UK Engineer Salary Benchmark
How much should you pay a senior engineer in the UK?
Range to win · Seed
£95k–125k
Your offer clears 83 in 100 strong senior engineers
Hiring a senior engineer?We’ll introduce you to strong engineers who’d take this offer.
Start hiringYou have the base salary. The playbook covers the rest. Equity, terms and competing offers, out Thursday 19 November.
Get it first- 30,000+engineers have told Dex what they want from their next role, pay included.
- 300+companies have shared their engineering salary bands with us.
- 2,900+UK engineering job ads we track, each matched to the company's funding stage.
Method
How we calculate the ranges
Each range draws on three sources and is calculated the same way for every stage and level. All figures are base salary, rounded to the nearest £5k.
- 01
Engineer expectations
The minimum base salary engineers on Dex say they would accept to move. This is the bar an offer has to clear.
- 02
Company salary bands
Cross-checked against the salary bands of 300+ companies hiring engineers through Dex.
- 03
Funding stage
Every UK engineering role we track is matched to the company’s funding stage, so each range compares like with like.
Aggregated data only: no company or candidate can be identified. This is not tax or legal advice.
You know what to pay. Now meet who to hire.
Tell us about the role. We’ll introduce you to strong engineers on Dex who fit it.
FAQ
What founders ask about pay
Why is your number higher than other salary reports?
Most reports show what engineers are paid today, across everyone already in a seat. This shows what it takes to hire one now. New hires cost more than the people already on payroll, and the strongest candidates have the most options.
What does “range to win” mean?
The base that clears the minimum ask of most strong candidates at this level, adjusted for stage. The low end clears about half of them, the high end most of them.
Do AI startups really pay more?
At the top end, yes. Their bands run higher at most stages, and they compete with labs and big tech for the same people. If you're hiring from that pool, plan for the top of market line.
Base or total package?
This is base salary. Equity sits on top and matters more the earlier you are.
What is the Offer Playbook?
Our guide to the whole engineering offer: salary, equity, terms and competing offers, in seven chapters by stage and level. It is out Thursday 19 November.
Get the playbook first