QA Tester vs Software Developer Salary Comparison

By Vijay

By Vijay

I'm Vijay, and I've been working on this blog for the past 20+ years! I’ve been in the IT industry for more than 20 years now. I completed my graduation in B.E. Computer Science from a reputed Pune university and then started my career in…

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Updated January 12, 2025

People often wonder who earns more, a software tester or a developer? You can find the answer in this article by comparing QA vs Software Developer salary. Let’s begin.

I was once asked, “Why are you a QA? You do decent QTP (VBScript) programming, why don’t you try development?”. It was almost like I was settling for something less 🙂

Here are some of the questions that we often come across at STH:

  • Should I be a developer or a tester if I decide on an IT career?
  • Will my career growth be just as good either way?
  • What should I say when someone asks me “why QA”?
  • Am I wasting my time being a QA when I could have been a developer?
  • Is my job less secure if I am a QA?
  • I am being assigned a QA project, should I run the other way or is there anything in it for me?
  • Am I going to be insignificant as a tester?
  • Does all the credit go to the developers when the product hits the market?
  • Isn’t testing supposed to be for those who are non-technical?
  • Testing is less intense and I am only willing to work part-time, would that be reason enough for me to try it?

Software QA Tester vs Software Developer Salary Comparison

qa tester vs Software developer salary

Read these useful posts => 

One of the most popular FAQs – “Is QA a monetarily wise career choice? Aren’t testers paid less than their development counterparts?” Let’s find out.

#1) Testers don’t need as many skills as developers do – False. Why

  • All developers test and most testers write code. We’re not just talking unit and integration tests here.
  • Tools such as Selenium use the same IDE and programming languages used for development so testing can be set up quickly and easily.
  • Test Driven Development and Behavior Driven Development frameworks are on an all-time rise. This simply means that developers have to think from the perspective of the end users/testers. They need the perspective and assistance of testers to set up these frameworks. See these posts for more details: Automation Testing Using Cucumber Tools and The Difference Between TDD and BDD.

There are many such instances where the boundaries of testing and development cross over.

Bottom line: Cross-functional knowledge is a MUST.

Therefore, the key skills for both dev and test teams are:

#2) Involvement in the development life cycle

Both teams play a critical role end to end. With companies adopting continuous integration and continuous testing approaches, testers and developers work hand in hand. Also, Agile does not differentiate between development and test teams – it’s all one SCRUM.

#3) Will growth opportunities be similar for Testers and Developers

Growth is variable for each person as it depends on ability, aspiration, efforts, and circumstances. It has little to do with the branch of IT.

Developers can move on to become managers, business analysts, architects, or they can go into sales, research, etc. depending on their qualifications, aspirations, and opportunities.

The same opportunities exist for testers too, just in their field. Test Lead, Test Manager, Business Analyst, etc. – many possibilities.

Also read => How to Figure Out What QA Job Best Suits You Based on Your Skills?

#4) Are developers indispensable while testers are not

If a certain department is not important, why have it? Developer versus tester conflict, though it is no longer a problem within IT teams, is still a clichéd cultural perception among outsiders.

An almost reverence towards developers and disdain for testers is still to be heard of – but I bet this is coming from those who know neither discipline well. To be or not to be (a software tester) – is a question, not to be answered based on the opinions of the unaware.

Jobs are volatile everywhere. It is usually the weakest link that takes the cut, and it does not mean it is always the QA that is discarded.

#5) Finally, is the disparity in compensation real? Do developers really earn a lot more than testers?

If you are looking for a general idea of where things are at compensation wise, the following might be useful:

Glassdoor:

Payscale:

Software Tester Quality Assurance Salary

Software tester salary

Application Developer Salary

Software developer salary

When you look at the above links please note that there are many variables.

Unfortunately, we don’t work in a world of normalized salaries.

In my career, I’ve seen many QAs earning more than their Development counterparts. And vice versa is also true in many cases.

Pay can depend on the following factors:

  • Skills and skill levels
  • Experience
  • Current Salary (when shifting to a new position)
  • Nature of employment (full time vs freelancing vs contractual)
  • Location
  • Company
  • Benefits
  • Sadly, and rarely, the negotiating skills of the employee

Important points to keep in mind:

  • A job offers more than money – an opportunity to exercise your potential, a community that shares your passion and a chance to make a difference. Let the big picture show all this and more.
  • Hunt for a lion, not a unicorn. Beware of urban myths d- A friend of a friend who bagged a superb salary package and had even less experience than you did.
  • Comparing salaries – (with QAs or Devs) – Not a good idea. If you feel overworked and underpaid, feel free to discuss it with your manager.
  • Anything that is worth doing is worth getting paid for, well.
  • Lastly, “To double your income, triple your rate of learning.”- Robin Sharma.

