The salary is the first line of the bill, not the whole of it. Employing a developer in India also means statutory contributions, gratuity, health cover, a place to work, a laptop, payroll and compliance every month, and the HR work that runs for as long as the person is with you.
Through a SoTalented Satellite Office, all of that is one monthly price. A full-stack developer costs:
- $2,000 to $2,800 a month at junior level (1 to 2 years)
- $2,800 to $4,200 at mid level (3 to 6 years)
- $4,200 to $6,000 at senior level (6+ years)
That price covers salary, benefits, payroll, compliance, the office, IT and equipment, on one invoice.
The rest of this post shows every line inside that number, so you can check it against any other option.
The cost stack, line by line
| Line | What it is | Easy to miss? |
|---|---|---|
| Salary | The annual package, usually quoted in India as cost to company (CTC), in lakhs of rupees a year | No |
| Provident fund | An employer contribution of 12% of wages up to a statutory ceiling, plus small insurance and admin charges | Often |
| Gratuity | A lump sum owed when someone leaves after the qualifying period, built up at roughly 15 days’ wages per year of service | Usually |
| Health cover | State insurance below a wage threshold; above it, most employers buy group health insurance | Sometimes |
| Leave and holidays | Paid leave, plus public holidays that differ by state | Rarely priced, often felt |
| Workspace | A desk, reliable internet, power backup, meeting rooms, reception, cleaning | Usually |
| Equipment | A laptop, an office suite licence, security access, and replacement when something breaks | Sometimes |
| Payroll and compliance | Monthly payroll, tax deducted at source, statutory filings, state professional tax | Often |
| HR operations | Onboarding, leave, reviews, salary benchmarking, exits and final settlement | Almost always |
| Recruiting | Sourcing, screening, assessment, background checks, interviews | Counted once, then forgotten |
Most comparisons stop after the first row. The other nine rows are where an “inexpensive” hire becomes an expensive one: not in money, but in your time.
What changed in November 2025
India brought four labour codes into force on 21 November 2025, replacing 29 older central laws. Two changes matter most for anyone costing a hire.
A single definition of wages. Wages now have one definition across all four codes. Allowances that are excluded from wages cannot exceed half of total pay. In practice, a larger share of the package now counts as wages, and provident fund and gratuity are calculated on wages. Packages built mostly from allowances to keep contributions low no longer work.
Gratuity for fixed-term employees. Fixed-term employees now qualify for gratuity after one year instead of five.
None of this changes what you pay us. It changes what a do-it-yourself cost plan has to include.
The number that matters: one price per seat
Every price below is per month and all-inclusive: salary, benefits, payroll, compliance, the office, IT and equipment. It is billed on one invoice.
| Role | Junior (1 to 2 years) | Mid (3 to 6 years) | Senior (6+ years) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frontend developer | $1,800 to $2,500 | $2,500 to $3,800 | $3,800 to $5,500 |
| Backend developer | $1,800 to $2,500 | $2,500 to $3,800 | $3,800 to $5,500 |
| Full-stack developer | $2,000 to $2,800 | $2,800 to $4,200 | $4,200 to $6,000 |
| QA engineer | $1,500 to $2,200 | $2,200 to $3,200 | $3,200 to $4,500 |
No level is the default. We quote the band for the level the role actually needs, and if a seat suits mid rather than senior, we say so.
The terms on every seat are the same:
- $0 until you hire.
- No lock-in.
- 30 days notice to scale down.
- The SoTalented Office Guarantee.
What the price does not include
A cost post that only lists what is included is an ad. So here is what is not.
- Managing the work. What gets built and what ships first is yours. That is the point of a satellite office.
- Licences for your own tools. Your design tools, repositories and CRM stay on your accounts. The standard kit is a laptop, an office suite licence and a SoTalented email address.
- Specialist hardware. Anything beyond the standard kit, such as a workstation for heavy computing, is quoted separately.
How to compare any option honestly
Whatever you are weighing, a freelancer, an employer of record, a recruiter or your own entity, put every line from the table above into one column per option. Then ask three questions for each line:
- Who pays for it?
- Who does the work?
- What happens when it goes wrong?
The option with the lowest salary line is rarely the one with the lowest total. It is often the one where most of the rows say “you”.
The full list of what we run is on what’s included: 42 touchpoints across 5 phases, from sourcing to exit. If you want the number for your role at your level, talk to us.
Sources
- Labour codes in force from 21 November 2025, and the single wage definition: Khaitan & Co via Mondaq; Littler via Mondaq
- Gratuity formula under the codes: Lockton, labour codes readiness brochure
- Allowances capped at 50% of remuneration: Business Today on ICAI guidance
- Employer provident fund rate and charges: Boundless, employer contributions in India 2026