See what a contract IT professional, contract-to-hire or direct hire will cost before you call. Pick a role and seniority and your estimate updates instantly.
Hourly rates for 11 IT roles
Contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire
Interview and approve every candidate
Texas DIR vendor and NCTRCA-certified MBE
Your requirements
A mid-level developer for six months is filled in. Change the role and terms to match your need.
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Turn this estimate into a fixed quote
Send us your estimate. A Cendien lead confirms the scope on a short call and replies within one business day. No obligation.
Your estimate
$119,600 for 26 weeks
Prefer to talk now? Call (214) 245-4580.
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IT staffing in plain terms
Published IT staffing rates in about a minute: hourly bill rates by role from $55 to $235, contract-to-hire conversion at 20% and direct hire at 20–25% of first-year salary.
Your project starts Monday. Your best engineer just gave notice. And most staffing agencies won't even tell you their rates until you sign. Cendien does it differently. Our IT staffing rates are published. Help desk starts at fifty-five dollars an hour. Software developers run eighty-five to one hundred forty-five. Project managers, one thirty to one seventy. And senior AI engineers, up to two hundred thirty-five. Want to try before you hire? Contract-to-hire converts for twenty percent of first-year salary. Prefer a permanent hire? Direct placement is twenty to twenty-five percent. Our staffing calculator lets you pick a role, seniority, hours and weeks, and shows the cost instantly. You interview and approve every candidate. Cendien. A Texas DIR vendor and NCTRCA-certified MBE, staffing IT teams since 1999. See every rate at cendien dot com.
IT staffing pricing
How much does IT staffing cost?
Cendien’s contract IT staffing rates run from $55 per hour for help desk support to $235 per hour for senior AI engineers. A mid-level software developer is about $115 per hour, so a six-month, full-time contract costs about $119,600. Contract-to-hire conversion is 20% of first-year salary, and direct-hire placement is 20% to 25% of first-year base salary.
Hourly rates by role and seniority
Contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire
You interview and approve every candidate
One weekly invoice, Cendien handles payroll
Packages
IT staffing options
Every option includes technical screening by Cendien engineers, reference and background checks, and a replacement if a placement is not the right fit.
Most chosen
Contract staffing
Skilled help for a project or backfill
$55–$235per hour, by role
Best for: Projects, backfills and surges where you need a proven professional quickly without adding headcount.
Candidates in days, not months
Weekly timesheets, one invoice
Scale up or down with notice
Cendien handles payroll and benefits
Contract-to-hire
Work together before you hire
20%of first-year salary to convert
Best for: Roles where fit matters as much as skill, so you can see the work before making an offer.
Contract rate during the trial period
Convert whenever you are ready
Conversion fee of 20% of first-year salary
No fee if you decide not to hire
Direct hire
Permanent placement
20–25%of first-year base salary
Best for: Permanent roles where you want a vetted shortlist without running the search yourself.
Shortlist of screened candidates
Technical interviews by Cendien engineers
Offer and onboarding support
Replacement guarantee
Managed team
A delivery team with one blended rate
From $130blended per hour
Best for: Ongoing work streams that need several roles managed by Cendien against agreed outcomes.
Blended rate for every role
Cendien project manager included
Monthly reporting on delivery
Swap skills as needs change
IT staffing rate card
Infrastructure and support
Junior to senior hourly bill rates.
Help desk / desktop support
Junior · mid-level · senior
$55–$95per hour
Systems administrator
Junior · mid-level · senior
$95–$135per hour
Network engineer
Junior · mid-level · senior
$110–$145per hour
Cybersecurity analyst / engineer
Junior · mid-level · senior
$125–$175per hour
Applications and data
Junior to senior hourly bill rates.
Software developer
Junior · mid-level · senior
$85–$145per hour
Business analyst
Junior · mid-level · senior
$75–$125per hour
Project manager
Junior · mid-level · senior
$130–$170per hour
Data engineer
Junior · mid-level · senior
$135–$185per hour
AI / ML engineer
Junior · mid-level · senior
$185–$235per hour
ERP specialists
Functional and technical consultants.
ERP consultant (Infor, Oracle, PeopleSoft)
Functional and technical
$150–$175per hour
Workday consultant
Functional and technical
$155–$225per hour
* Prices shown are planning estimates for typical environments, not an offer or a binding quote. Rates, packages and add-ons may change at any time without notice. Your price is set only in a written proposal and signed agreement, after Cendien reviews your environment, scope and requirements.
Pricing guide
What drives the cost of IT staffing services
Role and skills
Specialized skills such as Workday, cybersecurity and AI cost more than generalist support roles.
Seniority
Senior professionals cost more per hour but often finish faster and need less oversight.
Hours and length
Full-time, long engagements qualify for volume rates. Short or part-time work costs more per hour.
Engagement type
Contracts bill hourly; direct hires pay a one-time placement fee based on salary.
Rates run from $55 to $235 per hour depending on role and seniority. A mid-level developer is about $115 per hour, a project manager $130 to $170, and a Workday consultant $155 to $225.
* Prices shown are planning estimates for typical environments, not an offer or a binding quote. Rates, packages and add-ons may change at any time without notice. Your price is set only in a written proposal and signed agreement, after Cendien reviews your environment, scope and requirements.
