What nearshore app development means
Nearshore app development is hiring a team in a nearby time zone to build your app. For US companies, that usually means Latin America. You get the reach of outsourcing without waiting a day for every answer.
The alternative terms are useful to compare:
| Model | Where the team is | Overlap with a Boston workday |
|---|---|---|
| Onshore | United States | Full |
| Nearshore (Brazil) | Brazil, BRT (UTC−3) | Full: Brazil is 1 to 2 hours ahead |
| Offshore (South or Southeast Asia) | 9 to 13 hours ahead | Little or none |
Nearshore software development follows the same idea for any kind of software. Carvalho Karsten applies it to one thing: native apps for iPhone and Mac.
Why Brazil works for US companies
Time zone overlap. Brazil’s main time zone is UTC−3, and Brazil has no daylight saving time. From November to March, it is 2 hours ahead of Boston. From March to November, the gap is 1 hour. A 9 a.m. stand-up in Boston happens at 10 or 11 a.m. in Brazil.
English communication. Calls, proposals, documents and App Store listings are in English. The team also works in Portuguese and Spanish if your market needs them.
A US address and a US contact. The commercial address is 207 Iyannough Rd, Hyannis, MA 02601, with a US phone line at +1 774-207-7924. Thiago Do Carmo, the CEO, has lived on Cape Cod for 21 years.
Contracts in USD. Proposals, contracts and invoices for US clients are in US dollars. You compare prices without converting currencies.
Who does the work. The engineering team works remotely from Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil. The CTO, Gustavo Henrique Karsten, leads the architecture and code of each app.
Nearshore app development vs hiring in the US
The main reason to go nearshore is access to a specialized team without recruiting one. Hiring an in-house iOS developer in the US takes months, and you still need cover for vacations and turnover.
Cost is part of the decision, but it depends on the vendor more than the country. Ask each vendor for a written proposal with the same scope, schedule and maintenance terms. As a market reference, a native iPhone MVP built by a US-market studio usually costs $50,000 to $100,000. The app development cost guide explains what drives that number.
Common concerns about nearshore teams
Communication. Ask to talk to the people who will build your app, not only to sales. At Carvalho Karsten, the CTO joins the project review call.
Legal and contracts. Read who signs the contract, which law governs it and who owns the code. Ask for these terms in the proposal, before any work starts.
How a nearshore project runs day to day
- Project review. A video call in your hours. The team maps screens, integrations and risks.
- Proposal. Scope, price in USD and schedule, in writing.
- Development with TestFlight. You install each build on your iPhone through TestFlight and comment on it the same day.
- App Store submission. The team submits the app on your Apple Developer account and handles Apple’s review.
- Maintenance. Bug fixes and updates for each new iOS version.
If the scope changes during development, you receive a new estimate before any extra work starts. The how Carvalho Karsten works page shows each step in detail.
What to check in any nearshore vendor
Use these questions with Carvalho Karsten or any other vendor:
- Who writes the code? Ask whether the team is in-house or subcontracted.
- Who owns the code and the Apple account? The app should be published on your Apple Developer account.
- What are the working hours? Ask for the overlap with your team in writing.
- What happens after launch? Ask how iOS updates and bug fixes are priced.
- What has the team shipped? Ask for apps you can install and test.
Carvalho Karsten’s own Mac apps are Devbelt, Limpador, WhereIsMyRAM, NoteAssistant and Adega, all built in Swift. Devbelt has passed Apple’s App Store review.
Next step
If you are a US company looking for an iPhone or Mac team, send a short description of your app. The reply brings the next steps and the date of your project review. You can also read how to hire an iOS developer or see the page for app developers in Massachusetts.