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PassRidge runs QA outsourcing in five models: staff augmentation, a dedicated team, project-based testing, managed QA and contract-to-hire. Teams start in 7-21 days, mid-level rates begin at $34 an hour, and every rate by region and level is published.
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No set-up fees and no retainers. Every model has a minimum term and nothing else. NDA before we see your backlog.
They differ in who manages the work, how long you commit and what the price is tied to. Each page lists terms, rates by region and the form to request a quote.
Add vetted QA engineers to your team, under your management.
A stable QA squad that works only on your product.
Fixed scope, fixed price: a release tested, an app audited.
We run QA end to end and report against agreed SLAs.
Work together first, convert to your payroll when it fits.
Describe your product and release cadence. We recommend a model and a team shape within one working day.
Ten rows, the same facts for every model. Rates are mid-level starting rates; senior roles and expensive regions cost more, as the tables below show.
| Attribute | QA staff augmentation | Dedicated QA team | Project-based testing | Managed QA (QAaaS) | Contract-to-hire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | A QA lead and a backlog that outgrew the team | A QA function, a lead and a process, not just seats | A release, migration or audit with a hard date | No QA function, and you want outcomes rather than headcount | Hiring later, after you have seen the work |
| Team shape | 1-8 engineers placed individually. You manage the work. | A lead plus 3-12 engineers. You manage outcomes; the lead manages the team. | A project lead plus 2-8 engineers for the length of the project. | A QA manager plus 3-15 engineers, run as a service with defined SLAs. | 1-4 engineers on contract with a defined route to permanent hire. |
| Who manages the work | You. Engineers join your team and report to your QA lead | Our lead runs the team; you manage outcomes | Our project lead, against a written test plan | Our QA manager, against an SLA schedule | You. Engineers work as part of your team |
| Starts in | About 10 days | About 21 days | About 7 days | About 21 days | About 10 days |
| Mid-level rate from | $38 an hour | $34 an hour | $42 an hour | $48 an hour | $36 an hour |
| Pricing basis | Hourly, monthly in arrears on approved timesheets | Hourly per engineer, one invoice for the whole team | Fixed price per agreed scope, change requests quoted in writing | Monthly service fee for a pod, with service credits for missed SLAs | Hourly, monthly in arrears; conversion fee credited per month worked |
| Minimum term | 3 months, then 30 days' notice | 6 months, then 60 days' notice | 2 weeks | 6 months, then 90 days' notice | 3 months |
| Trial or safeguard | Two-week trial, billed on hours worked only | Backfill within 10 working days, written handover | Fixed quote and test plan agreed before work starts | Service credits: 5% of the monthly fee per missed SLA band, capped at 15% | Two-week trial, billed on hours worked only |
| Replacement cover | 10 working days | 10 working days (backfill) | Not applicable: we deliver the scope | Our responsibility: staffing changes do not change the SLAs | 10 working days |
| Move to your payroll | Conversion fee, zero after 12 months of service | Conversion fee, zero after 12 months of service | Not applicable | Not applicable | Fee credited per month worked, zero at 12 months |
Notice periods and trial terms are written into the client agreement. Rates exclude taxes where they apply.
An outsourced engineer costs more per hour than a salary and less than the whole cost of finding, equipping and replacing one. Here is the trade, row by row.
| What you compare | In-house hire | Freelancer | PassRidge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to start | 8-12 weeks: search, notice period, onboarding | 1-4 weeks, depends on your network | 7-21 days from signed brief |
| Cost shape | Salary plus about 15-32% on-costs, plus recruiting fees | Day rate, no benefits, no backfill | One hourly rate that includes payroll, equipment, QA-lead review and backfill |
| Who manages the work | Your QA lead or engineering manager | You, full-time | You (augmentation, dedicated) or us (project, managed) |
| If the person leaves | Restart the search, lose the knowledge | Restart the search | Replacement in 10 working days, handover written |
| Scaling up or down | Hiring and redundancy processes | Add one person at a time, if you can find them | Monthly notice after the minimum term |
| Knowledge retention | Highest, if the person stays | Lowest, ends with the contract | Documented in your repo and test-management tool, not in heads |
| Security and compliance | Your policies, your onboarding | Your policies, weaker enforcement | NDA, managed devices, your VPN, access removed on exit |
Planning a build-versus-buy decision? Run the numbers in the cost calculator or the team cost tool.
