SDET vs test automation engineer cost

An SDET (software development engineer in test) and a test automation engineer both write code to test software, and in the same country they carry the same statutory rates and the same equipment items. The difference in their total cost therefore comes from base salary and the lines that scale with it. The worked example compares the two at the same level in the same country, or in the same city where no country publishes both.

Role definitions

The role taxonomy on the roles page defines each role by its work:

• Test automation engineer. Builds and maintains automated UI and API test suites in a test framework.
• SDET. Writes test infrastructure and tooling as software, often embedded in a development team.

Job titles overlap in practice. Each salary source row records the exact title and level label from the source, so the assignment of a row to a role can be checked on the breakdown page.

Worked example

Lines that are the same

• Statutory rates. Employer contributions and mandatory benefits use the same rates, caps and thresholds for both roles in a country.
• Equipment and tooling. Both roles carry a laptop, a test management licence, an issue tracker licence and one parallel session on a cloud browser and device grid. The equipment guide lists the items.
• Ramp weeks. The formula sets ramp by level, not by role: 10 weeks for a junior, 6 for a mid-level and 4 for a senior hire.
• Recruiting fee percentage. The same global fee percentage applies to every role and region.

Lines that differ

• Base salary, from the salary sources for each role.
• Employer contributions, because the same rates apply to different salaries. Where a cap applies, the difference narrows above the cap.
• Mandatory benefits, where they are a fraction of salary.
• Recruiting, because the same percentage applies to different salaries.
• Ramp, because the same weeks apply to a different weekly cost.

Reading the comparison

The comparison is between two employee-model totals at the median. The p25 and p75 columns on each breakdown page apply the formula to the low and high ends of each input; they are scenarios, not percentiles of the total. Where the p25 of one role is above the median of the other, the salary ranges barely overlap; where they overlap widely, the job titles in the sources may describe similar work.

The confidence grade of each combination is on its breakdown page. A comparison between an A-graded and a C-graded combination carries the uncertainty of the weaker one. The grading rules are on the confidence page.

When the comparison is not published

The comparison needs both roles published at the same level in the same country or city. A city figure uses city salary sources with the national employer contributions. Where one is below the publication threshold, the example reads "not published" and the reasons are listed on the not-published page.

Contractor and outsourced rates

Contractor and vendor rates are aggregated per role and region. The gap between the two roles under those models may differ from the employee gap. The compare page shows the models side by side.

Related pages

• Roles
• Compare
• Confidence grades
• Manual tester vs automation engineer cost