Hire a QA engineeror start with Smoketest?
Hire a QA engineer when you need a person to own quality across your product. Start with Smoketest, an AI QA teammate, when tickets need testing now. It starts today, from $399 a month. The two also work well together.
Salary is the U.S. median for software QA analysts and testers (BLS, May 2025).
A QA engineer brings judgment you hire for.Smoketest brings a first pass on every ticket.
Both catch the bug.The wait is what changes.
Here is one ticket from a billing team, handled both ways. A good QA engineer finds this one, and so does Smoketest.
Show proration on the invoice PDF
When an Admin adds a seat mid-cycle, the invoice PDF should carry the proration line and match the invoice preview.
Sent back. Tested on staging as an Admin. The invoice PDF leaves out the proration line. The preview says $312.40 and the PDF says $294.00.
Should annual plans show this line too? The ticket does not say.
pdf-vs-preview.png
Failed · 1 of 4 requirements not met · 2m 38s · Attempt 1
The invoice PDF leaves out the proration line. The preview says $312.40 and the PDF says $294.00.
Next: moved to In Progress. Move the ticket back into QA to test again.
Watch the recording · View attempt
A QA engineer needs a notice period. Smoketest needs a ticket.
Some teams should hire first.
Here is how we would decide if we were in your seat. On a call we will tell you which side you are on.
Hire a QA engineer first when
- You need one person to own quality across the company
- Your product needs hands-on testing on physical devices
- A customer or regulator asks for a named tester on releases
Start with Smoketest when
- Tickets wait in QA or ship with only the author's check
- Developers do the testing in between their other work
- You want coverage this sprint, before any hiring loop ends
The two work well together.
Your QA engineer owns the playbook, the exploratory testing, and the calls that need a person. Smoketest takes the first pass on every ticket, so they spend their week on the hard part.
Your team already pays for the first pass.
Someone checks every ticket today. Move the sliders to see what those hours add up to in a year, and what Smoketest gives back.
Valued at $50 per hour, the U.S. median wage for QA analysts and testers (BLS, May 2025), over 26 two-week sprints. First pass only, before your Smoketest plan.
Our founder sets it up with you on a real ticket.
A call with our founder
Tell us how your team ships and where tickets wait. We will tell you whether it fits.
A real ticket, same day
We set it up with you on your own board, so it can start the day of the call.
A plan shaped to you
It starts from $399 a month. Scale is designed with teams that need more runs.
It changes as you do
New flows, new tools, a new QA hire. We keep adjusting it with you as you grow.
Questions before you decide
No QA team yet? See how teams without QA use itWant the full numbers? See pricing
No. It takes the first pass on every ticket. Exploratory testing, the edge cases nobody thought of, and the call on whether to ship stay with people. When it is not sure, it leaves a note and waits for one of them.
The U.S. median salary for software QA analysts and testers is $104,300 (BLS, May 2025). That is before benefits, recruiting, and the weeks a new person needs to learn your product.
It starts at $399 a month for 1,000 runs. Each run is up to 10 minutes, and a longer test counts as two runs or more, one for every 10 minutes. If your team needs more, we design a Scale plan with you, so you stop buying extra runs.
The same day as the call. We set it up with you on a real ticket, and from there it picks up what reaches your QA column.
Yes. Your first QA engineer then joins a board with results already on it, a playbook to own, and time for the testing that needs a person. Or they can start now, and the two work together.
Someone who already knows the product, often a lead or a senior developer. They write down how your team does QA, read the results, and answer it when it asks a question.
Every result links to the recording, the steps, and the reasoning, and says what it did not test, so you can check its work the way you would check a teammate's.
A named person on your team. Smoketest gives them the evidence: what passed, what failed, the recording, and what it did not test. It never signs off a release.
Give it one ticket before you post the role.
Book a call and we will run one ticket with you. If a QA engineer is still the better first step, we will say so.