APAC Salary Benchmark 2026
What global teams pay to hire engineers remotely from Asia. 208 benchmarks across 31 roles and 9 markets, quoted as the hourly rate an international employer actually pays, with the local employed salary alongside it.
Median senior engineer hired remotely from Philippines, the lowest rate in the region
The same seniority from Hong Kong, 2.2x the rate for the same job title
Below the US senior contract rate of $135/hr, hiring the same seniority remotely from Philippines
USD per hour, midpoint of the senior band, as quoted for an international employer. Rates are what a remote engagement costs; the employed-salary figures further down are a different measurement and the two are never converted into one another.
Finding 01
Two Ways to Hire, Two Different Numbers
A global team can engage an engineer in Asia remotely on an hourly rate, or employ them locally on a salary. Both are priced below, and they are not the same measurement. An hourly rate carries utilisation, benefits, bench time and engagement risk that a salary does not.
The common mistake is multiplying an hourly rate by 2,080 and calling the result an annual cost. Do that to a $70 Vietnam rate and you get $145,000, which is nowhere near what employing that engineer costs. This report never converts one into the other, and neither should a budget.
If you employ rather than contract, the statutory employer add-on runs from 0.61% in Thailand to 20.26% in China. Most Asian schemes are capped, so the percentage falls as pay rises: Vietnam charges 23.5% of a mid-level wage and 14.2% of a senior one.
| Market | Roles | Remote rate (USD/hr) | vs US rate | Employed salary | Employer burden | Employed total | What drives the burden |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 29 | $48 | −65% | $24,500 | +13.5% | $27,800 | Low ceilings; the statutory 13th month is the larger half |
| Vietnam | 27 | $51 | −62% | $31,300 | +14.2% | $35,700 | Capped contributions, so the rate falls from 23.5% at mid pay |
| Indonesia | 28 | $53 | −61% | $20,600 | +14.6% | $23,600 | BPJS near 9% plus the statutory THR at 8.33% |
| Thailand | 21 | $54 | −60% | $43,500 | +0.61% | $43,800 | Social security is capped at THB 15,000 of wages |
| Malaysia | 22 | $55 | −59% | $39,600 | +13.6% | $45,000 | EPF 12% plus SOCSO and EIS on a capped wage |
| Taiwan | 11 | $68 | −50% | $52,500 | +13.74% | $59,700 | Labour and health insurance plus a 6% pension contribution |
| Singapore | 27 | $80 | −41% | $122,300 | +17% | $143,000 | CPF 17% for citizens and PRs, nil for Employment Pass holders |
| China | 20 | $80 | −41% | $95,000 | +20.26% | $114,200 | The heaviest in the region even after the caps bite |
| Hong Kong | 23 | $103 | −24% | $137,500 | +1.88% | $140,100 | MPF is capped at HKD 1,500 a month |
Median across every role we benchmark in that market, so each figure reflects the mix of roles rather than one job title. The remote rate is what an international employer pays per hour. The employed columns are a separate model: local salary plus statutory contributions, before recruitment, equipment and any entity or employer-of-record fee.
The Comparison You Are Making
What the Same Seniority Costs Outside Asia
An Asian rate only means something against the rate it replaces. These are senior contract rates on the same basis as the columns above: what a buyer pays per hour, not what an employee earns.
The gap is widest in Southeast Asia and narrowest in Hong Kong and Singapore, which are developed markets competing for the same engineers as London and New York rather than undercutting them.
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
How Far Below the US Rate Each Market Sits
Median senior remote rate against the $135/hr midpoint of the US band.
Rate against rate, which is the like-for-like comparison. It is not a total programme saving: management overhead, time-zone cost and onboarding all sit outside this number.
The Matrix
Senior remote rate in USD per hour, midpoint of the band, for every role and market pair we benchmark. Scroll sideways for the full set. A dot is a pair we do not place into and therefore do not benchmark.
