Rate index
How much does it cost to hire a remote developer
There is no single rate. PayScale's average base salary for a senior software engineer in the Philippines is ₱985,539 a year, from 195 profiles, last updated June 30, 2026. Levels.fyi's 2025 End of Year Pay Report puts United States median total compensation for a senior software engineer at $312,587. Each table keeps the unit the source printed.
How to read this index
A remote developer's pay depends on the role, the seniority, and the place the source measured. This page answers that with published figures only. If a publisher did not print a number, the cell is absent. Nothing here is an average of two sources, a currency conversion, or a guess at a missing level.
Two kinds of figure sit next to each other, and they are not the same measurement. Levels.fyi reports median total compensation in US dollars, including salary, stock, and bonuses. PayScale, Indeed, Computrabajo, and SysArmy report base pay or survey pay in the currency of the page they publish. A senior row in one table is not the senior row in another.
United States total compensation by seniority
These are software-engineer medians for the United States from the Levels.fyi End of Year Pay Report 2025, generated 20 December 2025. The report page rounds a few of the 2025 medians. The dollars below are the ones in the markdown export. They are not a remote-only sample, and they are not base salary.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
2025 median total compensation. The same table lists $152,500 for 2024, a change of +1.64%.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
2025 median total compensation. The same table lists $222,000 for 2024, a change of +1.8%.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
2025 median total compensation. The same table lists $300,000 for 2024, a change of +4.2%. The public report page rounds this 2025 median to $312K.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
2025 median total compensation. The same table lists $425,500 for 2024, a change of +7.52%.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
2025 median total compensation. The same table lists $590,000 for 2024, a change of -6.58%. The public report page rounds this 2025 median to $551K.
Total compensation by country
The same report prints a median for software engineers in a few places. The dollars are total compensation. India's dollar median here is not the rupee average in the next section.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
Median total compensation for software engineers. 47K data points. Year-over-year growth on this country line is +2.6%. A separate line in the same report puts U.S. software-engineer pay growth at +2.67%.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
Median total compensation in US dollars. 5.7K data points. Year-over-year growth is -2.03%.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
Median total compensation in US dollars. 26K data points. Year-over-year growth is -3.23%.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
Highest-paying country in the Europe section of the same report. Median total compensation in US dollars.
Levels.fyi. Report generated 20 December 2025.
Median total compensation in US dollars. 20.4K data points. Year-over-year growth is +2.07%. This is not the PayScale rupee average in the region table.
Senior software engineer pay in the Philippines
PayScale and Indeed measure different things, so they stay on separate rows. The annual figure is not divided into a month on this page. More context is on the Philippines salary page.
PayScale. Salary page check October 18, 2026.
195 profiles. PayScale last updated this page on June 30, 2026.
Indeed. Salary page check October 18, 2026.
22 salaries. Indeed shows a posting range of ₱44,318–₱101,481 a month, updated August 3, 2026.
Software engineer pay by region
PayScale rows are an average base salary. The month is one twelfth of the published annual figure, rounded to the nearest currency unit, which is how the hire pages already show it. Argentina rows are medians from the SysArmy 2026.1 survey posted 6 March 2026. Colombia rows are the monthly averages Computrabajo prints. Currencies are not converted.
India
122 salary profiles. Last reviewed 2 July 2026. PayScale.
Average base salary ₹407,030 a year for a Junior Software Engineer in India. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest rupee.
853 salary profiles. Last reviewed 7 October 2026. PayScale.
Average base salary ₹1,452,382 a year for a Mid-Career Software Engineer in India. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest rupee.
3,773 salary profiles. Last reviewed 11 October 2026. PayScale.
Average base salary ₹1,683,398 a year for a Senior Software Engineer in India. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest rupee.
Singapore
99 salary profiles. Last reviewed 26 February 2026. PayScale.
Average base salary S$82,140 a year for a Mid-Career Software Engineer in Singapore. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest Singapore dollar.
136 salary profiles. Last reviewed 6 September 2026. PayScale.
Average base salary S$100,416 a year for a Senior Software Engineer in Singapore. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest Singapore dollar.
No reliable public figure was found for a junior software engineer in Singapore.
Philippines, junior and mid-career
36 salary profiles. Last reviewed 8 August 2026. PayScale.
Average base salary ₱338,055 a year for a Junior Software Engineer in the Philippines. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest peso.
