Software developer salary in Germany

The median salary for a software developer in Germany is estimated to be €65,800. The expected range for Junior to senior developers is between €58,000 and €80,000. That’s what the majority of software developers in Germany are earning according to data from Glassdoor. 

That being said, developers can far exceed this range depending on the company, their skills, and their experience. The highest reported software developer salaries in Germany are from US-based tech companies which have paid senior developers €180,000 base salary plus bonuses and equity (totalling €480,000). 

For entry-level positions, with less than one year of experience, you can expect a starting salary of at least €40,000. Working students at big tech companies have reported lower salaries starting at €30,000 — which is understandable given the lack of experience. If you're an average software developer earning less than €40,000 it might be time to look for a new software developer job.

Below we’ll break down the median salaries based on experience. Keep on reading to discover software developer salaries for cities in Germany and the top-paying companies. 

Median salary by experience (EUR):

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Software developer salary by role and technology

It’s estimated that backend developers earn the most at €63,259 compared with frontend developers (€57,750) and fullstack developers (€62,594). While React developers are highly sort after in Germany, on average, they don’t earn as much as Java developers. Below are the median salaries by top roles and technologies. 

Software developer salary by technology (EUR):

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Average and median software developer salary in Germany

According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a software developer in Germany is €61,000 while the median salary is €65,800 per year. That’s taking into account all developers with a range of backgrounds. The median salary for a senior developer in Germany is around €83,000 per year while junior developers can expect to earn around €48,050 on average with a median of €51,050. 

Average software developer salary over time

Here is the average software developer salary by year and role (frontend, backend, and fullstack). This is worldwide software salary data from the StackOverflow survey (2017-2022).

Software developer frontend vs backend vs fullstack (EUR):

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The lowest and highest software developer salaries reported

We’ve already put together a list of the highest software developer salaries but to quickly mention, the highest salaries for a software developer in Germany are between €125,000-€180,000. And when we include annual bonuses and equity, these developers can earn upwards of €450,000. So despite the overall average salary, there is money to be made in Europe. 

On the flip side, if you have very little hands-on experience you’ll probably be earning less than or equal to €30,000 per year. It’s common in German for graduates or soon-to-be graduates to get work experience with companies in Germany (essentially a paid internship). Engineering working students have reported part-time salaries of between €10,000 and €15,000 per year.

Top paying locations in Germany

In Germany, Berlin and Munich are the biggest hubs for software developers and generally offer the highest salaries for developers. The average salary is usually a little lower in Berlin compared with Munch as there are a lot of startups and it’s a cheaper city. That being said, you’ll also find the top earners in Berlin, working at big tech companies (since they’re all headquartered there). 

Median software developer salary by city (EUR):

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Top paying companies in Germany 

According to levels.fyi, the top-paying companies in Germany are Facebook, SeatGeek, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, VMware, Stripe, Elastic, Wayfair, and GitHub. The below list includes the job position (seniority) and the total base pay.