Software Engineer Salaries by Company in 2023
Software engineering continues to be one of the most in-demand and lucrative career paths in 2023. With the ever-increasing reliance on technology across all industries, skilled programmers who can build innovative software solutions are highly sought after by companies of all sizes.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers will grow 22% from 2022 to 2032, much faster than the average for all occupations. This means plentiful job opportunities for those with the right programming skills.
But how much can you expect to earn as a software engineer? Your salary can vary widely depending on factors like the company you work for, your location, years of experience, area of specialization, and negotiation skills. In this article, we‘ll break down the average software engineer salary at some of the biggest tech companies and startups in 2023. We‘ll also look at how experience level, geography, specialization, and other aspects impact pay.
Overview of Software Engineer Salaries at Top Companies
Here is an overview chart of the average software engineer salary at 25 major tech companies:
| Company | Average Total Compensation |
|---|---|
| Roblox | $316,000 |
| Airbnb | $300,000 |
| Snapchat | $290,000 |
| DoorDash | $280,000 |
| Lyft | $275,000 |
| $272,000 | |
| Uber | $270,000 |
| Instacart | $262,000 |
| $258,000 | |
| $252,000 | |
| Meta/Facebook | $250,000 |
| Stripe | $250,000 |
| Netflix | $245,000 |
| $240,000 | |
| Salesforce | $240,000 |
| Apple | $235,000 |
| Microsoft | $230,000 |
| Amazon | $220,000 |
| Adobe | $215,000 |
| VMware | $208,000 |
| Oracle | $205,000 |
| Cisco | $200,000 |
| IBM | $195,000 |
| Intuit | $190,000 |
| PayPal | $185,000 |
As you can see, companies like Roblox, Airbnb, Snapchat, and DoorDash lead the pack, with average total compensation around $300k/year. However, even the lowest paying major tech companies like IBM, Intuit and PayPal still offer very competitive packages around $200k/year for software engineers.
Keep in mind these are average figures that blend together all levels of software engineers. At the high end, top senior engineers and specialist roles at these companies can command salaries of $500k+ when you factor in base pay, stock grants, and bonuses. Entry-level positions generally pay less than the averages, but are still lucrative jobs.
Let‘s dive deeper into software engineer salary data at some of the most prominent tech giants:
Google is well-known for treating its employees well and offering top-of-market compensation to attract the best technical talent in the industry. The average software engineer at Google makes $258k per year. However, that average can be misleading as Google has a fairly flat engineering hierarchy with most of its engineers in the L3 to L5 range.
Entry-level engineers (L3) at Google make around $140k in base salary, with up to $30k in annual bonus, and about $40k per year in stock grants, for total compensation of $210k. As engineers are promoted into the higher levels, their pay increases dramatically:
- L4 Software Engineer (2-5 years experience): $350k/year
- L5 Senior Software Engineer (6-9 years): $470k/year
- L6 Staff Software Engineer (10-14 years): $620k/year
- L7 Senior Staff Software Engineer (15+ years): $1 million+/year
Compensation at the L7+ levels can exceed $1 million per year, with base salaries around $300-350k, and hundreds of thousands in annual bonus and stock grants. Google is also well-known for its incredible office perks and benefits.
Meta (Facebook)
Facebook (now called Meta)‘s software engineering comp structure is very similar to Google‘s, though pay tends to be slightly lower at the top end.
Average annual compensation for a Meta software engineer is $250k. Entry-level engineers command around $180k ($125k salary, $20k bonus, $35k stock). By the senior levels, pay rises rapidly:
- E4 Software Engineer: $280k/year
- E5 Senior Software Engineer: $425k/year
- E6 Staff Software Engineer: $550k/year
- E7+ roles: $800k-$1 million+/year
Meta is known for having a "move fast" engineering culture and for promoting quickly, so many engineers spend just 1-1.5 years at each level before being promoted, allowing them to advance to senior, high-paying roles faster than at other companies.
Apple
Apple‘s cash compensation for software engineers tends to be lower than other big tech firms, but they offer sizable stock grants that make total comp competitive. However, those stock grants are back-loaded and require staying at the company at least 4 years to fully vest.
The average Apple software engineer earns $235k per year. The typical offer for a new grad at Apple is around $125k salary, $20k signing bonus, and $120k in stock over 4 years, for first-year total pay of about $185k.
