The median current CTC of QA engineers and SDETs in HyrEzy's database is ₹7.5 LPA, with the middle half earning ₹5–12.3 LPA (4,551 profiles with CTC recorded). Pay rises from a median ₹4.2 LPA at 0–2 years of experience to ₹22 LPA at 10–14 years. Gurugram pays the highest median of the cities we cover, at ₹9 LPA.
- Profiles in the pool
- 53,047
- Matched on current job title
- Median current CTC
- ₹7.5 LPA
- Middle half ₹5–12.3 LPA
- Median expected hike
- 50%
- All roles: 44%
- Premier-institute share
- 2.2%
- All profiles: 8.9%
QA & SDET salary by experience
Current CTC, median and middle half (25th to 75th percentile), by total years of experience.
The 15+ yrs band is not shown: its median fell well below the band before it, which in title-matched data points to mis-recorded experience rather than a real pay cut.
View as table
| 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | Profiles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 yrs | ₹3.5 LPA | ₹4.2 LPA | ₹6 LPA | 736 |
| 3–5 yrs | ₹5 LPA | ₹7 LPA | ₹9 LPA | 2,279 |
| 6–9 yrs | ₹9 LPA | ₹13 LPA | ₹19 LPA | 734 |
| 10–14 yrs | ₹14.5 LPA | ₹22 LPA | ₹30 LPA | 413 |
How QA pay compares
At 3–5 years of experience, QA engineers and SDETs earn a median ₹7 LPA, 13% below the ₹8 LPA median for all professionals with the same experience. At 6–9 years the median is ₹13 LPA, 13% below the all-role figure of ₹15 LPA.
The all-experience median of ₹7.5 LPA reflects the mix of the pool: 11,078 of the 53,047 profiles have under three years of experience. Compare offers against the experience band, not the headline median.
Candidates who state an expected CTC ask for a median 50% over current pay, more than the 44% across all roles.
QA & SDET salary by city
Current CTC, all experience levels combined. Cities with fewer than 30 CTC records for the role are left out.
Gurugram (₹9 LPA) and Pune (₹6.3 LPA) sit at the two ends. Part of the gap is pay, part is the experience mix of each city's pool.
View as table
| 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | Profiles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gurugram | ₹6 LPA | ₹9 LPA | ₹15.5 LPA | 131 |
| Hyderabad | ₹5.5 LPA | ₹8.5 LPA | ₹15 LPA | 858 |
| Mumbai | ₹5 LPA | ₹8.5 LPA | ₹12 LPA | 219 |
| Bangalore | ₹5 LPA | ₹8 LPA | ₹14.8 LPA | 1,251 |
| Delhi NCR | ₹5 LPA | ₹7.2 LPA | ₹12 LPA | 652 |
| Noida | ₹5 LPA | ₹7 LPA | ₹11.1 LPA | 321 |
| Chennai | ₹5 LPA | ₹6.5 LPA | ₹8.5 LPA | 434 |
| Pune | ₹4.5 LPA | ₹6.3 LPA | ₹10 LPA | 433 |
Where QA engineers and SDETs are
Profiles in HyrEzy's database by city. Delhi NCR includes Gurugram and Noida.
View as table
| Profiles | |
|---|---|
| Pune | 13,165 |
| Bangalore | 8,847 |
| Delhi NCR | 5,620 |
| Hyderabad | 3,972 |
| Chennai | 2,676 |
| Mumbai | 2,330 |
Most common QA skills
Share of profiles in the role listing each skill. Generic skills are left out.
View as table
| Share | Profiles | |
|---|---|---|
| Java | 56% | 29,644 |
| Selenium | 54% | 28,536 |
| SQL | 53% | 28,067 |
| Testng | 41% | 21,906 |
| Postman | 41% | 21,810 |
| Scrum | 32% | 17,148 |
| Jenkins | 22% | 11,657 |
| Manual Testing | 21% | 11,295 |
| MySQL | 13% | 7,112 |
| Functional Testing | 12% | 6,238 |
| Oracle | 11% | 6,034 |
| Excel | 11% | 6,013 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the average QA & SDET salary in India in 2026?
The median current CTC of QA engineers and SDETs in HyrEzy's database is ₹7.5 LPA, with the middle half earning ₹5–12.3 LPA, based on 4,551 profiles with CTC recorded.
What does a QA & SDET with 0–2 years of experience earn?
The median current CTC is ₹4.2 LPA, and the middle half earn ₹3.5–6 LPA (736 profiles).
What does a QA & SDET with 3–5 years of experience earn?
The median current CTC is ₹7 LPA, and the middle half earn ₹5–9 LPA (2,279 profiles).
What does a QA & SDET with 6–9 years of experience earn?
The median current CTC is ₹13 LPA, and the middle half earn ₹9–19 LPA (734 profiles).
Which city pays QA engineers and SDETs the most?
Among the cities we cover, Gurugram has the highest median current CTC for the role at ₹9 LPA, followed by Hyderabad at ₹8.5 LPA. Differences partly reflect how senior each city's pool is.
What skills do QA engineers and SDETs list most often?
Java (56%), Selenium (54%), SQL (53%), Testng (41%) and Postman (41%).
About this data
- Source: HyrEzy's candidate database, snapshot taken 20 September 2026. 7,07,237 profiles were considered; 1,26,358 of them record a current CTC.
- Pay is the current CTC a candidate recorded, in ₹ lakh per annum. It is not offer data. Values below ₹1.5 LPA or above ₹250 LPA are excluded as entry errors.
- Roles are matched on current job title, so "Data Engineer" means people whose current title says so. The pool covers product companies, services companies and enterprises.
- Expected hike compares expected with current CTC, counting only expectations between 0.8 and 3 times current pay.
- Privacy: we publish only aggregates. Any group with fewer than 30 CTC records is not shown for pay, and fewer than 10 profiles is not shown at all. No individual can be identified.
- Notice periods are not reported: imported profiles often store a default value when notice is missing, which makes the field unreliable in aggregate.
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