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Somewhere and Hire Overseas alternatives
Two well-known ways to hire offshore, built on different models. Here is how they work for creative roles, and where a specialist creative team fits.
Alternatives to Somewhere and Hire Overseas for creative roles include direct job boards, an employer of record, and specialist creative staffing such as dpoint. Somewhere’s Direct Hire charges a placement fee; Hire Overseas charges a managed monthly fee from $2,000. dpoint provides dedicated, full-time designers, writers, social media managers and video editors from India on your hours, from $500 a month, all-in, no recruiting fee.
Model one
A placement fee: Somewhere
Somewhere finds the person; you employ them. Its Direct Hire fee is paid once, as a share of first-year salary, and from then on onboarding, payroll and the day-to-day work are yours. A monthly Talent On-Demand option also exists, with prices not published.
Model two
A managed monthly fee: Hire Overseas
Hire Overseas finds the person and keeps the admin. One all-in monthly invoice covers their pay, sourcing, contracts, payroll, HR support and replacement, month-to-month. You pay more each month than a salary alone, and in return the employment work stays off your desk.
Side by side
Published terms for creative roles
Prices quoted from each company’s own site, checked 2 October 2026; prices change. dpoint uses the same managed monthly model as Hire Overseas, with staff from India for creative, marketing, development, IT and customer support roles.
| Somewhere | Hire Overseas | dpoint | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Recruiter. Direct Hire (you employ the person) or Talent On-Demand (monthly) | Managed talent: sourcing, contracts, payroll, HR and replacement in one invoice | Dedicated staff, recruited, paid and managed by dpoint |
| Published price | Direct Hire: one-time fee of 25 to 35% of first-year salary. Talent On-Demand: monthly, not published. Designer prices not published | From $2,000 a month all-in; most roles $2,000 to $4,000. Video editor: typical rate $2,200 to $3,200 | Designer $600 to $1,400, writer $500 to $1,200, social $500 to $1,200, video editor $600 to $1,300 a month, all-in |
| Upfront cost | A refundable deposit, credited to the final fee | No recruiting or setup fee | No recruiting or setup fee |
| Guarantees and terms | Direct Hire: 6-month perfect-hire guarantee with a replacement hire. Talent On-Demand: unlimited free replacements | Month-to-month; 14-day money-back guarantee; “forever replacement policy” | Trial before you commit; free replacement; notice agreed in your written quote |
| Talent regions | Pricing page: Latin America, South Africa and the Philippines. Designer page also names Eastern Europe, Egypt and Pakistan | “Most often in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa” | India |
| Creative vetting | Designer shortlists arrive with an audited portfolio and a skills assessment score | Skill evaluations and background checks | Portfolio review of a vetted shortlist, then a trial on your real work |
| Day-to-day management | You, after a direct hire | Describes itself as “your offshore headhunter and HR department”, with ongoing support | A dpoint account lead, or you if you prefer |
| Hours | Its Colombian designers work US Eastern and Central hours | Your preferred time zone; full US overlap costs more than partial | Your full working day, US, UK or Gulf, as a dedicated shift |
| Role focus | Many functions, from engineering to finance, plus design and marketing | Many functions; creative roles listed include designers, video editors, writers and copywriters | Creative and marketing only |
dpoint prices run junior to senior. A mid-level designer is $900 a month. See the full rate card.
Creative-specific vetting
What to check, whoever you hire through
General screening finds reliable people. Creative roles also need proof of taste, brand discipline and speed in your formats.
A test on your brand
A short task built from a real brief shows how someone reads your guidelines. Somewhere’s designer shortlists include live skills assessments; dpoint adds a trial on your real work before you commit.
Your tools
Confirm Figma, Adobe, Canva, Premiere or whatever your team uses. A designer who works inside your files keeps the work yours.
Quality after month one
Vetting ends at hiring. Ask who reviews quality after that: you alone, or someone on the provider’s side. At dpoint an account lead owns it.
More on this in how to vet offshore talent.
Hours and regions
Region decides how your hours are covered. Latin America shares US time zones naturally, which is a real advantage for live work. For US clients, the Philippines, South Africa and India sit many hours away, so the question becomes whether the person works your day as a shift. India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 with no daylight saving. A dpoint team for a London client works 13:30 to 22:00 in India during British summer time; for Dubai, 10:30 to 19:30. See US hours, UK hours and Gulf hours in full.
Where each fits
- Choose Somewhere if
- you want to employ the person directly and are happy to run payroll and management, or you want a same-time-zone hire in Latin America. It also suits hiring across many functions at once, not just creative.
- Choose Hire Overseas if
- you want one all-in monthly invoice, month-to-month terms and a money-back window, across a wide range of roles and regions, and your budget sits at $2,000 or more per role.
- Choose dpoint if
- your roles are creative and marketing, you want them full-time on your hours, and you want an account lead to manage them, from $500 a month per person.
Comparing more routes, including marketplaces, job boards and employers of record? See Upwork alternatives for creative staff or dedicated team vs staff augmentation.
FAQ
Recruiter and managed talent questions
What is the difference between Somewhere and Hire Overseas?
Somewhere is mainly a recruiter. With Direct Hire you pay a one-time fee of 25 to 35% of the first-year salary, then employ and manage the person yourself; it also offers a monthly Talent On-Demand option. Hire Overseas charges one all-in monthly fee, from $2,000, that covers the person’s pay, sourcing, contracts, payroll, HR and replacement, month-to-month.
Is a placement fee cheaper than a monthly managed fee?
Over a long hire it can be, because you pay the fee once. But you then carry payroll, management and any future replacement after the guarantee period. For every $10,000 of first-year salary, a 25 to 35% fee is $2,500 to $3,500. A managed fee costs more each month and keeps that work with the provider.
Where do Somewhere and Hire Overseas find talent?
Somewhere’s pricing page names Latin America, South Africa and the Philippines, and its designer page adds Eastern Europe, Egypt and Pakistan. Hire Overseas says it recruits anywhere, most often in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. dpoint staff are from India.
Can a team in India work US hours as well as a Latin American hire?
Yes, as a dedicated shift. Latin America shares US time zones naturally. With dpoint, a US client’s team works that client’s own working day as their regular full-time job: a New York 9 to 5 is 18:30 to 02:30 in India during US daylight time and 19:30 to 03:30 in winter.
How does dpoint vet designers, writers and video editors?
dpoint recruits and vets for each role, usually shows you a shortlist within the week, and you review portfolios and choose. You then trial the person on your real work before committing. If they leave or are not the right fit, the replacement is free.
Do I have to put the person on my payroll with dpoint?
No. dpoint recruits the person, runs payroll and equipment, and manages them through an account lead, and you pay one fixed monthly price per person. The person works only for you, and signs an NDA and IP assignment to you before day one.
Sources, checked 2 October 2026: Somewhere pricing, Somewhere Direct Hire, Somewhere designer role, Hire Overseas pricing, Hire Overseas video editor.
Creative roles, staffed by creative specialists.
Tell us the roles and your time zone. You will get a written, fixed quote and a shortlist of vetted people with portfolios, usually within the week.