Cost to hire a QA engineer in Ireland
Total employer cost by role and level, EUR, computed .
Across 3 published role and level combinations in Ireland, the median total employer cost runs from EUR 47,040 to EUR 89,377 a yearConfidence B. A manual QA engineer at junior level costs EUR 47,040Confidence B.
Employer cost structure
Statutory items the employer pays on top of gross salary in Ireland, 2026 rates. At each of the 3 published median salaries, employer contributions come to 12.9% of base salary, the sum of the rates of the items charged; the caps in the table are above the published salaries. These are cost items, not legal or tax advice.
| Contribution | Rate | Annual cap | Notes | At the published salaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employer PRSI, Class A (includes National Training Fund Levy)[1][2][3] | 11.4% | none | Varies 9.15% to 11.4%. | Applied at every published salary |
| Auto-enrolment pension (My Future Fund), employer contribution[4][5] | 1.5% | EUR 80,000 | Varies 0% to 1.5%. | Applied at every published salary |
Mandatory benefits beyond 12 monthly salaries. None in statute: the statutory sources list no payment beyond 12 monthly salaries; paid leave is counted in productive hours[6][7].
Statutory paid leave: 20 days (working days)[6], public holidays 10[7]. Leave days: the Act gives 4 working weeks; on a five-day week that is 4 x 5 = 20 working days[6]. Productive hours used for hourly figures: 1,700 a year (20 days of leave, derived from the statute's rule, plus 10 public holidays make 30 working days, the days that the 1,700-hour year already allows for, as this site reads the formula).
Roles and levels
Median total annual cost as an employee, EUR. Each figure links to its full breakdown.
| Role | Junior | Mid-level | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual QA engineer | EUR 47,040Confidence B | not published | EUR 67,330Confidence B |
| Test automation engineer | not published | not published | EUR 89,377Confidence 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 [7], [11] to [29] in the source list below.
Not published for Ireland: 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[8][9][10]. Not specific to Ireland unless the source says so.
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
- 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
- HERO Recruitment. IT Salary Guide Ireland 2026 | HERO Recruitment
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
- Testing tool list price (vendor not named)
- Testing tool list price (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; computedOnversion: 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 Ireland?
- At each of the 3 published median salaries, employer contributions come to 12.9% of base salary, the sum of the rates of the items charged; the caps in the table are above the published salaries. Rates, caps and conditions are listed above with their sources.
- Which QA roles are published for Ireland?
- Manual QA engineer and test automation engineer. Other roles have fewer sources than the publication threshold.