Short answer: our published QA rates are US$12 to US$18 an hour for manual testing and US$18 to US$28 for QA automation. A manual QA retainer starts at US$300 a month for up to 20 hours, and a dedicated QA engineer is US$1,600 to US$2,800 a month. The best value usually comes from automating regression tests and keeping skilled manual testers for new features.
Which QA engagement model fits?
- Project-based testing: a defined release or product launch.
- Managed QA: a partner owns the test strategy, automation and reporting.
- QA staff augmentation: named testers join your sprints and tools.
Playwright, Cypress or Selenium?
Playwright is the strongest default for new web projects: fast, reliable and cross-browser. Cypress suits teams already invested in it. Selenium remains useful for legacy suites and large browser grids. Choose the tool your team can maintain.
Questions to ask a QA partner
- How do you measure coverage: by code line or by user journey?
- How do you handle flaky tests?
- Will the test suite live in our repository and CI?
- What does a defect report include?
- How quickly can testers join our sprints, and how do you handle turnover?
QA outsourcingTest automationSoftware testing cost