Zurich hours. Prague rates.
Senior engineers on your clock, at a fraction of a Swiss salary.
-
Senior engineers
No juniors. No middlemen.
-
Fixed price
Overruns are on us.
-
Live in weeks
Weekly demos on staging.
-
You own the code
100% of the IP, day one.
Swiss companies outsource software development to Central Europe because senior developers in Switzerland are scarce and among the most expensive in Europe: PayScale puts the median senior software engineer salary around CHF 117,000 a year. Yarify is a senior team in Prague on CET, the same time zone as Zurich, Geneva and Basel. The EU confirmed in 2024 that Swiss data protection law is adequate, and Switzerland treats EU states as adequate too. We deliver a defined service under a project or team contract, not cross-border staff leasing.
Switzerland to Prague, in four pictures
-
Same time zone
CET, the whole working day
-
Adequate both ways
revFADP and GDPR
-
A service contract
Not staff leasing
-
Far below Swiss cost
Senior, without recruiting
Outside the EU, inside the same working day
Switzerland is not in the EU, so the data and contract questions are slightly different from Germany or Austria. On data, the position is simple: the revised Federal Act on Data Protection took effect in September 2023, and in January 2024 the European Commission confirmed that Switzerland still provides adequate protection. Switzerland lists EU states as adequate in return.
On contracts, Swiss rules restrict hiring out staff from abroad into Switzerland. So we sell a service: a defined scope or a team that delivers agreed work, managed by us. Your lawyer confirms the structure; we write the contract to fit it.
Switzerland vs Prague, side by side
Market figures from salary and rate surveys. Not our price list.
| Factor | Hiring in Switzerland | Senior team in Prague |
|---|---|---|
| Time zone | CET | CET |
| Data protection | revFADP | GDPR; mutual adequacy with Switzerland |
| Senior cost | Median salary around CHF 117k a year, before employer costs | $60–80/h CEE band, billed per project or month |
| Contract form | Employment | Service contract with one company |
| Working language | German, French, Italian or English | English |
| Time to start | Recruiting plus notice periods | Typically weeks after the first call |
Swiss salary from PayScale (2025, base pay). CEE rate band from vendor-published 2026 surveys. More in software developer rates.
Recruiting a senior in Switzerland vs starting with us
Hiring a developer
- Job post & sourcing
- Interviews
- Notice period
- Onboarding
- Building
Yarify
- Call + fixed quote
- Building + weekly demos
- Live. Iterating with users.
Illustrative timeline. In-house hiring usually spends months on sourcing, interviews and notice periods before the first commit.
What Swiss companies hire us for
-
A product at a fixed price
A written scope, one price, weekly demos. See MVP development.
-
A team that delivers a roadmap
Seniors who own agreed work on a monthly price. See dedicated development team.
-
AI features in production
LLM features with evaluation and cost control. See AI development.
-
Cloud and DevOps
Pipelines and infrastructure in the region you choose. See DevOps services.
What to check with any vendor
General points to raise with your own legal and data advisors. Not legal advice.
- The contract buys a defined service or result; cross-border staff leasing into Switzerland is restricted, so your lawyer confirms the structure
- A data processing agreement covers both revFADP and GDPR
- You decide where personal data is hosted, including in Switzerland
- IP is assigned to your company in writing
- Code lives in your repository and deploys to your cloud accounts
- Swiss VAT on imported services (acquisition tax) is checked with your accountant
How we work with Swiss teams
-
Free call · Day one
Thirty minutes in English with the engineer who would do the work.
-
Scope or team plan · Week 1
A fixed price for fixed scope, or a monthly price for a delivery team.
-
Work in your tools
Your repository, board and chat, during your hours.
-
Meet when it matters
Zurich and Prague are about an hour apart by direct flight.
Your code. Your cloud. Two weeks' notice.
Team engagements bill monthly and end with 2 weeks' notice. On fixed-scope MVP and rescue work, overruns on our estimate are ours. You own 100% of the code and IP from day one. We are based in Prague; there is no Swiss office.
Nearshore development in EuropeRelated guides
-
Austria
Software development outsourcing for Austrian companies: senior engineers in Prague, a train ride from Vienna, on the same clock and under the same EU rules.
-
Germany
Software development outsourcing for companies in Germany: a senior team in Prague on the same clock, EU law and GDPR on both sides, and senior engineers below German onshore cost.
-
Outsourcing vs outstaffing
Outsourcing or outstaffing? Who manages the engineers, who carries delivery risk, how each is priced, and a checklist for choosing between a project and extra people.
-
Developer rates by country
Hourly software developer rates by country and seniority in 2026: US, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia, with monthly costs and freelance benchmarks.
Questions buyers ask us
Can a Swiss company outsource software development to the EU?
Yes. For personal data, the EU recognises Switzerland as adequate and Switzerland recognises EU states as adequate, so data can flow under a data processing agreement. For contracts, buy a defined service rather than leased staff, and have your lawyer confirm the structure.
Is staff augmentation from Prague allowed in Switzerland?
Swiss rules restrict hiring out staff from abroad into Switzerland. That is why we work as a service provider: a fixed-scope project, or a team that delivers agreed work under our management. Your lawyer should confirm how your engagement is classified.
How much cheaper than hiring in Zurich?
PayScale puts the median senior software engineer salary in Switzerland around CHF 117,000 a year before employer costs, while senior Central European rates sit around $60–80 an hour. We do not publish rates; you get a fixed or monthly quote after a free call.
Can our data stay in Switzerland?
Yes. We deploy to your cloud accounts in the region you choose, including Swiss regions, and work under a data processing agreement.
Do you work in German or French?
We work in English: calls, tickets, code and documentation. Swiss engineering teams that mix languages often already use English as the common one.
How is a Swiss client invoiced?
You contract with Yarify s.r.o., a Czech company, and are invoiced without Czech VAT. Swiss VAT on services bought from abroad may apply on your side; confirm with your accountant.
Keep reading
-
Europe
Nearshore software development from Central Europe for UK, DACH, Nordic and US companies: working-hours overlap, EU contracts and senior engineers at lower cost than onshore.
-
Austria
Software development outsourcing for Austrian companies: senior engineers in Prague, a train ride from Vienna, on the same clock and under the same EU rules.
-
Germany
Software development outsourcing for companies in Germany: a senior team in Prague on the same clock, EU law and GDPR on both sides, and senior engineers below German onshore cost.
-
Dedicated development team
A dedicated development team of 2–4 senior engineers working on your product. Monthly billing, cancel with 2 weeks’ notice, 100% of code and IP is yours.
-
MVP development
Fixed-price MVP development. A senior team scopes it in writing, ships a deployed build early, demos weekly and launches a focused MVP in typically 8–12 weeks.
-
Developer rates by country
Hourly software developer rates by country and seniority in 2026: US, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia, with monthly costs and freelance benchmarks.
Your hours. Swiss-ready contract. Senior engineers.
Book a free 30-minute call with a senior engineer in Prague and get a fixed or monthly quote.