Fully loaded cost of a QA engineer

The fully loaded cost of a QA engineer is the total annual cost to the employer, not the salary on the offer letter. It adds employer contributions, mandatory and voluntary benefits, equipment, and the yearly share of recruiting and onboarding to the base salary. The loading factor (total cost divided by base salary) is the single number that shows how far the total sits above the salary.

Definition used on this site

This site uses one definition of fully loaded cost for every country, role and level. It is the total_annual_cost line of the published formula:

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; computedOn

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; computedOn

The formula names a default for each assumption it makes. Expected tenure is 2.5 years. Ramp is 10 weeks for a junior, 6 for a mid-level and 4 for a senior hire, at a productivity factor of 0.5. A laptop is spread over 3 years. A country record can override a default only with a source.

Worked example

What each line means

Base salary is the median of the aggregated source rows for that country, role and level. Each salary source is listed with its date on the breakdown page.

Employer contributions are computed from statutory rates, one item at a time. Each item applies its rate to the salary up to any cap, above any threshold, or on a minimum base where the law sets one. Fixed annual amounts are added as they are.

Mandatory benefits are statutory items other than contributions. An extra month of salary is valued at one twelfth of base for each month required. Rate-based items apply their rate to the capped salary.

Voluntary benefits come from market surveys of what employers offer at that level in that country. When no survey supports a value, the line reads "not estimated", it adds nothing to the total and the record says so.

Equipment and tooling is the sum of list prices from the overhead data for the role and level, converted to local currency at the dataset exchange rate.

Recruiting is the agency fee percentage applied to base salary, divided by the 2.5-year tenure. The dataset has one global percentage, used in every region.

Onboarding ramp is the weekly cost of salary, contributions and mandatory benefits, times the ramp weeks for the level, times one minus the productivity factor, divided by the 2.5-year tenure.

Why the loading factor differs between countries

Two employees on the same salary in different countries can carry different totals. The main reasons are:

• contribution rates and the salary caps above which they stop applying;
• whether the law requires extra months of salary or a holiday allowance;
• equipment priced in USD, which weighs more where salaries are lower.

The recruiting fee is the same percentage of base salary in every country, so it does not change the loading factor from one country to another.

The country pages list each statutory item with its rate, cap and source. See cost by country.

Fully loaded cost and hourly cost

Dividing the fully loaded total by productive hours gives an hourly equivalent. Productive hours start from the formula default of 1,700 a year and are adjusted for statutory leave and public holidays in each country. The hourly cost guide works through that step.

Related pages

• Formula
• Methodology
• Calculator
• Employer contributions explained