Hiring outside your own country can cut a Workday consultant's rate by half or more. Few other choices save that much. It is also the choice most likely to go wrong.
Some work needs someone awake at the same time as your payroll team. Some needs someone who has closed a payroll year-end in your country: the yearly close that produces employees' tax forms. The rate is the easy part to compare. Working hours and local know-how decide whether the saving holds up.
Every consultant on Turbin passes the same admission review, wherever they live. So location changes the rate and the working hours, not the quality bar. The figures below are the hourly rates consultants set for themselves, in US dollars and before any fee. They are grouped by where each consultant is based.
How much do Workday consultant rates vary by country?
US-based consultants charge the most, at a median of $100 an hour. Canada follows at $90. The median is $39 in Mexico, $35 in Argentina and $65 in India. These five countries account for 93% of consultants on Turbin, who are spread across 19 countries.
The table groups countries the way a buyer in the US or Canada sees them. Onshore is the US and Canada. Nearshore countries share the working day in the Americas. Offshore countries do not.
| Country | Median |
|---|---|
| United States Onshore | $100 |
| Canada Onshore | $90 |
| India Offshore | $65 |
| Mexico Nearshore, Americas time zones | $39 |
| Argentina Nearshore, Americas time zones | $35 |
USD per hour, before any fee. Countries with fewer than ten consultants are not shown.
Treat the smaller rows with care. Argentina is one of the smallest groups we report, so one or two consultants can move its median.
The gap between the US and Canada is only $10. The gap between North America and everywhere else is far bigger. So the real choice is usually whether to hire onshore at all, not which onshore country.
The rate report has every module and explains how the figures were gathered. The hourly rates guide covers what else moves a rate.
How much working-day overlap do you get?
Nearshore consultants work during the North American day. Most of Mexico, including Mexico City, stays on UTC-6 all year, the same as US Central time in winter. Argentina runs on UTC-3, one to two hours ahead of US Eastern time, depending on the season.
India is 9.5 to 10.5 hours ahead of US Eastern time. So with an India-based consultant, live overlap with a US team comes only at the start or end of each day.
Overlap is worth paying for when the work happens live. Take a go-live, or a cutover: the switch from your old system to Workday. Decisions are made in real time, often over a weekend. The consultant needs to be awake when the data finishes loading and your business signs off.
Payroll runs and month-end close have fixed deadlines too. Someone has to be there when the results land, not eight hours later. Design workshops with your HR, payroll or finance owners also happen in your business hours. Onshore and nearshore consultants fit them without anyone shifting their day.
Overlap matters less when the work is clearly written up in advance. Examples are custom reports, running test scripts, or a backlog of well-described support tickets. Another is an integration with an agreed design: a connection that sends data between Workday and another system.
This kind of work copes well with a time gap, and it is where an offshore rate goes furthest. Many projects mix both kinds. So write the hours of overlap you need into your request.
When does a consultant's location actually matter?
Location matters most for payroll and tax. Even there, what counts is the consultant's track record, not their address. US and Canadian payroll (median $90 on Turbin) each have their own tax setup and year-end forms: W-2s in the US, T4s in Canada.
Ask which country's year-ends the consultant has closed, and in which years. The Payroll guide covers rates and what to check. The year-end guide covers the season itself.
UK payroll is a separate skill set. It covers UK pay rules, reporting to HMRC (the UK tax authority) and pensions. It is also a separate, small group on Turbin, with a median of $80. Do not assume a North American payroll consultant can cover it.
The same goes for time-off plans and time rules for staff outside North America. They follow local leave and working-time law. Experience with that country's rules matters more than where the consultant lives.
One limit can rule a location out entirely. Some organizations restrict who may see their live Workday data from outside a given country. This is common in the public sector and regulated industries. Check your own contracts and security policy before you look beyond onshore.
How do you compare rates like for like?
Compare rates within the same module and experience level first. A module is one part of Workday, such as Payroll or Financials, and it moves a rate too. So set a Payroll consultant in one country against a Payroll consultant in another, not against the overall median.
The hourly rates guide has the median for each module. Experience matters as well. Consultants with under five years in Workday charge a median of $80, and those with 8 to 11 years charge $108. So a cheaper rate can simply mean a more junior consultant.
Then compare bill rates: what you actually pay, fee included. On Turbin the fee is a flat 20% in every country, so the order stays the same. The US median of $100 bills at $120. India's $65 bills at $78, and Mexico's $39 at $47.
Through an agency, ask for the consultant's rate and the agency's markup as two separate numbers. Most agencies fold them into one bill rate, because the gap is their margin. That markup is typically 40–100% on top of the consultant's rate, wherever the consultant is based.
So India's $65 median typically bills $91–$130 through an agency, against $78 on Turbin. On Turbin, the consultant's rate and the fee show as separate numbers. The agency markup guide shows why the split matters.
Finally, put a price on overlap. A $65 offshore consultant and a $100 onshore one are not the same purchase if the work needs live sessions in your day. Write the hours of overlap into your request. You get an honest shortlist, instead of finding the gap in the second week.
Questions we get asked.
Yes. Every consultant on Turbin passes the same admission review, wherever they are based. That means 3 checked references from recent projects and a review of their Workday project history. If they hold a Workday certification, Turbin checks it with the partner that issued it. About 9% of consultants who apply to join the network are accepted. Location changes the rate and the working hours, not the review.
No. The fee is a flat 20%
It depends on their payroll history, not their address. What matters is whether they have set up and run US payroll in Workday and closed a US year-end. That covers federal and state tax setup, W-2 forms and the year-end audit reports. Ask which country's year-ends they have closed, and in which years. The same test applies to Canadian payroll and T4 forms, and to UK payroll.