QA Rates Compare

QA outsourcing rates by country, role and seniority

$14 to $148 / hour

Middle-level hourly medians (the middle value of each record's weighted observations) run from $14 (Manual QA Engineer, Philippines, A: high confidence) to $148 per hour (Security Test Engineer, Germany, B: medium confidence). Sourced medians, a public formula, a calculator you can link to, and a provider directory with no ratings. Verified on .

Country matrix, middle level

Median hourly rate (USD), middle level, by country and role
United States$104 A$96 Awithheldwithheldwithheldwithheld
United Kingdom$79 A$79 B$79 A$76 B$98 A$108 A
Germany$80 B$85 Bwithheldwithheld$148 Bwithheld
Poland$32 C$41 Cwithheldwithheldwithheldwithheld
India$17 Bwithheldwithheldwithheldwithheldwithheld
Philippines$14 Awithheldwithheldwithheldwithheldwithheld
Vietnam$15 Awithheldwithheldwithheldwithheldwithheld

SDET: software development engineer in test; builds test frameworks and test infrastructure in code.

Letters are confidence grades: A high confidence, B medium confidence, C indicative. Cells marked withheld have fewer than 2 independent sources.

All countries and roles, including withheld cells: rates hub.

Team cost calculator

Location and model
  • Hourly (time and materials): billed per worked hour, no minimum commitment.
  • Dedicated team: monthly fee per engineer assigned full time.
  • Staff augmentation: engineer placed into the client's team under the client's management, monthly.
  • Project-based (fixed price): fixed fee for a defined scope; converted to effective hourly from published estimates only.
  • Managed testing service: vendor owns outcomes and process; monthly or per-release fee.
Team (role, seniority, count)

The calculator needs JavaScript. Median hourly figures for every published combination are in the downloadable data.

Full calculator with citation: Open the calculator.

Method summary

Each figure is a weighted percentile of verified observations under formula 1.0.0, needs at least 2 independent sources (engagement model pages also show figures marked single-source, with 1 source), and each rate, salary and overhead record carries a confidence grade A, B or C. 456 routes or figures are withheld with reasons. Details: methodology; downloads: Download the data.

Sources

  1. freelance-platform FRATCH. Penetration Testers in Germany | Find vetted experts fast. Published 2026-08-07, verified . ev-rate-g2dp-001
  2. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: Germany); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-01, verified . ev-rate-g4dp-001
  3. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-eur
  4. freelance-platform FRATCH. Software Testers in Germany | Find vetted experts fast. Published 2026-08-06, verified . ev-rate-germany-001
  5. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in Germany 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-07-10, verified . ev-rate-gfeu-001
  6. freelance-platform FRATCH. Test Automation Engineers in Germany | Find vetted experts fast. Published 2026-08-06, verified . ev-rate-germany-002
  7. job-board TalentUp. Test Automation Engineer Contractor Hourly Rate in Germany 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-10-08, verified . ev-rate-gfeu-002
  8. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in India 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-09-23, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-009
  9. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: India); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-09-14, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-017
  10. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-inr
  11. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in Philippines 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-08-13, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-011
  12. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: Philippines); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-09-14, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-016
  13. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-php
  14. job-board SOLID.Jobs. Jak wygląda rynek pracy testerów w 2026 roku? Rynek, który przestał obiecywać łatwe wejście - SOLID.Jobs Blog. Published 2026-09-22, verified . ev-rate-poland-001
  15. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in Poland 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-10-08, verified . ev-rate-gfeu-003
  16. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-pln
  17. job-board SOLID.Jobs. Jak wygląda rynek pracy testerów w 2026 roku? Rynek, który przestał obiecywać łatwe wejście - SOLID.Jobs Blog. Published 2026-09-22, verified . ev-rate-poland-002
  18. job-board TalentUp. Test Automation Engineer Contractor Hourly Rate in Poland 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-10-08, verified . ev-rate-gfeu-004
  19. job-board IT Jobs Watch. SDET Contract Job Trends, Contractor Rates & Related Skills | IT Jobs Watch. Published 2026-10-18, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-005
  20. survey Henderson Scott. Technology Salary Guide 2026. Published 2025-11-06, verified . ev-rate-gfua-001
  21. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-gbp
  22. job-board IT Jobs Watch. Penetration Tester Contract Job Trends, Contractor Rates & Skill Sets | IT Jobs Watch. Published 2026-10-18, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-007
  23. survey Henderson Scott. Technology Salary Guide 2026. Published 2025-11-06, verified . ev-rate-gfua-002
  24. survey Yolk Recruitment. Technology & Digital (Contract) Salary Survey 2025. Published 2025-06-17, verified . ev-rate-gfua-003
  25. job-board IT Jobs Watch. Performance Tester Contract Job Trends, Contractor Rates & Skill Sets | IT Jobs Watch. Published 2026-10-18, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-006
  26. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-21, verified . ev-rate-gfua-004
  27. job-board IT Jobs Watch. Test Analyst Contract Job Trends, Contractor Rates & Skill Sets | IT Jobs Watch. Published 2026-10-18, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-001
  28. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-26, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-016
  29. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-01, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-018
  30. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-01, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-023
  31. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-19, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-029
  32. job-board IT Jobs Watch. Test Automation Engineer Contract Job Trends, Contractor Rates & Skill Sets | IT Jobs Watch. Published 2026-10-18, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-003
  33. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-26, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-014
  34. job-board IT Jobs Watch. Test Manager Contract Job Trends, Contractor Rates & Skill Sets | IT Jobs Watch. Published 2026-10-18, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-009
  35. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-26, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-010
  36. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-01, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-021
  37. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-01, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-026
  38. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United Kingdom); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-01-19, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-032
  39. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in United States 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2025-07-03, verified . ev-rate-g2we-001
  40. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United States); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-08-22, verified . ev-rate-g2we-011
  41. job-board TalentUp. Test Automation Engineer Contractor Hourly Rate in United States 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-10-08, verified . ev-rate-g2we-002
  42. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: United States); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-07-11, verified . ev-rate-g2we-012
  43. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in Vietnam 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-09-16, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-013
  44. vendor-rate-card Vendor rate card (delivery country: Vietnam); vendor name and link are published only in the evidence file. Published 2026-09-14, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-015

Questions

How many countries does the QA rate data cover?

4 of 24 countries have a country page; 7 countries have at least one published rate record.

How is an hourly QA rate converted into a monthly or annual cost?

Monthly cost of one engineer = median hourly rate x 160 hours; annual cost = monthly cost x 12; the calculator applies the same steps to a team.

Can I download the QA rate data?

The data page offers CSV and JSON files with one row per published rate record under the CC BY 4.0 licence.

Figures are medians of published observations converted to USD at the quarterly ECB reference rate shown in the footer. They describe market ranges on the verification date, not quotes. Monthly and annual figures assume the hours stated on this page. Confidence grades are defined on the methodology page. This site does not recommend providers.