Tech salaries in the UK kept climbing through 2025 and into 2026, but the increases haven't been spread evenly. Base pay grew by roughly 7.5% year-on-year overall, while specific skills — particularly hands-on AI and LLM experience — pulled well ahead of the average. This guide pulls together current benchmarks for five of the most commonly hired tech roles, broken down by seniority and by location.

All figures below are annual base salary in GBP, UK-wide, and exclude bonus, equity and benefits unless stated otherwise. Treat them as a starting point for a conversation, not a fixed price list — actual offers depend on company stage, sector, stack and the individual candidate.

London and high-demand specialisms regularly exceed the top of these ranges — see the breakdowns below.

The average UK software engineer salary sits around £50k, but the spread either side of that is wide. Entry-level developers typically start between £28k and £40k. Mid-level engineers with a few years of production experience earn £45k–£65k, and senior engineers move into the £65k–£95k bracket UK-wide.

Stack and location push well beyond that at the top end: senior C++ developers in London — often in fintech or trading — can reach £130k–£140k, while senior JavaScript/full-stack engineers tend to top out closer to £90k–£95k outside of those niches.

Product management pay has held up well, with the average UK product manager now earning around £58k. Entry-level/associate PMs with under a year's experience start around £36k–£50k. A mid-level PM working independently typically sits at £55k–£75k, rising to £70k–£80k in London. Senior product managers command £85k–£115k, and PMs with genuine AI product experience — leading LLM-powered features, RAG pipelines or AI roadmaps — are seeing premiums of £15k–£22k over otherwise comparable peers.

Data science pay has been more stable than the headlines suggest. The middle of the market sits around £65k, with the 25th–75th percentile spanning roughly £56k to £81k. Senior data scientists in major hubs reach £90k–£95k+, and machine learning engineers — particularly those working on LLM fine-tuning, RAG infrastructure or large-scale data pipelines — typically earn more again than equivalent-experience software engineers or "traditional" data scientists.

Demand for DevOps, SRE and cloud platform skills has stayed strong. UK-wide, junior engineers start around £32k–£45k, mid-level engineers earn £50k–£70k, and senior engineers reach £75k–£100k. London is the standout for this role — strong cloud/SRE candidates with the right certifications can command £65k–£140k depending on sector, with finance and high-growth scale-ups paying at the top of that range.

Cybersecurity remains one of the more consistent growth areas. Entry-level analysts typically start at £30k–£42k, with some roles reaching £45k+ depending on sector. Mid-level analysts earn £45k–£60k, often with bonuses of £3k–£14k on top. Senior specialists — particularly those covering cloud security, incident response or threat intelligence — earn £65k–£100k+.

London salaries are typically 20–35% higher than equivalent roles in other UK regions, though that gap has been narrowing slightly as regional tech hubs mature. It's worth remembering that the gap doesn't translate directly into take-home advantage once cost of living is factored in — an £85k London role and a £65k Manchester role can leave a candidate with broadly similar purchasing power.

London salaries are typically 20–35% higher than equivalent roles in other UK regions, though that gap has been narrowing slightly as regional tech hubs mature. It's worth remembering that the gap doesn't translate directly into take-home advantage once cost of living is factored in — an £85k London role and a £65k Manchester role can leave a candidate with broadly similar purchasing power.

These figures are indicative benchmarks, not guarantees. They're based on aggregated UK market salary data, publicly available job board and salary survey information, and live vacancy and offer data from our own recruitment desks, current as of June 2026. They cover base salary only — bonus, equity, pension and benefits will move total compensation further in either direction, and actual offers always depend on company size, sector, funding stage and the individual candidate's experience.

If you're benchmarking a live role, or want a second opinion before you make an offer, we're happy to give you a straight answer based on what we're actually seeing in the market right now.

Figures last reviewed June 2026. Ranges are intended as a general guide for UK employers and candidates and should be used alongside, not instead of, role-specific benchmarking.