Technical methodology document

How we calculate ROI

Full methodology of the calculator, including exact formulas, constants per service, the behaviour of each variable and verified scenarios. Version 5.2.

Version 5.2 · April 2026
Sources Cleverix 2025, Brainhub 2025, CBI.eu 2025
Function calcWith() in roi-calculator.js

What a 40-60% ROI means

The calculator measures ROI as the percentage of the total internal cost that the company saves by outsourcing to HumanosTech. An ROI of 55% means: "for every €100 you would spend internally, you save €55 by working with HumanosTech."

ROI = ( nomPct + hirePct + qualPct + compPct ) × 100 + urgAdj Each component is a percentage of the internal cost (CI) · Floor 40% · Cap 70%
Based on 2025-2026 market data
  • Cleverix 2025 (EU nearshore): 30-50% salary savings. HumanosTech's 40-60% ROI also includes the benefits of fast onboarding, quality and compliance.
  • Brainhub 2025: "Eastern Europe nearshoring allows companies to save 40 % (up to 70 % according to other sources) per employee." The 70% applies only to exceptional cases.
  • Alcor 2026 (Estonia): "up to 40 % costs saved." Estonia, where HumanosTech operates, sits in the upper nearshore range thanks to its technical quality and EU regulatory framework.

When it exceeds 60%

The ROI exceeds 60% only in precisely identified exceptional scenarios. In these situations the calculator allows up to 70%.

Exceptional case 1: Short horizon (3-6 months)
With a 3-month horizon, hireSav (the one-off benefit of fast onboarding) represents a larger share of the total CI, pushing the ROI towards 65-70%. Over 12 months the same hireSav represents a smaller percentage, lowering the ROI to 60%. This is mathematically correct and consistent with the market.
3m: 70% · 6m: 64% · 12m: 60% · 24m: 58% · 36m: 57%
Exceptional case 2: High urgency + short horizon
Combining High urgency (+5 pp) with a short horizon produces the maximum values (up to 70%). Example: a company needing immediate onboarding that plans a 3-6 month evaluation before renewing.
IT + High + 3m: 70% · IT + High + 6m: 69% · IT + High + 12m: 65%

Input variables

ParameterCodeRangeDefaultEffect on ROI
Service typesvcit, support, ai, data, peopleit±13 pp (greatest impact)
Profilesdevs1 a 203−1 pp at 20 profiles (compPct is diluted); netSav€ grows linearly
Monthly cost/profilesal2.000 a 12.000 €4.500 €−1 pp at 12K€ (compPct is diluted); netSav€ grows strongly
Horizon (months)months3 a 36123m=70% → 36m=57% (hirePct is diluted; greatest impact)
Urgencyurgency1 Low, 2 Medium, 3 High2±5 pp (visible direct adjustment)
In-house HRhasHRtrue / falsefalse−4 pp with HR (hireSav cap from 0.70 → 0.25)

Full formula

// STEP 1: Base costs CI = devs × sal × months // total internal cost htMon = devs × sal × (1 − savPct) // monthly HT cost setup = setupBase + max(0, devs−1) × 500 // one-off integration htTotal = setup + htMon × months // total HT investment // STEP 2: ROI components as % of CI nomPct = max(0, CI − htTotal) / CI // ≈ savPct, varies with devs hirePct = min(hireBase, hireCap) / CI // ∝ 1/months → months move ROI qualPct = qualityBoostPct // fixed per service compPct = compAnnual × (months/12) / CI // ∝ 1/(devs×sal) → diluted // STEP 3: ROI roiBase = (nomPct + hirePct + qualPct + compPct) × 100 urgAdj = urgency===3 ? 5 : urgency===2 ? 0 : −5 ROI = clamp(roiBase + urgAdj, 40, 70)

Why months move the ROI more than salary. hirePct = hireEur / CI. Since CI = devs×sal×months, as months increase the denominator grows but hireEur (a fixed amount) does not. hirePct therefore decreases with months, lowering the ROI. With salary, both hireEur and CI grow proportionally, so hirePct changes very little.

Four sources of benefit

Source 1: Payroll savings (nomPct)

This is the dominant source. It reflects the difference between the internal cost and the HumanosTech cost, expressed as a percentage of CI.

nomEur = max(0, CI − htTotal) nomPct = nomEur / CI // ≈ savPct for long horizons

Example IT 3p 4.500€ 12m: CI=162.000€, htTotal=84.000€ → nomEur=78.000€ → nomPct=48.1%. This is the main reason why the IT base ROI is ~60%.

