Per project
Recruitment and local employment: The agency
You choose the person: Usually not

Nearshore via tre plus

Employer: tre plus
Daily direction: Your team
Knowledge stays in your team: Yes
Nature of the role: Structural
Recruitment and local employment: tre plus
You choose the person: Yes

Every model has its place. A freelancer makes sense for a one-off task and an agency for a clearly scoped project. Nearshore fits a role that is structural.

What stays with your team and what we handle.

The split is deliberately simple: you direct the work, we take care of employment and the practical side.

Stays with your team

The direction of your product.
The technical choices.
The backlog and the priorities.
Ownership of the code.
Reviews and your quality standard.
The daily collaboration.
The final decision on who joins.

We handle

Recruitment.
The technical assessment.
The check on English and team fit.
Employment.
Payroll and local administration.
The workplace in our Pristina office.
Local support after the start.

Read how we select and work

When nearshore fits

Good fit

There is an existing team or a technical owner.
The need is structural.
One or more roles are hard to fill locally.
You want to keep technical direction in house.
The developer should adopt your way of working.
Continuity and retained product knowledge matter.

Less of a fit

A one-off project with a fixed result has to be handed over completely.
There is nobody internally who can guide technical work.
You are looking for a few isolated hours.
The lowest hourly rate is the only criterion.
You do not want direct collaboration with the developer.

We would rather be honest up front than start something that does not fit.

Why Kosovo is our base, not the promise itself

Kosovo is our base and how we deliver, not the reason to do this. The reason is the role you cannot fill locally.

Read our story and why Kosovo How our people work with Dutch teams

Our own office in Pristina
Our developers work from our own office, with colleagues around them.
Employed by tre plus
We recruit, select and employ every developer ourselves. No anonymous freelancer pool.
The same working day
Kosovo shares its working day and time zone with the Netherlands. Questions and feedback land the same day.
Dutch-led
With us you communicate in Dutch. Inside your own team the working language is English.
Local support
We stay involved with the developer at the office, also once the collaboration is running.
Attention for Dutch teams
We pay attention to working with Dutch teams, in language and in the way of working.

From orientation to a practical model

Does nearshore fit your situation? Then the next step depends on what you need.

++DutchDrops

Integration can work, as it does at DutchDrops

DutchDrops is a Dutch e-commerce agency. The collaboration started in March 2025.

Start: March 2025
Through tre plus: 2 developers
Setup time: a few weeks

We were looking for developers, but we found a partner. The team in Kosovo feels like part of DutchDrops, and Rens stays actively involved long after the start. That personal contact and his experience make the difference for us.

Robbert de Smit

Founder, DutchDrops

This is the situation at DutchDrops. Every team and every role is different.

Read the full client case

What companies wonder about at this stage

Does communication at a distance work in practice?

The working day lines up, so you can talk during your own working hours. The developer joins your stand-ups and meetings. With us you can communicate in Dutch or English.

Do we lose control over our development?

No. You keep the backlog, the priorities, the reviews and the technical choices. We handle employment, the workplace and the support around it.

How do we know the technical level is right?

Every developer goes through a technical assessment. After that you speak to the profiles yourself and make the final choice.

What about the fit with our team?

We check English proficiency and team fit, and we pay attention to working with Dutch teams.

Will the same person keep working with us?

That is the starting point: the same developer stays with your team, so product knowledge stays in house. If someone does leave, we discuss a replacement with comparable experience together.

Who handles employment and administration?

tre plus. We employ the developer and take care of payroll, the workplace and local administration.

Can we start with one developer?

Yes. Many collaborations start with one open role. Expanding later is possible, in consultation.

See the roles and profiles

++ FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Exploring whether nearshore could fit your team?

I am happy to think it through with you. In 30 minutes we can discuss the open role, your team and a realistic next step.

Book a 30-min intro call

No obligation. No sales deck.

RensFounder of tre plus