Average Tech Salary London 2026: What the Data Actually Shows
London tech salaries have grown faster than overall UK wage growth for the third consecutive year — yet median figures mask a spread wide enough that two engineers at the same seniority level, hired six months apart, can be £20,000 apart. According to ONS ASHE 2025 data, the median full-time salary across IT and software occupations in London sits at approximately £67,000, but the p75 is closer to £90,000 and the p25 drops to around £48,000. Where your offer lands in that distribution matters more than whether it clears the headline average.
What the official data says about average tech salaries in London for 2026
ONS ASHE — the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, which surveys payroll records rather than self-reported figures — provides the most reliable baseline for London tech pay. The 2025 release (the latest available as of this writing) covers the April 2025 pay reference period.
Key figures across core tech roles in London, full-time employees:
| Role group | p25 | Median | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software developers & engineers | £52,000 | £72,000 | £95,000 | £118,000 |
| IT project & programme managers | £58,000 | £78,000 | £102,000 | £126,000 |
| Data scientists & analysts | £46,000 | £64,000 | £86,000 | £108,000 |
| Cybersecurity professionals | £50,000 | £69,000 | £91,000 | £114,000 |
| IT architects | £72,000 | £94,000 | £120,000 | £145,000 |
| Product managers (tech) | £55,000 | £76,000 | £98,000 | £122,000 |
These are base salary figures. They exclude bonuses, equity, and employer pension contributions — components that can add 15–40% of base for roles above mid-level, particularly at US-headquartered firms operating London offices.
The overall median for all tech and IT occupations in Greater London is approximately £67,000 according to ONS ASHE 2025, compared with a UK-wide tech median of roughly £52,000. The London premium over the national figure is real and persistent, though it has narrowed slightly as remote hiring has allowed some workers to leave London while retaining London-adjacent salaries.
How seniority and specialisation shift the numbers
The median is a useful anchor, but seniority compresses and expands salary ranges in ways that a single figure obscures.
Junior (0–2 years experience): London tech roles at this level typically pay £35,000–£50,000 base. Graduate schemes at FTSE-listed tech firms tend to cluster around £38,000–£45,000. Early-career data roles often start lower than engineering equivalents.
Mid-level (3–6 years): This is where London salary growth accelerates most sharply. A mid-level software engineer with strong backend skills can credibly target £65,000–£85,000. Specialisations attracting premiums in 2026 include machine learning engineering, platform/infrastructure engineering, and security architecture — all commanding 10–20% above generalist equivalents at the same seniority.
Senior (7–12 years): ONS ASHE data shows senior-banded tech roles in London at a median of approximately £92,000–£105,000 depending on the specific SOC code. Beyond this point, total compensation increasingly diverges from base: RSUs, discretionary bonuses, and carried interest (for fintech/VC-adjacent roles) mean two "senior engineers" with identical base salaries can have very different total comp.
Principal / Staff / Director-level: Base salaries of £120,000–£160,000 are common at this level, particularly at US tech companies with London engineering hubs. UK-headquartered firms tend to pay 10–20% less at equivalent seniority, partly offset by more generous pension matching.
Specialisation within tech also matters. According to OECD international income comparisons and corroborating Eurostat SES data, London ML/AI engineers earn roughly 18% more than equivalently experienced generalist software engineers. Cloud infrastructure specialists with AWS/GCP certifications see a similar premium.
London vs. other major tech hubs: a realistic comparison
London remains the highest-paying tech market in Europe by median base salary. Software engineer salaries across Europe breaks this down in detail, but the summary position is:
- London median SWE base: ~£72,000 (ONS ASHE 2025)
- Berlin median SWE base: ~€62,000 (Destatis 2024)
- Amsterdam median SWE base: ~€68,000 (CBS 2024)
- Paris median SWE base: ~€58,000 (INSEE 2024)
- Madrid median SWE base: ~€48,000 (INE EES 2023)
On a purchasing-power-adjusted basis, the London advantage over Amsterdam and Berlin narrows significantly — housing costs in London are substantially higher, and income tax diverges. A London salary of £72,000 after tax and housing costs can leave less disposable income than an Amsterdam equivalent, depending on living situation.
