Remote Workforce Cost IndexVOL. I · MMXXVI · EDITED BY JOEL DEUTSCH

Methodology.

Last updated: May 2026

Data sources

The Remote Workforce Cost Index draws from the following public databases for salary and compensation data. Each source is cited inline with the figure it supports, including accessed date and URL.

  • Glassdoor India (glassdoor.co.in) — Salary reported by Indian employees and workers. Used for base salary ranges by role and metro.
  • Glassdoor Philippines (glassdoor.com) — Salary reported by Philippine employees. Used for base salary ranges by role in Manila and Cebu contexts.
  • Payscale India (payscale.com) — Reported compensation data for India. Used for cross-reference and percentile validation.
  • Payscale Philippines — Same platform, Philippine data. Used for cross-reference on operations and design roles.
  • Indeed India (in.indeed.com) — Salary estimates and job posting data for India. Used for specialized roles (CAD drafter, medical billing).
  • Indeed Philippines (ph.indeed.com) — Salary estimates for the Philippines.
  • Arc.dev (arc.dev) — Remote developer salary data by country. Used for technical roles with remote/international market context.
  • Second Talent (secondtalent.com) — Developer and DevOps rate card data for the Philippines.
  • SalaryExpert / ERI (erieri.com) — Country-level compensation data used for specialized roles.
  • Levels.fyi (levels.fyi) — Total compensation data for technology roles. Used for senior-level cross-reference.

Statutory contribution rates are sourced directly from government agencies: the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (epfindia.gov.in) and the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (esic.gov.in) for India; the Social Security System, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG for the Philippines.

Exchange rates are recorded at the mid-market spot rate on the date of data collection, sourced from Exchange-Rates.org and PhilNews. A single rate is applied consistently across all roles in a given publication cycle to keep cross-role comparisons coherent.

Collection method

Data is collected manually by aggregating reported figures from multiple public databases for each role and market. Where sources report different ranges, the median of reported medians is used for the central figure, and the 30th–70th percentile spread is estimated from the aggregate distribution. No proprietary employer data is used in v1. Sources are cited at the table-footnote level with accessed month and year.

Salary figures reflect what international (primarily US-based) employers pay remote workers based in India or the Philippines. These figures are consistently 40–120 percent above what local in-country employers report for the same roles. The distinction is noted in the introductory text of each salary page.

Update cadence

Salary data is reviewed quarterly, with at minimum one full data refresh per calendar year. Statutory contribution rates are reviewed whenever the relevant government agency announces a rate change; updates are applied within 30 days of the announcement. Each update is logged in the change log at the bottom of this page.

Data older than 18 months without a refresh is flagged at the section level with a visible "refresh-needed" indicator. No flagged data ships without acknowledgment.

Currency handling and exchange rate policy

All figures are displayed in USD as the primary currency, with native currency equivalents (INR or PHP) in parentheses. The exchange rate applied in each publication cycle is recorded in the data files (data/exchange-rates.json) with the source and date. In May 2026, the applied rates were 1 USD = 96.28 INR (May 16, 2026; source: Exchange-Rates.org) and 1 USD = 61.61 PHP (May 17, 2026; source: PhilNews).

Sample size handling and flagging

Most public salary databases do not publish role-level sample sizes for India and Philippines markets. Where sample sizes are available, they are reported in the source column. Where not available, the source column notes "N/A — aggregated across multiple sources." Ranges with an aggregated base of fewer than 30 reported salaries are treated as directional rather than definitive and are noted accordingly.

Limitations

The following limitations apply to all data on this site:

  • Self-report bias. Glassdoor, Payscale, and Indeed data is user-submitted. Respondents may over-report at higher salary levels, and the sample skews toward users who seek salary benchmarking tools (often those considering a job change).
  • Metro skew. Most reported data concentrates on Tier-1 cities (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai for India; Manila and Cebu for Philippines). Tier-2 and Tier-3 city rates are typically 15–35% lower.
  • Sample-size variance. Specialized roles (CAD drafter, medical billing) have smaller reported samples than software engineering roles. Treat those ranges as directional.
  • Remote vs. local rate distinction. Salary ranges on this site reflect what international employers pay, not what local Indian or Philippine companies pay. Local market rates are consistently lower.
  • Base salary only. Salary pages cover base monthly compensation only. Equity, variable bonuses, and benefits are excluded unless noted. Total-cost pages include statutory contributions and overhead but not optional benefits such as private health insurance.
  • Public-data ceiling.v1 data relies entirely on public sources. Proprietary placement data from the editor's managed workforce company is planned as a separately labeled section for Q2 2026 and will be clearly distinguished from public-source data.

Editorial independence

The Remote Workforce Cost Index is edited by Joel Deutsch, founder of F5 Hiring Solutions. This relationship is disclosed on the Aboutpage and in the structured data for this publication. The Cost Index operates under independent editorial standards: no commercial pricing appears on these pages, no calls to action reference any provider's services, and data collection is not filtered by commercial interest. Factual corrections should be sent to editor@remoteworkforcecostindex.com.

Future updates

  • Q2 2026. F5 Hiring Solutions proprietary placement data as a separately labeled section, with its own methodology note. Total-cost calculator widget.
  • Q3 2026. Latin America expansion (Colombia, Mexico, Argentina). Eastern Europe expansion (Poland, Romania, Ukraine). Multi-byline contributors begin.
  • Q4 2026. Role-level analyses. Newsletter signup if editorial cadence supports it.

Change log

May 2026 — v1 Launch
Initial publication. 15 roles for India and Philippines. Base salary ranges (30th–70th percentile, USD and native currency) and fully loaded employer cost tables. Exchange rates: 1 USD = 96.28 INR, 1 USD = 61.61 PHP. Sources: Glassdoor, Payscale, Indeed, Arc.dev, Second Talent, SalaryExpert, Levels.fyi, EPFO, ESIC, SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG.