APAC Salary Benchmark 2026
Remote contractor rates for software engineers in Southeast Asia: what remote engineers in Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore charge US, European and Australian companies each month. Four levels and 8 role families from 155 Second Talent rate cards, updated October 2026.
At a glance · USD per month
Median senior remote contractor rate across Southeast Asia, about $27/hr
Senior medians in Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand: a $400 band
Singapore senior median, on its own scale at about 3.1x the Philippines
Below the US senior contract midpoint of $135/hr, at the regional senior median
Full-time remote contractor rates in US dollars, medians across Second Talent's published rate cards. Hourly figures are approximate: monthly rate divided by 173.3 hours. See the method note at the end of the page.
Finding 01 · Rates by market
Outside Singapore, Senior Rates Sit in One Band
Senior remote engineers in Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand charge a median of $4,400 to $4,800 a month. The gap between markets is far wider at junior level: from $1,500 in Indonesia to $3,200 in Malaysia. Singapore is on its own scale, at $14,100 for a senior engineer.
| Market | Junior0-2 yrs | Mid-level3-5 yrs | Senior5-8 yrs | Lead8+ yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeast AsiaAll 155 rate cards | $2,500$1,800-4,200 | $3,300$2,500-5,200 | $4,600$4,300-6,600 | $5,400$4,500-8,300 |
| Vietnam26 rate cards | $2,300$1,800-2,900 | $3,100$2,500-4,200 | $4,500$4,300-5,500 | $5,300$4,300-6,500 |
| Philippines29 rate cards | $1,800$1,400-2,500 | $2,700$2,500-3,300 | $4,550$4,300-5,150 | $5,050$4,500-5,650 |
| Indonesia27 rate cards | $1,500$1,200-2,400 | $2,700$2,500-3,500 | $4,400$4,300-5,000 | $5,050$4,300-6,500 |
| Malaysia25 rate cards | $3,200$2,200-4,000 | $3,700$2,600-4,900 | $4,700$4,300-6,000 | $5,600$4,500-7,400 |
| Thailand21 rate cards | $2,900$2,400-3,500 | $3,700$2,900-4,500 | $4,800$4,300-5,900 | $5,600$4,600-7,700 |
| SingaporeOwn scale27 rate cards | $9,500$8,300-12,100 | $11,500$9,600-14,600 | $14,100$11,400-17,700 | $15,900$13,200-21,700 |
Median monthly rate in bold; the smaller figure is the typical range (25th to 75th percentile). Mid-level and above never fall below the rate floors: $2,500 a month at 3+ years and $4,300 at 5+ years.
Finding 02 · Seniority
The Step from Mid-level to Senior Costs the Most
Across the region, the median rate moves from $2,500 at junior to $5,400 at lead. The largest single step is into senior: +$1,300 a month, or 39%. Agree the level before you price the role: a lead hired for a senior job costs $800 a month more at the median.
Regional medians across all 155 rate cards. Step is the change in median from the level below.
Finding 03 · Role families
Data and AI Engineers Charge a Clear Premium
At senior level, data engineers and scientists charge a median $6,200 a month and AI and ML engineers $5,800, against $4,350 for mobile and QA engineers. The two families lead at every level, from junior to lead. Most other families sit close to the $4,300 senior floor.
| Role family | Junior0-2 yrs | Mid-level3-5 yrs | Senior5-8 yrs | Lead8+ yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data engineer and scientist11 rate cards | $4,000$2,700-5,200 | $4,900$3,400-6,300 | $6,200$4,600-7,800 | $7,900$5,800-9,600 |
| AI and ML engineer11 rate cards | $4,100$2,500-5,000 | $4,800$3,100-6,200 | $5,800$4,400-8,000 | $7,400$5,900-10,800 |
| DevOps and cloud engineer11 rate cards | $3,300$2,100-4,800 | $4,000$2,600-6,100 | $4,900$4,300-7,600 | $6,000$4,500-9,000 |
| Back-end engineer35 rate cards | $2,500$1,800-3,300 | $3,300$2,500-4,300 | $4,500$4,300-5,600 | $5,400$4,500-7,200 |
| UI/UX designer6 rate cards | $2,100$1,800-2,500 | $2,900$2,500-3,300 | $4,450$4,300-5,050 | $5,000$4,500-6,300 |
| Front-end engineer20 rate cards | $2,200$1,400-3,400 | $2,900$2,500-4,200 | $4,400$4,300-5,700 | $5,100$4,500-7,100 |
| Mobile engineer29 rate cards | $2,400$1,600-3,400 | $3,000$2,500-4,400 | $4,350$4,300-5,600 | $4,950$4,500-7,000 |
| QA engineer6 rate cards | $1,700$900-2,600 | $2,700$2,500-3,400 | $4,350$4,300-4,950 | $4,950$4,500-5,900 |
All six markets combined, Singapore included. Sorted by senior median. Median in bold, typical range (25th to 75th percentile) below.