Compared to US tech hubs, London trails in pure base salary terms. BLS OEWS data puts median software developer compensation in San Francisco at roughly $165,000 and New York at $140,000 — but equity and total comp packages at London offices of US firms are closing part of that gap, and the cost-of-living differential for housing is also narrowing.
Australia and Canada are increasingly relevant comparators as remote-first or relocation-open roles grow. ABS data for Sydney puts median tech salaries at approximately AUD 110,000–125,000 depending on role; Statistics Canada LFS data shows Toronto tech medians around CAD 95,000–110,000.
What gets left out of average tech salary figures — and why it matters for your offer
The median base salary figure is the starting point for evaluation, not the end point. Three components routinely make significant differences to real compensation in London:
Bonuses: Discretionary annual bonuses in London tech range from 5–10% of base at most scale-ups to 20–30% at investment banks' technology divisions and large US tech firms. Target bonus percentage should be stated in writing, not described verbally.
Equity (RSUs or options): For roles above mid-level, equity can represent 20–60% of total annual compensation over a vesting schedule. The variance is enormous: an RSU grant at a pre-IPO scale-up has a different risk profile to restricted stock at a FTSE 100 company. When benchmarking your offer, always model equity at current fair market value, not hoped-for future value.
Employer pension contributions: UK employers are legally required to contribute a minimum of 3% of qualifying earnings, but many tech employers — particularly those competing for senior talent — offer 5–10% matching. On a £80,000 salary, the difference between 3% and 8% employer pension contribution is £4,000 per year in additional compensation, invisible in salary surveys.
Benefits and allowances: Private medical insurance, income protection, learning and development budgets, and flexible working arrangements are standard at London tech employers above a certain scale. They have real monetary value — private medical for a family can be worth £3,000–£6,000 annually — but are not captured in ONS base salary data.
Salary benchmarks by role and city includes total compensation context where data is available, and how to evaluate a job offer covers a structured approach to modelling these components.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average tech salary in London in 2026?
According to ONS ASHE 2025 data, the median full-time salary across IT and software occupations in London is approximately £67,000. Role-specific medians vary: software developers sit around £72,000, data analysts around £64,000, and IT architects around £94,000. These are base salary figures and exclude bonuses, equity, and pension contributions.
Is £60,000 a good tech salary in London?
At p25 of the London tech salary distribution, £60,000 is below the median for most engineering and product roles but above the median for junior and early-career positions. Whether it constitutes a "good" offer depends on role, seniority, and total compensation. A £60,000 base with 15% target bonus and 8% pension match has materially different value to £60,000 base with no bonus and minimum pension. CompVerdict — check if your offer is fair benchmarks all these components together.
How does London tech pay compare to working remotely for a US company?
US-remote roles often advertise global salary bands that track significantly above London market rates. However, UK-based employees of US companies pay UK income tax and National Insurance regardless of where the employer is incorporated. The net after-tax difference can be smaller than the headline figures suggest. Equity compensation, USD-denominated pay with sterling conversion risk, and employment rights differences are all relevant factors to model carefully.
How often do London tech salaries get updated in the official data?
ONS ASHE releases annually, typically in late autumn covering the April reference period. The most recent release at publication time is ASHE 2025. How CompVerdict salary benchmarks work explains how the tool incorporates these releases and handles the lag between official data and current market conditions.
The London tech salary market in 2026 is not a single number — it's a wide distribution shaped by role, seniority, company type, and total compensation structure. The ONS ASHE median of approximately £67,000 across tech occupations is a useful orientation point, but your specific offer needs to be benchmarked against role-specific percentiles, not a sector-wide average. If you've received an offer and want to know where it sits against the actual distribution, run it through CompVerdict — enter your base, bonus, equity, and location, and get a verdict against official government salary data in under 30 seconds, no sign-up required.