Cost to hire a QA engineer in the Philippines
Total employer cost by role and level, PHP, computed .
One role and level combination is published for the Philippines: a manual QA engineer at junior level costs a median total of PHP 555,696Confidence B a year.
Employer cost structure
Statutory items the employer pays on top of gross salary in the Philippines, 2026 rates. At the published median salary, employer contributions come to 13.3% of base salary (the employer contributions line divided by base salary). On salary up to the highest published one, the rates of the items charged add up to 14.5% on the first PHP 120,000 and 12.5% above PHP 120,000. The fixed amount in the table, PHP 360 a year, comes on top. These are cost items, not legal or tax advice.
| Contribution | Rate | Annual cap | Notes | At the published salaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security System (SSS), employer share incl. MySSS Pension Booster (MPF) portion[1][2] | 10% | PHP 420,000 | Minimum base PHP 60,000 a year. | Applied at every published salary |
| Employees' Compensation (EC) premium, employer only[3][4] | PHP 360 a year | none | Applied at every published salary | |
| PhilHealth premium, employer share[5][6][7] | 2.5% | PHP 1,200,000 | Minimum base PHP 120,000 a year. | Applied at every published salary |
| Pag-IBIG Fund (HDMF), employer share[8][9] | 2% | PHP 120,000 | Applied at every published salary |
| Benefit | Amount |
|---|---|
| 13th month pay[10] | 1 extra monthly salary |
Statutory paid leave: 5 days (working days)[11], public holidays 12[12]. Productive hours used for hourly figures: 1,804 a year (1,700 + 8 x 13, for 17 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: 5 days of leave, plus 12 public holidays).
Roles and levels
Median total annual cost as an employee, PHP. Each figure links to its full breakdown.
| Role | Junior | Mid-level | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual QA engineer | PHP 555,696Confidence B | not published | not published |
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 [10], [17] to [28] in the source list below.
Not published for the Philippines: 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[14][15][16]. Not specific to the Philippines unless the source says so.
Notes on cost items
- Cost item: unused service incentive leave is convertible to cash at year end or on separation.[13]
Sources
- Lawphil (statute text). Republic Act No. 11199 (Social Security Act of 2018)
- Grant Thornton Philippines. SSS implements revised contribution rates for 2025
- Triple i Consulting. SSS Contribution Table 2025: New Rates and How to Compute for Your Employees
- Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. PhilHealth Advisory No. 2025-0002
- Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. PhilHealth Circular No. 2020-0005 Premium Contribution Schedule (Revision 1)
- iScale Solutions. PhilHealth Contribution Guide 2026
- Home Development Mutual Fund (copy hosted by Grant Thornton). Pag-IBIG Fund Circular No. 460: Guidelines on the implementation of increase in the MFS effective February 2024
- Forvis Mazars Philippines. PAG-IBIG increases the Maximum Fund Salary and shares new monthly contribution rates in the Philippines
- Lawphil (statute text). Presidential Decree No. 851 (13th-month pay)
- Lawphil (statute text). P.D. No. 442 (Labor Code of the Philippines), Article 95, Right to service incentive leave
- PTV News / Philippine News Agency (government). Palace releases official list of 2026 holidays
- Senate of the Philippines. Senate bill text reproducing Labor Code Article 95 (service incentive leave)
- Manatal (citing JoinGenius). Average Time to Hire by Industry: 2026 Benchmarks
- 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 the Philippines?
- At the published median salary, employer contributions come to 13.3% of base salary (the employer contributions line divided by base salary). On salary up to the highest published one, the rates of the items charged add up to 14.5% on the first PHP 120,000 and 12.5% above PHP 120,000. The fixed amount in the table, PHP 360 a year, comes on top, and so does the mandatory benefit: the 13th-month pay. Rates, caps, conditions and the benefit amount are listed above with their sources.
- Which QA roles are published for the Philippines?
- Manual QA engineer. Other roles have fewer sources than the publication threshold.