Cost to hire a QA engineer in Colombia
Total employer cost by role and level, COP, computed .
One role and level combination is published for Colombia: a manual QA engineer at senior level costs a median total of COP 119,486,651Confidence B a year.
Employer cost structure
Statutory items the employer pays on top of gross salary in Colombia, 2026 rates. At the published median salary, employer contributions come to 16.522% of base salary, the sum of the rates of the items charged; the caps in the table are above the published salaries. Two items are not charged at any published salary: the EPS health contribution and the ICBF and SENA payroll levies (the conditions are in the table). The rates above and the employer contributions line leave them out. These are cost items, not legal or tax advice.
| Contribution | Rate | Annual cap | Notes | At the published salaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pension contribution, employer share[1][2] | 12% | COP 525,271,500 | Applied at every published salary | |
| Health contribution (EPS), employer share[1][3][4] | 8.5% | COP 525,271,500 | Due only where annual pay is above COP 210,108,600 a year. | Not applied at the published salaries: due only where annual pay is above COP 210,108,600 |
| Occupational risk insurance (ARL)[1][5] | 0.522% | COP 525,271,500 | Varies 0.522% to 6.96%. | Applied at every published salary |
| Family compensation fund (caja de compensacion familiar)[6] | 4% | none | Applied at every published salary | |
| Payroll levies ICBF (3%) and SENA (2%) for workers earning 10+ minimum wages[1][4][7] | 5% | none | Due only where annual pay is above COP 210,108,600 a year. | Not applied at the published salaries: due only where annual pay is above COP 210,108,600 |
| Benefit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Service bonus (prima de servicios), 30 days' salary a year[8] | 1 extra monthly salary |
| Severance fund deposit (auxilio de cesantia), one month's salary a year[9] | 1 extra monthly salary |
Statutory paid leave: 15 days (working days)[10], public holidays 18[11]. Productive hours used for hourly figures: 1,676 a year (1,700 - 8 x 3, for 33 working days of statutory leave and public holidays against the 30 days that the 1,700-hour year allows for, as this site reads the formula: 15 days of leave, plus 18 public holidays).
Roles and levels
Median total annual cost as an employee, COP. Each figure links to its full breakdown.
| Role | Junior | Mid-level | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual QA engineer | not published | not published | COP 119,486,651Confidence B |
The letter after each figure is its confidence grade (A, B or C, from the number and agreement of the sources); how grades work.
Sources for the totals in this table: [1] to [9], [15] to [26] in the source list below.
Not published for Colombia: test automation engineer, SDET, performance test engineer, mobile QA engineer, security test engineer, QA lead and AI QA engineer. Reasons.
Time to hire
Sources put time to hire at 34 to 44 days, median 38 days[12][13][14]. Not specific to Colombia unless the source says so.
Notes on cost items
- Integral salary (salario integral, at least 13 minimum wages including a 30% benefits factor) replaces prima, cesantias and interest; contributions are then on 70% of it. Not modelled.[1]
Sources
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Colombia - Individual - Other taxes
- Secretaria del Senado. Ley 100 de 1993, Art. 20 Monto de las cotizaciones
- Secretaria del Senado. Ley 100 de 1993, Art. 204 Monto y distribucion de las cotizaciones
- Secretaria del Senado. Estatuto Tributario, Art. 114-1 Exoneracion de aportes
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Colombia - Corporate - Other taxes
- Departamento Administrativo de la Funcion Publica (Gestor Normativo). Ley 21 de 1982 (subsidio familiar)
- Ministerio del Trabajo (via ICFES normograma). Concepto Ministerio del Trabajo 0220783 de 2015
- Secretaria del Senado. Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo, Art. 306 Prima de servicios
- Secretaria del Senado. Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo, Art. 249 Auxilio de cesantia
- Secretaria del Senado. Codigo Sustantivo del Trabajo, Art. 186 Duracion de vacaciones
- Departamento Administrativo de la Funcion Publica. Ley 51 de 1983 (festivos)
- Manatal (citing JoinGenius). Average Time to Hire by Industry: 2026 Benchmarks
- ERI SalaryExpert. SalaryExpert - QA Engineer Salary in Colombia (2026)
- Apple. Buy MacBook Air
- Apple. Buy MacBook Pro
