2026 Report
Outbound Telemarketing Service Costs by Country: 2026 Report
What outsourced outbound calling costs per agent hour in 15 countries in 2026, what agents earn, and the US rules that follow every call.
Outbound telemarketing means paid callers who phone prospects for a business: Cold calls, appointment setting and lead qualification. Most companies that outsource it pay by the agent hour, and where the agents sit sets most of the price. This report lines up 2026 prices in 15 countries, what the agents earn, and the US rules that follow every call into the US.
Quick answer: Outsourced calling costs $7 to $18 an agent hour offshore (Kenya, the Philippines, India, Pakistan), $6 to $22 in Latin America and Ukraine, $18 to $32 in Poland, and $25 to $62 in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia in 2026. A full-time US agent runs about $5,600 a month at the typical rate; a Philippine agent about $1,920.
Basis: Published 2026 rate guides and price indexes from outsourcing firms covering 15 countries, local agent pay from government and salary data, and US calling rules from the FCC and FTC, checked October 2026. Nearly all client prices are vendor-published; no independent survey publishes country rates for free.
$12 vs $35 an hourThe typical price of a Philippine calling agent against a US one in 2026. Offshore calling costs about a third of US calling per hour.
Table 1: Prices by country
| Country | Price per hour | Typical | Full time per month | Agent pay | Hours vs New York |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | $7–$12 | $9 | $1,440 | $154–$270 | +8 |
| Philippines | $8–$15 | $12 | $1,920 | $293–$743 | +13 |
| India | $8–$18 | $13 | $2,080 | $223–$516 | +10.5 |
| Pakistan | $8–$12 | n/a | n/a | $104–$299 | +10 |
| South Africa | $9–$17 | $13 | $2,080 | About $477 | +7 |
| Argentina (staffing rate) | $6–$11 | n/a | n/a | About $664 | +2 |
| Brazil (staffing rate) | $10–$17 | n/a | n/a | About $341 | +2 |
| Colombia | $11–$18 | $14 | $2,240 | $725–$1,009 | 0 |
| Mexico | $12–$20 | $15 | $2,400 | $432–$1,026 | −1 |
| Ukraine | $12–$22 | n/a | n/a | About $884 | +7 |
| Poland | $18–$32 | $25 | $4,000 | About $1,295 | +6 |
| United Kingdom (2025 day rates) | $27–$62 | n/a | n/a | About $2,720 (minimum wage) | +5 |
| Canada | $25–$40 | $32 | $5,120 | About $2,110 | 0 |
| United States | $28–$42 | $35 | $5,600 | About $2,726 (median) | 0 |
| Australia | $42–$56 | n/a | n/a | About $2,973 (minimum wage) | +16 |
We found three things in this table:
- Offshore calling costs about a third of US calling. The typical hour is $9 to $13 in Kenya, the Philippines and India against $35 in the US.
- Agent pay is a small slice of the price offshore. Firms bill about 3 to 7 times what Philippine agents earn, and more in Kenya and India. The gap covers managers, phones, software, office and margin.
- Colombia and Mexico cost a few dollars more an hour than Asia and work US hours. Colombia shares New York time in winter, which matters because US rules limit when calls can go out.
Table 2: How outbound calling is priced
| Model | How it is billed | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Per agent hour | Logged-in calling time | $7–$18 offshore; $25–$62 US, Canada, UK, Australia |
| Per full-time agent | Fixed monthly fee for a dedicated caller | $1,200–$3,000 offshore; $1,800–$3,800 nearshore; $3,800–$7,500 US |
| Per day (common in the UK) | Per caller per day | £150–£250 call centres; £300–£350 B2B agencies |
| Per appointment | Per booked meeting | $75–$1,500, set mostly by who is in the meeting |
| Setup and training | One time | $1,000–$5,000 |
We found three things in this table:
- Outbound costs more than inbound. One rate guide puts outbound at 1.1 to 1.3 times the inbound hourly rate for the same agent.
- Setup fees and add-ons can lift a quote by 15% to 40%. Ask for the all-in monthly number.
- Hourly pricing puts the risk on the buyer. A slow month still bills every hour, while per-appointment pricing only bills when a meeting lands. Our lead generation cost report compares those models side by side.
