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Developer Salary Benchmarks 2026

Real salary data across 25+ developer roles in the UK and US. Updated quarterly to help you craft competitive offers that attract top talent.

25+Roles Tracked
Q1 2026Last Updated
+8.2%Avg. YoY Growth
UK & USMarkets Covered

Key Market Insights

The developer hiring landscape has shifted. Here is what the data tells us heading into Q2 2026.

📈
+12%

AI/ML Engineer Demand

AI and machine learning roles saw the highest salary growth year-over-year, driven by enterprise AI adoption.

14 Days

Avg. Time-to-Hire

Senior developers are off the market in just 14 days. Speed is the single biggest factor in securing top talent.

🌐
73%

Remote-First Preference

Nearly three-quarters of UK developers now prefer remote or hybrid roles. Onsite-only offers see 40% fewer applicants.

💰
15-20%

Counter-Offer Premium

Developers receiving counter-offers typically see 15-20% salary bumps. Factor this into your initial offer strategy.

UK Developer Salary Table

Annual salaries in GBP for permanent roles. Data sourced from 500+ placements and market benchmarks.

RoleJunior (0-2yr)Mid (2-5yr)Senior (5+yr)Lead / PrincipalDemand
Frontend Developer (React)£28-35k£45-58k£65-80k£85-105kHot
Backend Developer (Node.js)£30-38k£48-62k£68-85k£90-110kHot
Full-Stack Developer£30-37k£46-60k£65-82k£88-108kHigh
Python Developer£28-36k£45-60k£65-85k£90-115kHot
DevOps / Cloud Engineer£35-42k£52-68k£75-95k£100-125kHot
Mobile Developer (iOS/Android)£30-38k£48-62k£68-85k£88-110kHigh
AI / ML Engineer£38-48k£58-75k£80-105k£110-140kHot
Data Engineer£32-40k£50-65k£72-90k£95-120kHigh
QA / Test Engineer£25-32k£38-50k£55-70k£72-90kSteady
Cybersecurity Engineer£35-45k£55-72k£78-100k£105-130kHot

Roles by Hiring Demand

Relative demand index based on active job postings and recruiter activity across the UK market.

AI / ML Engineer96/100
DevOps / Cloud Engineer92/100
Cybersecurity Engineer89/100
Backend Developer (Node.js)87/100
Frontend Developer (React)85/100
Python Developer84/100
Full-Stack Developer82/100
Data Engineer79/100
Mobile Developer74/100
QA / Test Engineer61/100

UK vs US Salary Comparison

How do senior developer salaries compare across the two markets we cover?

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Senior Developer Salaries (GBP)
Frontend (React)£65-80k
Backend (Node.js)£68-85k
Full-Stack£65-82k
DevOps / Cloud£75-95k
AI / ML Engineer£80-105k
Cybersecurity£78-100k

🇺🇸 United States

Senior Developer Salaries (USD)
Frontend (React)$120-155k
Backend (Node.js)$130-165k
Full-Stack$125-160k
DevOps / Cloud$140-180k
AI / ML Engineer$155-210k
Cybersecurity$145-190k

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