Staff augmentation shown for one role; pick another below. Dedicated teams run about 11% below it, project work about 11% above, and managed QA about 26% above for the QA lead, tooling and SLA reporting.
| Region | Junior | Mid | Senior | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United StatesNew York, Austin, San Francisco | $84 | $108 | $135 | $162 |
| United KingdomLondon, Manchester, Edinburgh | $48 | $62 | $79 | $95 |
| Western EuropeBerlin, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Barcelona | $33–54 | $39–70 | $50–89 | $60–104 |
| Central & Eastern EuropeWarsaw, Krakow, Prague, Bucharest | $33–34 | $38–43 | $50–56 | $59–67 |
| Latin AmericaSao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Bogota | $37–43 | $48–54 | $61–70 | $73–87 |
| AsiaBengaluru, Pune, Manila, Kuala Lumpur | $33 | $38 | $50 | $59 |
Swipe the table sideways to see every level.
Rates are built from the market median pay for the role and country, plus employer on-costs of 15-32% by region, a 32% service margin and 1,800 productive hours a year. We never price below the market median.
Choose the region by the overlap you need, not only by price. Overlap hours below are working hours shared with a 9-to-5 team on the US East coast or in the UK.
Full-day overlap with US East and Central. Strong in manual, mobile and API testing. English is good to professional; confirm for client-facing roles.
The deepest automation and SDET bench in Europe. Same working day as the UK and EU, a morning overlap with US East.
Right for regulated work that needs EU residency, works-council rules or on-site days. Spain and Portugal cost less than the north and sit one to two hours closer to the US.
Follow-the-sun regression: results are ready when your team starts the day. Plan a shifted start for stand-ups and a written handover.
The same six controls apply to every model. Regulated industry? See QA by industry for the extra checks we add.
A mutual NDA is signed before we see your backlog, builds or credentials. Every engineer on your account signs an individual confidentiality undertaking.
Engineers connect through your VPN or zero-trust gateway, with your SSO and MFA. We do not ask for shared accounts or credentials sent by email.
Work happens on a PassRidge-managed laptop with full-disk encryption, screen lock, EDR and no local copy of client data, or on your own virtual desktop. USB storage is disabled.
Access is requested per person, per environment, and removed on the day an engagement ends. Test data is synthetic or masked: no live customer records in test.
Identity, right-to-work and employment-history checks before the first day. Criminal-record checks where the client and local law require them.
Our policies, subprocessor list and incident process are in a security pack we share under NDA. We run controls aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 and do not claim a certificate we do not hold.
Augmentation adds individual engineers who work inside your team under your QA lead. A dedicated team arrives with its own lead, a defined process and a shared backlog, and you manage outcomes rather than people. Augmentation starts in about 10 days; a dedicated team in about 21.
Mid-level rates start at $34 an hour for a dedicated team and $48 for managed QA, and rise with role, level and region. Junior rates have a lower floor and senior and lead rates a higher one. Every region and level is on the pricing page, so you can budget before a call.
Yes. For staff augmentation and contract-to-hire you interview the shortlist of three. For dedicated teams you meet the lead and every engineer assigned to you. For project and managed work you meet the lead and the engineers who will run your tests.
Tell us within the trial. Augmentation and contract-to-hire have a two-week trial in which you pay only for hours worked, and we provide a replacement. After the trial we replace within 10 working days if an engineer leaves or if you raise a performance concern.
You do. Test cases, automation code, data sets and reports are written into your repositories and your test-management tool, and the contract assigns the intellectual property to you.
Pick the region to match the overlap you need. Latin America gives the US a full working day. Central and Eastern Europe gives the UK and EU the same day and the US East a morning overlap. Asia works as a follow-the-sun team with a short shared window.
We sign an NDA before seeing anything, connect through your VPN and identity provider, work on managed or virtual desktops, and use synthetic or masked data. Access ends the day the engagement does.
Tell us the role you want or the role you need. A QA-only recruiter replies within one working day.