Conclusion

At the end, I want to say that choosing a career path should be based on aptitude, ambition, security, satisfaction and of course, compensation. One must feel competent, confident and productive at the workplace.

Being good at what you do is the key to feeling that way and you know that it’s not a state magically conjured. It takes hard work and a lot of practice.

Suggested reading =>> Software Developer vs Software Engineer

Tell us your thoughts, feedback, questions and disagreements in the comments section below. We would love to hear from you. 

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40 thoughts on “QA Tester vs Software Developer Salary Comparison”

  1. According to me developer and tester have equal opportunities, yes some when it comes to job securities developer have the edge compare to tester.

    Reply
  2. I agree with the point that you will be paid as per your skills. Even in our organisation QA are paid even more than Development.

    What about manual tester who dont code ? How do we do the comparison of them with Dev.

    At the same time i think automation is not testing as automation is development. Its about how many good scenarios you can write rather than how much code you can write to run them.

    When you develop/automate something its purpose is positive. But when you test you want to break.

    Reply
  3. hello…thank you all…it helped me a lot… but I’m really interested in game tester..so how could that be??
    Now I have been hearing from many people that software testing has no growth compared to development..
    could anyone please clear it to me..?

    And also now.. I’m in doubt that does game tester is also same as software testing..??

    Reply
  4. Very useful info…
    Those who are looking for S/W testing carrier can trust this information, comparison is almost near to the actual trend in the IT market.

    Reply
  5. Really very important things which is you mentioned, I am also a tester, It helped me a lot to improve self in this field.

    Reply
  6. @Gaurav Khurana: Thank you for being a wonderful, regular reader and I am glad to know you agree with me.
    Also, its wonderful that you decided to add your two cents 🙂

    Reply
  7. I currently do software testing in a large corporation that contracts for the government. Yes, you need software programming skills of some kind otherwise how are you going to communicate well with the developer on what to do? I know VB.NET and SQL and Python. Co-worker who does it knows C#/C+, Pearl, and SQL.

    Reply
  8. hi,
    Now i am .NET developer but a’m damn confused that I have interest in this or not or should I choose testing but also I don’t have knowledge about testing
    can u tell me?

    Reply
  9. There is one big difference: To get testers is much harder than production code coders. There is no testing study path (only certifications). Supply and demand – less testers means more money.

    Reply
  10. @Nikolay Advolodkin: Thank you for taking the time to respond to us. We appreciate your inputs.

    You are right about testers and developers becoming SDET and that is our point too. That is why we have listed common skills in point 1.

    However, testing is not going to get extinct. The way it might be done will change and as you say, slowly, but the traditional methods are going to evolve.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Reply
  11. Hi Good morning.
    This is very encouraging post. I got answers to most of my questions about this career. now can show this post to whoever ask me about salary 🙂

    Reply
  12. I am a fresher joined as a developer in a company i feel development is like hell non sense then i had learn manual automation and finally performance now they are paying me more than developer only our skill enhances than anything

    Reply
  13. Hello folks,

    I started my SDET position with no development skills. I think it allowed me to really learn coding, along with that “Quality”. I often think that I should have been a developer first before I can become an SDET. But I find that to not always be true. An SDET is a developer, and coding is required skill to have in order to be good SDET!

    Reply
  14. Thanks for that article. However, I respectfully disagree with all of your assertions. In my opinion, I believe that with the shift-left phenomenon, testers are becoming more like Developers. As time goes by, testers need the ability to learn how to code in order to keep their jobs. For example, at my current job, we don’t accept any Tester that does not have coding abilities. Therefore, we no longer accept just manual testers. That trend is happening in many companies.

    Many companies are now looking for what is known as Software Development Engineers in Tester. Basically, developers that write tests. Hence, the emphasis is on development skills with a testing background. Being just a pure manual tester is no longer sufficient and that position will fade out over time.

    Finally, I believe that at some point, the Developers will do their own coding and testing. Why not, when they are the ones that know application the best and the code the best. THey just need to understand that the burden of testing lies on them and not the QA. Once that mental shift happens, manual tester is gone. Take for example Microsoft where there are no more manual testers. Most of the developers write and test their own code.

    In conclusion, I believe that all manual testers need to work towards becoming SDET’s or their position will slowly die out. Of course it will take many years, especially in the government industries that are so slow to progress. But it will happen, in my opinion.

