Portugal · Manual QA engineer · Mid-level (2-5 years)
Mid-level manual QA engineer in Portugal: EUR 33,400 a year,
Total employer cost as of , dataset v1.0.
Hiring a mid-level manual QA engineer as an employee in Portugal costs a median of EUR 33,400 a year (USD 37,331), with scenarios from EUR 29,631 to EUR 37,340.
Base salary is EUR 21,356; employer contributions (social security and payroll taxes the employer pays on top of salary), mandatory benefits, equipment, recruiting and ramp add 56%.
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 22% | EUR 19,229USD 21,492 | EUR 21,356USD 23,870 | EUR 23,484USD 26,248 |
| Employer contributions[3][4][5] | EUR 4,567USD 5,104 | EUR 5,072USD 5,669 | EUR 5,577USD 6,234 |
| Mandatory benefits[6][7] | EUR 3,205USD 3,582 | EUR 3,559USD 3,978 | EUR 3,914USD 4,375 |
| Voluntary benefits | Not estimated: fewer than two sources for this country; the total leaves it out | ||
| Equipment and tooling[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] | EUR 853USD 954 | EUR 1,011USD 1,130 | EUR 1,255USD 1,403 |
| Recruiting, amortised over 2.5 years[15][16][17] Agency fee 15% to 25% of base salary | EUR 1,154USD 1,290 | EUR 1,709USD 1,910 | EUR 2,348USD 2,625 |
| Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years (formula default)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] 6 weeks at 50% productivity | EUR 623USD 696 | EUR 692USD 773 | EUR 761USD 851 |
| Total annual cost | EUR 29,631USD 33,118 | EUR 33,400USD 37,331 | EUR 37,340USD 41,735 |
| First-year cost (recruiting and ramp not amortised) | EUR 32,296USD 36,097 | EUR 37,001USD 41,356 | EUR 42,004USD 46,948 |
| Monthly cost | EUR 2,469USD 2,760 | EUR 2,783USD 3,111 | EUR 3,112USD 3,478 |
| Hourly equivalent[24][25] | EUR 18USD 20 | EUR 20USD 22 | EUR 22USD 25 |
Hourly figures divide the annual cost by 1,668 productive hours a year (1,700 - 8 x 4, for 34 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: 22 days of leave, plus 12 public holidays; the statute lists 13, but Easter Sunday always falls on a Sunday and removes no working day)[24][25].
- 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%
Employer contributions and mandatory benefits in Portugal
| Item | Type | Rate, cap or amount | At this salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social security, employer share (taxa social única)[3][4][5] | Employer contributions | 23.75% | Applied |
| Christmas subsidy (subsídio de Natal)[6] | Mandatory benefits | 1 extra monthly salary | Applied |
| Holiday subsidy (subsídio de férias)[7] | Mandatory benefits | 1 extra monthly salary | Applied |
Full statutory structure with caps and notes: Portugal country page.
What changes the number
- First year versus later years: the first year carries the full recruiting fee and ramp, EUR 37,001 at the median against EUR 33,400 in an average year.
- Voluntary benefits (private health insurance, pension top-ups, meal cards) are not in the total: fewer than two sources for Portugal. Where an employer offers them, the total is higher.
- City: no city in Portugal 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 Portugal.
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 33,400 | EUR 40,368[18][19][20][21] | +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 33,400 | EUR 109,199[18] to [20], [22] to [25] | +EUR 75,799 |
| 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 33,400 | EUR 137,425[26][27][28] | +EUR 104,025 |
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.
- 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)
- 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 mid-level manual QA engineer in Portugal?
- The median total annual employer cost is EUR 33,400 (USD 37,331), computed on 17 October 2026. The low and high scenarios are EUR 29,631 and EUR 37,340.
- How much is added on top of the salary?
- At the median, 56% is added to a base salary of EUR 21,356: employer contributions of EUR 5,072 plus mandatory benefits, equipment, recruiting and ramp as listed in the table.
- What does the first year cost?
- EUR 37,001 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 40,368 a year at the median. Contractor: EUR 109,199. Outsourced: EUR 137,425.