Salary guide
UK Tech Salary Report 2026
These are wide ranges for a reason: the right number depends on your funding stage, how the business is doing and how urgently you’re hiring. We place strong people across the whole band, not just at the top.
About this report
This is OpenSource’s view of what technology talent is paid in the UK in 2026, based on the roles we actually run, cross-referenced with public benchmarks. Ranges are London-anchored base salaries at startups and scale-ups. They are wide on purpose: where a specific role lands depends on funding stage, how the business is performing, and how urgently you’re hiring.
Key findings
- AI is now the single biggest force on pay. Production LLM experience (retrieval, evals, cost and latency engineering) is 2026’s most-requested skill, and it carries a premium of £10k–£25k over otherwise-similar engineers.
- The senior and staff end held firm through a choppy couple of years, while demand for AI, platform and security specialists pushed those niches above the general market.
- London still leads, but by less. Remote-first hiring has narrowed the London premium to roughly 15–25% over comparable regional roles.
- Fintech remains the pace-setter, paying around 10–20% above the general startup market for the same seniority.
Base salary by role (London, 2026)
The table above shows indicative London base ranges by role. Two things worth noting: engineering-management pay overlaps heavily with senior/staff individual contributor pay, and data/ML roles have pulled clear of general software at the senior end.
London versus the rest of the UK
London carries a premium of roughly 15–25% over comparable regional roles, reflecting cost of living and competition. The gap has narrowed: a strong engineer in Manchester, Bristol or Edinburgh working for a London or US-backed company can earn close to London rates. Fully remote roles tend to land between the London and regional bands. See our city guides for London, and, in euros and dollars, Berlin, Amsterdam and New York.
Pay by industry
Industry shifts the number as much as seniority does:
- Fintech & payments: around 10–20% above the general startup market.
- AI & data: senior ML engineers £90k–£125k, staff £125k–£155k, with LLM+MLOps specialists above that. See the AI, ML & data breakdown.
- SaaS and marketplaces: broadly at market, with premiums for scale and platform depth.
Contract day rates
Senior contract engineers typically run £450–£650 a day, higher for niche platform, data or security work, and higher again inside IR35 to offset the tax treatment.
What’s moving offers in 2026
- Scarce AI skills — production LLM and MLOps experience above all.
- Platform, reliability and security depth — harder to hire, so it pays more.
- Speed — the strongest people hold multiple offers; a slow process loses them regardless of the number.
- The whole package — senior candidates weigh equity, ownership, remote policy and the problem itself alongside base.
Methodology and a note on use
These are indicative ranges, not a survey with a fixed sample. They reflect the live market we operate in plus public 2026 benchmarks, and they’re meant as a practical guide, not a guarantee. If you’d like this benchmarked to a specific role, seniority and stage, tell us the details and we’ll research your exact case and send it across, free.
Journalists and researchers: you’re welcome to cite this report with a link to OpenSource (open-source.io). For the underlying detail on any figure, get in touch.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the average software engineer salary in the UK in 2026?
In London, mid-level software engineers typically earn £55k–£85k, seniors £85k–£120k, and staff or principal engineers £120k–£150k base in 2026. Outside London the ranges run roughly 15–25% lower, though remote roles for London or US-backed companies narrow that gap.
Do AI and machine learning engineers earn more than software engineers?
Yes. AI/ML engineers command a clear premium over general software engineers at the same level, roughly 8–15% in London on 2026 benchmarks, and more again for those combining LLM and MLOps experience. Demand far outstrips the supply of people who can take models to production.
How much do fintech companies pay compared to other startups?
Fintechs consistently pay around 10–20% above the general startup market for the same seniority, reflecting regulated environments and intense competition for talent. AI and payments roles sit at the top of the range.
How were these salary figures compiled?
These are indicative base-salary ranges drawn from the searches OpenSource runs across the UK, Europe and the US, cross-referenced with public 2026 benchmarks. They are ranges for a reason: where a role lands depends on funding stage, company performance and urgency.