Tester Contract Job Trends in the South East
Tester
England > South East
The median Tester daily rate in the South East is £400, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 24 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 24 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 188 | 124 | 146 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -64 | +22 | -6 |
| Contract Tester jobs | 46 | 47 | 30 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the South East | 0.69% | 1.28% | 0.71% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.76% | 1.43% | 0.77% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 35 | 30 | 15 |
| 10th Percentile | £253 | £373 | £213 |
| 25th Percentile | £319 | £401 | £306 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £400 | £425 | £425 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -5.88% | - | -5.56% |
| 75th Percentile | £479 | £523 | £481 |
| 90th Percentile | £595 | £650 | £569 |
| England median daily rate | £418 | £455 | £450 |
| % change year-on-year | -8.29% | +1.17% | -6.74% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Median hourly rate | - | £32.71 | - |
| England median hourly rate | £35.00 | £32.71 | £63.75 |
| % change year-on-year | +7.00% | -48.69% | +38.59% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
South East
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 24 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the South East matching a recognised job title | 6,027 | 3,282 | 3,915 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.00% | 89.48% | 92.23% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 3,340 | 2,129 | 2,348 |
| 10th Percentile | £280 | £204 | £250 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £375 | £400 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £509 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -1.82% | -0.63% |
| 75th Percentile | £625 | £598 | £625 |
| 90th Percentile | £725 | £663 | £688 |
| England median daily rate | £525 | £512 | £525 |
| % change year-on-year | +2.64% | -2.57% | -2.78% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 875 | 310 | 228 |
| 10th Percentile | £15.00 | £13.00 | £16.00 |
| 25th Percentile | £20.43 | £15.65 | £27.00 |
| Median hourly rate | £47.50 | £20.71 | £57.79 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +129.36% | -64.16% | +13.20% |
| 75th Percentile | £71.25 | £48.74 | £73.75 |
| 90th Percentile | £88.00 | £71.00 | £75.16 |
| England median hourly rate | £41.71 | £25.15 | £42.50 |
| % change year-on-year | +65.84% | -40.82% | -6.69% |
Tester Job Vacancy Trend in the South East
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Tester job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East.
Tester Daily Rate Trend in the South East
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Tester job vacancies in the South East.
Tester Daily Rate Histogram in the South East
Daily rate distribution for Tester jobs in the South East over the 6 months to 24 October 2026.
Tester Hourly Rate Trend in the South East
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Tester job vacancies in the South East.
Tester Contract Job Locations in the South East
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Tester jobs within the South East region over the 6 months to 24 October 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.
| Location | Rank Change on Same Period Last Year |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thames Valley | -41 | 12 | £425 | +3.34% | 19 |
| Surrey | -9 | 11 | £325 | -23.53% | 8 |
| West Sussex | - | 11 | £250 | - | 3 |
| Hampshire | -46 | 10 | £550 | +10.00% | 14 |
| Berkshire | -31 | 9 | £425 | +3.03% | 12 |
| Buckinghamshire | -23 | 3 | £500 | +60.51% | 2 |
| East Sussex | +2 | 2 | - | - | 1 |
| Tester England |
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Tester Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East
For the 6 months to 24 October 2026, Tester contract job ads cited the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract Tester job ads across the South East region.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agile | 60.9% | 28 |
| 2 | Test Automation | 50.0% | 23 |
| 3 | QA | 43.5% | 20 |
| 4 | CI/CD | 41.3% | 19 |
| 5 | Security Cleared | 39.1% | 18 |
| 6 | Performance Testing | 37.0% | 17 |
| 7 | AWS | 32.6% | 15 |
| 7 | End-to-End Testing | 32.6% | 15 |
| 7 | Test Strategy | 32.6% | 15 |
| 10 | Continuous Improvement | 28.3% | 13 |
| 10 | Defect Management | 28.3% | 13 |
| 10 | Scenario Testing | 28.3% | 13 |
| 13 | Validation | 26.1% | 12 |
| 14 | Problem-Solving | 23.9% | 11 |
| 14 | SC Cleared | 23.9% | 11 |
| 14 | Test Scripting | 23.9% | 11 |
| 14 | User Acceptance Testing | 23.9% | 11 |
| 18 | JMeter | 21.7% | 10 |
| 18 | SQL | 21.7% | 10 |
| 18 | User-Centered Design (UCD) | 21.7% | 10 |
| 21 | Azure | 19.6% | 9 |
| 21 | DevOps | 19.6% | 9 |
| 21 | ISTQB | 19.6% | 9 |
| 21 | LoadRunner | 19.6% | 9 |
| 21 | Project Delivery | 19.6% | 9 |
| 21 | Stakeholder Management | 19.6% | 9 |
| 27 | JIRA | 17.4% | 8 |
| 27 | Stakeholder Engagement | 17.4% | 8 |
| 29 | Data Validation | 15.2% | 7 |
| 29 | DV Cleared | 15.2% | 7 |
Tester Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South East by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lead Tester | 19.6% | 9 |
| 2 | Performance Tester | 17.4% | 8 |
| 3 | Automation Tester | 15.2% | 7 |
| 4 | Infrastructure Tester | 13.0% | 6 |
| 4 | Senior Tester | 13.0% | 6 |
| 6 | OAT Tester | 8.7% | 4 |
| 6 | Senior Performance Tester | 8.7% | 4 |
| 8 | QA Tester | 6.5% | 3 |
| 9 | Penetration Tester | 4.3% | 2 |
| 9 | Test Leader | 4.3% | 2 |
| 9 | UAT Tester | 4.3% | 2 |
| 12 | Analyst | 2.2% | 1 |
| 12 | AWS DevOps | 2.2% | 1 |
| 12 | Functional Tester | 2.2% | 1 |
| 12 | Integration Tester | 2.2% | 1 |
| 12 | Manual Tester | 2.2% | 1 |
| 12 | Performance Test Leader | 2.2% | 1 |
| 12 | Senior QA Tester | 2.2% | 1 |