Software Developer Cost Estimator
Estimate the all-in monthly cost of hiring a software developer — pick the role type, seniority, team size, and engagement length. Includes an instant comparison against US fully-loaded rates plus a complete role × seniority rate card.
High-income Asian markets: 2× rate
Scarcity drives the role premium
Second Talent baseline rate
Developers to hire
Months of coverage
Monthly team cost — Second Talent vs US in-house
Second Talent (Asia-Pacific)
$0 /mo
US in-house (fully loaded)
$0 /mo
Your rate card — Vietnam · every role × seniority
| Role | Junior | Mid | Senior | Lead / Staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontend engineer | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Backend engineer | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Full-stack engineer | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Mobile (iOS / Android) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| DevOps / SRE / Platform | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Data engineer | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| ML / AI engineer | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| QA / Test engineer | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
All rates are per-developer all-in monthly via Second Talent, inclusive of salary, statutory contributions, and the $199 EOR fee. Rates are flat across low-cost Asian markets (Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand) and doubled for high-income Asian markets (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China).
Per developer
$0
all-in monthly
Team monthly
$0
full team via Second Talent
Engagement total
$0
over selected months
Saved vs US in-house
$0
over full engagement
Reduce your engineering spend
by $103,000 per hire.
4,800 USD
Senior developer all-in monthly in low-cost Asian markets
9,600 USD
Senior developer all-in monthly in high-income Asian markets
60 %
Typical savings vs equivalent US in-house hire
24 hrs
From role brief to pre-vetted developer shortlist
What drives a developer's rate
Four levers set the price: country tier, role, seniority, and team size. The calculator above adjusts all four live.
Country tier
Two pricing tiers across Asia. Low-cost markets (Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand) run at the baseline rate. High-income markets (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China) run at 2× baseline — local tech salaries, cost of living, and retention economics all justify the uplift.
Seniority
Four bands at low-cost baseline: Junior $2,500/mo, Mid $3,500/mo, Senior $4,800/mo, Lead / Staff $5,800/mo. Each step up reflects 2–3 years more experience and proportionally more ownership of complex systems. Doubles in high-income markets.
Role scarcity
Front-end and back-end engineers set the baseline (1.0×). Full-stack, mobile, and data engineers carry a 5–15% premium. ML / AI engineers carry a 30% premium because the supply-side pool is tiny relative to demand.
Team-size leverage
Hiring a cohort of 4+ developers at once does not lower per-engineer cost, but it dramatically shortens total time-to-productive because we can run hiring loops in parallel. Past 10+ developers in one country, own-entity economics start to matter (see the EOR vs Entity estimator).
Engagement length
Rate is independent of engagement length — you pay the same per month whether you commit to 3 months or 36. We do not lock contracts or charge early-exit penalties. The full rate card above stays the same at any horizon.
What the rate includes
Base salary, employer statutory contributions, full payroll processing, EOR-of-record status, local tax filings, statutory benefits, performance management, and replacement guarantee. No per-incident fees, no tooling markup, no annualised minimums.
How to use this estimator
From role brief to first engineer on your team. The estimator gives you the number; these are the steps that get you a real hire at that number.
Pick the role profile
Select your role type and seniority above. The rate that appears is a real quote — no signups, no follow-up sales calls unless you ask for one. Play with the options to see where scarcity premiums kick in.
Size the team
Decide how many developers and over what engagement horizon. Team monthly + engagement total update live. Typical first engagements are 1–3 developers over 12 months.
Send us the brief
When the numbers work, send a one-paragraph role brief. We return 3–5 pre-vetted developer profiles within 24 hours matching your stack, seniority, and time-zone needs.
Interview + pick
Run your own technical interviews on the shortlist. Most teams land their hire inside 7–10 days. If no candidate fits, we return a new shortlist at no charge — our vetting is what you are paying for.
Onboard + ship
Day-one onboarding: laptop, collaboration-stack access, tax/payroll setup, and a dedicated ST customer success lead. Your new engineer is shipping reviewed code within 2 weeks.
Software developer cost questions, answered
Why do high-income Asian markets cost double?
How does the role multiplier work?
What seniority is a "Senior developer" at Second Talent?
How does the US in-house comparison work?
Can I build a mixed team — some seniors, some mid-level?
What if the developer does not work out?
What this estimator helps you understand
Practical numbers for planning your budget.
All-in Second Talent monthly rate for every role × seniority combination, flat across 9 Asian markets
Role scarcity premium: ML / AI (1.30×), DevOps / SRE (1.15×), mobile and data (1.10×), full-stack (1.05×)
Side-by-side comparison with US fully-loaded rates scaled by seniority ($8.5k junior → $19k lead)
Team monthly, engagement total, and savings vs an equivalent US in-house team
Get a real quote in 24 hours.
Send us your role and budget and our team will reply with a tailored estimate plus 6 vetted candidates.
Get Your Quote