Back end developer and engineer salary ranges for Germany, UK, East Europe and the USA

How much do back end coders with junior to senior levels of experience make internationally?

IT Outsourcing • UPDATED ON August 17, 2022

John Adam

Author

In this blog, we will compile and compare international statistics on back end developer salary ranges in:

• Germany
• United Kingdom
• East Europe – Ukraine, Poland & Belarus
• United States

How much can you expect to make as a back end software developer? Or how much should you expect to pay a back end software developer?

Glassdoor and Stepstone.de data puts the average back end developer salary in Germany at around €56,000. SalaryExpert data says the average German salary for a Back end engineer, implying greater seniority than ‘developer’ is €76,000 plus another €3400 in cash bonuses.

In the USA, it’s $80,000 (€70,700) according to Glassdoor data. However, Glassdoor data says the average salary of a back end engineer is $110,000 in the United States. SalaryExpert data says $101,500 is the average salary for professionals in the USA with the title ‘back end engineer’ and doesn’t offer data for the title back end developer.

Our data source for IT specialist salary ranges in Ukraine, Djinni.co doesn’t cover ‘back end developer’ as a broad category. However, if we look at some of the most common back end development frameworks and programming languages including Laravel, Ruby on Rails, Node.js, Java and Python, for which salary data is provided, we can see that back end developers in Ukraine can expect to earn, on average, $3000-$4000 a month, or $36,000 to $48,000 per annum.

Ruby developer salaries are higher, with the average range $5000-$6000 per month or $60,000 to $72,000.

From an employer’s point of view, back end developers can also cost a lot more or less in social security contributions and other taxes and expenses depending on the country in which they are employed.

‘Back end developer’ is also, of course, a very broad title. Salaries attached to the role can vary significantly depending on what back end programming languages and other software development tools and technologies a developer’s tech stack is comprised of. The average salaries of a back end Node.js developer, Java developer, Laravel developer, Ruby developer and Go developer can vary meaningfully. And will also depend on the level of experience and the rest of the tech stack a particular back end developer or engineer position requires.

Some of the factors that can most influence a back end developer or engineer’s salary are:

• Level of expertise
• Kind of expertise
• Years of experience
• Tech stack – the programming languages, frameworks, tools and technologies a back end developer is proficient in
• Location
• Language skills eg. fluent English or German

But keeping in mind the vagueness of ‘back end developer’ as a stand-alone job description, in this blog we’ll run you through some of the most reliable international data sources for back end developer and engineer salary ranges around the world.

If you would like a more accurate forecast of what you should expect to pay a back end developer with a particular profile and tech stack in East Europe please do get in touch. Our HR department will be happy to give you an accurate range based on current market dynamics.

Back end developer and engineer salary ranges in Germany

SalaryExpert data for back end engineers (there is no data provided for the title back end ‘developer’) based in Germany shows the following salary range:

• Junior, or less experienced (engineer in a software development job title typically implies a level of experience) back end engineer positions in Germany offer a salary range starting at €53,270.
• Mid-level back end engineer roles in Germany pay a mean average salary of €76,100 and also benefit from average annual cash bonuses worth almost €4000 a year.
• Senior back end engineers can earn, on average (individual specialist roles may pay more) up to around €94,500 in Germany.

Monthly salary for back end developers in Germany

Monthly, the average back end developer salary in Germany is circa. €6300 with junior roles starting from around €4450 and seniors earning up to €7875 per month.

Glassdoor data for back end developer salary range in Germany

Glassdoor salary data for back end developer roles based in Germany differs slightly from the SalaryExpert figures and shows the following range based on 174 survey responses:

• Junior back end developer positions in Germany offer a salary range starting at €43,000.
• Mid-level back end developer roles in Germany pay an average salary of €56,000.
• Senior back end developers can earn, on average (individual specialist roles may pay more) up to around €72,000 in Germany.

