BPO cost UK: what SMEs actually pay per hour

Key takeaways

BPO cost in the UK depends mostly on where the team sits and what skills the work needs. As indicative market ranges, managed offshore teams cost around £9–£18 per hour and onshore UK providers around £20–£35. The fair comparison is the fully loaded cost of an employee, which is higher than most owners expect.

• Offshore managed BPO (Sri Lanka, India, Philippines): roughly £9–£18 per hour.
• Onshore UK BPO: roughly £20–£35 per hour for managed support and admin.
• A UK employee on the National Living Wage costs about £16.27 per worked hour before overheads.
• The rate should include recruitment, training, supervision, QA and holiday cover.
• Compare cost per task or per outcome, not just cost per hour.

How much does BPO cost per hour in the UK?

As indicative market ranges for managed services, UK businesses typically pay around £9–£18 per hour for an offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) team and around £20–£35 per hour for an onshore UK provider. Specialist or multilingual work costs more; simple, high-volume back-office work sits at the lower end.

These are ranges, not quotes. Rates vary with hours of cover (nights and weekends cost more), skill level, volume, commitment length and how much of the setup the provider absorbs. Always get two or three quotes against the same written scope.

• Offshore standard support and admin: about £9–£14 per hour.
• Offshore skilled or senior roles: about £14–£18 per hour and above.
• Onshore UK support and admin: about £20–£28 per hour.
• Onshore UK specialist roles: about £28–£35 per hour and above.

• What is BPO and how can it help UK businesses?
• Onshore, nearshore or offshore outsourcing?

What does a UK employee really cost per hour?

A UK employee costs far more per worked hour than their hourly wage. Using official 2026/27 rates, a full-time employee on the National Living Wage of £12.71 earns about £24,785 a year for 1,950 paid hours. Employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 adds about £2,968, and the 3% minimum pension contribution on qualifying earnings adds about £556.

That is £28,309 in direct costs. With 28 days of statutory holiday, the employee works about 1,740 hours, so the cost is about £16.27 per worked hour. At a £26,000 salary it is about £17.09. Recruitment, equipment, software, desk space, training, sick pay and management time all come on top.

• The true cost of an employee in the UK

What should the BPO rate include?

A managed BPO rate should include everything needed to deliver the service to the agreed standard. If it does not, the comparison with hiring is misleading.

• Recruitment and replacement of team members.
• Initial and ongoing training.
• Supervision by a team lead.
• Quality assurance sampling and coaching.
• Holiday and sickness cover.
• Equipment, workspace, connectivity and power backup.
• Monthly reporting against the scorecard.

• The hidden costs of outsourcing

How is BPO priced?

BPO is priced per hour, per full-time seat, per transaction or, less often, per outcome. Hourly and seat pricing suit work that arrives unpredictably, such as calls and chat. Per-transaction pricing, such as per invoice or per record, suits stable back-office volumes. Outcome pricing is rare for SMEs because outcomes are harder to agree.

• BPO pricing models explained

What does a worked example look like?

Take a UK SME that needs one person to cover email and WhatsApp support, 8:00 to 18:00 on weekdays. That is 50 hours a week, more than one full-time employee can cover, and there is no cover for lunch, holidays or sickness.

In-house, covering 50 hours needs roughly 1.4 full-time equivalents plus cover, so at the minimum wage, about £40,000 a year in direct costs before overheads, and more for experienced staff. An offshore managed team at £9–£18 per hour for 2,600 hours a year costs about £23,400–£46,800, including cover and supervision. An onshore provider at £20–£35 costs about £52,000–£91,000.

• Work out the ROI of outsourcing
• When to outsource and when to hire

Why do some BPO quotes look very cheap?

Very cheap quotes usually exclude something: supervision, quality checks, cover, or setup. Some rely on long minimum terms or minimum seat numbers. Others pay staff so little that turnover is constant, which means you are always training someone new.

Ask what happens when your team member is on holiday, how quality is checked, what the notice period is, and what staff turnover looks like. The answers explain the price.

• Questions to ask a BPO provider before signing
• Ethical outsourcing for UK businesses

When is BPO not cheaper than hiring?

BPO may not be cheaper for very small volumes, where setup and management overhead outweigh the hourly saving, or for roles where a part-time employee covers the need without cover issues. Eligible small employers can also offset up to £10,500 a year of employer National Insurance through the Employment Allowance, which narrows the gap for the first hires.

Onshore BPO is often more expensive per hour than a direct hire. Its value is cover, flexibility and speed rather than a lower rate.

What does this look like in practice?

Across our client work, back-office cost per task has fallen by 42% once the process was written down and run by a managed team. The saving came from the combination of a lower hourly cost, a documented process that removed rework, and not paying for idle time between peaks.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Checklist: compare BPO quotes

Use this to make quotes comparable.

• Send every provider the same written scope.
• Ask for the rate and exactly what it includes.
• Ask for setup fees, minimum terms and minimum seats.
• Ask for premiums for evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
• Calculate your fully loaded in-house cost for the same hours.
• Compare cost per task, not only cost per hour.
• Check the notice period and exit terms.

Next step

The site does not publish a rate card because scope drives the number. Tell us the work, the hours and the volumes, and we will give you a costed plan alongside your in-house comparison. 30 minutes, no pitch.