Cost of a QA contractor or an EOR hire
Two variants. A direct contractor bills an hourly rate for productive hours plus a contractor platform fee; no employer contributions (social security and payroll taxes an employer pays on top of salary) or mandatory benefits. An EOR (employer of record, a company that employs the person on your behalf) passes salary, statutory contributions and mandatory benefits through and adds a monthly fee. Each variant's lists are below.
Contractor: included
- hourly rate for productive hours
- platform fee
- recruiting
- onboarding ramp
Contractor: not included
- employer contributions
- mandatory benefits
- equipment
- paid leave (not billed)
Employer of record (EOR): included
- base salary
- employer contributions
- mandatory benefits
- EOR fee
- equipment
- recruiting
- onboarding ramp
Employer of record (EOR): not included
- voluntary benefits
- office space
- management time
- bonuses and equity
- Norway. Included: base salary, employer contributions, EOR fee, equipment, recruiting and onboarding ramp. Not included: voluntary benefits; office space; mandatory benefits (not estimated); management time; and bonuses and equity.
Every published combination
| Country | Role | Level | Employee | Contractor | EOR | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Manual QA engineer | Junior | USD 19,071 | not published | USD 26,859 | Confidence B |
| Canada | Test automation engineer | Senior | USD 81,946 | not published | USD 89,734 | Confidence B |
| Colombia | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 37,154 | not published | USD 44,942 | Confidence B |
| Germany | Manual QA engineer | Junior | USD 67,322 | USD 128,786 | USD 75,110 | Confidence B |
| Germany | Manual QA engineer | Mid-level | USD 70,309 | USD 127,177 | USD 78,097 | Confidence B |
| Germany | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 86,412 | USD 127,260 | USD 94,200 | Confidence B |
| Germany | Test automation engineer | Senior | USD 101,468 | not published | USD 109,256 | Confidence B |
| Hungary | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 65,135 | not published | USD 72,923 | Confidence B |
| India | QA lead | Senior | USD 17,713 | not published | USD 25,501 | Confidence A |
| Ireland | Manual QA engineer | Junior | USD 52,576 | USD 127,562 | USD 60,364 | Confidence B |
| Ireland | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 75,255 | USD 126,358 | USD 83,043 | Confidence B |
| Ireland | Test automation engineer | Senior | USD 99,896 | not published | USD 107,684 | Confidence B |
| Israel | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 113,635 | not published | USD 121,423 | Confidence B |
| Israel | Test automation engineer | Junior | USD 99,409 | not published | USD 107,197 | Confidence B |
| Israel | Test automation engineer | Mid-level | USD 135,206 | not published | USD 142,994 | Confidence B |
| Israel | Test automation engineer | Senior | USD 171,152 | not published | USD 178,940 | Confidence B |
| Mexico | Manual QA engineer | Junior | USD 17,402 | not published | USD 25,190 | Confidence B |
| Mexico | Manual QA engineer | Mid-level | USD 21,444 | not published | USD 29,232 | Confidence B |
| Mexico | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 31,572 | not published | USD 39,360 | Confidence B |
| Norway | Manual QA engineer | Mid-level | USD 78,388 | not published | USD 86,176 | Confidence B |
| Norway | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 101,968 | not published | USD 109,756 | Confidence B |
| Philippines | Manual QA engineer | Junior | USD 8,847 | not published | USD 16,635 | Confidence B |
| Portugal | Manual QA engineer | Mid-level | USD 37,331 | USD 122,052 | USD 45,119 | Confidence B |
| Singapore | Test automation engineer | Senior | USD 86,313 | not published | USD 94,101 | Confidence B |
| South Africa | Manual QA engineer | Mid-level | USD 23,169 | not published | USD 30,957 | Confidence B |
| South Africa | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 33,271 | not published | USD 41,059 | Confidence B |
| Spain | Manual QA engineer | Junior | USD 36,704 | USD 123,111 | USD 44,492 | Confidence B |
| Spain | Manual QA engineer | Mid-level | USD 50,666 | USD 122,040 | USD 58,454 | Confidence B |
| Switzerland | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 158,174 | USD 136,835 | USD 165,962 | Confidence B |
| United Arab Emirates | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 38,668 | not published | USD 46,456 | Confidence B |
| United Kingdom | Security test engineer | Senior | USD 126,068 | not published | USD 133,856 | Confidence B |
| United States | Manual QA engineer | Junior | USD 85,626 | not published | USD 93,414 | Confidence B |
| United States | Manual QA engineer | Mid-level | USD 107,256 | not published | USD 115,044 | Confidence B |
| United States | Test automation engineer | Senior | USD 136,985 | not published | USD 144,773 | Confidence B |
| Vietnam | Manual QA engineer | Senior | USD 17,189 | not published | USD 24,977 | Confidence B |
The letter in the confidence column is its confidence grade (A, B or C, from the number and agreement of the sources); how grades work.
Sources: in the source list on this page, and next to each figure on the linked breakdown pages.
Sources
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- Employees' Provident Fund Organisation. Present rates of contribution by contribution accounts / administration accounts
- Employees' State Insurance Corporation. ESIC Contribution
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- 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
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- National Insurance Institute of Israel (Bituach Leumi). Insurance contribution rates for salaried employees
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Israel - Individual - Other taxes
- Government of Israel (gov.il). SEC version A (When Employer is the PWD) - Hebrew - English - 2026
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- WorkMotion. Israel employment guide
- Ministry of Labor (gov.il). Provisions for Severance Pay
- Barnea Jaffa Lande Law Offices. Update for Employers: Increase in Israeli Convalescence Pay Rate
- Talently. Salario de un QA en México
- El Contribuyente. Cuotas Obrero Patronales 2026
- Praxium Consultores. Cuotas IMSS obrero patronales 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Mexico - Corporate - Other taxes
- Forvis Mazars Mexico. Incremento al Impuesto sobre Nomina en la CDMX para 2025
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- ERI SalaryExpert. QA Engineer Salary in Portugal (2026) - ERI SalaryExpert
- Segurança Social. Trabalhadores por conta de outrem - seg-social.pt
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- GoBusiness Singapore. About Skills Development Levy (SDL)
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- SalaryExpert (ERI). Test Analyst Salary in South Africa (2026) - SalaryExpert
- South African Revenue Service. Unemployment Insurance Fund
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- South African Revenue Service. Skills Development Levy
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- Department of Employment and Labour, Government Gazette (gov.za). Maximum amount of earnings and minimum assessment on which the assessment of an employer shall be calculated (General Notice 3910, Government Gazette No. 54577)
- SimplePay. COID ROE Annual Limit Increase
- South African Government (gov.za). Public holidays in South Africa
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- conversoriaecnae.es (reproduces D.A. 61ª TRLGSS, Cuadro I). Tarifas de cotización AT/EP - CNAE 62 Programación, consultoría y otras actividades relacionadas con la informática
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- Boletín Oficial del Estado. Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2015, texto refundido de la Ley del Estatuto de los Trabajadores
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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
- Which model costs less?
- The table shows the median total of each model for every published combination, and reads not published where a model's figure does not meet the source threshold; the linked breakdown page gives the reason. The models include different items, so a lower figure can mean fewer items included. The contractor and EOR columns follow the included and not-included lists of their model above, and the employee column follows the lists on the full-time employee model page; where a country's lists differ, the difference is listed under them.