| Role | Vietnam | Philippines | Indonesia | Malaysia | Thailand | Singapore | Hong Kong | Taiwan | China |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Engineer | $78 | · | $93 | $108 | $93 | $165 | $155 | $120 | $108 |
| DevOps Engineer | $70 | $88 | $93 | $103 | · | $155 | $155 | $113 | · |
| AI Engineer | $85 | $75 | $93 | $103 | · | $155 | · | · | $125 |
| Blockchain Developer | · | $58 | $73 | · | $80 | $160 | $165 | · | $107 |
| Machine Learning Engineer | $65 | $55 | $72 | · | $73 | $175 | $125 | · | $93 |
| Go Developer | $72 | $51 | $54 | $45 | · | $100 | $130 | · | $70 |
| Cybersecurity Engineer | $63 | $48 | $58 | $70 | · | · | $120 | · | $80 |
| Mobile App Developer | $50 | $55 | $60 | $65 | $68 | $120 | $118 | $103 | · |
| Cloud Engineer | $60 | $47 | $55 | $65 | $45 | $113 | $110 | $68 | $93 |
| Data Scientist | $65 | $48 | $54 | · | $65 | $80 | $138 | · | $83 |
| Full-Stack Developer | $60 | $55 | $60 | $68 | · | $103 | · | $73 | · |
| Java Developer | · | $62 | · | $43 | $65 | $70 | $88 | $49 | · |
| Kotlin Developer | $48 | $43 | $50 | $58 | $60 | $120 | $90 | · | $65 |
| Node.js Developer | $48 | $54 | $37 | $55 | $65 | $108 | $83 | · | $60 |
| React Developer | $55 | $37 | $55 | $43 | · | $68 | $90 | $60 | $80 |
| Web Developer | $58 | $45 | $53 | · | $70 | $115 | · | · | · |
| Python Developer | $55 | $33 | $54 | · | $54 | $80 | $103 | $74 | $59 |
| iOS Developer | $50 | $43 | $48 | $60 | $54 | $80 | $103 | · | $85 |
| Android Developer | $51 | $34 | $47 | $43 | $55 | $76 | $108 | $58 | $78 |
| Angular Developer | $57 | $51 | $37 | $48 | $48 | $74 | $108 | · | $65 |
| Flutter Developer | $50 | $48 | $53 | $55 | $48 | $70 | $98 | · | $60 |
| Game Developer | $50 | $43 | $45 | $58 | $50 | $125 | $103 | $68 | · |
| Vue.js Developer | $48 | $37 | $48 | · | · | $75 | $100 | · | $60 |
| .NET Developer | $45 | $43 | $43 | $48 | $48 | $78 | $95 | · | $93 |
| Backend Developer | $48 | $51 | $48 | · | · | · | · | · | · |
| PHP Developer | $40 | $54 | $34 | $40 | $48 | $77 | · | $53 | · |
| UI/UX Designer | $47 | · | $47 | $48 | $48 | $61 | $80 | · | $88 |
| QA Engineer | $25 | $27 | $29 | $43 | $48 | $65 | $65 | · | $58 |
| WordPress Developer | $43 | $38 | $34 | $37 | $45 | $55 | · | · | · |
Hourly rates for a remote engagement. Do not multiply these by a full-time year: the employed-salary column in the table above is the figure to compare against a salary.
Finding 02
The Market Matters More than the Role
Across the whole dataset the highest-rated role commands roughly 2.7x the lowest at the same seniority. But the same single role swings up to 3.2x between its cheapest and dearest Asian market.
Which is to say: where you hire moves the number more than what you hire. A regional average is the wrong unit for a budget. Benchmark the role in the specific market, and decide the engagement model before you compare anything.
