Philippines · Manual QA engineer · Junior (0-2 years)
Junior manual QA engineer in the Philippines: PHP 555,696 a year,
Total employer cost as of , dataset v1.0.
Hiring a junior manual QA engineer as an employee in the Philippines costs a median of PHP 555,696 a year (USD 8,847), with scenarios from PHP 491,341 to PHP 627,472.
Base salary is PHP 360,978; employer contributions (social security and payroll taxes the employer pays on top of salary), mandatory benefits, equipment, recruiting and ramp add 54%.
Breakdown
Each row applies formula v1.0 to sourced inputs. The p25 and p75 columns apply the formula to the low and high ends of each input; they are scenarios, not percentiles of the total. Footnote numbers point to the sources below. USD figures use 62.8102 PHP per USD on 7 October 2026[36].
| Component | p25 | Median | p75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary[1][2] 2 sources, spread 22% | PHP 325,956USD 5,190 | PHP 360,978USD 5,747 | PHP 396,000USD 6,305 |
| Employer contributions[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] | PHP 43,505USD 693 | PHP 47,882USD 762 | PHP 52,260USD 832 |
| Mandatory benefits[12] | PHP 27,163USD 432 | PHP 30,082USD 479 | PHP 33,000USD 525 |
| Voluntary benefits | Not estimated: fewer than two sources for this country; the total leaves it out | ||
| Equipment and tooling[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] | PHP 59,905USD 954 | PHP 70,994USD 1,130 | PHP 88,102USD 1,403 |
| Recruiting, amortised over 2.5 years[20][21][22] Agency fee 15% to 25% of base salary | PHP 19,557USD 311 | PHP 28,878USD 460 | PHP 39,600USD 630 |
| Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years (formula default)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] 10 weeks at 50% productivity | PHP 15,255USD 243 | PHP 16,882USD 269 | PHP 18,510USD 295 |
| Total annual cost | PHP 491,341USD 7,823 | PHP 555,696USD 8,847 | PHP 627,472USD 9,990 |
| First-year cost (recruiting and ramp not amortised) | PHP 543,559USD 8,654 | PHP 624,337USD 9,940 | PHP 714,637USD 11,378 |
| Monthly cost | PHP 40,945USD 652 | PHP 46,308USD 737 | PHP 52,289USD 832 |
| Hourly equivalent[34][35] | PHP 272USD 4 | PHP 308USD 5 | PHP 348USD 6 |
Hourly figures divide the annual cost by 1,804 productive hours 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)[34][35].
- Base salary 65.0%
- Employer contributions 8.6%
- Mandatory benefits 5.4%
- Equipment and tooling 12.8%
- Recruiting, amortised over 2.5 years 5.2%
- Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years 3.0%
Employer contributions and mandatory benefits in the Philippines
| Item | Type | Rate, cap or amount | At this salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security System (SSS), employer share incl. MySSS Pension Booster (MPF) portion[3][4] | Employer contributions | 10%, capped at PHP 420,000 a year, minimum base PHP 60,000 a year | Applied |
| Employees' Compensation (EC) premium, employer only[5][6] | Employer contributions | 0%, PHP 360 a year | Applied |
| PhilHealth premium, employer share[7][8][9] | Employer contributions | 2.5%, capped at PHP 1,200,000 a year, minimum base PHP 120,000 a year | Applied |
| Pag-IBIG Fund (HDMF), employer share[10][11] | Employer contributions | 2%, capped at PHP 120,000 a year | Applied |
| 13th month pay[12] | Mandatory benefits | 1 extra monthly salary | Applied |
Full statutory structure with caps and notes: Philippines country page.
What changes the number
- First year versus later years: the first year carries the full recruiting fee and ramp, PHP 624,337 at the median against PHP 555,696 in an average year.
- Voluntary benefits (private health insurance, pension top-ups, meal cards) are not in the total: fewer than two sources for the Philippines. Where an employer offers them, the total is higher.
- City: no city in the Philippines has enough data for this role and level; the figure is national.
- Industry: no industry factor meets the two-source rule, so no industry adjustment is applied. See not published.
- Level: no other level of this role is published for the Philippines.
Employee, contractor and outsourced
The same role and level under each hiring model, annual, PHP, median. Each model includes different items, listed under its name. A model without enough sources reads “not published” with the reason; see not published.
| Hiring model | Employee, total | This model, total | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer of record Includes base salary, employer contributions, mandatory benefits, EOR fee, equipment, recruiting and onboarding ramp. Not included: voluntary benefits; office space; management time; and bonuses and equity. Salary, contributions and mandatory benefits pass through the EOR at statutory rates. | PHP 555,696 | PHP 1,044,862[23][24][25][26] | +PHP 489,166 |
| Contractor Not published: no contractor hourly rate for this role in the Southeast Asia region meets the two-source rule. | PHP 555,696 | not published | n/a |
| Outsourced Includes vendor hourly rate for billed hours. Not included: recruiting, onboarding ramp, equipment and your own management time. Vendor rate USD 16.50 to USD 31 an hour, median USD 25; the median total uses the median rate. | PHP 555,696 | PHP 3,014,891[27][28][29][30] | +PHP 2,459,195 |
Time to hire
Sources put time to hire at 34 to 44 days, median 38 days[31][32][33]. The figure is not specific to QA roles.
Sources
Salary confidence B from 2 sources; employer contributions confidence B. How grades work.
- 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)
- 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
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
- Manatal (citing JoinGenius). Average Time to Hire by Industry: 2026 Benchmarks
- 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
- European Central Bank. Euro foreign exchange reference rates
Formula
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 it cost to hire a junior manual QA engineer in the Philippines?
- The median total annual employer cost is PHP 555,696 (USD 8,847), computed on 17 October 2026. The low and high scenarios are PHP 491,341 and PHP 627,472.
- How much is added on top of the salary?
- At the median, 54% is added to a base salary of PHP 360,978: employer contributions of PHP 47,882 plus mandatory benefits, equipment, recruiting and ramp as listed in the table.
- What does the first year cost?
- PHP 624,337 at the median, because the full recruiting fee and the full onboarding ramp fall in the first year instead of being spread over the 2.5-year expected tenure.
- How long does it take to hire?
- Sources put time to hire at 34 to 44 days, median 38 days. This figure is not specific to this role and level.
- Are contractor and outsourced figures published?
- Employer of record: PHP 1,044,862 a year at the median. Contractor is not published: no contractor hourly rate for this role in the Southeast Asia region meets the two-source rule. Outsourced: PHP 3,014,891.