Software Engineer in the United Kingdom: a £63,500 national median
Software Engineers in the United Kingdom earn a national median of £63,500 (£5,300 a month, roughly £31 an hour on a 2,080-hour year).
ONS ASHE (April 2026 (provisional)) publishes the national spread for the matching occupation: £33,352 at the 10th percentile and £114,051 at the 90th, a 3.4× gap.
The closest technology peer is devops engineer at £62,700, so a software engineer earns 1.3% more at the national median in the United Kingdom.
Software Engineer pay in official statistics for the United Kingdom
The closest official occupation is Programmers and software development professionals (SOC 2020 2134). In April 2026 (provisional) its national median was £59,863 a year.
That is 6% below the SalaryByRole median above. The sources define the job differently (an official occupation group versus a job title), so read them as a range rather than one figure.
The published 10th and 90th percentiles are £33,352 and £114,051, a 3.4× spread.
ONS puts the number of full-time jobs in this occupation at about 362k (indicative).
11 regions have a published figure. London is highest at £78,629 (+31% vs national) and Yorkshire and The Humber lowest at £48,104, a 1.63× gap.
3 of the 11 pay above the national median; the next highest after London are East (£67,192) and South East (£60,755).
National figures, Programmers and software development professionals (SOC 2020 2134), April 2026 (provisional)
Official median (ONS ASHE (April 2026 (provisional)))
US$80,143
per year, observed
SalaryByRole median
US$85,013
per year
Monthly (national)
US$7,096
per month, before tax
90th percentile
US$152,690
ONS ASHE (April 2026 (provisional))
Hourly (national)
US$40.87
varies by city
Software Engineer pay in the United Kingdom vs other countries
The United Kingdom is 6th of 16 countries for this role once medians are converted at the same exchange rate (US$85,000). Singapore pays 3% more (£65,445 at today's rate) and the Netherlands pays 0% less (£63,472).
That median is about 1.5× GDP per person (US$57,600, World Bank 2025). That is a rough sign of how far the role pays above the average national income.
By national median, it is number 8 of 19 roles we track there. Actuary is the next step up at £64,200, and DevOps Engineer the next step down at £62,700.
Within technology, Cloud Architect (£80,700), Product Manager (£71,700) and Data Scientist (£67,200) pay more, while DevOps Engineer (£62,700), Cybersecurity Analyst (£59,800) and UX Designer (£50,800) pay less.
Remote pay for workers in the United Kingdom
If a remote employer paid the U.S. median for the same job (US$136,000), that would be about £101,585, 1.6× the local median. Location-adjusted remote offers usually land between the two.
Software Engineer take-home pay in the United Kingdom (estimate)
Using our take-home calculator for the United Kingdom, the £63,500 median loses income tax £12,832 and National Insurance £3,281, leaving £47,387 a year or £3,949 a month. Total deductions: 25% of gross.
At the published 10th percentile from ONS ASHE (April 2026 (provisional)) (£33,352) deductions are 17%; at the 90th (£114,051) they reach 35%, leaving £6,158 a month.
The United Kingdom: prices, jobs and holidays
Consumer prices in the United Kingdom rose 3.9% in 2025 (World Bank). Matching that on the £63,500 median takes a raise of about £2,477.
Unemployment was 4.7% of the labour force in 2025.
The United Kingdom has 14 public holidays in 2026 (Nager.Date); at the median, one working day is worth about £244 before tax.
Singapore
United Kingdom
Netherlands