Spain · Manual QA engineer · Mid-level (2-5 years)
Mid-level manual QA engineer in Spain: EUR 45,330 a year,
Total employer cost as of , dataset v1.0.
Hiring a mid-level manual QA engineer as an employee in Spain costs a median of EUR 45,330 a year (USD 50,666), with scenarios from EUR 40,190 to EUR 50,668.
Base salary is EUR 27,656; employer contributions (social security and payroll taxes the employer pays on top of salary), mandatory benefits, equipment, recruiting and ramp add 64%.
Median total annual cost, employee
EUR 45,330
USD 50,666 at the dataset exchange rate
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[30].
| Component | p25 | Median | p75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary[1][2] 2 sources, spread 23% | EUR 24,857USD 27,783 | EUR 27,656USD 30,911 | EUR 30,455USD 34,040 |
| Employer contributions[3][4][5][6] | EUR 7,992USD 8,932 | EUR 8,891USD 9,938 | EUR 9,791USD 10,944 |
| Mandatory benefits[7] | EUR 4,143USD 4,630 | EUR 4,609USD 5,152 | EUR 5,076USD 5,673 |
| 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 1,491USD 1,667 | EUR 2,212USD 2,473 | EUR 3,045USD 3,404 |
| Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years (formula default)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] 6 weeks at 50% productivity | EUR 854USD 954 | EUR 950USD 1,062 | EUR 1,046USD 1,169 |
| Total annual cost | EUR 40,190USD 44,920 | EUR 45,330USD 50,666 | EUR 50,668USD 56,632 |
| First-year cost (recruiting and ramp not amortised) | EUR 43,708USD 48,852 | EUR 50,074USD 55,967 | EUR 56,805USD 63,492 |
| Monthly cost | EUR 3,349USD 3,743 | EUR 3,778USD 4,222 | EUR 4,222USD 4,719 |
| Hourly equivalent[7] | EUR 24USD 27 | EUR 27USD 31 | EUR 31USD 34 |
Hourly figures divide the annual cost by 1,660 productive hours a year (1,700 - 8 x 5, for 35 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; the statute's 30 calendar days of leave count at 5/7 (30 x 5/7, rounded to 21 working days), plus 14 public holidays)[7].
- Base salary 61.0%
- Employer contributions 19.6%
- Mandatory benefits 10.2%
- Equipment and tooling 2.2%
- Recruiting, amortised over 2.5 years 4.9%
- Onboarding ramp, amortised over 2.5 years 2.1%
Employer contributions and mandatory benefits in Spain
| Item | Type | Rate, cap or amount | At this salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common contingencies (contingencias comunes)[3][4] | Employer contributions | 23.6%, capped at EUR 61,214.40 a year | Applied |
| Unemployment (desempleo), permanent contract[3] | Employer contributions | 5.5%, capped at EUR 61,214.40 a year | Applied |
| Wage guarantee fund (FOGASA)[3] | Employer contributions | 0.2%, capped at EUR 61,214.40 a year | Applied |
| Vocational training (formación profesional)[3] | Employer contributions | 0.6%, capped at EUR 61,214.40 a year | Applied |
| Intergenerational equity mechanism (MEI)[4] | Employer contributions | 0.75%, capped at EUR 61,214.40 a year | Applied |
| Work accident and occupational disease (AT/EP), CNAE 62[5][6] | Employer contributions | 1.5%, capped at EUR 61,214.40 a year | Applied |
| Additional solidarity contribution, band 1[4][6] | Employer contributions | 0.96%, capped at EUR 67,335.84 a year, on earnings above EUR 61,214.40 a year | Not applied at this salary: charged only on earnings above EUR 61,214.40 a year |
| Additional solidarity contribution, band 2[4] | Employer contributions | 1.04%, capped at EUR 91,821.60 a year, on earnings above EUR 67,335.84 a year | Not applied at this salary: charged only on earnings above EUR 67,335.84 a year |
| Additional solidarity contribution, band 3[4] | Employer contributions | 1.22%, on earnings above EUR 91,821.60 a year | Not applied at this salary: charged only on earnings above EUR 91,821.60 a year |
| Two extraordinary payments (pagas extra)[7] | Mandatory benefits | 2 extra monthly salaries | Applied |
Full statutory structure with caps and notes: Spain country page.
What changes the number
- First year versus later years: the first year carries the full recruiting fee and ramp, EUR 50,074 at the median against EUR 45,330 in an average year.
- Voluntary benefits (private health insurance, pension top-ups, meal cards) are not in the total: fewer than two sources for Spain. Where an employer offers them, the total is higher.
- City: no city in Spain 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: junior is also published for this role; the manual QA engineer page for Spain 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 45,330 | EUR 52,298[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 45,330 | EUR 109,189[7], [18] to [20], [22], [23] | +EUR 63,859 |
| 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 45,330 | EUR 137,425[24][25][26] | +EUR 92,095 |
Time to hire
Sources put time to hire at 34 to 44 days, median 38 days[27][28][29]. The figure is not specific to QA roles.
Sources
Salary confidence B from 2 sources; employer contributions confidence B. How grades work.
- Seguridad Social (TGSS). Bases y tipos de cotización 2026
- 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
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. Spain - Individual - Other taxes
- Boletín Oficial del Estado. Real Decreto Legislativo 2/2015, texto refundido de la Ley del Estatuto de los Trabajadores
- 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 mid-level manual QA engineer in Spain?
- The median total annual employer cost is EUR 45,330 (USD 50,666), computed on 17 October 2026. The low and high scenarios are EUR 40,190 and EUR 50,668.
- How much is added on top of the salary?
- At the median, 64% is added to a base salary of EUR 27,656: employer contributions of EUR 8,891 plus mandatory benefits, equipment, recruiting and ramp as listed in the table.
- What does the first year cost?
- EUR 50,074 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 52,298 a year at the median. Contractor: EUR 109,189. Outsourced: EUR 137,425.