- Home >
- Startup hiring data >
- QA Engineer Salary and Equity Compensation in Startups 2026
QA Engineer Salary and Equity in 2026
How much do QA Engineers expect to make at US-based startups? The average expected salary for QA Engineers in a startup is 109k per year, with a range from 58k to 205k. The salary range for QA Engineers varies depending on factors such as location, industry, experience, skills, and startup stage.
108.6k
Average Salary
3 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average QA Engineer salary is $108,625, which is 15.8% lower than the average startup salary of $129,000. QA Engineer salaries are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: location, years of experience, title, size of company, skill-set, and industry.
Top of market
$180,083/yr
Range $147k - $205k
Average
$108,625/yr
Range $70k - $118k
Below Average
$78,500/yr
Range $58k - $98k
Top Locations
The highest average salary a QA Engineer can get in San Diego, that is $192,500. This pay is 77.2% higher than the average QA Engineer salary in startups, which is $108,625. Salaries will vary based on your location. The top-paying markets in the US, on average, are currently: San Diego (avg $192,500 per year), Santa Monica (avg $132,500 per year), New York (avg $120,500 per year). Remote jobs often pay based on the location you reside in.
San Diego
$192.5k
Santa Monica
$132.5k
New York
$120.5k
Minneapolis
$114.5k
Toronto
$112.5k
Seattle
View SalariesDenver
View SalariesVancouver
View SalariesChicago
View SalariesLos Angeles
View SalariesRemote
View SalariesBoston
View SalariesAustin
View SalariesIndustries
The highest average salary a QA Engineer can get in Physical Security, that is $250,000. This pay is 15.9% higher than the average QA Engineer salary, which is $215,750. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Physical Security (avg $250,000 per year), Developer APIs (avg $225,000 per year), Cell Phones (avg $225,000 per year).
Tech Stack
The highest average salary a QA Engineer can get with Rust, that is $214,000. This pay is 97.0% higher than the average QA Engineer salary in startups, which is $108,625. Salary range for specific skills will vary based on the supply and demand in the current market.
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying QA Engineer skills of 2026 are:
1. Rust
$214k
2. PyTorch
$200k
3. Machine Learning
$196.5k
4. Cassandra
$190k
5. Go
$175k
6. Lua
$172.5k
7. Splunk
$167.5k
8. Zookeeper
$160.5k
9. Redis
$157.5k
10. Kotlin
$157.5k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a QA Engineer can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $95,000. This pay is 12.5% lower than the average QA Engineer salary, which is $108,625. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
Popular roles
Software EngineerMobile DeveloperAndroid DeveloperiOS DeveloperFrontend EngineerBackend EngineerFull-Stack EngineerSoftware ArchitectMachine Learning EngineerEmbedded EngineerData EngineerDevOpsEngineering ManagerQA EngineerData ScientistDesignerUI/UX DesignerUser ResearcherVisual DesignerCreative DirectorGraphic Designer Product DesignerProduct ManagerOperationsFinance/AccountingH.R.Office ManagerRecruiterCustomer ServiceOperations ManagerSalesBusiness DevelopmentSales Development RepresentativeAccount ExecutiveBD ManagerAccount ManagerSales ManagerCustomer Success ManagerMarketingGrowth HackerMarketing ManagerContent CreatorCopywriterSocial Media ManagerManagementCEOCFOCMOCOOCTOOther EngineeringHardware EngineerMechanical EngineerSystems EngineerOtherBusiness AnalystProject ManagerAttorneyData AnalystInvestorLimited PartnerStrategic InvestorInstitutional InvestorVenture DebtVCSeed FundIndividual InvestorAngelFounder
Popular skills
Tech Hubs for QA Engineer
Industries for QA Engineer
Blockchain / CryptocurrencyFin TechBig DataRetailManufacturingMarketplacesSmall and Medium BusinessesReal EstateDigital MarketingAdvertisingHealth and WellnessMobile ApplicationArtificial IntelligenceSales and MarketingFinancial ServicesDigital MediaWeb DevelopmentSoftwareEducationTechnologySocial MediaB2BSaaSE-CommerceClean TechnologyHealthcareEnterprise SoftwareMobile