QA Automation Rates Calculator
QA Automation Hourly Rate Distribution
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How Much Do Automation QA Engineers Charge?
Automation QA engineers are the gatekeepers of quality — building and running the test suites that keep your product stable at scale. This is where bugs die and reliability is born. The market for true automation talent is small, mature, and, if you’re serious, you can’t go cheap.
The Market Landscape: A Breakdown by Seniority
For middle-level automation QA engineers, most rates land between $41–80/hr. About half are available at $41–60/hr, but that tier is fading. Another third fall into the $61–80/hr bracket. Only a handful climb to $81/hr or above — these are typically in premium markets or have rare stack expertise. If you want mid-level automation, the window for sub-$60/hr rates is closing.
Senior automation QA engineers are a level above, but not wildly more expensive. Most are still priced at $61–100/hr, split almost evenly between $61–80/hr and $81–100/hr. You’ll find a handful at $41–60/hr — usually in lower-cost regions or with less automation depth. Almost none charge above $100/hr, which means that true high-end QA automation leads are rare, or operating under different job titles.
Strong senior QA automation engineers are as rare as unicorns. Most cluster at $61–120/hr, with a few at $41–60/hr (the real outliers). If you want someone who can build your QA automation from scratch, lead a team, and advise on tooling, expect to pay in the upper bands — or you won’t find them.
The Global Talent Map: Regional Variation
The USA is the single largest pool for automation QA engineers at every level — by a mile. Denmark, Germany, the UK, Switzerland, and France follow, mostly at the senior and strong senior levels, but in much smaller numbers. Ukraine, Poland, and Brazil show up as reliable sources, but the overall pool outside the US is thin.
A few outliers — like Luxembourg, Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, and Argentina — provide some mids and seniors, but the numbers are not big. Eastern Europe and Latin America deliver the best shot at value, but the market is tight: don’t expect an abundance of options, and don’t expect to bargain.
What Actually Matters: Value, Not Just Price
Automation QA is where bad code gets caught — before it hits your users. Skimp here, and you pay in downtime, bug reports, and angry clients. Lemon.io’s Rate Calculator shows you the rates for vetted automation QA engineers, so you get quality coverage, not false savings.