The Full Picture
Savings: Office space ($10-15K/person/year), geographic salary arbitrage (20-40% in some markets), reduced commute burnout, wider talent pool.
Costs: Home office stipend ($2-4K/person/year), collaboration tools ($500-1K/person/year), quarterly offsites ($3-5K/person/year), potential coordination overhead (10-15% velocity reduction without good practices), isolation-driven attrition.
Net: most companies save 15-25% on fully-loaded engineering costs with remote. But only if they invest in async communication, clear documentation, and regular in-person gatherings.