Cost calculator
How much does customer service outsourcing cost in Europe?
Public benchmarks put it at about $12–22 per agent hour in Romania and Bulgaria, and $18–32 in Poland. Estimate your own budget below.
Market benchmarks, not Euroanswer prices · Last updated: 3 November 2026
Benchmarks
Customer service outsourcing rates by country
Fully loaded, billable rates per agent hour. Euro values are converted at $1.15 per €1, and monthly values use 160 billable hours.
| Country | Typical $/hour | Range $/hour | Range €/hour | Typical $/agent/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | $17 | $12–22 | €10.4–19.1 | $2,720 |
| Bulgaria | $18 | $12–22 | €10.4–19.1 | $2,880 |
| Portugal | $24 | $20–28 | €17.4–24.3 | $3,840 |
| Poland | $25 | $18–32 | €15.7–27.8 | $4,000 |
| Philippines | $12 | $8–15 | €7.0–13.0 | $1,920 |
| United States | $35 | $28–42 | €24.3–36.5 | $5,600 |
| North Macedonia | No reliable public benchmark found. Ask for a quote | |||
| Uzbekistan | No reliable public benchmark found. Ask for a quote | |||
Source: rethinkCX BPO Cost Index, version 2026.2, May 2026. These figures are not Euroanswer prices. Euroanswer delivers from Romania, North Macedonia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Poland and Hungary; the other countries are shown for comparison.
A worked example
A team handling 10,000 voice contacts a month at 6.5 minutes each, in one language, during business hours, needs about 1,354 billable hours, or 8.5 full-time agents. At Romania benchmark rates, that comes to about €14,100–€25,900 a month. At the EU average labour cost of €34.9 per hour, the same work costs about €67,500 in-house.
That EU figure covers the whole economy, not only contact centre agents, so it can overstate the saving. Use your own cost per hour for a fairer comparison.
How the estimate works
- Hours needed = contacts × handling time ÷ 60 ÷ occupancy. The default occupancy is 80%.
- Minimum coverage: at least one person per language for all coverage hours (173 hours a month for business hours (8×5), 365 hours a month for extended (12×7), 730 hours a month for 24/7). The larger of the two figures is used, which is why small multilingual or 24/7 teams cost more per contact.
- Outsourced cost = hours × benchmark rate × channel and complexity factors.
- In-house cost = hours ÷ (1 − shrinkage) × your hourly cost × the same factors. In-house teams are also paid for leave, training and breaks; the default shrinkage is 30%.
Occupancy, shrinkage and handling times are planning assumptions rather than measured figures, so replace them with your own numbers. In-house presets use whole-economy labour cost: EU €34.9, euro area €38.2, Netherlands €47.9 and Denmark €51.7 per hour.
Sources: rethinkCX, Romania rates by channel and complexity · Eurostat, hourly labour costs 2025 (31 March 2026) · ECB reference rate of 3 August 2026, 1.1535 USD per EUR, rounded.
Frequently asked questions
How much does customer service outsourcing cost in Europe?
Public benchmarks put fully loaded outsourcing at about $12–22 per agent hour in Romania and Bulgaria, and $18–32 in Poland (rethinkCX BPO Cost Index, May 2026). At 160 billable hours, a typical Romania rate of $17 is about $2720 per agent per month. Your price depends on channel, complexity, languages and coverage hours.
What does a “fully loaded” rate include?
According to rethinkCX, it covers the agent’s pay, benefits, supervision, tools and facilities, as well as the vendor’s margin. It is usually billed per productive agent hour. Custom integrations and third-party licences may be charged separately, so check them in any proposal.
Are chat and email cheaper than voice?
Usually, yes. In the rethinkCX Romania figures, chat is about 15% cheaper than voice per hour, email about 20% cheaper and back office about 25% cheaper. Technical support costs more: tier 2 about 36% more than tier 1, and tier 3 about double.
Are these Euroanswer’s prices?
No. These are public market benchmarks, shown to help you plan a budget. Euroanswer prepares a personalised proposal based on your scope, channels, languages and volumes.
Why are North Macedonia and Uzbekistan not in the calculator?
We did not find a reliable public benchmark for contact centre rates in these countries, and we prefer not to estimate one. Euroanswer has delivery centres in both, so please ask us for a quote.
What does the calculator leave out?
Setup and transition costs, night and weekend premiums, language premiums, integrations, recruitment of a new in-house team and the cost of management time. It also assumes the same productivity on both sides. Treat the result as a first budget estimate.