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Offshore QA and software testing

Hire offshore QA testers and build a dedicated QA team

In short
Offshore QA testers find defects before your customers do: test planning, manual exploratory testing and automated regression suites. Instead of QA outsourcing to a shared testing agency, TalentDock gives UK companies dedicated QA and test automation engineers in Sri Lanka who work inside your sprints, from £1,695 a month all-in. UK QA engineers typically earn £36,000-£44,500 (CV-Library, 2026), roughly £3,900-£4,300 a month to employ.
Skills

What our offshore QA testers do

Test strategy

Risk-based test plans, acceptance criteria and definition of done.

Manual and exploratory

Structured exploratory sessions, cross-browser and device testing.

Test automation

Playwright, Cypress, Selenium and Appium suites in CI.

API testing

Postman, REST Assured and contract tests.

Performance

k6 and JMeter load tests with clear reporting.

Accessibility

WCAG checks with axe and screen readers.

Typical work: building a regression suite from zero, shifting testing left into each sprint, release sign-off, API and integration testing, mobile app testing and reducing flaky tests.

Tech stack

Technologies our QA testers work with

Common stack
AreaTechnologies
UI automationPlaywright, Cypress, Selenium, WebdriverIO
MobileAppium, Detox, BrowserStack
APIPostman, REST Assured, Pact
Performancek6, JMeter, Gatling
ManagementJira, Xray, TestRail, Zephyr
Cost

Cost of an offshore qa tester vs a UK hire

Monthly cost comparison (2026)
OptionFigureNotes
TalentDock offshore qa testerFrom £1695 a monthAll-in: employment, payroll, benefits, equipment, security, HR, replacement cover

Indicative pricing; senior and lead engineers are quoted individually. See offshore development cost UK and UK developer salaries 2026.

QA outsourcing

QA outsourcing vs a dedicated offshore QA team

Software testing models
Testing agency (QA outsourcing)Dedicated offshore QA
TestersPooled, rotatingNamed, full-time for you
Product knowledgeRebuilt each engagementGrows every sprint
PricingPer project or per hourMonthly per engineer
In your sprintsRarelyYes

A common set-up: one QA engineer for every three to five developers, with at least one automation specialist. See team structure.

How to hire

How to hire an offshore qa tester

1 · Brief us

Stack, seniority, hours and start date; we confirm an all-in monthly price.

2 · Assessment

Write test cases for a real feature, find seeded bugs, and build a small automated test in your framework.

3 · Shortlist

Assessed candidates, typically in under 10 working days.

4 · Your interview

You run your own technical interview and choose.

5 · Onboard

Managed laptop, secure access, NDA and IP assignment; they join your sprint.

Building more than one role? See dedicated development teams or all roles on hire offshore developers.

Why TalentDock

Why hire through TalentDock

Dedicated, full-time

Works only on your product, in your tools and rituals.

UK-hours overlap

Sri Lanka is 4.5-5.5 hours ahead; shifts can cover the full UK day.

Your IP, secured

IP assignment, managed devices, MFA and UK GDPR transfer paperwork included.

No recruitment fee

One monthly fee with replacement cover if someone leaves.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does an offshore QA tester cost?

From £1,695 a month all-in with TalentDock. UK QA engineers typically earn £36,000-£44,500, around £3,900-£4,300 a month to employ.

Manual or automation testers?

Both. Most teams need exploratory testing plus a growing automated regression suite.

What is QA outsourcing?

Hiring an external company to test your software. A dedicated offshore QA engineer is an alternative that stays in your team.

How many QA engineers do I need?

A typical ratio is one QA engineer per three to five developers.

Who owns the code an offshore qa tester writes?

You do. IP is assigned in the engineer’s employment contract and flows through to you under our agreement.

Can an offshore qa tester work UK hours?

Yes. Sri Lanka is 4.5-5.5 hours ahead of the UK, so shifts can overlap or match your working day.

Sources and further reading

CV-Library, QA test engineer salary UK benchmarks, April 2026; HMRC employer NICs 2025-26; TalentDock pricing, September 2026.

Keep reading

Related roles and guides

Full-stack developers

End-to-end features.

DevOps engineers

Tests in CI/CD.

Team structure

QA-to-dev ratios.

Dedicated development team

Build a full squad.

Hire your offshore qa tester

Tell us the stack and seniority. We will confirm an all-in monthly price and start sourcing assessed candidates in Sri Lanka.