Software Engineer Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 360,000 jobs.
Median salary
£55,587
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 4.2% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£56,914
Part-time only
£29,281
Mean
£62,387
Jobs measured
360,000
What a typical software engineer takes home
On the median of £55,587, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£3,566
Take-home a year
£42,798
Income Tax
£9,667
National Insurance
£3,122
What most software engineers actually earn
Half of software engineers earn between £41,141 and £75,077. Earning above £75,077 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of software engineers earn less than this.
Software Engineer salary by region
11 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £74,284 | £79,081 |
| East | £60,203 | £68,286 |
| North East | £54,279 | £55,043 |
| South East | £52,671 | £58,190 |
| South West | £51,631 | £55,065 |
| North West | £49,505 | £56,816 |
| East Midlands | £48,744 | £51,219 |
| West Midlands | £47,744 | £52,108 |
| Scotland | £47,301 | £55,359 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £46,594 | £50,833 |
| Wales | £45,942 | £48,379 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Programmers and software development professionals
- SOC 2020 code
- 2134
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “software engineer” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Programmers and software development professionals”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures programmers and software development professionals as one group - it separates neither specialism nor seniority.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Software Engineer salary FAQs
What is the average Software Engineer salary in the UK?
The median is £55,587 a year and the mean is £62,387, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £56,914 and part-time employees £29,281.
How much does a software engineer earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £29.31 excluding overtime, or £29.61 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Software Engineer salary?
Half of software engineers earn between £41,141 and £75,077. Anything above £75,077 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a software engineer?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of software engineers earn under £30,752 and the lowest quarter under £41,141 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid software engineers earn?
The top 10% of software engineers earn more than £101,172 a year, and the top quarter more than £75,077. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays software engineers the most?
London, at a median of £74,284, is the highest of the 7 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; West Midlands is the lowest at £47,744. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has software engineer pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +4.2% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many software engineers are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 360,000 employee jobs in “Programmers and software development professionals” (SOC 2134) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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