The Glassdoor data for roles title back end engineer shows a slightly higher range:

• Junior back end engineer positions in Germany offer a salary range starting at €46,000.
• Mid-level back end engineer roles in Germany pay an average salary of €60,000.
• Senior back end engineers can earn, on average (individual specialist roles may pay more) up to around €75,000 in Germany.

Back end engineer salary range in the UK

SalaryExpert data for back end engineers based in the UK shows the following salary range:

• Junior back end engineer positions in the UK offer a salary range starting at £38,600
• The average mean salary for back end engineer roles in the UK is £55,100 plus cash bonuses worth around £2500.
• Senior back end engineers can earn, on average (individual specialist roles may pay more) up to around £68,500 in the UK.

Monthly salary for back end engineers in the UK

Monthly, the average back end developer salary in the UK is circa. £4600 with junior roles starting from around £3200 and seniors earning up to £5700+ per month.

Glassdoor data for back end developer and engineer salary range in the United Kingdom

Glassdoor salary data for back end developer roles based in the UK differs slightly to the SalaryExpert figures and shows the following range based on 83 survey responses:

• Junior back end developer positions in the UK offer a salary range starting at £29,000
• The average salary for back end developer roles in the UK is £47,000.
• Senior back end developers can earn, on average (individual specialist roles may pay more) up to around £75,000 in the UK.

The Glassdoor data for roles in the UK title back end engineer shows a significantly higher range:

• Junior back end engineer positions in the UK offer a salary range starting at £41,000
• The average salary for back end engineer roles in the UK is £61,000.
• Senior back end engineers can earn, on average (individual specialist roles may pay more) up to around £90,000 in the UK.

What is the average back end developer salary in East Europe?

East Europe is a popular IT outsourcing destination for high salary economies, especially those of West Europe like Germany and the UK. Significantly lower average salaries, taxes and other overheads like office space can offer significant savings compared to domestic markets.

The trend towards remote work, compatible time zones, relatively easy travel logistics and availability of IT specialists with a reasonable-to-good level of English have all encouraged a huge influx of employers of East European software developers over recent years.  The fact that some East European countries including Poland, Romania and Bulgaria are also EU members, which can be important for software development projects that need to consider GDPR compliance, is another mark in the region’s ‘for’ column as far as employers are concerned.

But East Europe is not a single homogenous territory. It is made up of many different countries with their own market dynamics and economies. One thing most of the region does have in common is relatively high numbers of software developers per capita; something that is often put down to the region’s strong tradition in mathematics.

Whatever the reason for their numbers and quality, East European developers are in high demand. That has led to significant salary inflation for developers, especially in 2021 when K&C’s recruitment department notes a rise in the remuneration being asked for, and given, of up to 30% this year alone.

Despite the narrowing of the gap with IT specialist salaries in West Europe, especially for senior professionals, hiring back end developers in East Europe still usually represents a significant saving on hiring alternatives with comparable profiles on domestic markets.

Let’s take a look at back end developer salary data for three of the East European markets for back end developers K&C has established offices – Ukraine, Poland and Belarus.

What is the average salary for back end developers and engineers in Ukraine?

We typically use data from the Ukrainian jobs portal Djinni.co to show salary ranges for software developers and other IT specialists based in Ukraine. As Djinni doesn’t offer data for the broadly defined position ‘back end developer’ or ‘back end engineer’, we’ll base these stats on ranges for Java developer salaries, which are among the most commonly used back end programming languages and frameworks.

Laravel developers earn around 30% less than Java and Python developers and Ruby developers around 20%-30% more.

The Djinni data below shows Java developers are in high demand in Ukraine with over 3000 jobs advertised and only 1125 candidates listed on the portal. Each job received an average of 1.7 applications but each developer received 22.5 job offers.

• Junior back end with Java developer salary per month and year in Ukraine: $1000-$2500 p.m, $12,000-$30,000 p.a.
• Average back end with Java developer salary per month and year in Ukraine: $4000 p.m., $48,000 p.a.
• Senior-Lead back end with Java developer salary per month and year: $4500-$6000 p.m., $54,000-$72,000 p.a.
• Back end architect with Java salary per month and year: $6000-$7000+ p.m. $72,000-$84,000+ p.a.

