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Germany’s tech sector is expected to reach a value of €123.6-billion by 2026. This makes the country a great place to find work as a software developer. In this article, we’ll look at average software developer salaries by experience in Germany.
Average entry-level software developer salary trends
Entry-level software developers in Germany can vary quite broadly. Those in the 25th percentile can expect to earn an annual income of €28 740, while those in the 75th should earn €51 075. That makes for an average of €37 329.
It’s only up from here on out, with steady, generous growth on the horizon for developers who stick with the craft.
Average junior software developer salary trends
With at least two years of experience under their belts, software developers in Germany can expect an increase of 19.6% (€7 328) to an average income of €44 657 (25th percentile: €30 624, 75th percentile: €58 950).
Another few years takes them into the 4-6 year bracket, where a further 15.8% (€7 064) raise puts them on an average annual salary of €51 721 (25th percentile: €40 200, 75th percentile: €63 000).
More than €50 000 a year with six years’ experience represents a handsome annual income, and reflects the massive demand for tech talent across Germany. Coupled with the fact that junior developers tend to move jobs and negotiate for fresh salaries more frequently, this likely explains these generous increases early in their careers.
Average Salary by Years Experience, showing 25th and 75th percentiles
| Years of Experience | 25th Percentile | Average | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-2 | €28,740 | €37,329 | €51,075 |
| 2-4 | €30,624 | €44,657 | €58,950 |
| 4-6 | €40,200 | €51,721 | €63,000 |
| 6-10 | €46,350 | €61,891 | €75,750 |
| 10-15 | €54,525 | €70,915 | €86,250 |
Average senior software developer salary trends
There’s more good news for developers who grow in stature in Germany’s software industry, with increases that match their early career salary growth.
With 6-10 years on the job, they can expect to earn €61 891 on average (25th percentile: €46 350, 75th percentile: €75 750), thanks to the largest increase of their careers – 19.7%, or €10 170.
Highly seasoned devs – those with at least 10 years of experience – are in for a 14.6% (€9 024) to an average income of €70 915 (25th percentile: €54 525, 75th percentile: €86 250).
To drive its tech-heavy economy, Germany needs a wealth of software development expertise – and is willing to pay for those with the skills and experience required.
Keep in mind
The data in this article is taken from StackOverflow’s 2022 Developer Survey’s open data. In this article, ‘salary’ refers to the gross annual salary (before tax) provided by 977 survey respondents from Germany who identified as software developers.
We only included salary insights for experience levels with enough data points to ensure that the amounts represent developers in the country. That’s why we’ve omitted developers with more than fifteen years of experience from the article.
We also ran an outlier analysis to identify data points skewing the distribution of salaries. These points were removed from the final dataset to ensure that the amounts are representative of developers in Germany. We’ve also included the 25th and 75th percentiles to give you further information about the distribution of salary data.
Average salaries are single data points and only one part of a bigger story. Many respondents may earn significantly more or significantly less than these averages. However, we hope to show underlying trends by mapping the average salaries for different experience levels.
These averages should not be used to estimate what your actual salary will or should be. Salaries depend on the company size, industry, individual, perks and nature of the work. These factors all influence the salary a company will offer to a prospective hire. In addition, most developers are “fluent” in several languages and work across multiple roles, which will also affect the final figures.
It’s also important to remember that every individual’s context is different. Salary is a personal conversation that should take place between employee and employer.
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