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The Central and Eastern regions have long been known as a “magnet” for companies seeking qualified developers at a reasonable price. It is worth noting that Romania is one of the countries that is gaining popularity in this context every year. The high level of English language proficiency among local developers in Romania combined with official EU membership, which guarantees the creation of a stable and secure business environment, makes Romania a place where the number of talents is only increasing. In this article, we want to compare Romania with other countries in the Eastern European region.
Romania is witnessing trends in the scaling of the IT sector, as confirmed by both the number of technology industry specialists and market volume. Today, the number of Romanian developers exceeds 200 thousand. Undoubtedly, significant growth has occurred just in the last few years. Part of the credit goes to the robust base of the educational sector. After all, thousands of qualified graduates graduate from over 40 universities and institutes. However, we will not hide the fact that, considering the quantitative composition of technical talent, other leaders in the Eastern European region still occupy more leading positions. If we consider specific figures, Poland has over 400,000 developers, while Ukraine has approximately 300,000. Countries such as the Czech Republic and Bulgaria are also not far behind and are dynamically developing their internal tech communities (although these countries are smaller in number). Romania's main advantage in this case is its stable growth trends and regional balance, rather than its scale.
If we analyze the context of technical expertise, Romania achieves excellent results. In most global rankings of engineering skills, Romania ranks in the top 20. Romanian IT specialists are well-prepared both academically, with access to international-standard educational programs, and in terms of integrating into global technological standards. However, Romania is not a leader in this aspect and does not currently have a significant advantage.
Both Ukrainian and Polish developers often demonstrate significantly higher indicators in ratings such as SkillValue and TopCoder, as well as at various international hackathons. By the way, countries such as the Czech Republic and Hungary also have several strong traditions, but in more specialized areas, such as automotive engineering or the telecommunications sector. Bulgaria has dominant experience in the fintech sector. As a result, the mix of these Eastern European countries creates a unique landscape in which the quality of different professionals is pretty even. Hence, the choice becomes a matter of priorities.
A genuinely high level of English proficiency is one of the strongest points of Romanian developers. This is primarily due to the spread of Western European culture, the effective implementation of educational strategies in schools and universities, and the presence of numerous representative offices of international companies on the market. This enables Romanian IT specialists to work confidently on projects without encountering any communication or cultural barriers. However, other countries in Eastern Europe are in a similar situation, especially when considering Poland (Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Lodz) and the Czech Republic (Prague, Brno). According to research, more than half of Ukrainian developers also have a fluent command of English (somewhere within the Intermediate level).
One of the factors that plays in favor of Romania is the very affordable prices for development. When compared to Western European countries or the United States, the rates here are significantly lower, especially in relatively small cities such as Cluj ,Timișoara, and Iași. However, in the context of comparison with prices in the Eastern European region, the situation is different. Poland is more expensive, because the market here is more mature and taxes are higher. But Poland can boast a wider pool of specialists in various niches. The Czech Republic and Hungary are in the same price range as Romania. However, Ukraine perfectly maintains this golden balance between “price and quality.” Romania does not stand out in terms of uniqueness compared to other Eastern European countries, but it still offers significantly favorable rates.
A strong argument in favor of Romania's attractiveness is the fact that it has been an official member of the EU since 2007. What does this provide? Guarantees of predictability in the context of taxes, investment security, and regulatory stability. For many Western companies, this is one of the most critical factors — transparency of cooperation in a legal context. But other markets can also boast of resilience and flexibility. For example, Ukrainian IT specialists and companies from the IT sector continue to develop and scale steadily even during a full-scale war. Such a higher level of adaptability strengthens the reputation of the Ukrainian market in the eyes of international clients.
N-iX is an excellent example of a company whose team skillfully combines the benefits of different markets. N-iX dynamically scales in Ukraine, Romania, and several other countries. That is why the clients of this company can get the best and highest quality of several worlds in parallel.
This approach provides the ability to quickly scale the team without even going beyond the Eastern European region, and at the same time without sacrificing a single “bit” of quality. New standards in the approach to outsourcing are set by companies with such a strategy.
Summarizing our analysis, it is impossible to provide a precise and unambiguous answer as to whether it is easier to find a top developer in Romania than in other countries in the region. On the one hand, this country has its pool of benefits: high-quality English, excellent educational potential, stability, and environmental safety. However, particular neighbors in the region still hold significantly stronger positions. Romania is indeed a worthy alternative for businesses seeking qualified technical specialists in Central and Eastern Europe. But Romania is still not a 100% confident leader. Therefore, at the moment, the most optimal solution is a flexible approach that provides the opportunity to attract expertise from different markets, as exemplified by the company N-iX.
