QA outsourcing: Why, Where, How, What are the alternatives?

QA outsourcing can reduce costs by up to 80%, but there’s more to the story. This article sheds light on the real reasons to outsource, how to choose the right partner, and what to do when you want more control without all the hiring drama. Spoiler: there’s a better model than traditional outsourcing, and it’s catching on fast.

Content: 

• Why would you outsource quality assurance?
• Where do you outsource QA services?
• How to make your QA outsourcing as efficient as possible?
• How much do outsourced software testing services cost compared to in-house testing?
• What are the risks and drawbacks of QA outsourcing?
• What are the better alternatives to traditional QA outsourcing?

Why would you outsource quality assurance?

Quality assurance outsourcing can be a strategic decision that goes far beyond cost-cutting. Here are just some of the meaningful reasons to outsource QA testing:

1. Unbiased testing perspective

QA professionals from outside your team come with no internal bias and are more likely to test like real users, catching edge cases and usability issues your internal team might miss due to “product blindness.”

2. Access to specialized expertise

QA partners often have deep experience across domains, tools, and testing methods (manual, automation, performance, security, etc.). You instantly gain access to this knowledge without lengthy hiring or training cycles.

3. Faster deployment

With a dedicated external QA team, testing can run in parallel with development, even 24/7 if needed, accelerating release cycles and helping you launch faster without compromising quality.

4. Scalability on demand

Need 10 testers this month and 2 next? Software testing outsourcing companies let you change your team based on your project phase or budget, avoiding long-term staffing commitments.

5. No quality trade-off

Hiring and retaining in-house QA engineers (especially automation or performance experts) is expensive. Outsourcing allows access to top talent at competitive rates and often with better results.

6. Focus on the core product

When QA is outsourced, your internal teams can concentrate on building features and solving business problems while the partner ensures everything works as expected.

7. Risk reduction

An external QA partner often has structured, mature processes (e.g., ISO certifications or ISTQB standards) that help reduce risk and ensure regulatory compliance if needed.

8. Continuous testing for Agile and DevOps

In 2025, Agile and DevOps workflows are everywhere, which makes continuous testing crucial. Outsourced teams can integrate with your CI/CD pipelines to ensure quality is baked into every release.

If you want a partner who brings all of this to the table, MWDN can help you build a high-performing QA team tailored to your needs: Fast, flexible, and results-driven.

Where do you outsource QA?

Now that the reasons to delegate QA are obvious, let’s get to the practical part: How do you outsource software testing? The key part here is to choose a reliable and cost-efficient vendor.

Popular Locations for QA Outsourcing

Thanks to remote work, you can choose any region you want. These are some of the countries that are known for strong tech expertise, competitive pricing, and a large pool of skilled engineers.

• Ukraine. Deep tech talent, strong communication skills, affordable prices, large pool of specialists.
• Poland. High-quality engineering, EU data regulations, cultural alignment with the West.
• India. Large talent pool, flexible pricing, strong English skills. Ideal for scaling.
• Romania. EU member, excellent infrastructure, strong IT sector.
• Philippines. Strong English fluency, good for manual testing and customer-centric QA.
• Argentina. Time zone alignment with the US, affordable rates, rising tech ecosystem.

What to look for in a QA partner?

Before you sign a contract, assess potential partners based on these criteria:

• Expertise in your tech stack. Can they handle your tools and frameworks (Selenium, Appium, TestRail…)?
• Industry experience. Healthcare, fintech, e-commerce? Choose a partner who understands the compliance and workflows in your domain.
• Certifications and methodologies. Look for ISTQB-certified testers and companies with ISO or CMMI certification.
• Flexible engagement models. Need just one tester or a whole team? See if they offer outstaffing, dedicated teams, or per-project QA.
• Clear communication and time zone overlap. Daily standups? Urgent bug reports? Make sure their working hours align with yours or that they have a clear handoff process.
• Trial period or pilot project. Start small. A test project can show how they work before you sign a long-term contract.
• Quality of team. MWDN carefully vets every QA specialist to ensure strong technical skills and the ability to work as part of your team. We assess communication, adaptability, and attention to detail, so you get testers who think critically and spot the edge cases.
• Cost and value. It’s not just about finding the cheapest option, it’s about what you get for your money. At MWDN, we offer competitive rates without compromising quality, flexibility, or speed.

