Anchor at P75, not P50
Recruiters quote midpoint to start. Counter at the P75 of the range above for your level — the explorer gives you the exact number for your role and city.
Practice anchoring →Free tool — updated monthly · last refresh 2026-05-02
Tech Salary Explorer 2026 — Real Total Comp by Role, Level & City
Live salary ranges across SWE, PM, Designer, ML, Data, Security and DevOps — by Senior / Staff / Principal / Director — for US, UK, Canada, Germany, India, Singapore, Australia. Updated monthly. Free tool from OphyAI.
TL;DR
Tech total compensation in 2026 ranges from $130K (entry-level SWE in tier-2 US cities) to $750K+ (Principal Engineer at FAANG). Senior IC ranges have flattened post-2024 layoffs but ML/AI specialist comp continues to rise. This explorer lets you filter by role, level, and city to see honest base + bonus + equity ranges based on Levels.fyi-style data, plus interview difficulty signals. OphyAI Interview Practice helps you negotiate the offer; Resume Builder positions you for the level above.
Top 6 highest-paying combinations in 2026
Tap a card to filter the table to that combo.
Filter the data
Each filter combination has its own URL — share or bookmark any view.
| Role | Level | Location | Base (P25–P75) | Bonus | Equity (4yr / 4) | Total Comp (P25 / P50 / P75) | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software Engineer | Senior | United States Generic US (tier-2) | $165K – $225K | $15K – $40K | $40K – $130K | $220K – $395K P50 $300K | High |
| Software Engineer | Senior | United States San Francisco / Bay Area | $210K – $275K | $30K – $90K | $140K – $340K | $380K – $705K P50 $525K Big-tech Senior IC band — ML/AI premiums add 10-25%. | High |
| Software Engineer | Senior | United States Seattle | $190K – $245K | $20K – $70K | $110K – $270K | $320K – $585K P50 $435K | High |
| Software Engineer | Senior | United States Austin | $170K – $220K | $15K – $45K | $60K – $180K | $245K – $445K P50 $333K | High |
Industry ranges based on Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, Pave, repvue, plus OphyAI candidate-reported anchors. Updated monthly. Last refresh 2026-05-02. All non-USD markets are converted to USD-equivalent at mid-2026 exchange rates so rows are comparable.
Senior Software Engineer — total comp by country
P50 (median) total compensation, USD-equivalent. Visualizes nominal differences — remember that PPP narrows the gap meaningfully for India and Eastern Europe.
United States
$300K
United Kingdom
$188K
Canada
$218K
Germany
$144K
India
$65K
Singapore
$192K
Australia
$193K
Negotiation tips that move the offer
Negotiate equity & sign-on first
Base sits in a tight band; equity refresh and sign-on have 30-50% flex. Get a competing offer to unlock the top of both.
Run a mock negotiation →Use a level-up resume
If you are targeting the next level, make the relevant scope and outcomes easy to verify. Use a structured template and tailor the bullets to the role.
Build a level-up resume →Time the conversation
Never give a number first. If pushed, give the P75 of your geography. Push the number conversation to after the offer stage — and run it on script.
Get the negotiation script →Stack offers, not threats
A polite competing offer beats a threat every time. Recruiters need internal justification — give them the lever, do not give them the ultimatum.
Land more offers with Copilot →Tech salary 2026 — frequently asked
What's the highest-paying tech role in 2026?
Principal-level ML / AI Engineer in the SF Bay Area is the highest-paying mainstream tech role in 2026, with total comp ranging $1.2M-$3.0M+ at frontier AI labs. Principal SWE in the same market: $745K-$1.4M+.
Are FAANG salaries still rising?
Senior IC bands have flattened or grown at single digits since 2024. The exception: ML / AI Engineering — Staff and Principal AI bands have moved 15-30% higher than non-ML peers.
How does India tech comp compare to US tech comp?
Senior SWE in Bangalore at top product companies: $37K-$99K USD-equivalent. Generic US: $220K-$395K. SF Bay Area: $380K-$705K. Gap narrows on PPP basis but remains 3-5x nominal.
What's the difference between base, bonus and equity?
Base = fixed annual cash. Bonus = discretionary annual cash, typically 10-25% of base for senior IC. Equity = stock vesting over 4 years. Total comp = base + bonus + (4-year equity / 4).
How do I negotiate a tech salary offer in 2026?
Get a competing offer first; anchor at P75 not P50; negotiate equity and sign-on first; never give a number first. Run a live mock with OphyAI Interview Practice.
Where is this salary data from?
Aggregated from public Levels.fyi 2025-2026 percentile data, Pave, Glassdoor 2026, repvue Q1 2026, and OphyAI candidate-reported anonymized offers. Industry ranges only.
Why is ML / AI Engineer comp higher than SWE comp in 2026?
Frontier AI labs compete for a small senior ML talent pool with aggressive equity refreshers. Premium widens at Staff and Principal — roughly 30-50% over SWE bands.
What total comp should a Senior SWE expect in 2026?
Generic US: $220K-$395K. SF: $380K-$705K. London: $125K-$280K. Toronto: $150K-$307K. Berlin: $99K-$210K. Singapore: $125K-$285K. Sydney: $128K-$282K. Bangalore: $37K-$99K USD-equiv.
Sources
- Levels.fyi public 2025-2026 percentile data
- Pave compensation benchmarks
- Glassdoor 2026 salary reports
- repvue Q1 2026 reports
- OphyAI candidate-reported offers (anonymized aggregate)
Data published as aggregate industry ranges only. We never publish company-specific compensation claims. Last refresh: 2026-05-02.
Know the range. Now win the offer.
Rehearse negotiating with OphyAI Interview Practice, build a level-up resume that anchors you to the next band, and walk into the offer call with a script.