103 salary profiles. Last reviewed 6 October 2026. PayScale.
Average base salary ₱798,358 a year for a Mid-Career Software Engineer in the Philippines. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest peso.
Senior pay is in the table above, from PayScale and Indeed, and is not restated as a monthly twelfth here.
Mexico
19 salary profiles. Last reviewed 11 July 2025. PayScale.
Average base salary MX$300,000 a year for a Senior Software Engineer in Mexico. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest peso.
No reliable public figure was found for a junior software engineer in Mexico. No reliable public figure was found for a mid-career software engineer in Mexico.
Brazil
60 salary profiles. Last reviewed 11 May 2026. PayScale.
Average base salary R$106,212 a year for a Senior Software Engineer in Brazil. The monthly figure is one twelfth of that annual average, rounded to the nearest real.
No reliable public figure was found for a junior software engineer in Brazil. The mid-career average is higher than the senior average, so that row is left out.
Argentina, pesos
133 answers. Survey posted 6 March 2026. SysArmy.
Median monthly gross pay in Argentine pesos for full-time Developer answers that are not paid in or pegged to US dollars. Nearest-rank 25th to 75th percentile: ARS 1,204,000 to ARS 2,050,000. SysArmy 2026.1 CLEAN dataset.
417 answers. Survey posted 6 March 2026. SysArmy.
Median monthly gross pay in Argentine pesos for full-time Developer answers that are not paid in or pegged to US dollars. Nearest-rank 25th to 75th percentile: ARS 2,000,000 to ARS 3,500,000. SysArmy 2026.1 CLEAN dataset.
462 answers. Survey posted 6 March 2026. SysArmy.
Median monthly gross pay in Argentine pesos for full-time Developer answers that are not paid in or pegged to US dollars. Nearest-rank 25th to 75th percentile: ARS 2,629,844 to ARS 4,500,000. SysArmy 2026.1 CLEAN dataset.
Argentina, paid in or pegged to US dollars
43 answers. Survey posted 6 March 2026. SysArmy.
Median monthly gross pay in Argentine pesos for full-time Developer answers that are paid in or pegged to US dollars. Nearest-rank 25th to 75th percentile: ARS 1,200,000 to ARS 2,400,000. SysArmy 2026.1 CLEAN dataset.
186 answers. Survey posted 6 March 2026. SysArmy.
Median monthly gross pay in Argentine pesos for full-time Developer answers that are paid in or pegged to US dollars. Nearest-rank 25th to 75th percentile: ARS 2,400,000 to ARS 4,300,000. SysArmy 2026.1 CLEAN dataset.
348 answers. Survey posted 6 March 2026. SysArmy.
Median monthly gross pay in Argentine pesos for full-time Developer answers that are paid in or pegged to US dollars. Nearest-rank 25th to 75th percentile: ARS 3,900,000 to ARS 7,415,000. SysArmy 2026.1 CLEAN dataset.
The two Argentina tables stay apart. The dataset marks peso pay separately from pay that is paid in or pegged to US dollars.
Colombia
114 salaries. Updated 21 October 2026. Computrabajo.
Computrabajo average for Desarrollador software in Colombia. The page plots a low of COP 1,200,000 and a high of COP 9,414,900.
108 salaries. Updated 21 October 2026. Computrabajo.
Computrabajo average for Ingeniero de software in Colombia. The page plots a low of COP 1,160,000 and a high of COP 6,200,000.
1,345 salaries. Updated 21 October 2026. Computrabajo.
Computrabajo average for Desarrollador sénior in Colombia. The page plots a low of COP 1,000,000 and a high of COP 9,500,000.
A junior row and a semi-senior row are not here. Computrabajo’s pages for those titles do not print an average. The low and high beside an average are not a seniority ladder. PayScale’s Colombia figures for this job title disagree with themselves across the average and the experience lines, so they are not used.
What the Stack Overflow survey writes in prose
The 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey writes a few salary medians in sentences. The compensation question had 23,928 responses (48.8%). The role chart for developers is not printed as text, so those role medians are not in this table. The rows below are management and specialist roles, not a software-engineer ladder. The same page says senior executives and engineering managers report higher medians ($130k+) than founders, architects, or product managers.
Stack Overflow. 2025 Developer Survey. Prose checked 29 October 2026.
Global median annual salary, as written in the survey prose. Salary, bonuses, and perks, before taxes.
