QA Rates Compare

Manual QA Engineer hourly rate by country

$32 / hour

Global median (the median of country medians; a median is the middle value of the weighted observations) for a middle Manual QA Engineer under the Hourly (time and materials) model: $32 per hour, the median of 7 country medians.

Manual QA Engineer (tests software by executing test cases and exploratory sessions without writing automation code). Typical tools named in the role definition: test management tools, API clients.

Manual QA Engineer: median hourly rate (USD) by country and seniority; hourly model where published
United Stateswithheld$104 Awithheldwithheld
United Kingdom$51 B$79 A$91 Awithheld
Germanywithheld$80 Bwithheldwithheld
Polandwithheld$32 Cwithheldwithheld
Indiawithheld$17 Bwithheldwithheld
Philippineswithheld$14 Awithheldwithheld
Vietnamwithheld$15 Awithheldwithheld

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

Where this role diverges from the global median

The United States diverges most: $104 against the global $32 per hour at the middle level under the Hourly (time and materials) model, a difference of 225%.

Sources

  1. freelance-platform FRATCH. Software Testers in Germany | Find vetted experts fast. Published 2026-08-06, verified . ev-rate-germany-001
  2. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in Germany 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-07-10, verified . ev-rate-gfeu-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. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in India 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-09-23, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-009
  5. 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
  6. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-inr
  7. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in Philippines 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-08-13, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-011
  8. 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
  9. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-php
  10. 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
  11. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in Poland 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-10-08, verified . ev-rate-gfeu-003
  12. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-pln
  13. 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-017
  14. job-board IT Jobs Watch. Junior Test Analyst Contract Job Trends, Contractor Rates & Skill Sets | IT Jobs Watch. Published 2025-10-20, verified . ev-rate-gfua-006
  15. fx European Central Bank. ECB euro foreign exchange reference rates (SDMX EXR). Published 2026-10-16, verified . ev-fx-2026-q4-gbp
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. 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
  21. job-board IT Jobs Watch. Senior Test Analyst Contract Job Trends, Contractor Rates & Skill Sets | IT Jobs Watch. Published 2026-10-18, verified . ev-rate-united-kingdom-002
  22. 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-015
  23. 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-019
  24. 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-024
  25. 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-030
  26. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in United States 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2025-07-03, verified . ev-rate-g2we-001
  27. 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
  28. job-board TalentUp. Software Tester Contractor Hourly Rate in Vietnam 2026 | TalentUp |. Published 2026-09-16, verified . ev-rate-g2ea-013
  29. 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

What is the median hourly rate for a Manual QA Engineer across all countries?

The global median for a Middle Manual QA Engineer (Hourly (time and materials)) is $32 per hour, the median of 7 country medians.

In which country does the Manual QA Engineer rate differ most from the global median?

The United States diverges most from the global median: $104 against $32 per hour at the middle level under the Hourly (time and materials) model.

What does a Manual QA Engineer do?

Manual QA Engineer: tests software by executing test cases and exploratory sessions without writing automation code.

How does the Manual QA Engineer rate change with seniority?

Only the middle level has 3 or more published countries, with a global hourly median of $32; the change between levels is shown per country on the country and role pages where at least 2 levels are published.

In how many countries is a Manual QA Engineer rate published?

7 countries have at least one published record for Manual QA Engineer.

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.