Senior rate by role and market
Senior Median for Each Role Family in Each Market
For back-end, front-end, mobile, QA and design roles the five markets outside Singapore sit within a few hundred dollars of each other. DevOps, data and AI roles vary more by market, but those cells rest on one or two rate cards each, so read them as indicative.
| Role family | Vietnam | Philippines | Indonesia | Malaysia | Thailand | Singapore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data engineer and scientist | $5,400 | $4,350* | $6,000 | $5,800 | $6,500 | $18,100 |
| AI and ML engineer | $5,500 | $4,700 | $6,200 | $6,300 | $6,500* | $18,600 |
| DevOps and cloud engineer | $4,500 | $4,550 | $6,100 | $6,000 | $4,650* | $16,000 |
| Back-end engineer | $4,600 | $4,650 | $4,500 | $4,550 | $4,800 | $13,500 |
| UI/UX designer | $4,450* | $4,400* | $4,550* | $4,400* | $4,400* | $13,200* |
| Front-end engineer | $4,700 | $4,350 | $4,600 | $4,700 | $4,450 | $12,100 |
| Mobile engineer | $4,550 | $4,500 | $4,650 | $4,500 | $4,800 | $12,800 |
| QA engineer | $4,550* | $4,500* | $4,650* | $4,500* | $4,500* | $11,000* |
Senior median rate per month. Orange marks the highest of the five markets outside Singapore for each role family. * One rate card behind the figure; other cells rest on two to six.
Against the US, UK and Europe
About 79% to 81% Below the US Senior Contract Rate
Outside Singapore, a senior median works out at about $25 to $28 an hour, against a US senior contract midpoint of $135. Singapore, at about $81 an hour, is 40% below. This compares rate with rate; management time and time-zone overlap are not in the number.
United States
$110-160/hr
Senior contract bill rate through an agency or staffing firm
United Kingdom
$100-160/hr
£600 to £1,000 a day for a senior contractor, at eight hours
Western Europe
$100-180/hr
Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordics sit in a similar band
Senior median monthly rate divided by 173.3 hours, compared with the $135/hr midpoint of the US $110-160 senior contract band: 1 minus (monthly / 173.3 / 135). The US, UK and European bands are senior contract rates from published 2026 contractor and staff-augmentation rate surveys, not from Second Talent data.
Get the Southeast Asia Salary Guide 2026
Every level in every market, the role families, the engineering level definitions, and what changes if you employ instead of contract: employer contributions, mandatory bonuses and leave, market by market.
North Asia · August 2026 edition
North Asia, from the August 2026 Edition, Hourly Contract Rates
Hong Kong, Taiwan and China are not in the 2026 Salary Guide. These are their hourly remote contract rates from the August 2026 edition of this benchmark, on a different method and unit, so they are kept apart and not compared with the monthly figures above.
| Market | JuniorUSD/hr | Mid-levelUSD/hr | SeniorUSD/hr | LeadUSD/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong23 roles | $55/hr | $78/hr | $103/hr | $145/hr |
| Taiwan11 roles | $32/hr | $50/hr | $68/hr | $95/hr |
| China20 roles | $33/hr | $53/hr | $80/hr | $114/hr |
Median across roles of the midpoint of each role's hourly contract band, August 2026 edition. Not converted to monthly.
Method
How These Figures Are Built
- Source
- The Second Talent Southeast Asia Salary Guide 2026, built from the 155 Southeast Asia rate cards Second Talent publishes on its developer rate card pages. Each card gives the monthly USD range engineers charge working full time and remotely for US, European and Australian companies. These are Second Talent's published rate-card ranges, not a salary survey.
- Levels and floors
- Each card's range is split into junior (0-2 years), mid-level (3-5), senior (5-8) and lead (8+). Rate floors apply: $2,500 a month from mid-level, $4,300 at senior and lead. Junior has no floor.
- Medians and ranges
- Medians are taken across the rate cards in each market or role family. The typical range runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile and never drops below the floor for the level. Role-and-market cells rest on one to six cards each.
- Hourly equivalent
- Monthly rate divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week, 52 weeks, 12 months), shown for comparison only. The primary unit on this page is USD per month.
- US comparison
- 1 minus (senior median / 173.3 / 135), where $135 is the midpoint of the US senior contract band. The US, UK and Western Europe bands come from published 2026 contractor and staff-augmentation rate surveys.
- Contract, not employment
- A contractor rate is the full cost of the engagement. If you employ the engineer instead, directly or through an employer of record, employer contributions apply and, in the Philippines and Indonesia, a mandatory extra month of pay. The 2026 Salary Guide sets these out by market.
- North Asia
- Hong Kong, Taiwan and China use the August 2026 edition: hourly contract bands per role, summarized as the median of band midpoints. They are shown separately and are not part of any regional figure.
Figures as of October 2026.
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