How much does the average DevOps engineer earn in Germany, the UK or the USA, compared to nearshore destinations in Eastern Europe? Salary ranges vary between international regions as well as based on level of experience and seniority.
A junior DevOps engineer in their first couple of years in the job and based in Eastern Europe can earn as little as $1500 a month. While a senior DevOps engineer based in the USA can earn over $10,000 a month.
Over recent years, the geographical divergence between the typical salary ranges commanded by software developers and other IT specialists has narrowed. Especially at the senior end of the spectrum, an IT specialist’s nationality and country of residency have far less influence on their earning power than the once did. But even in a globalised world, location still matters.
If you are a potential employer of DevOps engineers looking to benchmark salary ranges in different countries and regions; or a DevOps engineer yourself and want to benchmark your salary expectations, this blog is for you. We have compiled and compared international statistics on DevOps engineer salary ranges in:
- Germany
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- Eastern Europe – Ukraine, Poland & Bulgaria
- United States
Keep in mind these ranges are a guide only. The market for IT specialists is a dynamic one and salary inflation has quickly changed the landscape over the past couple of years. Please refer to the “updated on” date at the top of this page to understand how recent the figures presented here are.
They are also averages based on data and market research compiled by major jobs portals. Realistic salary ranges for any specific DevOps engineer profile will be heavily influenced by the role’s specifics.
If you’d like more detailed feedback on DevOps engineer rates you should expect for a particular role you need to fill, please get in touch.
DevOps engineer salary range in Germany
SalaryExpert data for DevOps engineers based in Germany shows the following salary range:
SalaryExpert data shows entry level or junior DevOps engineer roles in Germany offer a salary range starting at €54,445.
The average salary of a DevOps engineer in Germany is €77,675 and senior roles pay up to around €96,500.
Monthly salary for DevOps engineers in Germany
On a monthly basis, the DevOps engineer salary in Germany is circa. €6500 with junior roles starting from around €4550 and seniors earning up to €8000 per month. Individual roles may fall outside of these averages.
Glassdoor & Indeed data for DevOps Engineer salary range in Germany
Glassdoor salary data for DevOps engineer roles based in Germany puts the average salary level significantly lower than SalaryExpert’s €77,675, at €62,202 with additional pay in the form of bonuses or profit sharing of up to €4196 a year.
Glassdoor’s range for DevOps engineer salaries in Germany, based on “values that exist within the 25th and 75th percentile of all pay data available for this role” is from €48,179 to €91,489.
Indeed arrives at a similar figure to Glassdoor, putting the average German DevOps engineer salary at €65,668. The average does also vary within Germany with the highest average salaries offered in our home town of Munich at €72,188 and lowest in Berlin at €65,882.
DevOps engineer salary range in Switzerland
Switzerland is known as one of the European countries with the highest average salary rates, so how does that affect what a DevOps engineer would expect to earn compared to in neighbouring Germany?
Indeed says the average DevOps engineer earns CHF 95,841 (€92,609), rising to CHF 116, 294 in Zurich and dropping to CHF 66,243 in Bern.
Glassdoor data puts the average Swiss DevOps engineer salary at CHF 112,195, rising to a little over CHF 141,222 for senior roles.
UK salary range for DevOps Engineers
Moving over to the UK, how much does a DevOps engineer earn in Europe’s second largest economy?
SalaryExpert puts the average UK salary for a DevOps Engineer at £56,728 + £2093 in bonuses. Entry level roles start at an annual salary of just under £40,000 and senior DevOps engineers can earn up to £70,000.
Monthly salary for DevOps engineers in the UK
Broken down as a monthly salary, the SalaryExpert data shows an average of a little over £4700 a month for DevOps engineers. The monthly range goes from £3300 for junior roles to around £5875 for seniors.
Glassdoor & Indeed data for DevOps Engineer salary range in the UK
Glassdoor data puts the average total pay for a DevOps engineer in the UK at £47,698 plus bonsuses worth £3098 for a total of £50,796 per year. That rises to around £70,000 per annum for senior and lead roles.
Data from Indeed, based on 8800 salaries reported, puts the average annual UK DevOps engineer salary at £67,410. Regionally, the highest average DevOps engineer salaries are offered for roles based in Holborn (City of London), at £87,559. London as a whole offers an average salary of just under £75,000.
