Average Software QA Engineer Salary in Turkey for 2026
A software QA engineer in Turkey earns about 88,580 TRY a year. That's 7% below the national average of 95,760 TRY.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Turkey sit around 47,540 TRY a year, while the very top stretches to 136,100 TRY. Everything on this page is in Turkish lira (TRY, symbol ₺), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Turkey, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does a software QA engineer make in Turkey?
A typical software QA engineer working in Turkey brings home around 7,381 TRY a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 47,540 TRY, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 136,100 TRY for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior software QA engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How software QA engineer pay ranges in Turkey
A good way to think about salary in Turkey is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all software QA engineers in Turkey earn less than 83,100 TRY a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 60,480 TRY (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 104,060 TRY (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of software QA engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 47,540 TRY. The highest stretch to 136,100 TRY, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Software QA engineer pay by experience in Turkey
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a software QA engineer in Turkey, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical software QA engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years50,180 TRY
- 2-5 Years+39% from previous69,540 TRY
- 5-10 Years+32% from previous91,520 TRY
- 10-15 Years+20% from previous109,520 TRY
- 15-20 Years+9% from previous119,700 TRY
- 20+ Years+7% from previous127,700 TRY
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 39%. That is the point at which a software QA engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Software QA engineer pay by education in Turkey
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving software QA engineer pay in Turkey. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average software QA engineer salary in Turkey broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- Certificate or Diploma60,600 TRY
- Bachelor's Degree+54% from previous93,340 TRY
- Master's Degree+44% from previous134,600 TRY
Software QA engineer gender pay gap in Turkey
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Turkey is no exception. Male software QA engineers in Turkey earn an average of 93,780 TRY a year, while female software QA engineers earn around 85,880 TRY. That works out to a 9% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Software QA Engineer gender pay gap
8%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Turkey.
Pay raises for a software QA engineer in Turkey
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Turkey sees a raise of about 11% every 20 months, which works out to roughly 7% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Turkey, the national average raise is around 8% every 18 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Turkey:
- Banking
- Energy1%
- Information Technology
- Healthcare2%
- Travel
- Construction
- Education
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Software QA engineer bonus rates in Turkey
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
52% of software QA engineers in Turkey reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a software QA engineer a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary. The remaining 48% of software QA engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Turkey
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Software QA engineer: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Turkey is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
6%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Turkey on average.
Software QA engineer salary by city in Turkey
Software QA engineer pay is not even across Turkey. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.
- Istanbul
- Ankara
- Izmir
- Antalya
| Location | Type | Average | Median | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Istanbul | City | 93,140 TRY | 93,340 TRY | 46,720-142,300 TRY |
| Ankara | City | 84,880 TRY | 82,920 TRY | 44,720-128,900 TRY |
| Izmir | City | 81,180 TRY | 88,480 TRY | 39,640-130,400 TRY |
| Antalya | City | 78,160 TRY | 74,940 TRY | 38,780-120,880 TRY |
Software QA Engineer in Turkey: FAQs
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How much does a software QA engineer make per month in Turkey?
A software QA engineer in Turkey earns about 7,381 TRY a month before tax, based on an annual average of 88,580 TRY.
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What's the salary range for a software QA engineer in Turkey?
Entry-level software QA engineers in Turkey start near 47,540 TRY. Top-end pay reaches around 136,100 TRY. The middle 50% of earners sit between 60,480 and 104,060 TRY.
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Is the median software QA engineer salary in Turkey higher or lower than the average?
The median is 83,100 TRY, lower than the average of 88,580 TRY. Half of software QA engineers in Turkey earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for software QA engineers in Turkey?
Men working as a software QA engineer in Turkey earn around 9% more than women on average (93,780 vs 85,880 TRY a year).
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Do software QA engineers in Turkey get bonuses?
About 52% of software QA engineers in Turkey reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary.
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Do software QA engineers earn more in the public or private sector in Turkey?
In Turkey, the public sector pays a software QA engineer about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do software QA engineers in Turkey get a pay raise?
A software QA engineer in Turkey sees a raise of around 11% every 20 months, equivalent to roughly 7% a year.