Table 3: US rules that apply to every country
Where the agent sits doesn’t change the rules. Calls into the US follow US law, and offshore teams carry the same risk as US ones.
| Rule | What it means for an outsourced caller |
|---|---|
| Calling hours | No sales calls to homes before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the called person’s time zone, so offshore teams work US hours |
| Do Not Call Registry | Registered home numbers are off limits without an exemption; access costs $85 per area code, up to $23,425 a year, from October 2026 |
| FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule | Since 2024, business-to-business calls are covered by the ban on misleading claims, and call records must be kept 5 years |
| AI voices | The FCC treats AI-generated voices as artificial voices, so the consent rules for recorded calls apply |
| Proposed offshore rules | FCC proposals from 2025 and 2026 would label calls from abroad and could require offshore callers to say where they are; none are final |
We found three things in this table:
- The US clock sets the shift. An Asian team calling US homes works nights; a Latin American team works its normal day.
- Business calls are no longer fully exempt. The 2024 FTC changes put B2B calling under the misrepresentation rules.
- Watch the FCC. If the offshore proposals pass, calls from abroad could carry a label, which may lower answer rates.
Picking a country
For calls to US businesses during the US day, Latin America is the natural fit: Colombia and Mexico cost $11 to $20 an hour and share the workday. For the lowest hourly price with US-hours night shifts, the Philippines leads Asia on English (28th of 123 on the EF index) and on industry size. Poland and the UK suit European campaigns. And if you would rather pay for results than for hours, an outsourced SDR program priced per result moves the risk of a slow month off your books.
Conclusions
- Expect to pay about a third of US rates offshore. The typical hour is $9 to $13 in Asia and Africa against $35 in the US.
- Price the time zone, not just the hour. US calling hours decide who works nights.
- Budget for the rules. Do Not Call access, record keeping and possible offshore labels apply no matter where agents sit.
Run a telemarketing or call center company? Upcision delivers exclusive screened leads and booked appointments with businesses looking to outsource calling, priced per result.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does outsourced telemarketing cost per hour?
- In 2026, outsourced calling costs $7-$18 an agent hour offshore (Kenya, the Philippines, India, Pakistan), $6-$22 in Latin America and Ukraine, $18-$32 in Poland, and $25-$62 in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
- What is the lowest cost country for telemarketing?
- Kenya has the lowest typical rate at about $9 an agent hour, followed by the Philippines at $12 and India at $13. Argentina has staffing rates as low as $6 an hour, but few call centers publish prices there.
- How much does a full-time telemarketing agent cost?
- At typical 2026 rates, a full-time outsourced agent costs about $1,440-$2,080 a month in Kenya, the Philippines or India, $2,240-$2,400 in Colombia or Mexico, and about $5,600 in the US.
- Do US telemarketing rules apply to offshore call centers?
- Yes. Calls into the US must follow US calling hours (8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time for homes), the Do Not Call Registry and the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, which has covered business-to-business calls since 2024.
- Sources & methodology
- Client prices: The rethinkCX BPO Cost Index (May 2026), Helpware (October 2026), ContactCenterUSA (April 2026), HiveDesk (March 2026), Insignia Resources (May 2026), FusionCX and Retell AI. Argentina and Brazil: Kore BPO staffing rates. UK: Beanstalk day rates (March 2025), converted at 7.5 hours a day. Australia: Matchboard (April 2026). These are vendor-published.
- Agent pay: US telemarketers via O*NET (BLS May 2025); Brazil from CAGED hiring records via Salario.com.br; Argentina from the call center union agreement; other countries from Paylab, PayScale, Indeed and Work.ua salary data, converted at October 2026 exchange rates. Minimum wages from UK, Australian and Canadian government sources. Canada agent pay from PayScale (C$18.48 an hour).
- US rules: 47 CFR 64.1200; FTC Do Not Call fee notices (2025 and 2026); FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule amendments (2024); FCC declaratory ruling on AI voices (FCC 24-17, 2024); FCC proposals on foreign-originated calls (2025 and 2026, not final). This is a summary, not legal advice.
- Pricing models: Rate guides above, plus What Do B2B Lead Generation Companies Cost? Upcision Research. 2026.
- About Upcision: We have run outbound campaigns across 14 B2B verticals since 2019, for clients ranging from SMB to Fortune 500.
- PDF copy: Want this report as a PDF? Contact us through upcision.com and we’ll send it over.
- Citing this page: Writers are welcome to cite this report with attribution to Upcision Research and a link to this page.
Jared Diamond
Founder of Upcision, a pay-per-result B2B lead generation company that has worked with clients ranging from SMB to Fortune 500.