Source 2: Hiring speed (hirePct)

One-off benefit (in euros) of the time saved by onboarding with HumanosTech. Because it is an absolute amount, its relative weight (hirePct) is greater over short horizons, which makes months the variable with the greatest impact on ROI.

refDays = hasHR ? 40 : 75 // reference days, traditional process hireBase = devs × (refDays − hireDays) × (sal/22) hireCap = hasHR ? devs×sal×0.25 : devs×sal×0.70 hireEur = min(hireBase, hireCap) hirePct = hireEur / CI // decreases with months → ROI falls with months

Source 3: Quality and productivity (qualPct)

qualPct = qualityBoostPct // constant per service: IT 4%, AI 5%, others 2-3%

Source 4: European compliance (compPct)

A fixed annual amount prorated to the period. Because it is fixed in euros, its weight as a % of CI decreases with high salaries and large teams.

compEur = compAnnual × (months/12) compPct = compEur / CI // decreases with high devs and high sal

Constants per service

ConstantITSupportAIDataPeople
savPct (salary savings)50 %42 %45 %45 %40 %
hireDays (onboarding SLA)10 d7 d14 d12 d5 d
qualPct (productivity)4 %2 %5 %3 %2 %
compAnnual (compliance/year)2.500 €1.500 €4.000 €2.000 €1.000 €
setupBase (one-off integration)2.000 €1.500 €3.000 €2.500 €1.500 €
+ per additional profile+500 €+500 €+500 €+500 €+500 €

Calculated results

MetricFormulaDescription
Net savingsmax(0, totBen − setup)Total benefit minus the one-off integration cost.
HT cost/monthdevs × sal × (1 − savPct)Recurring monthly cost. Constant throughout the period.
Total investmentsetup + htMon × monthsEverything paid to HumanosTech over the horizon.
Internal costdevs × sal × monthsWhat it would cost to keep the team in-house.
Paybackceil(setup / (monBen − htMon))Months until the setup cost is recovered through net monthly benefit.

Step-by-step example

Default scenario: IT Outsourcing, 3 profiles, €4,500/month, 12 months, Medium urgency, no in-house HR.

How each variable moves the ROI

High impact
Horizon (months)
hirePct = hireEur/CI ∝ 1/months. With 3 months, hireSav weighs much more on a small CI. With 36 months it is diluted. It is the driver with the widest range after the service.
3m: 70%* · 6m: 64%* · 12m: 60% · 24m: 58% · 36m: 57%
*exceptional case
High impact
Service type
Changes savPct (the dominant source), hireDays, qualPct and compAnnual at the same time. IT has the largest salary differential (50% vs Western EU).
IT: 60% · AI: 56% · Data: 53% · Support: 49% · People: 47%
Medium impact
Onboarding urgency
Direct adjustment of ±5 pp on the final result. It always produces visible movement: Low=−5, Medium=0, High=+5.
Low: 55% · Medium: 60% · High: 65%
Medium impact
In-house HR
Changes the hireSav cap from 0.70 to 0.25 months of salary. It produces a difference of ~4 pp, visible and consistent.
No HR: 60% · With HR: 56%
Impact in euros
Profiles to outsource
compPct is slightly diluted with more profiles (fixed compAnnual, CI grows). ROI falls 1-2 pp from 1 to 20 profiles. netSav in euros grows linearly.
1p: 61% · 3p: 60% · 10p: 59% · 20p: 59%
Impact in euros
Monthly cost per profile
compPct is diluted with high salaries (fixed compAnnual, CI grows). ROI falls 1 pp from 2K to 12K€. netSav in euros grows significantly.
2K€: 59% · 4.5K€: 60% · 12K€: 60%

Table of verified scenarios

Expected values for verifying the code after any update. 278/278 possible combinations tested.

ScenarioROInetSavPayback
Absolute minimum (IT, 1p, 2K, 3m, Low, with HR)40 %0 €1 month
IT base (3p, €4,500, 12m, Medium, no HR)60 %93 K€3 months
Support base49 %77 K€1 month
AI base56 %86 K€9 months
Data base53 %82 K€12 months
People base47 %73 K€1 month
IT, Low urgency55 %93 K€3 months
IT, High urgency65 %93 K€3 months
IT with in-house HR56 %87 K€4 months
IT 3 months, Medium urgency (exceptional)70 %26 K€1 month
IT 36 months57 %273 K€4 months
Maximum (IT, 20p, 12K, 36m, High, no HR)61 %4.818 K€1 month