Ireland · Manual QA engineer · Senior (5+ years)
Senior manual QA engineer in Ireland: EUR 67,330 a year,
Total employer cost as of , dataset v1.0.
Hiring a senior manual QA engineer as an employee in Ireland costs a median of EUR 67,330 a year (USD 75,255), with scenarios from EUR 61,537 to EUR 73,360.
Base salary is EUR 54,077; employer contributions (social security and payroll taxes the employer pays on top of salary), equipment, recruiting and ramp add 25%.
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 0.8947 EUR per USD on 7 October 2026[32].
| Component | p25 | Median | p75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary[1][2] 2 sources, spread 15% | EUR 50,303USD 56,223 | EUR 54,077USD 60,442 | EUR 57,852USD 64,661 |
| Employer contributions[3][4][5][6][7] | EUR 6,489USD 7,253 | EUR 6,976USD 7,797 | EUR 7,463USD 8,341 |
| Mandatory benefits (none in statute)[8][9] None in statute: the statutory sources list no payment beyond 12 monthly salaries; paid leave is counted in productive hours | EUR 0USD 0 | EUR 0USD 0 | EUR 0USD 0 |
| Voluntary benefits | Not estimated: fewer than two sources for this country; the total leaves it out | ||
| Equipment and tooling[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] | EUR 853USD 954 | EUR 1,011USD 1,130 | EUR 1,255USD 1,403 |
| Recruiting, amortised over 2.5 years[17][18][19] Agency fee 15% to 25% of base salary | EUR 3,018USD 3,373 | EUR 4,326USD 4,835 | EUR 5,785USD 6,466 |
| Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years (formula default)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] 4 weeks at 50% productivity | EUR 874USD 977 | EUR 939USD 1,050 | EUR 1,005USD 1,123 |
| Total annual cost | EUR 61,537USD 68,780 | EUR 67,330USD 75,255 | EUR 73,360USD 81,995 |
| First-year cost (recruiting and ramp not amortised) | EUR 67,375USD 75,305 | EUR 75,228USD 84,083 | EUR 83,545USD 93,378 |
| Monthly cost | EUR 5,128USD 5,732 | EUR 5,611USD 6,271 | EUR 6,113USD 6,833 |
| Hourly equivalent[8][9] | EUR 36USD 40 | EUR 40USD 44 | EUR 43USD 48 |
Hourly figures divide the annual cost by 1,700 productive hours 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)[8][9]. Leave days: the Act gives 4 working weeks; on a five-day week that is 4 x 5 = 20 working days[8].
- 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%
Employer contributions and mandatory benefits in Ireland
| Item | Type | Rate, cap or amount | At this salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer PRSI, Class A (includes National Training Fund Levy)[3][4][5] | Employer contributions | 11.4%, varies 9.15% to 11.4% | Applied |
| Auto-enrolment pension (My Future Fund), employer contribution[6][7] | Employer contributions | 1.5%, capped at EUR 80,000 a year, varies 0% to 1.5% | Applied |
Full statutory structure with caps and notes: Ireland country page.
What changes the number
- First year versus later years: the first year carries the full recruiting fee and ramp, EUR 75,228 at the median against EUR 67,330 in an average year.
- Voluntary benefits (private health insurance, pension top-ups, meal cards) are not in the total: fewer than two sources for Ireland. Where an employer offers them, the total is higher.
- City: the dataset covers no city in Ireland; the figure is national.
- Industry: no industry factor meets the two-source rule, so no industry adjustment is applied. See not published.
- Level: junior is also published for this role; the manual QA engineer page for Ireland lists every level with its sources.
Employee, contractor and outsourced
The same role and level under each hiring model, annual, EUR, 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. | EUR 67,330 | EUR 74,298[20][21][22][23] | +EUR 6,968 |
| Contractor Includes hourly rate for productive hours, platform fee, recruiting and onboarding ramp. Not included: employer contributions, mandatory benefits, equipment and paid leave (not billed). Rate from 2 sources for the Western Europe region (role, all levels). | EUR 67,330 | EUR 113,051[8], [9], [20] to [22], [24], [25] | +EUR 45,721 |
| Outsourced Includes vendor hourly rate for billed hours. Not included: recruiting, onboarding ramp, equipment and your own management time. Vendor rate USD 60 to USD 90 an hour, median USD 80; the median total uses the median rate. | EUR 67,330 | EUR 137,425[26][27][28] | +EUR 70,095 |
Time to hire
Sources put time to hire at 34 to 44 days, median 38 days[29][30][31]. The figure is not specific to QA roles.
Sources
Salary confidence B from 2 sources; employer contributions confidence B. How grades work.
- 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)
- Manatal (citing JoinGenius). Average Time to Hire by Industry: 2026 Benchmarks
- 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 senior manual QA engineer in Ireland?
- The median total annual employer cost is EUR 67,330 (USD 75,255), computed on 17 October 2026. The low and high scenarios are EUR 61,537 and EUR 73,360.
- How much is added on top of the salary?
- At the median, 25% is added to a base salary of EUR 54,077: employer contributions of EUR 6,976 plus equipment, recruiting and ramp as listed in the table.
- What does the first year cost?
- EUR 75,228 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: EUR 74,298 a year at the median. Contractor: EUR 113,051. Outsourced: EUR 137,425.