Stack Overflow. 2025 Developer Survey. Prose checked 29 October 2026.
Global median annual salary, as written in the survey prose.
Stack Overflow. 2025 Developer Survey. Prose checked 29 October 2026.
Global median annual salary, as written in the survey prose.
Stack Overflow. 2025 Developer Survey. Prose checked 29 October 2026.
Median salary the survey writes for an engineering manager in the US.
Stack Overflow. 2025 Developer Survey. Prose checked 29 October 2026.
Median salary the survey writes for an engineering manager in Germany.
Stack Overflow. 2025 Developer Survey. Prose checked 29 October 2026.
Median salary the survey writes for an engineering manager in India. This is not the Levels.fyi or PayScale software-engineer figure.
Stack Overflow. 2025 Developer Survey. Prose checked 29 October 2026.
The survey writes this as one range for that group, and says senior executives and engineering managers report higher medians ($130k+). It is not a software-engineer ladder.
What each hiring channel publishes
The salary tables are the developer's pay. This table is the extra amount a channel publishes: a marketplace fee, a network's rate or percentage, or an agency markup. Competitor names appear only next to a figure from that company's page, or from a page that states the figure.
On the marketplace, Arca.ph charges a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay, and only if you hire someone it introduced. Profiles are free to view. There is a 3-month free replacement.
Salary pages. PayScale, Philippines senior. Indeed, Manila. SysArmy dataset. Dates are on each salary row.
Direct hire means you pay the developer the salary you agree. The salary sources do not add a platform fee. They also do not print one fee that covers every country.
Upwork. Checked Oct 28, 2026.
The plan card’s example is that a $100 contract would cost $105, plus a contract initiation fee. Another answer on the same page says the Basic Marketplace fee is 7.99%, so 5% is not the only Basic number there.
Upwork. Checked Oct 28, 2026.
The plan card’s example is that a $100 contract would cost $110, plus a contract initiation fee. Each active direct contract on Business Plus is billed at $49 a month. A one-time fee of up to $4.99 USD applies to new Business Plus contracts under $100 USD.
Upwork. Checked Oct 28, 2026.
Once per new contract. The help article repeats that range.
Toptal FAQ. Toptal developers. Toptal why. Checked Oct 28, 2026.
A flat monthly subscription if you proceed with talent matching. You can cancel at any time. The developers page does not publish a talent rate. The why page lists a recruiting fee of $0 in a comparison table. That $0 is the line in the table. It is not a statement that the engagement is unpaid.
Clutch. Checked Oct 28, 2026.
Hourly rate listed on the Clutch profile. Toptal’s own developers page does not publish this band. This page does not cite one client review.
Arc.dev pricing. Arc.dev homepage. Checked 27 October 2026.
The pricing page lists freelance hires at $15 - $110+, pay per hour. The homepage says there is no cost until you hire.
Arc.dev terms. Arc.dev pricing. Arc.dev hire FAQ. Checked 27 October 2026.
The pricing page lists full-time hires at 20% of the annual salary. The terms say the fee is 20% of the candidate’s first year’s full-time annual compensation, and they also allow a fixed fee of USD 30,000 if Arc cannot get the offer letter. The hire-developers FAQ says that for a first full-time hire, you pay what you want based on the value you see.
Lemon.io billing. Lemon.io comparison. Lemon.io homepage. Checked 27 October 2026.
Typical hourly rates on the billing page, depending on the tech stack, seniority, and scope. The comparison page lists an agreed rate of $55–$120 an hour. The homepage says the minimum is 160 hours and that there are no upfront recruitment or setup fees. This page does not multiply the hourly band by 160.
SHRM, 2016. SHRM, 2022. Mark Feffer, SHRM, July 18, 2016. Later quote: Roy Maurer, SHRM, December 12, 2022.
As reported by SHRM, contingency is usually 20% to 25% of first-year cash compensation, paid only if the role is filled. A search-firm CEO quoted in the later SHRM article put a contingent fee at 20% to 25% of total compensation, only if you hire.
SHRM, 2022. SHRM, 2016. Roy Maurer, SHRM, December 12, 2022. The about 33% line is Mark Feffer, SHRM, July 18, 2016.
A search-firm CEO quoted by SHRM put retained search at 30% to 35% of total compensation, billed in thirds. A consultant quoted in the 2016 article put an executive-search standard at about 33%.
