Manual QA engineer cost in Ireland
Designs and executes test cases by hand, reports and verifies defects. Total employer cost by level, EUR, computed .
Hiring a manual QA engineer as an employee in Ireland costs a median of EUR 47,040Confidence B a year at junior level and EUR 67,330Confidence B at senior level.
Each total includes base salary, employer contributions (social security and payroll taxes the employer pays on top of salary), benefits, equipment, recruiting and ramp (the weeks before a new hire works at full productivity).
By level
| Level | Base salary | Total, median | Scenario range | First year | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | EUR 36,751[1][2] | EUR 47,040 | EUR 45,243EUR 48,952 | EUR 53,844 | Confidence B |
| Senior | EUR 54,077[29][30] | EUR 67,330 | EUR 61,537EUR 73,360 | EUR 75,228 | Confidence B |
Sources for the totals in this table (base salary footnotes are on each row): [1] to [19], [29], [30] in the source list below.
Not published: mid-level, fewer sources than the threshold. Reasons.
Where the cost goes
Junior
- Base salary 78.1%
- Employer contributions 10.1%
- Equipment and tooling 2.1%
- Recruiting, amortised over 2.5 years 6.3%
- Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years 3.4%
Senior
- Base salary 80.3%
- Employer contributions 10.4%
- Equipment and tooling 1.5%
- Recruiting, amortised over 2.5 years 6.4%
- Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years 1.4%
Versus contractor and outsourced
| Level | Employee | Employer of record | Contractor | Outsourced | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | EUR 47,040 | EUR 54,008 | EUR 114,129 | EUR 137,425 | Confidence B |
| Senior | EUR 67,330 | EUR 74,298 | EUR 113,051 | EUR 137,425 | Confidence B |
Sources for the totals in this table (the shared employee lines and each model's fee or rate): [1] to [30] in the source list below.
4 of 4 models published. Employee · Contractor and EOR · Outsourced.
Sources
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Ireland - Individual - Other taxes
- Law Society of Ireland. Universal Social Charge and PRSI
- Department of Social Protection (gov.ie). Auto-enrolment retirement savings system for employers
- Mason Hayes & Curran. Auto-enrolment
- Law Reform Commission (Revised Acts, official consolidated statute text). Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Section 19 (Revised Acts)
- Workplace Relations Commission. Public Holidays - Workplace Relations Commission
- 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
- Deel. Deel pricing
- Remote. Remote pricing
- Oyster HR. Oyster pricing
- Multiplier. Multiplier pricing
- freelancermap GmbH. Freelancer Softwaretester (freelancermap.de)
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
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
- How much does a manual QA engineer cost in Ireland?
- Junior: EUR 47,040 and senior: EUR 67,330 a year at the median, total employer cost, computed 17 October 2026.