Manual QA engineer cost in Portugal
Designs and executes test cases by hand, reports and verifies defects. Total employer cost by level, EUR, computed .
Hiring a manual QA engineer as an employee in Portugal costs a median of EUR 33,400Confidence B a year at mid-level.
Each total includes base salary, employer contributions (social security and payroll taxes the employer pays on top of salary), benefits, equipment, recruiting and ramp (the weeks before a new hire works at full productivity).
By level
| Level | Base salary | Total, median | Scenario range | First year | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level | EUR 21,356[1][2] | EUR 33,400 | EUR 29,631EUR 37,340 | EUR 37,001 | Confidence B |
Sources for the totals in this table (base salary footnotes are on each row): [1] to [17] in the source list below.
Not published: junior and senior, fewer sources than the threshold. Reasons.
Where the cost goes
Mid-level
- Base salary 63.9%
- Employer contributions 15.2%
- Mandatory benefits 10.7%
- Equipment and tooling 3.0%
- Recruiting, amortised over 2.5 years 5.1%
- Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years 2.1%
Versus contractor and outsourced
| Level | Employee | Employer of record | Contractor | Outsourced | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid-level | EUR 33,400 | EUR 40,368 | EUR 109,199 | EUR 137,425 | Confidence B |
Sources for the totals in this table (the shared employee lines and each model's fee or rate): [1] to [28] in the source list below.
4 of 4 models published. Employee · Contractor and EOR · Outsourced.
Sources
- ERI SalaryExpert. QA Engineer Salary in Portugal (2026) - ERI SalaryExpert
- Segurança Social. Trabalhadores por conta de outrem - seg-social.pt
- Diário da República. Código dos Regimes Contributivos do Sistema Previdencial de Segurança Social
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Portugal - Individual - Other taxes
- Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa (consolidated legislation). Código do Trabalho, Artigo 263.º Subsídio de Natal
- Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa (consolidated legislation). Código do Trabalho, Artigo 264.º Retribuição do período de férias e subsídio
- 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)
- Câmara Municipal da Marinha Grande (hosted statute text). Lei n.º 7/2009 (Código do Trabalho), consolidated extract, Artigo 238.º Duração do período de férias
- Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa (consolidated legislation). Código do Trabalho, Artigo 234.º Feriados obrigatórios
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
- QA vendor rate page (vendor not named)
- QA vendor rate page (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; 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 a manual QA engineer cost in Portugal?
- Mid-level: EUR 33,400 a year at the median, total employer cost, computed 17 October 2026.