Why are there no default rates?

Rates vary by country, seniority, scope and contract terms, and any number we embedded would become an anchor. Enter the quotes you actually received and your own salary bands.

Why include exit cost?

Leaving a vendor costs money: exit assistance, knowledge transfer and your team's time. Counting it up front stops a cheap entry price hiding an expensive exit.

How do we compare quotes with different models?

Convert each quote into monthly or yearly fees for the same scope, then add the costs the fees do not show: onboarding, your management time, tools and exit. The totals are comparable; the rates alone are not.

What does the sample use?

The sample output uses made-up numbers to show the layout. They are not market rates and should not be used as a benchmark.

QA cost model: in-house versus vendor

In-house fully loaded cost against vendor models over 12 and 24 months, with your numbers.

What this does

Enter the fully loaded cost of building the team yourself: salaries with on-costs, recruitment including replacements, ramp-up, tools, equipment and management time. Then enter each vendor quote as hourly, dedicated team, fixed scope or outcome-based.

The model adds what fees do not show: onboarding, your management overhead, tools and the cost of exit, and gives total cost of ownership over 12 and 24 months for each option.

See a sample output

QA cost model: in-house versus vendor

ChooseQAVendor framework v1.0. Sample with made-up example numbers. They are not market rates. Nothing you enter in the toolkit is sent anywhere.

Total cost of ownership

Option	12 months	24 months
In-house team	315,225 EUR	572,325 EUR
Time and materials	285,600 EUR	544,200 EUR
Dedicated team	271,200 EUR	515,400 EUR
Fixed scope	271,200 EUR	515,400 EUR
Outcome-based	247,200 EUR	467,400 EUR

Totals include onboarding, your own management time and the cost of exit, not just the vendor's fees. Compare options over the same period and the same scope.

In-house team

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Salaries with employer on-costs	225,000 EUR	450,000 EUR
Recruitment, including replacements for attrition	27,600 EUR	31,200 EUR
Ramp-up (half productivity during ramp months)	28,125 EUR	28,125 EUR
Tools and licences	6,000 EUR	12,000 EUR
Equipment	6,000 EUR	6,000 EUR
Management time	22,500 EUR	45,000 EUR

Time and materials

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Vendor fees from the quote	230,400 EUR	460,800 EUR
Onboarding (your team's time and any setup fee)	15,000 EUR	15,000 EUR
Your management overhead	25,200 EUR	50,400 EUR
Tools you pay for to support the vendor	3,000 EUR	6,000 EUR
Exit and knowledge transfer (at the end of the period)	12,000 EUR	12,000 EUR

Dedicated team

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Vendor fees from the quote	216,000 EUR	432,000 EUR
Onboarding (your team's time and any setup fee)	15,000 EUR	15,000 EUR
Your management overhead	25,200 EUR	50,400 EUR
Tools you pay for to support the vendor	3,000 EUR	6,000 EUR
Exit and knowledge transfer (at the end of the period)	12,000 EUR	12,000 EUR

Fixed scope

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Vendor fees from the quote	216,000 EUR	432,000 EUR
Onboarding (your team's time and any setup fee)	15,000 EUR	15,000 EUR
Your management overhead	25,200 EUR	50,400 EUR
Tools you pay for to support the vendor	3,000 EUR	6,000 EUR
Exit and knowledge transfer (at the end of the period)	12,000 EUR	12,000 EUR

Outcome-based

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Vendor fees from the quote	192,000 EUR	384,000 EUR
Onboarding (your team's time and any setup fee)	15,000 EUR	15,000 EUR
Your management overhead	25,200 EUR	50,400 EUR
Tools you pay for to support the vendor	3,000 EUR	6,000 EUR
Exit and knowledge transfer (at the end of the period)	12,000 EUR	12,000 EUR

Assumptions

In-house: attrition creates replacement hires each year; ramp-up is costed as half productivity during the ramp months.
Vendor: fees come from the vendor's quote; the model does not contain market rates.
Exit cost is counted once, at the end of the period, so the comparison includes the cost of leaving.
Fixed scope: price per release multiplied by releases per year. Change requests are not included; ask for their pricing.

Sample files:Sample Markdown 3.2 KB Sample CSV 1.9 KB

Enter your numbers

The model contains no market rates. Every figure comes from you: your salaries, your overheads and each vendor's quote. Empty fields count as zero.

Currency label

Shown next to amounts, for example EUR, GBP or USD.