Full Scale. Matt Watson, Full Scale, October 26, 2026
Matt Watson writes that an IT markup is usually 30 to 50 percent over pay. His example, not a rate card, is a $3,000 monthly salary with a 30 percent margin, a $900 fee that month. If pay in the example rises to $3,500, the fee rises to $1,050.
Full Scale. Matt Watson, Full Scale, August 31, 2026
A yearly rate escalator Watson describes in a separate article, applied as two increases of 3 percent.
Arca.ph. Pricing page.
On the marketplace, profiles are free to view. You pay a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay only if you hire someone Arca.ph introduced. There is a 3-month free replacement. Your AI agent, such as Grok, Claude, or ChatGPT, searches and sorts the network.
Left out on purpose
- Frontend, backend, full-stack, DevOps, AI, and mobile developer medians from the 2025 Stack Overflow survey. Those values sit in a chart. The survey page does not print them as text, and this index does not read a number off a chart.
- A United States software-developer median from that survey. The page shows 5,239 US responses (10.7%) beside a median-salary chart and does not print that median in prose.
- A junior software engineer in Singapore, Mexico, or Brazil, and a mid-career software engineer in Mexico. No reliable public figure was found. Brazil’s mid-career PayScale average is higher than the senior average, so that row is left out.
- Junior and semi-senior developers in Colombia. Computrabajo does not print an average for those titles. PayScale’s Colombia figures disagree with themselves, so they are not used. Vietnam is omitted because the PayScale dong figures for this title are not usable.
- A developer rate card from Upwork or from Toptal. Upwork publishes a client service fee. Toptal’s developers page does not publish a talent rate. One Clutch review is not cited.
- Levels.fyi company and city leaderboards, and the report’s half-year split of $190,500 then $195,000. The report publishes them. This index uses the level medians and the country medians, and links the report for the rest.
- Any currency conversion. A peso figure stays in pesos. A US-dollar total-compensation figure stays in dollars.
Keep going
Country detail is on Asia, Latin America, the Philippines, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina. The hiring-budget guide is what a remote software developer costs. Recruiter percentages are in how much recruiters charge. The markup example is in what staff augmentation costs. The fee comparison is in success fee versus hourly markup. Pricing, compare, alternatives, and interview questions are separate pages.
Rate questions
How much does it cost to hire a remote developer?
There is no single rate. PayScale’s average base salary for a senior software engineer in the Philippines is ₱985,539 a year, from 195 profiles, last updated June 30, 2026. Levels.fyi’s 2025 End of Year Pay Report puts United States median total compensation for a senior software engineer at $312,587. Those measure different things. This page does not convert one into the other.
Which seniority levels have a published figure?
Levels.fyi prints United States median total compensation for entry level ($155,000), software engineer ($226,000), senior ($312,587), staff ($457,500), and principal ($551,151) in the report generated 20 December 2025. PayScale, Indeed, SysArmy, and Computrabajo print local-currency rows only where their pages print a figure. A blank level means that source did not print one.
What do freelance marketplaces and vetted networks publish?
Upwork’s client pricing page lists a 5% Basic service fee and a 10% Business Plus service fee, and another answer lists 7.99% on Basic, checked October 28, 2026. Arc.dev lists $15–$110+ an hour for freelance work and 20% of annual salary for a full-time hire, checked October 27, 2026. Lemon.io lists typical rates of $60 to $90 an hour. Toptal’s FAQ lists a $79 monthly subscription and does not publish a talent rate. Clutch lists $100–$149 an hour.
What do recruiters and staff-augmentation firms publish?
As reported by SHRM in 2016, contingency is 20% to 25% of first-year cash compensation. A search-firm CEO quoted by SHRM in 2022 put retained search at 30% to 35% of total compensation. Matt Watson, writing for Full Scale on October 26, 2026, says an IT markup is usually 30 to 50 percent over pay. His $3,000 example produces a $900 fee that month. It is his example, not a rate card.
What does Arca.ph charge when someone is hired?
On the marketplace, Arca.ph charges a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay, and only if you hire someone it introduced. Profiles are free to view. Your AI agent, such as Grok, Claude, or ChatGPT, searches and sorts the network. There is a 3-month free replacement. The salary tables on this page are market figures from other publishers. They are not an Arca.ph price.
See the developers, then decide.
Profiles are free to view. On the marketplace, you pay a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay only if you hire someone Arca.ph introduced.