What Does an Employed Developer Cost per Worked Hour?
A mid-level software developer in permanent employment costs an employer roughly €46-57 per hour actually worked in the Netherlands, €54-59 in Germany, €48-54 in Ireland, €53-59 in Sweden and €80-98 in the United States (2026). That is salary plus employer costs, divided by the hours someone works after holidays, public holidays and sick days. The low end of each range counts only statutory employer costs; the high end adds the pension or health insurance most tech employers pay. Senior figures are higher and are an estimate. Freelance developers charge €68-94 an hour in the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Sweden, above the employed cost; for the US we found no measured freelance rate for software developers. Recruitment fees, the months a seat is open and turnover come on top of the employed figures.
Cost per worked hour, mid-level and senior
These figures are for people in permanent, salaried employment at tech companies, not for freelancers or contractors.
| Netherlands | Mid-level €46-57 per worked hour; senior (estimate) €58-71 |
|---|---|
| Germany | Mid-level €54-59 per worked hour; senior (estimate) €68-74 |
| Ireland | Mid-level €48-54 per worked hour; senior (estimate) €61-67 |
| Sweden | Mid-level €53-59 per worked hour; senior (estimate) €66-74 |
| United States | Mid-level €80-98 per worked hour; senior (estimate) €94-116 |
The mid-level row rests on measured salary data. The senior row is an estimate: for the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Sweden it is the mid-level salary × 1.25, because a published senior median per country isn't available; for the US it uses the published senior median. In some countries employer contributions are capped above a certain salary, so a senior can cost a little less than this estimate.
What a freelance developer charges
A freelance rate is already a price per hour worked: the freelancer's holidays, sick days and own social charges are in it. So it can sit next to the employed cost without converting.
| Netherlands | Freelance €94 average, software developer. Employed mid-level €46-57 per worked hour. Source: Knab, Zzp Uurtarievenboekje 2026, research among 20,000+ freelancers |
|---|---|
| Germany | Freelance €90 median, software and web development. Employed mid-level €54-59 per worked hour. Source: freelancermap, Freelancer-Kompass 2026, survey of freelancers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland |
| Ireland | Freelance €72-85, software developer. Employed mid-level €48-54 per worked hour. Source: TalentUp, Contractors Benchmark Report Ireland 2026; method not published |
| Sweden | Freelance €68-80, developer roles. Employed mid-level €53-59 per worked hour. Source: Brainville, assignment rates July-December 2025, converted from SEK; includes consultancy firms, not only independent freelancers |
For the US we found no measured freelance rate for software developers, so it is left out.
In the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Sweden, a freelance developer charges more per hour than the top of the employed mid-level range. The freelance sources don't split by level, so the rows compare a freelance average with a mid-level range.
What is not in the hourly cost
The figures above cover salary, employer costs and the hours someone is away. Hiring someone in permanent employment also brings costs that aren't in an hourly figure:
- The search. Published recruitment agency rates for a software developer are about 15-22% of the first-year salary in Europe and 20-25% in the US; the sources are indicative. Spread over the hours worked in that first year, that adds roughly €6-10 an hour in the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Sweden, and €15-19 in the US.
- The months a seat is open, while the work waits or the team covers it (see I can't get my development team staffed).
- Starting over when someone leaves. European tech companies lose on average 12% of their engineers a year (Ravio 2026, all reasons for leaving), and each departure brings the search and the first weeks back.
- Notice and employment protection. After the probation period, ending a permanent contract in these countries usually takes notice and a valid reason, so the cost doesn't follow the work straight away when plans change.
- Equipment, office and voluntary benefits such as a lease car or training budget, which these figures leave out.
How these costs weigh against the alternatives, including working with professionals from outside your local salary market, is on we need more engineers but can't afford local salaries.
How each range is built
Cost per worked hour = gross annual salary × (1 + employer costs) ÷ hours actually worked per year.
| Netherlands | Median salary, mid-level €76,000; employer costs 9% to 25%; hours worked per year 1,670-1,800 |
|---|---|
| Germany | Median salary, mid-level €78,700; employer costs 20% to 23%; hours worked per year 1,630-1,745 |
| Ireland | Median salary, mid-level €75,700; employer costs 13% to 20%; hours worked per year 1,690-1,765 |
| Sweden | Median salary, mid-level €70,300; employer costs 31% to 41%; hours worked per year 1,670-1,750 |
| United States | Median salary, mid-level €137,800; employer costs 10% to 31%; hours worked per year 1,840-1,900 |
- Salary. Ravio's median base salary for a mid-level software engineer, October 2026, from payroll data of 1,800+ mostly European tech companies, converted at ECB rates of 7 October 2026. These are tech-company salaries; national averages across all employers are lower.
- Employer costs, low end. Statutory contributions only (Ravio and Playroll; for Sweden the 2026 rate from Skatteverket).
- Employer costs, high end. Adds what most tech employers pay on top: an employer pension in the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland and Sweden, and the Dutch 8% holiday allowance where it isn't in the base salary. In the US it adds health insurance and other benefits (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, professional occupations, paid leave left out because it is already in the hours).
- Hours worked. 52 weeks of contract hours, minus holidays (from the statutory minimum to what is common), public holidays on weekdays in 2026 and average sickness absence (CBS for the Netherlands, TK and IAB for Germany, BLS for the US; for Ireland and Sweden an estimate, as no national yearly figure was found). Training, meetings and onboarding are not deducted.
The low end of each range combines low employer costs with the most hours worked, the high end high employer costs with the fewest hours. Looking only at the low end makes the Netherlands and the US look cheaper than they are, because it leaves out pension and health insurance.
Where Tunga fits
Tunga takes the staffing side off the plate of companies that need digital professionals: software engineers, AI operators, product managers and other digital roles, from across Africa. The client directs the work. Tunga handles finding and vetting, contracts, payments and compliance, onboarding, keeping people, and replacing them when someone leaves or it isn't working. The professionals are independent contractors or employed in their own country through an employer of record, and work remotely from their own country; the client has one contract, with Tunga, and a delivery manager who checks in with both sides. In 2025, about 1 in 56 placements ended because the professional left for another job. Founded in 2015; 3,500 professionals across 38 African countries and 300+ client companies, as of September 2026.
Tunga is not the right fit when the role has to be on site, when the work means talking to your clients in a language other than English or French, or when saving on cost is the main reason you're looking.
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