Search for developer rates in India and you’ll find figures anywhere from $15 to $100 an hour. Both ends are real. The spread comes from what is being compared: freelancers against agencies, juniors against seniors, a React generalist against an SAP specialist. This post narrows it down to the case most companies care about, a senior engineer engaged through a vendor, and explains what moves the number.

The market range

The Second Talent offshore rate card for September 2026 puts senior engineers in India at roughly $30–72 an hour when hired through vendors and agencies. For comparison, the same source gives:

The range for India is wide because “senior” covers a lot of ground. Someone with five years in a mainstream stack sits near the bottom of it. A lead with ten years in a specialist area such as cloud architecture, data engineering or SAP sits near the top.

What moves the price

Specialisation. AI and machine learning, Kubernetes, security, SAP and data engineering cost more everywhere, including India. If a vendor quotes a general full-stack rate for a specialist role, ask who exactly they intend to send.

Seniority, measured properly. Years alone tell you little. What matters is depth in your stack and the ability to work without close supervision. That is what you are paying the senior premium for, so test it in the interview.

Engagement length. Longer engagements and teams of several engineers usually price lower per hour than a single three-month contract.

What’s included. Some rates include replacement cover, account management and equipment. Others add them later. Always compare the full list.

The comparison that matters

An hourly rate means little until you set it against the alternative. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median software developer salary at $135,980 (May 2025). Once payroll taxes, benefits and equipment are added, a full-time hire typically costs 1.25 to 1.4 times salary, which works out at roughly $95–105 per productive hour before recruitment fees.

At $50 an hour, the middle of the Indian senior range, six months of a senior engineer comes to about $48,000. The in-house equivalent for the same period is roughly double, and that is before the months it can take to hire.

What the rate doesn’t include

The saving is real, but some costs stay with you wherever the engineer sits: your team’s time for onboarding and code review, someone on your side who owns the work, and a few hours of daily overlap. Teams that budget for these get the value. Teams that treat an offshore engineer as a cheaper pair of hands usually don’t.

For the full breakdown, including the hidden costs and eight questions for comparing two quotes, see our guide to offshore development costs. If you’d like a firm rate for a specific role, tell us the stack and we’ll quote in writing.