What it costs to hire an ecommerce designer
We count year one at mid level in full: salary, employer costs and the agency fee on the US side, one published rate on ours.
- US hire, year one$138,462
- Tribe, year one$40,320
What a US hire costs, all in
Base pay is only the part you negotiate. Employer costs and the agency fee land whether or not you planned for them.
| Feature | Base pay | Employer costs | Recruiting fee | Year one |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | $70,330 | $21,099 | $14,066 | $105,495 |
| Mid | $92,308 | $27,692 | $18,462 | $138,462 |
| Senior | $123,077 | $36,923 | $24,615 | $184,615 |
Employer costs use the 25 to 40 percent range and the recruiting fee 15 to 25 percent of base, so the year one figure is a range too. The table shows the midpoint of each.
The same seat, two ways
Mid level, full time, one year, with the US side in a remote US average market.
| Feature | A US hire | Through Tribe |
|---|---|---|
| Base pay | $92,308 | Inside the monthly rate |
| Employer costs | $27,692 | Inside the monthly rate |
| Recruiting fee | $18,462 | None |
| Year one | $138,462 | $40,320 |
| Time to a first day | 6 to 10 weeks | About two weeks |
| Cost to replace in month two | The fee again, plus the weeks | Nothing |
| Equipment and software seats | On you | Laptop and connection included |
What the difference is worth
Stated as a range, because the US side is a range. Nothing here assumes the cheapest version of a US hire.
- $89k-$112ksaved in year one against a mid level US hire, remote US average
- 69-74%of the US cost saved. The low end is the cheapest US version of the hire
- $0recruiting fee, and replacing someone costs nothing
- 5 daysfrom request to shortlist, against six to ten weeks to a US start date
Change the numbers to match your own
Drag the salary to what you would pay, pick the city, and add seats. The US side stays fully loaded throughout.
Your hire
The typical figure for this seat. Drag it to your own.
Your numbers
You save a year$101,68072% less than a US hire
Get a shortlist for this seat
Tell us about the job and we will send two or three people who have done it, in five business days.
Start hiringWhat moves the number
Where in the US you are hiring
The same role runs roughly a quarter higher in San Francisco than in a remote US average market, and New York sits just below that. Employer costs scale with it, because most of the range is health cover and payroll tax. Tribe does not move with your city or with the specialist country.
The level the work needs
Most seats are filled at mid level and most requests describe a senior one. A junior who is reviewed daily by somebody on your team often ships more than a senior left without direction. We will tell you which level the work needs.
Full time against contract
A US contractor avoids employer costs but carries a higher hourly rate, no notice protection and a classification risk you own. The fully loaded comparison above is the fair one, because a contractor who works a full year costs about the same once the rate is annualised.
What happens when it does not work out
A US hire that ends in month three costs you the recruiting fee again, the salary already paid and the weeks to refill. That is the line people leave out of the comparison. A Tribe replacement inside the first month costs nothing and the shortlist comes back in ten business days.
The US salary figures are Tribe estimates from what our own clients paid or were quoted for the same roles. The employer cost and recruiting fee ranges are the ones we see quoted. The Tribe rates are the published rates, and they stay the same in every country. Figures as of October 2026.
Every assumption, in fullGet the real number for your ecommerce designer
Twenty minutes gets you the exact rate for the level you need, the shortlist timeline and a straight answer on whether the seat is worth filling at all.