At the other end of the regional scale, average DevOps engineer salaries in the towns of Preston, Maidenhead and Newcastle Upon Tyne range from between around £51,000 to circa. £57,000.
What is the average DevOps engineer salary in Eastern Europe – Poland, Ukraine and Bulgaria?
The diverse countries of Eastern Europe are a favourite nearshore IT outsourcing destination for companies from the high income economies of Western Europe as well as North America. For the former, Eastern Europe has the added advantage of good timezone compatibility and convenient travel connections that make onsite and in-person collaboration convenient.
Eastern Europe’s traditions in mathematics and engineering education have also proven a solid foundation that has allowed a deep pool of talented IT specialists to develop over the years. That’s boosted by the added incentive of comparatively much higher salaries in the IT sector compared to most other occupations in local lower-wage economies.
The international shortage of IT specialists, especially at the senior end of the scale, has seen average salaries rise quickly and significantly in Eastern Europe over the past couple of years. The current situation in Ukraine, the region’s second largest pool of IT specialists after Poland, has intensified the deficit of specialists which is accelerating salary inflation further.
Although hiring IT specialists including DevOps engineers in Eastern Europe is not as comparatively cost effective compared to Western Europe and North America as it once was, there is still a clear advantage.
Even if the gap between take home salaries of Eastern Europe-based specialists and peers in Western Europe has narrowed, it still exists. And epecially differences in employer contributions to pensions and other taxes can mean significant potential savings in nearshore locations.
DevOps engineer salary range in Ukraine
While many employers may have concerns about hiring IT specialists in Ukraine against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion and an active war in the country, the country’s IT outsourcing sector has proven robust.
While men between the ages of 18 and 60 have not been able to leave the country under martial law established in late February 2022, a majority of IT specialists continue to work for Western employers; usually from parts of the country where there is no active conflict.
Hiring from Ukraine may not fit the policy of every organisation but the country still boasts a rich pool of IT specialists, including DevOps engineers, and shouldn’t be discounted without serious consideration.
Local Ukrainian jobs board djinni puts the average salary range offered for DevOps engineers at between $3000 and $5500 per month, with advertised roles attracting an average of two applications. DevOps engineers in the djinni candidates database, meanwhile, have received an average of 13.6 proposals offering between $1500 and $6000 per month.
The number of proposals made to DevOps engineers with djinni profiles compared to the small number of active applications for advertised roles demonstrates market demand for DevOps specialists is significantly higher than supply in Ukraine, despite the war.
DevOps engineer salary in Poland
Glassdoor data for DevOps engineer roles in Poland put the average monthly salary at PLN 19,589 (€4200) per month, rising to PLN 25,993 (€5575) for roles described as ‘lead’ and PLN 35,014 (€7500) for those described as ‘senior’.
DevOps engineer salary in Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, Glassdoor puts the average monthly salary for a DevOps engineer at BGN 5400 (€2700) and at BGN 14,200 (€7100) for ‘senior’ roles. Another Bulgarian data source, zaplatomer.bg, put the monthly range for DevOps engineers at between BGN 2213) (€1117) and BGN 7100 (€3550).
What is the average DevOps engineer salary in the USA?
Over in the USA, Indeed says the average salary for a DevOps engineer is circa. $116,000 plus cash bonuses worth $11,000. 401(k) employer pension contributions also need to be taken account of.
Indeed’s data says average DevOps salaries are highest in San Francisco at over $140,000 per annum (before bonuses and health and pension contributions) and lowest in Austin, Texas, at around $120,000 a year.
Glassdoor data puts the U.S. average salary for DevOps engineers at $123,000, rising to $138,500 for lead engineers and $141,500 for ‘senior’ roles.
SalaryExpert data says the average U.S. base salary a DevOps engineer can expect is $103,000 and a $3800 bonus. Junior positions start at around $72,000 a year and senior roles offer around $128,000.
Would you like an accurate estimate of how much you should expect to budget for DevOps engineer roles your organisation needs to hire for now? Get in touch, we’ll ask you for the specific details of the tech stack and experience you are looking for and provide you with a benchmark you can budget against.