Report reveals average developer salaries in Germany
Report reveals average developer salaries in Germany
The Annual Breakdown of Software Developer Salaries in Germany
This article was originally published on .cult by Melina Zacharia and Ines Almeida. .cult is a Berlin-based community platform for developers. We write about all things career-related, make original documentaries, and share heaps of other untold developer stories from around the world.
It’s that time again: the annual Honeypot breakdown of software developer salaries in Germany. We’re here to provide you with the latest insights from 2023, giving you the tools you need to make informed choices about your salary options.
2023 has been a year of conservative growth, influenced by factors like pandemics, hiring booms, and threatened recessions. Although the past year was predicted to be financially challenging, the average offered salary for software developers has still seen a 1.5% increase from 2022. While this growth rate is lower than the 4.3% rise seen from 2021 to 2022, it’s still higher than what many developers may have expected.
Interestingly, there is a growing gap between expected and offered salaries. In 2023, the difference between expected and offered salary is 3.8%, the largest it has been since 2018. This suggests that developers may have anticipated more significant financial difficulties than what actually occurred. It also emphasizes the need for developers to better understand the variables influencing their salaries, enabling them to seek and negotiate competitive offers with confidence.
Salary Growth Compared to Inflation Rate in Germany
In 2023 and 2022, Europe experienced skyrocketing inflation rates. This raises an important question: what does this mean for “real” salary growth for software developers?
According to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, the inflation rate in 2023 stands at 8.3%. With this in mind, the mere 1.5% increase in average software developer salaries reflects a relatively modest growth. However, it also confirms that developer jobs continue to be in high demand, despite the challenging economic climate.
Average Developer Salaries in Germany
Various factors, such as the role, years of experience, gender, and language ability, significantly impact the salary of software developers in Germany. In this report, we’ll be looking at the roles of backend developers, DevOps engineers, frontend developers, full-stack developers, and tech leads.
Here’s a breakdown:
| Role | Years of Experience | Average Offered Salary Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Junior | 0-2 | 9.3% |
| Mid-level | 3-6 | 13.2% |
| Senior | 7+ |
Looking at this chart, it’s evident that the salary growth differs across various roles and years of experience. DevOps roles, for instance, showed the highest average offered salary growth for junior developers, with a rate of 9.3%. Meanwhile, backend roles experienced the highest salary growth, with a 13.2% increase seen when transitioning from 1-2 years to 3-4 years of experience. Frontend developers also saw a significant growth rate of 11.2%.
Taking a closer look, it’s worth noting that expected salaries tend to be consistently lower than offered salaries. Additionally, developers in more senior roles (4+ years of experience) have a better understanding of the market’s salary benchmarks, while junior and entry-level developers consistently expect less.
Most Interview Invites in Germany by Role
Based on the number of interview invites extended for each role, backend developers were the most in demand on the Honeypot platform, followed by full-stack developers, frontend developers, and DevOps engineers. Here’s a breakdown of the percentages:
- Backend developer: 35%
- Full-stack developer: 31%
- Frontend developer: 24.7%
- DevOps engineer: 7.4%
This information underlines the demand for backend developers and the ever-growing popularity of full-stack developers.
The Gender Pay Gap
Unfortunately, the gender pay gap between male and female developers in Germany has widened for the second year in a row. In 2023, this disparity is particularly notable in junior roles, where men are paid up to 8.6% more than women.
From 2021 to 2022, the average offered salary for men was €69,600, compared to €66,500 for women—an overall difference of 4.6%. Moving on to 2023, the average offered salary for men is €71,100, while women are offered €67,800, increasing the pay gap to 4.75%.
This trend is concerning, highlighting the persistent discrepancy between the pay expectations and actual salaries of female developers. The gender pay gap is most pronounced in junior roles, where women are offered significantly less money.
Furthermore, when we examine the average offered salaries based on role and gender, it becomes evident that men receive higher pay across all the most in-demand developer roles in Germany. Particularly in DevOps engineer roles, which have become increasingly popular, the gender pay gap reaches 8%.
Salary by Language and Location
This year, we’ve intensified our research into language ability and its impact on average developer salaries, considering an increased number of language profiles and their effect on the number of interview invitations received by talent based on their location.
Surprisingly, most roles showed little to no difference for German and non-German speakers, suggesting that language becomes less important when developer demand is high enough.
However, when considering years of experience, junior developers who are proficient in the local language tend to have higher salaries. In fact, their salaries can be up to 8.9% higher than those who don’t speak the local language. Additionally, our data shows that German speakers receive eight times more interview invites than non-German speakers.
Interestingly, expected salaries were not notably higher for German speakers, indicating that language ability becomes more significant during the negotiation and recruitment processes.
Salary by City
Once again, Berlin takes the lead when it comes to average offered salaries among German cities. In 2023, Berlin offers significantly higher salaries than other German cities, with developers in the capital being offered 9% more than developers in the rest of the country.
However, it’s worth noting that developers in Berlin are not demanding much more than their counterparts in other parts of Germany. On average, Berlin companies offer 8.6% more than what developers ask for, suggesting an imbalance between supply and demand of developer roles in the city. This could be due to Berlin experiencing a higher demand with fewer developers or a phenomenon where developers are leaving the German capital.
Average Developer Salary in DACH
When zooming out to the wider DACH region, we gain insight into how different locales handle developer supply and demand, as well as their respective costs of living. Switzerland, known for its high cost of living, offers the highest average salaries in the DACH region. Germany generally follows in second place when it comes to most roles and company sizes. However, the Netherlands pays tech leads notably higher salaries, around 6% more than the average in Germany.
Most In-Demand Tech Stacks in Germany
Software developers proficient in JavaScript, React, Docker, TypeScript, and Python are highly sought after by companies in Germany.
Methodology
Our 2023 data is an average of 2022 and 2023 data, totaling 28.5k data points, ensuring accuracy despite the year not being over yet. The expected salary data is derived from developer profiles on the Honeypot platform, while the offered salary data is based on initial offers made by companies during the interview process, as gathered on the Honeypot platform. It’s important to note that the offered salary data does not reflect the final negotiated and contracted amount. In determining gender, we utilize an external library that analyzes individuals’ first names.
You can download the full 2023 Developer Salary Report here.