| Role | Markets | Median senior rate | Cheapest market | Dearest market | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Engineer | 8 | $108 | Vietnam $78 | Singapore $165 | 2.1x |
| DevOps Engineer | 7 | $103 | Vietnam $70 | Singapore $155 | 2.2x |
| AI Engineer | 6 | $98 | Philippines $75 | Singapore $155 | 2.1x |
| Blockchain Developer | 6 | $93 | Philippines $58 | Hong Kong $165 | 2.9x |
| Machine Learning Engineer | 7 | $73 | Philippines $55 | Singapore $175 | 3.2x |
| Go Developer | 7 | $70 | Malaysia $45 | Hong Kong $130 | 2.9x |
| Cybersecurity Engineer | 6 | $66 | Philippines $48 | Hong Kong $120 | 2.5x |
| Mobile App Developer | 8 | $66 | Vietnam $50 | Singapore $120 | 2.4x |
| Cloud Engineer | 9 | $65 | Thailand $45 | Singapore $113 | 2.5x |
| Data Scientist | 7 | $65 | Philippines $48 | Hong Kong $138 | 2.9x |
| Full-Stack Developer | 6 | $64 | Philippines $55 | Singapore $103 | 1.9x |
| Java Developer | 6 | $63 | Malaysia $43 | Hong Kong $88 | 2.1x |
| Kotlin Developer | 8 | $59 | Philippines $43 | Singapore $120 | 2.8x |
| Node.js Developer | 8 | $58 | Indonesia $37 | Singapore $108 | 2.9x |
| React Developer | 8 | $58 | Philippines $37 | Hong Kong $90 | 2.5x |
| Web Developer | 5 | $58 | Philippines $45 | Singapore $115 | 2.6x |
| Python Developer | 8 | $57 | Philippines $33 | Hong Kong $103 | 3.2x |
| iOS Developer | 8 | $57 | Philippines $43 | Hong Kong $103 | 2.4x |
| Android Developer | 9 | $55 | Philippines $34 | Hong Kong $108 | 3.2x |
| Angular Developer | 8 | $54 | Indonesia $37 | Hong Kong $108 | 2.9x |
| Flutter Developer | 8 | $54 | Thailand $48 | Hong Kong $98 | 2.1x |
| Game Developer | 8 | $54 | Philippines $43 | Singapore $125 | 2.9x |
| Vue.js Developer | 6 | $54 | Philippines $37 | Hong Kong $100 | 2.7x |
| .NET Developer | 8 | $48 | Indonesia $43 | Hong Kong $95 | 2.2x |
| Backend Developer | 3 | $48 | Vietnam $48 | Philippines $51 | 1.1x |
| PHP Developer | 7 | $48 | Indonesia $34 | Singapore $77 | 2.3x |
| UI/UX Designer | 7 | $48 | Vietnam $47 | China $88 | 1.9x |
| QA Engineer | 8 | $45 | Vietnam $25 | Singapore $65 | 2.6x |
| WordPress Developer | 6 | $40 | Indonesia $34 | Singapore $55 | 1.6x |
Remote rate in USD per hour. Roles benchmarked in at least three markets. Median is taken across markets, so it describes the role rather than any one country.
Finding 03
What Each Step of Seniority Costs
Median remote rate at each band across all 208 benchmarks, expressed as a multiple of junior. The curve is steeper than most budget models assume, and the step from mid to senior is the expensive one.
It is usually still the right step to take. A senior engineer working async against a distant time zone needs less supervision, which is the scarce resource on a global team rather than the hourly rate.
Median remote rate across every role and market. Junior is nought to two years, mid three to five, senior six or more, lead is a role with reporting or architecture ownership.
Take the Benchmark with You
The full matrix, the global rate comparison, every market profile and the method as a designed PDF.
Method
Where the numbers come from. Second Talent's own rate cards, one per role and market, maintained from placement and offer data. This report reads all 208 of them so the benchmark and the individual rate card pages state the same numbers rather than drifting apart.
Remote rates. The USD hourly figure each rate card lists for an international employer. Quoted as an hourly range and never annualised: multiplying a contract rate by a full-time year implies a utilisation, a benefits load and a bench cost the number does not contain.
Employed salaries. The local monthly band from the same rate card. Local salaries converted at spot rates on 20 August 2026, annualised at twelve months and rounded to the nearest $500. Currency moves alone will shift these between editions.
Global reference rates. Senior contract rates outside Asia, collected from published 2026 contractor and staff-augmentation rate surveys rather than derived from our own data. They are stated as ranges because agency, direct and platform rates differ materially for the same engineer.
Employer burden. Statutory employer contributions at senior salary level, taken from our country payroll guides, each of which is checked against the statutory arithmetic before publication. Most Asian schemes are capped, so we use the senior-level rate rather than the headline percentage.
What is excluded. Bonus, equity, recruitment fees, equipment, entity or employer-of-record cost and discretionary benefits. These apply across every market and would not reorder the tables.
Limits. These are market ranges, not a census, and the spread inside a single market is wider than the gap between some of the markets listed. Cambodia and India are markets we place into but do not yet have verified statutory figures for, so they are held out rather than estimated.
Related
- Asia Tech Salary Index the quarterly narrative index, benchmarked against Silicon Valley
- LATAM vs CEE vs Asia for hiring AI engineers the same cost model across three regions
- Developer rate cards the per-role, per-market source pages behind this benchmark
- All research and PDFs every report and country payroll guide
Country payroll guides behind the burden column
Each market's employer contribution rate is worked through in full, with take-home examples at two salary levels, in the country payroll guide series. Download any of them.
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