SWE Salary by Experience Comparison

Understanding how your software engineering (SWE) compensation stacks up across experience levels is crucial for career planning, salary negotiations, or evaluating job offers. Our SWE Salary by Experience Comparison Tool provides an estimate of total compensation (base salary, bonuses, and equity) based on years of experience at FAANG/MANGA companies and other tech employers.

Compensation in Big Tech varies dramatically by experience. Entry-level engineers (0-2 years) at FAANG/MANGA companies typically earn between $150,000 to $250,000 in total compensation, while mid-level engineers (3-6 years) see ranges from $200,000 to $400,000. Senior engineers (10+ years) can command $350,000 to $700,000 or more, depending on the company, location, and performance.

This tool uses public data from Levels.fyi (the most comprehensive SWE compensation dataset), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), LinkedIn Talent Insights, and Glassdoor to generate estimates. Adjust the inputs to reflect your company tier, location, education, and bonus/equity expectations for a personalized estimate.

Note: All figures are ESTIMATES and should not be treated as precise guarantees. Compensation packages can vary widely even within the same company and experience level due to performance, negotiation skills, and organizational budgets.

Use this SWE salary by experience comparison tool to benchmark your current compensation, evaluate job offers, or plan your next career move in Big Tech.

How It Works

This calculator estimates total annual compensation (base salary, bonus, and equity) for software engineers based on years of experience, company tier, location, and other factors. Here's how to use it:

1. Years of Experience: Select your experience level. The tool uses ranges to group similar compensation bands.
2. Company Tier: Choose the type of company. FAANG/MANGA companies pay significantly more than the BLS median for software engineers.
3. Location Adjustment: Adjust for cost of living. Bay Area salaries are used as the baseline, with multipliers for other regions.
4. Education Bonus: Add a bonus for advanced degrees (Master's or PhD), which can increase base salary by $10K-$20K at some companies.
5. Bonus Target: Input your expected annual bonus percentage (typically 10-15% at FAANG).
6. RSU Grant Value: Estimate the annual value of restricted stock units (RSUs) granted. This varies widely by company and experience level.

The tool calculates your base salary, bonus, and estimated RSU grant value to generate your total compensation estimate.

Methodology Note

All data in this tool is ESTIMATED based on public sources and should not be considered definitive. Here's how we derived the numbers:

• Base Salary: Scaled using Levels.fyi data for FAANG/MANGA companies, cross-referenced with BLS data for non-FAANG salaries. The formula uses a base of $75K (BLS median for SWEs) plus $25K per year of experience (FAANG scaling).
• Company Tier Multipliers: Top FAANG (e.g., Meta, Google) pay ~20% more than the FAANG average, while non-FAANG companies pay ~20% less than the BLS median.
• Location Adjustments: Based on Levels.fyi and LinkedIn Talent Insights data. The Bay Area is the highest-paying region for SWEs, with Seattle (~10% less) and NYC (~15% less) following.
• Education Bonus: Glassdoor and Levels.fyi suggest advanced degrees can add $10K-$20K to base salaries, though this varies by company.
• Bonus Targets: FAANG companies typically offer 10-15% annual bonuses, with top performers earning up to 20%. Non-FAANG bonuses are often lower or non-existent.
• RSU Grants: Levels.fyi data shows RSU grants can range from 10% of base (non-FAANG) to 50% of base (senior/staff levels at top companies). RSUs are volatile and vest over time.

Sources: Levels.fyi (2023), Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2022), LinkedIn Talent Insights, Glassdoor.

Frequently Asked Questions