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
- Linear. Linear pricing
- Manatal. Recruitment fees (agency fee guide)
- Apollo Technical. What is a placement fee for engineering hiring
- HeroHunt.ai. True Cost to Hire an AI Engineer in 2026
Formula v1.0How each component is computed
version: 1.0
total_annual_cost =
base_salary
+ employer_contributions # statutory rates applied to base with caps; per country
+ mandatory_benefits # 13th or 14th salary, paid leave value above base, mandatory insurance; per country
+ voluntary_benefits # health, pension top-up, meal and transport; market survey medians per country and level; shown as a separate line
+ equipment_and_tooling # laptop amortised over 3 years, licences, test devices for mobile roles; per level and role
+ recruiting_cost_amortised # recruiting cost / expected tenure years; per country, role and model
+ onboarding_ramp # ramp_weeks x weekly cost x (1 - productivity_factor); per level
first_year_cost = total_annual_cost - recruiting_cost_amortised + recruiting_cost - onboarding_ramp_amortised + onboarding_ramp
monthly_cost = total_annual_cost / 12
hourly_equivalent = total_annual_cost / productive_hours
# Defaults (overridable per country in data with a source)
expected_tenure_years: 2.5
productive_hours: 1,700 per year, adjusted by statutory paid leave per country
ramp_weeks: junior 10, mid 6, senior 4
productivity_factor_during_ramp: 0.5
equipment_amortisation_years: 3
# Hiring models
employee: full formula
contractor: contractor_rate x hours + platform_or_eor_fee; no employer_contributions, no mandatory_benefits unless the EOR passes them through (sourced); recruiting as for employee; ramp as for employee
outsourced: published vendor monthly or hourly rate per role and region; no recruiting, no ramp, no equipment; show typical minimum engagement from sources
# Output per combination
p25, median, p75 for each component and for the totals, in local currency and USD at fx.json date; confidence grade; source ids; computedOnFormula v1.0
version: 1.0
total_annual_cost =
base_salary
+ employer_contributions # statutory rates applied to base with caps; per country
+ mandatory_benefits # 13th or 14th salary, paid leave value above base, mandatory insurance; per country
+ voluntary_benefits # health, pension top-up, meal and transport; market survey medians per country and level; shown as a separate line
+ equipment_and_tooling # laptop amortised over 3 years, licences, test devices for mobile roles; per level and role
+ recruiting_cost_amortised # recruiting cost / expected tenure years; per country, role and model
+ onboarding_ramp # ramp_weeks x weekly cost x (1 - productivity_factor); per level
first_year_cost = total_annual_cost - recruiting_cost_amortised + recruiting_cost - onboarding_ramp_amortised + onboarding_ramp
monthly_cost = total_annual_cost / 12
hourly_equivalent = total_annual_cost / productive_hours
# Defaults (overridable per country in data with a source)
expected_tenure_years: 2.5
productive_hours: 1,700 per year, adjusted by statutory paid leave per country
ramp_weeks: junior 10, mid 6, senior 4
productivity_factor_during_ramp: 0.5
equipment_amortisation_years: 3
# Hiring models
employee: full formula
contractor: contractor_rate x hours + platform_or_eor_fee; no employer_contributions, no mandatory_benefits unless the EOR passes them through (sourced); recruiting as for employee; ramp as for employee
outsourced: published vendor monthly or hourly rate per role and region; no recruiting, no ramp, no equipment; show typical minimum engagement from sources
# Output per combination
p25, median, p75 for each component and for the totals, in local currency and USD at fx.json date; confidence grade; source ids; computedOnQuestions
- What does an employer pay on top of salary in Colombia?
- At the published median salary, employer contributions come to 16.522% of base salary, the sum of the rates of the items charged; the caps in the table are above the published salaries. Two items are not charged at any published salary: the EPS health contribution and the ICBF and SENA payroll levies (the conditions are in the table). The rates above and the employer contributions line leave them out. Mandatory benefits come on top: the service bonus (prima de servicios) and the severance fund deposit (auxilio de cesantia). Rates, caps, conditions and benefit amounts are listed above with their sources.
- Which QA roles are published for Colombia?
- Manual QA engineer. Other roles have fewer sources than the publication threshold.