In-house team

Number of testers

Annual salary per tester

Your salary band for the role.

Employer on-costs (% of salary)

Taxes, pension, benefits, as your finance team calculates them.

Recruitment cost per hire

Agency fees or internal recruiting time.

Annual attrition (%)

Share of the team you expect to replace each year.

Ramp-up months

Months until a new hire is fully productive.

Tools and licences per year

Equipment per person

Salary of the person managing the team

Share of their time spent managing testing (%)

Vendor quotes

Time and materialsInclude this model in the comparison

Hourly rate from the quote

Use the blended rate the vendor quoted, or compute one from their rate card.

Hours per month

Hours you expect to buy each month for the agreed scope.

Dedicated teamInclude this model in the comparison

People in the team

As named in the proposal.

Monthly fee per person

Average of the quoted monthly fees.

Fixed scopeInclude this model in the comparison

Fixed price per release or cycle

Or the total fixed price divided by the number of releases it covers.

Releases or cycles per year

Outcome-basedInclude this model in the comparison

Base monthly fee

The fixed part of the outcome-based price.

Expected variable fee per month

The part that depends on measured outcomes, at the level you expect.

Costs of any vendor that fees do not show

Onboarding, one-off

Your team's time to onboard the vendor plus any setup fee.

Internal hourly cost of the person managing the vendor

Management hours per month

Reviews, meetings, triage, reporting.

Tools you pay for to support the vendor, per year

Exit and knowledge transfer cost

Exit assistance fees plus your team's time to take over or move to a successor.

Total cost of ownership
Option	12 months	24 months
In-house team	0	0
Time and materials	0	0
Dedicated team	0	0
Fixed scope	0	0
Outcome-based	0	0

QA cost model: in-house versus vendor

ChooseQAVendor framework v1.0. Numbers are the ones you entered. Nothing you enter in the toolkit is sent anywhere.

Total cost of ownership

Option	12 months	24 months
In-house team	0	0
Time and materials	0	0
Dedicated team	0	0
Fixed scope	0	0
Outcome-based	0	0

Totals include onboarding, your own management time and the cost of exit, not just the vendor's fees. Compare options over the same period and the same scope.

In-house team

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Salaries with employer on-costs	0	0
Recruitment, including replacements for attrition	0	0
Ramp-up (half productivity during ramp months)	0	0
Tools and licences	0	0
Equipment	0	0
Management time	0	0

Time and materials

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Vendor fees from the quote	0	0
Onboarding (your team's time and any setup fee)	0	0
Your management overhead	0	0
Tools you pay for to support the vendor	0	0
Exit and knowledge transfer (at the end of the period)	0	0

Dedicated team

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Vendor fees from the quote	0	0
Onboarding (your team's time and any setup fee)	0	0
Your management overhead	0	0
Tools you pay for to support the vendor	0	0
Exit and knowledge transfer (at the end of the period)	0	0

Fixed scope

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Vendor fees from the quote	0	0
Onboarding (your team's time and any setup fee)	0	0
Your management overhead	0	0
Tools you pay for to support the vendor	0	0
Exit and knowledge transfer (at the end of the period)	0	0

Outcome-based

Cost line	12 months	24 months
Vendor fees from the quote	0	0
Onboarding (your team's time and any setup fee)	0	0
Your management overhead	0	0
Tools you pay for to support the vendor	0	0
Exit and knowledge transfer (at the end of the period)	0	0

Assumptions

In-house: attrition creates replacement hires each year; ramp-up is costed as half productivity during the ramp months.
Vendor: fees come from the vendor's quote; the model does not contain market rates.
Exit cost is counted once, at the end of the period, so the comparison includes the cost of leaving.
Fixed scope: price per release multiplied by releases per year. Change requests are not included; ask for their pricing.

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Framework v1.0 · released 2026-09-24 · changelog

Questions buyers ask

Why are there no default rates?: Rates vary by country, seniority, scope and contract terms, and any number we embedded would become an anchor. Enter the quotes you actually received and your own salary bands.
Why include exit cost?: Leaving a vendor costs money: exit assistance, knowledge transfer and your team's time. Counting it up front stops a cheap entry price hiding an expensive exit.
How do we compare quotes with different models?: Convert each quote into monthly or yearly fees for the same scope, then add the costs the fees do not show: onboarding, your management time, tools and exit. The totals are comparable; the rates alone are not.
What does the sample use?: The sample output uses made-up numbers to show the layout. They are not market rates and should not be used as a benchmark.