    Reply
    • Very well explained, but the part where you said Microsoft does does not have manual testers is not correct. I was a manual tester for Microsoft in 2018-2019, then left. There are still many people currently still working there. The Microsoft manual testers are in Microsoft Offsite offices like India and Kenya.

      Reply
    • Nikolay I believe you. Manual testing Jobs will be gone and Software Developers in Test will be very popular. We don’t really trust Developers to test their own code, because they don’t think like tester. On the other hand, SDET are required to have almost the same amount of skill as a developer. I do not want to do that much work if I cannot build a brand new product. Especially in the event Id like to start my own business. An If I have the skill set I’d just become a full blown Developer instead so I can do both jobs. Developers are actually paid more. They can then go on to become architect or product Managers.

      Reply
  15. I heard that Testers get more onsite oppurtunities. Development is generally outsourced, and then after the finished software is ready to be tested, clients want the testers to be present at the client side.

    Is it true?

    Reply
  16. hi,
    Now i am .NET developer but a’m damn confused that I have interest in this or not or should I choose testing but also I don’t have knowledge about testing
    can u tell me?

    Reply
  17. hi,
    Now i am .NET developer but a’m damn confused that I have interest in this or not or should I choose testing but also I don’t have knowledge about testing
    can u tell me?
    damn confused

    Reply
  18. A very good reference guide for a person, who is trying to change his profile from development to testing or vice versa. great…!!

    Reply
  19. Really Appreciated!!! This topics is really need to know for all QA Folks in the IT industry that i feel very realistic. Thanks STH

    Reply
  20. very well explained and deeply researched.

    Its really motivated article. 🙂

    Good reference guide for me, who is trying to change her career (or to start After long break) from development to testing.
    Thanks

    Reply
  21. Hello All,
    There is a lot of fuss about testing and test management; BECOMING TEST PROFESSIONAL IS A CAREER BLUNDER, please don’t get into this trap if you want to build a career, if you want a job for your survival this is a good option!!!

    Reasons:

    1. Developers vs tester ratio : More developers but less testers therefore few job opportunities.
    2. Less salaries and few onsite opportunities. (testing is outsourced, Compare the billing rates for SAP or Oracle Fin or Cloud Computing or Analytics vs Testing), billing is quite low therefore less salaries; there may be few people who earn more than developers those are very few i would say one in thousand!!!

    3. Easy to replace, therefore easy layoff.

    4. Treated as supporting team, secondary treatment therefore less annual hikes.

    5. Easy to come to a career end: keep learning new tools again and again; in Dev if you learn and work J2EE or .NET it is for life time or for 15 to 20 years at least. In the last 10 years several tools came into market and replaced by others Winrunner to QTP and to Selenium and other commercial tools or ETL testing even though clients are skeptical about the ROIs; recently mobility test automation comeon how much you can learn!!!

    6. you will be frustrated when people who passed out 5 to 6 years after you pass out from the college talk about new and cutting edge technologies that change the world – such as cloud, big data, digital or great ERP and and their implantation, because you always get a chance to see the UI but can not architect the same.

    7. People who worked as dev architects can go for start ups, bcz thy aware about technology as well as business; but as a tester you may be aware of the business but not the technology and its implementations.

    8. This is most important point: In long run, if you would like to go into Senior management companies prefer managers with development background to the mangers from testing background.

    So guys if you are with less than 5 years work exp in testing, this is the right time to jump into Development otherwise you will regret for the life time!!!

    if your work exp is more than 5 years, accept your destiny and drag your feet!!!

    Regards,
    Test Manager

    Reply
    • SB
      You are 100% correct…one think though.. lets talk about a performance tester. I have been one for 21 years and counting using only one product. I want people to guess.

      Reply
    • I actually disagree on most of them. I see most of them as excuses, not reasons
      A good tester must understand the development. I am not talking about programming language, but the crux and basics of development.
      Any tester, who does Black Box testing with no reasoning behind can be replaced and that becomes the reason for secondary citizen treatment.
      Also, just like any other sector, Testers also should be updated with new technology.
      Developers or Testers, wouldn’t matter will become obsolete, if you are not updating yourself.

      Thanks

      Reply
  22. hi i m b.tech graduate fresher in this field . manula or automation which one is best . so that i should continue in that particular testing .

    Reply
  23. It’s a nice article with lots of supportive links. Seems, Software testers job becomes tougher in coming days, specially for manual testers. One needs to enhance his/her skills with automation to survive.

    Reply

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