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Key Takeaways
- Hire a local video editor if your project requires in-person collaboration and tighter creative alignment; hire a nearshore editor if you want cost-effectiveness without sacrificing time zone compatibility or quality.
- Hiring nearshore involves outsourcing work to professionals in nearby countries with adjacent or overlapping time zones, often bringing savings between 25–77%.
- To find the right fit for your video projects, consider what your budget allows, how your company operates, and whether your project requires the video editor to work physically in the office or remotely.
When it's time for your business to hire a video editor, there are a few hiring options worth considering.
Two popular options include outsourcing video editing locally, which involves keeping things close to home in your city or region, or hiring nearshore, which involves hiring offshore video editors in nearby countries like Costa Rica.
Both can deliver great results, but the option you choose comes down to what matters most to you and what will benefit your project. So, when hiring nearshore versus local video editors, which direction makes more sense for your business?
In this article, we'll help you decide between both options. We'll discuss their key differences, provide a clear cost comparison, and outline how you can hire the right talent who fits both your budget and requirements.
What Does It Mean to Hire a Nearshore vs. Local Video Editor?
Video is now a major component of any effective content marketing strategy. Businesses use it to connect with audiences through explainer videos, testimonials, how-to guides, and even short, meme-style clips.
With online platforms increasingly prioritizing and rewarding visual content, knowing how to hire a great video editor has become more important than ever.
This brings us to the next step: hiring one. Two main paths include hiring a nearshore editor and hiring locally. Let’s go over what these options mean and how each can impact your project.
Hiring a nearshore video editor
A nearshore video editor is a professional based in a neighboring or nearby country, often within a few hours of your time zone. For US-based businesses, this might mean hiring someone in Latin America (LatAm) for smoother collaboration.
Nearshoring is a form of offshore hiring, but unlike hiring talent in distant countries whose work day ends when yours is just beginning, nearshore hiring allows for real-time collaboration and seamless communication thanks to shared business hours.
Hiring a local video editor
A local video editor is based in your city or region and can work in person at your office, in a hybrid setup, or remotely. Hiring locally gives you more control over face-to-face collaboration and routine check-ins.
Local hiring makes sense for projects that require direct access to in-house team members or the handling of physical equipment.
Key Differences Between Nearshore and Local Hiring
A common mistake made when hiring a video editor is not fully assessing your team's needs and capacity. Many business owners focus on the “where” of hiring without considering other factors.
You might assume bringing someone on board locally is the best choice, but you could be overlooking more flexible or cost-effective talent solutions, especially if you're already operating remotely. Some of the best companies to hire creative professionals source experts outside the country, so nearshoring is definitely worth looking into.
To help you navigate this decision, let’s compare the main differences between nearshore and local hiring.
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Now that we've outlined a comparison, let's take a closer look at some of these factors.
Availability of talent
One of the biggest reasons companies consider nearshore hiring is access to talent. Instead of being limited to candidates within your city or region, you can tap into a wider pool of qualified video editors outside the country, which is helpful for those in niche industries.
That said, local hires often bring a deeper understanding of your local audience, especially if you're producing region-specific content.
Time zone and communication
Time zone is another factor to think about. Local hires eliminate time zone differences completely, but nearshore video editors also work within the same or similar time zones. Nearshoring is like hiring someone across the country, but with the benefits of offshoring.
Cultural compatibility
Cultural compatibility can influence communication style, creative expectations, and the ways feedback is given or received. With local video editors, there's typically less friction because they already understand your market, audience, and work norms.
Nearshore professionals, thanks to their proximity, also often share similar work values and business etiquette with US teams. That said, some initial adjustments may still be required depending on the specific country or company culture.
Legal and contractual aspects
Be aware of the legal side of things, too. Hiring someone from outside the country means you'll need to do your research on foreign legal frameworks, as they’re a common concern when hiring international employees. Many businesses work through staffing and recruiting agencies familiar with offshore hiring to make the process easier.
Cost Comparison: Nearshore vs. Local Video Editors
When trying to figure out how much it'll cost to hire a video editor, location plays a big role.
Hiring a US-based editor generally means a higher salary, especially if you're bringing them on full-time. On the other hand, working with nearshore talent, like LatAm video editors, can give you access to equally skilled professionals at more affordable rates, making it an attractive option.
To give you a clearer picture, here's a breakdown comparing salary ranges for video editors based in LatAm versus those hired locally.
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How to Choose the Right Fit for Your Video Projects
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to hiring a video editor. The "right fit," however, can be measured depending on your capacity and needs. You can get a better idea by considering these important points:
- Budget: If your budget is tight, nearshoring can give you access to full-time editors without the higher costs that come with hiring locally.
- In-person collaboration or creative input: Some projects benefit from teams being able to sit down in the same room, especially when fast feedback or real-time adjustments are key.
- Team dynamics and workflow: If your team is already remote and accustomed to using tools like Slack or Notion, bringing on a nearshore editor can feel like a natural fit. If your team relies on in-person meetings or physical reviews, hiring locally might be the better fit.
When should you hire locally?
Here are some scenarios where hiring a local video editor may be your best option:
- You're producing high-volume branded content that requires frequent in-person shoots and editing sessions.
- Your team doesn't yet have strong systems in place for onboarding and supporting remote staff.
- Your content turnaround is extremely fast, and you want someone physically nearby to speed up feedback and revisions.
- You're building an internal content team and want everyone to collaborate closely in-house.
When does nearshoring make more sense?
Consider nearshoring if:
- You want to maximize your budget while still being able to hire a full-time team member.
- Your team already uses asynchronous or remote tools to collaborate and track projects.
- You don't need someone physically present, but you still want to work in real time.
- You want access to a larger pool of skilled video editors with specialized expertise that might be hard to find locally.
Nearshore hiring is also worth considering if you were thinking of hiring a local freelance video editor because of budget constraints. A nearshore video editor can offer full-time support at better value.
While hiring freelancers has its advantages, freelancers often juggle multiple clients, which can lead to delays or inconsistent quality. With a dedicated full-time nearshore editor, you’ll get full commitment, smoother workflow integration, and someone who feels like part of your team.
Final Thoughts
Deciding between hiring locally or nearshore depends on what matters most to your business, whether that's in-person collaboration, budget flexibility, or long-term support.
Local hiring offers face-to-face connections and fast turnarounds for teams that work closely together. Meanwhile, nearshoring opens the door to a broader talent pool, competitive rates, and skilled editors who are comfortable working remotely.
If you're leaning toward nearshoring, we can help. At Near, our remote LatAm video editors are creative, reliable, and experienced across a wide range of industries. We handle the entire hiring process for you, so you don’t have to sift through resumes. We’ll match you with the right candidate, fast.
Ready to get started? Fill out this form to get a list of pre-vetted, handpicked video editors. See the kind of skilled talent you can hire and the cost savings that come with nearshore hiring. We'll help you shortlist, interview, and hire in under 21 days.
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