How to evaluate a QA partner? 

Here’s a QA partner evaluation checklist to help you assess performance after, say, 3 months of collaboration. Use it to ensure your QA partner is truly adding value and aligned with your expectations:

1. Technical quality

• Are bugs consistently well-documented with reproducible steps?
• Do they follow your tech stack, tools, and processes correctly?
• Are test cases thorough, structured, and updated?
• Are automation tests stable and integrated into your CI/CD?

2. Collaboration and communication

• Do they attend all relevant meetings (standups, sprint planning, retros)?
• Are they responsive and clear in communication (Slack, email, calls)?
• Do they raise red flags early (unclear requirements, blocker bugs)?
• Is the time zone overlap or async workflow working smoothly?

3. Ownership and initiative

• Do they proactively suggest improvements or spot inconsistencies in specs?
• Are they independently managing their workload and deadlines?
• Have they taken ownership of key QA modules or test suites?

4. Integration into your team

• Do they align with your culture and team rituals (feedback, demos, humor)?
• Have they developed working relationships with your team?
• Do they feel like part of your team, or are they just external help?

5. Results and metrics

• Has the defect leakage rate decreased?
• Has test coverage improved?
• Has time-to-release shortened or become more predictable?
• Are regressions and critical bugs being caught early?

Score them 1 to 5 on each section. If they average under 3, it’s time for a deeper conversation. If they’re 4+, congrats, you’ve likely got a keeper.

Recommended QA partners by region

Want the name of a quality assurance company that can start working on your problem right away? Here are some well-regarded vendors known for QA services:

How to make your QA outsourcing as efficient as possible?

To make your QA outsourcing truly efficient, hiring skilled testers might not be enough. You will need to create the right processes and communication flow. Two areas are especially crucial: solid documentation and tight collaboration with your development team. Here’s how to get it right:

Start with strong documentation

Clear, thorough documentation is the backbone of successful QA outsourcing. It reduces guesswork, shortens onboarding time, and makes sure your remote engineers test the right things.

• Create detailed test plans and acceptance criteria. QA engineers should know exactly what success looks like in user flows, edge cases, and performance thresholds.
• Maintain updated user stories and technical specs. Outdated docs lead to testing the wrong behavior. Keep your documentation living and aligned with the latest sprint goals.
• Use collaborative tools (Confluence, Notion…). Make sure testers have access to the same knowledge base your dev team uses.

Ensure continuous communication with developers

When testers and developers are in sync, bugs are found (and fixed) faster. Here’s how to bridge the gap:

• Involve QA early. Don’t wait until dev work is “done.” Bring QA into planning sessions and sprint kickoffs. They’ll catch issues before code is even written.
• Use the same communication channels. Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira comments: QA and devs should speak the same language in the same spaces.
• Create feedback loops. Encourage testers to flag unclear functionality, not just bugs. Developers, in turn, should clarify edge cases and expected behaviors.
• Daily or bi-weekly standups. Keep QA in the loop on what’s shipping, what’s breaking, and what needs more testing.

What else?

• Automate regression testing where possible to free up time for exploratory testing.
• Track metrics like defect leakage and test coverage to measure quality over time.
• Assign a QA lead or point of contact to coordinate communication between your in-house and outsourced teams.

How much do outsourced software testing services cost compared to in-house testing?

Outsourcing offers significant cost advantages over maintaining an in-house team, especially when considering global salary differences. Here’s a comparative overview of the average annual salaries for mid-level QA engineers in various countries (as of May 2025), which can help you choose the right outsourcing destination:

Average annual salaries for mid-level QA engineers (USD)

Summing up? Outsourcing QA to countries like Ukraine, Poland, or India can result in substantial cost savings, with potential reductions of up to 60% compared to in-house teams in the USA or Canada.

What are the risks and drawbacks of QA outsourcing?

QA outsourcing can offer many benefits, but it’s not without risks. Here are the key risks and drawbacks to be aware of when outsourcing QA, along with insights on how to deal with them.

Communication barriers

Issue: Time zone differences, language gaps, and cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings or delays.