What is the average back end developer salary in Poland?

Data from K&C’s internal recruitment department (good public sources from major jobs listings sites are unavailable) puts the average salary in Poland for back end developers with Java at currently around 10% lower than in Ukraine. That equates to average ranges of:

• Junior back end developer salary in Poland per month and year: €800-€2000 p.m., €9600-€24,000 p.a.
• Average back end developer salary in Poland per month and year: €3200 p.m, €38,400 p.a.
• Senior-Lead backend developer salary in Poland per month and year: €3610-€4814 p.m., €43,320-€57,768
• Back end architect salary in Poland per month and year: €4814-€5620+ p.m., €57,768-€67,440+ p.a.

What is the average back end developer salary in Belarus?

Data from K&C’s internal recruitment department (good public sources from major jobs listings sites are unavailable) puts the average back end (with Java) salary in Belarus at currently around 20% lower than in Ukraine. That equates to an average monthly salary ranges for back end developers in Belarus of:

• Junior back end developer salary per month and year: $800-$2000 p.m, $9,600-$24,000 p.a.
• Average back end developer salary per month and year: $3200 p.m., $38,400 p.a.
• Senior-Lead back end developer salary per month and year: $3600-$4800 p.m., $43,200-$57,600 p.a.
• Back end architect salary per month and year: $4800-$5600+ p.m. $57,600-$67,200+ p.a.

What is the average back end developer salary in the USA?

SalaryExpert data for back end engineers based in the United States shows the following salary range:

• Junior back end engineer positions in the USA offer a salary range starting at around $71,000.
• The mean average salary for back end engineer roles in the USA is $101,500 plus cash bonuses worth around $4500.
• Senior back end engineers in the USA can earn, on average (individual specialist roles may pay more) up to around $126,000.

Monthly salary for back end engineers in the USA

Based on the above data, the monthly salary range for a back end engineer in the USA starts from circa. $5900 for junior roles, comes in at an average of $8460 and can reach $10,500+ for senior positions.

Glassdoor data for back end developer and engineer salary range in the United States

Glassdoor salary data for back end developer roles based in the USA differs slightly from the SalaryExpert figures and shows the following range based on 206 survey responses:

• Junior back end developer positions in the USA offer a salary range starting at around $80,000.
• The average salary for back end developer roles in the USA is $80,000.
• Senior back end developers in the USA can earn up to $134,000.

However, Glassdoor data based on 281 survey responses shows a significantly higher salary range for jobs in the USA titled backend engineer. But with the quirk of a lower starting salary point for more junior back end engineers:

• Junior back end engineer positions in the USA offer a salary range starting at around $74,000.
• The average salary for back end engineer roles in the USA is $116,000.
• Senior back end engineers in the USA can earn up to $181,000.

Expected salary for back end developers in the USA by years experience

Indeed.com also offers data on expected back end developer salary growth by years of experience. The data, based on portal users who reported working as back end developers over the past 3 years shows average earning potential peaks at between 12 and 16 years of experience from $63,000 for professionals of between 0 and 4 years of experience.

The portal also says the back end developers whose salary survey responses make up the data often have the following qualifications and certifications:

• MCTS
• MCITP
• CompTIA Security+
• Lean Six Sigma Certification
• Counseling Certification
• MCSA
• MCSE
• Six Sigma Certification
• F Endorsement
• CAC II
• MCP

Most popular skills and qualifications for back end developers

Back end software developer salary levels are of course, as mentioned, highly dependent on tech stack and experience. Indeed.com lists the most common qualifications and tech stack of back end developers as:

• Go
• Spring
• APIs
• js
• REST
• Django
• NoSQL
• Redis
• AWS
• PostgreSQL
• Java
• GraphQL

If you would like a more accurate forecast of what you should expect to pay a back end developer with a particular profile and tech stack in East Europe please do get in touch. Our HR department will be happy to give you an accurate range based on current market dynamics.