Pricing
$3,000 per engineer,
per month.
One number, published. An experienced AI-native engineer, the platform that tracks their work, and month-to-month terms — no recruiter fees, no markup, no minimum commitment.
Per engineer
One experienced engineer, embedded in your team and working your core hours.
Month-to-month, no minimum
- Experienced engineer, 5+ years in production
- AI-native by default — agentic tooling, not experiments
- Full SDL platform access
- Workforce integrity & on-task tracking
- AI-graded testing & re-test loops
- Live delivery dashboard
- Slack / Teams integration
3 or more engineers
The same engineers at a lower rate once you're running a team rather than a seat.
Minimum 3 engineers
- Everything at the standard rate, plus:
- Dedicated tech lead
- Priority support (4hr response)
- Custom AI tooling for your stack
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Bi-weekly strategy sessions
- No fee to convert an engineer to your payroll
That's the entire price list. There is no enterprise tier with a hidden number, no platform fee, and no onboarding charge.
What one senior engineer costs in 2026
Full-time, one engineer, per month. Every figure below is linked to its source — none of these vendors publish a per-engineer rate card, so these are ranges reported by third-party 2026 pricing roundups.
Blended hourly rate; minimum weekly commitments vary by engineer.
$500 refundable deposit + $79/month subscription.
Quote-only. The engineer's pay and the platform margin are bundled into one number that is not broken out.
2026 reviews estimate Turing retains 50–55% of every invoice.
12-month minimum engagement, custom quote required.
$50,000 fee to convert an engineer to your own full-time hire.
Permanent headcount. Fully loaded cost of $250,000–$300,000/year including payroll taxes, benefits, 401(k), PTO, equipment and overhead.
Recruiter fees of 20–30% of first-year salary — $35,000–$52,500 on a $175,000 base.
Varies by region — Asia $40–55/hr, Latin America $52–70/hr, Eastern Europe $60–82/hr.
All-in cost typically runs 30–45% above the base rate once coordination and QA overhead are counted.
Three SDL engineers cost less than one Toptal engineer.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a senior engineer through SDL?
$3,000 per engineer per month, or $2,500 per engineer per month at 3 or more. That is the whole price — no recruiter fee, no platform subscription, no markup on top, and no long-term contract. Month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice.
How is the price so low compared to Toptal or Andela?
Four structural reasons, none of them about cutting corners. We don't pay recruiter commissions or carry a bench, so there's no overhead priced into your rate. We're a US company with a globally distributed engineering team, so we're not paying Bay Area salaries. You engage the engineer directly rather than through a marketplace taking 50% of the invoice. And our engineers work AI-first by default, so a smaller team covers more ground.
What kind of engineers do you provide?
Experienced software engineers with 5+ years of production experience, vetted through our own hiring process. They work AI-natively — agentic coding tools are the default way they work, not an experiment — and every engagement runs on our platform, so you can see on-task ratio, AI-graded test execution and delivery progress rather than taking our word for it.
Where are your engineers based?
SDL Engineering is a US company headquartered in San Francisco with a globally distributed engineering team. Your engineer works your core hours, communicates in your Slack, and is managed through our platform.
Is there a minimum contract?
No. Every engagement is month-to-month. Add or remove engineers with 30 days notice — no penalties, no renegotiation, no 12-month lock-in.
Can I hire the engineer directly later?
Yes, and we don't charge a conversion fee for it. If an engineer becomes core to your team and you want them on your payroll, we'll help you make that happen.