Apple employees say they have to work longer (5-7 years on average) to reach the higher pay grades compared to other tech giants:
- ICT3 Software Engineer: $210k/year
- ICT4 Software Engineer: $300k/year
- ICT5 Senior Engineer: $430k/year
- ICT6 Staff Engineer: $600k/year
Microsoft
Microsoft has a similar compensation structure to Apple, with lower cash pay supplemented by substantial stock grants that vest over 5 years.
The average software engineer at Microsoft earns $230k per year. Like other major tech companies, entry-level (SDE 1) engineers earn around $180k total compensation ($140k salary, $15k signing bonus, $25k annual stock grants).
The higher SDE levels at Microsoft are where pay really starts to increase:
- SDE 2 (2-4 years experience): $240k/year
- Senior SDE (5-8 years): $355k/year
- Principal SDE (10-15 years): $580k/year
- Partner SDE (15+ years): $800k/year
Like Apple, Microsoft is known for promoting more slowly than other companies, with many engineers spending 3-4 years as an SDE 2 or SDE 3 before progressing to higher roles.
Compensation at High-Paying Startups and Midsize Companies
While the major tech giants grab the headlines for their generous comp packages, a number of smaller companies and fast-growing unicorn startups now offer pay that is on par with or exceeds the likes of Google and Facebook.
Companies like Roblox, Airbnb, Snap, DoorDash, Lyft, Uber, and Coinbase have to offer top-of-market pay and perks in order to attract top engineering talent away from the household names and to fuel their rapid growth. Instacart is even known for giving some software engineer candidates blank checks and letting them write in whatever salary and stock grants it would take for them to accept an offer.
Working at these hyper-growth startups can be an excellent way for skilled engineers to maximize their earnings and potentially pursue even greater riches if those companies go public. However, the workload and pressure tends to be higher than at more established tech firms. Engineers should weigh whether the higher pay and upside is worth the tradeoffs.
Factors That Impact Software Engineer Salary
As we‘ve seen, software engineering salaries can vary significantly across companies, even within the same tech hub. In addition to the employer, a number of other factors determine a software engineer‘s total compensation:
Experience Level
The number of years of professional software engineering experience is one of the biggest drivers of salary. As engineers progress from entry-level to senior individual contributor roles, jumps of $50-100k in annual salary are common at each level, with compensation reaching $500-600k+ for staff and principal engineers with 10-15+ years under their belt.
Most companies have fixed bands and levels that determine the range of base salary, bonus as a percentage of base pay, and stock grant values an engineer can receive at each stage of their career. Promotions to the next level often come with automatic pay increases of 20-30% or more.
Location
Where an engineer is located also plays a major role in their pay. Companies set different pay scales based on the cost of living in each city or region. Engineers in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, New York City, and Boston tend to command the highest salaries. Companies will often pay 5-15% less for the same role in lower-cost cities like Austin, Chicago, Denver, and Atlanta.
The rise of remote work is starting to level the playing field. Many Silicon Valley companies are now hiring remote engineers across the country at the same pay scale as their Bay Area employees. However, others like Google, Meta, and Twitter have started scaling pay based on location even for remote workers. An engineer working remotely from a low cost of living area might be paid 15-25% less than one in San Francisco or New York.
Area of Specialization
Specializing in certain in-demand areas of software engineering can significantly boost earning potential. Fields like machine learning, AI, data engineering, security, and blockchain tend to command salary premiums of 10-30% over general full-stack or backend engineering roles.
For example, the average machine learning engineer salary at a major tech company is around $300k, while a typical backend engineer with the same years of experience might earn closer to $200-250k. Data engineers and SREs also tend to be very well-compensated relative to other software roles.
Negotiation
Finally, strong negotiation skills are one of the most effective ways for any engineer to maximize their earning potential. Top tech companies often significantly improve their initial salary and stock offers if a candidate is an adept negotiator or has competing offers from other firms.
It‘s not uncommon for companies like Google and Meta to boost cash pay by $50k and double or triple stock grants during the negotiation phase. Many hiring managers are authorized to give 15-25% pay bumps on the spot if a candidate states they have a better competing offer. Using multiple offers as leverage is one of the most reliable ways to maximize total comp.
The Bottom Line
Software engineering is one of the highest-paying careers available today, particularly for those with the right combination of in-demand technical skills and experience. While compensation varies significantly across companies, industries and geographies, six-figure (or even seven-figure) earnings are achievable within a matter of years for skilled programmers.
As demand for talented engineers continues to outpace the available supply, salaries will likely only rise higher in the coming years. For those willing to dedicate the time and effort to mastering computer science fundamentals, specializing in a high-growth tech field, and building a strong professional network, a career in software engineering offers almost unlimited earnings potential and job security.