Solution: Choose vendors with strong English proficiency and overlapping working hours; schedule regular check-ins and use collaboration tools like Slack or Jira.

Limited product understanding

Issue: External QA teams may not have deep knowledge of your product or business logic, especially in the early stages.

Solution: Provide thorough documentation, product walkthroughs, and access to developers to ensure alignment.

Security and confidentiality risks

Issue: You’re entrusting sensitive data and proprietary code to a third party.

Solution: Use NDAs, secure communication channels, and ensure the vendor complies with relevant data protection regulations.

Quality inconsistency

Issue: Not all outsourcing vendors maintain the same level of QA rigor or standards.

Solution: Start with a pilot project, define clear KPIs, and conduct regular performance reviews.

Lack of ownership

Issue: External teams may be less invested in the long-term success of your product.

Solution: Build long-term relationships, motivate high performance, and integrate them as part of your extended team.

Dependency on vendor

Issue: You may become overly reliant on a single vendor, which can be risky if they underperform or terminate the contract.

Solution: Avoid single-vendor dependency. Maintain knowledge transfer and consider dual sourcing or hybrid models (in-house + outsourced).

Time zone misalignment

Issue: Limited overlap in working hours can delay feedback loops.

Solution: Choose regions with partial time zone overlap or implement an asynchronous workflow that’s supported by clear documentation.

What are the better alternatives to traditional QA outsourcing?

A strong alternative to traditional QA outsourcing is staff augmentation, and in many cases, it’s a better choice. Here’s why staff augmentation stands out compared to the typical outsourcing model.

Staff augmentation vs. traditional QA outsource

Staff augmentation means hiring QA engineers who join your internal team remotely through a staffing partner. They work under your direction, follow your processes, and become an integrated part of your development cycle. Just like full-time employees, but without the long-term obligations.

Why is staff augmentation a better alternative?

You get more control. With traditional outsourcing, you hand off QA to an external team. With staff augmentation, you retain control over workflows, tools, and priorities. Engineers adapt to your processes and not the other way around.

Better team integration. Augmented staff participate in daily standups, planning meetings, and sprint reviews, making collaboration smoother than with traditional outsourced teams.

Greater transparency. You get full visibility into the QA work, timelines, and progress with no surprise delays.

Faster knowledge transfer. Because augmented engineers work within your team structure, they gain product knowledge faster and become more effective over time.

Fewer communication gaps. Staff work in your tools (Jira, Slack, GitHub, etc.), follow your hours (or overlap enough), and report directly to your product or engineering leads.

In-house QA with augmented tools

Your internal QA engineers are supported by external staff augmentation specialists or automation tools. This model combines deep product knowledge with flexible scaling.

Why should you give it a try? With this model, you keep your core team in-house while using augmented staff to fill skill gaps (test automation, performance testing) or handle temporary workloads. This hybrid gives you the best of both worlds: ownership with elasticity.

It would be ideal if you already have a QA lead or core team, but want to accelerate without hiring full-time. Use it to increase coverage, introduce automation, or reduce delivery bottlenecks without sacrificing internal standards.

Best for: Startups, growing product teams, or companies with unique testing requirements that need additional hands-on support without committing to full-time hires.

Managed QA services

This is an external provider that fully handles the QA process, from test planning to execution and reporting. You get a plug-and-play QA team managed externally.

Why? With managed services, you can focus on building your product, and your QA partner ensures quality. Managed QA is scalable, process-driven, and less time-consuming on your end. However, you trade off some control.

This model will be perfect for companies launching new products or managing multiple streams of testing. Use this when QA is essential but you don’t want to recruit, train, and manage a team in-house.

Best suited for mid-sized and enterprise companies with complex or regulated products, or those requiring consistent QA without incurring internal management overhead.

Summing up

If you want the efficiency of outsourcing with the quality, control, and culture-fit of an in-house team, staff augmentation is the best choice. It’s especially ideal for tech companies with strong internal processes who want to scale QA without losing visibility or speed.

MWDN specializes in staff augmentation for QA teams, helping you find skilled and dedicated engineers who integrate quickly and stay focused on your product. Want to see how it could work for you? Let’s talk.