Software developer salary in the UK
ONS data for April 2025 · Page updated
Software developers are one of the best-paid large occupations in the UK, and pay varies more by employer type than by city: big technology firms and well-funded scale-ups pay far above the ONS median, which also includes developers in the public sector, agencies and smaller companies.
- Median full-time pay
- £56,914
- 25th percentile
- £42,289
- 75th percentile
- £75,794
- Change on a year earlier
- +4.2%
How pay is spread
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Bar: the middle half of earners (25th to 75th). Mark and label: median. Where ONS doesn't publish the 90th percentile, the line stops at the highest published point.
| Full-time annual pay | Software developer | All UK jobs |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £32,835 | £23,990 |
| 25th percentile | £42,289 | £29,262 |
| Median | £56,914 | £39,039 |
| 75th percentile | £75,794 | £54,009 |
| 90th percentile | £102,860 | £76,903 |
| Mean | £63,810 | £48,512 |
ONS classifies this role as “Programmers and software development professionals” (SOC 2020 code 2134). Figures cover full-time employees across the whole UK, at every level of seniority, so a senior role in London or at a large employer will usually sit above the median. Pay by region for individual occupations isn't published reliably at city level.
What software developers can negotiate
Negotiate the level first. At most tech employers, the level you're hired at sets the band for salary, bonus and equity. Ask which level the offer is at and what the band is. Moving up one level is often worth more than any negotiation within a band.
Equity and sign-on bonuses. Listed companies pay RSUs and often have room on sign-on bonuses even when base salary is capped. Start-ups offer share options, which are worth much less than they sound until there's an exit. See total compensation in the UK.
Use comparable data. Levels.fyi has self-reported total compensation by company and level for many UK tech employers, and ITJobsWatch tracks advertised salaries by skill. Use them alongside the ONS figures, which cover all developers rather than just tech companies.
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Other roles
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a (occupation, SOC 2020). Gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs, April 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See how we use this data.