Startup Salaries in Europe

Living in Berlin, various StartUp experiences.

2013: 34k (junior Frontend)

2014: 40k (Fullstack JS)

2015: 50k (Frontend)

2016: 60k (Frontend)

Went freelancing after this...

2020: 85k offer for Senior Software Engineer

All numbers are from StartUps. You have to know however that you probably won't find a unicorn in Europe just yet. It's not the same mentality as in the US.

I currently work for a US company with a European location, and it differs quite a lot.

30+ days holidays + country wide holidays 38h work week Free day care where I live

I checked and I would have to earn around 140k in New York or 280k in San Francisco to have the "same" quality of life as 85k in Berlin buys me. However, in Berlin I have additional benefits like the ones mentioned above. I pay around 1100 Euros for a 110qm apartment "downtown" and have no car.

There is a spreadsheet for France (in French). It's quite Paris-centric, but it gives an idea. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Zjvz-Ud2TR3rco2BTq0X...

A good rule of thumb (although it's difficult to summarize the salaries of all the countries in Europe) is: Juniors up to 30K. Mediors up to 50K. Seniors up to 80K.

This is for software engineers.

I made about 2x less in Europe than the US in a similar sized startup, this is in product management.

But there were other perks- 35 days minimum vacation (I was required to take those days by law), a very clear work life balance, more relaxed work environment and a better quality of life overall.

I did end up moving back to the US to make 3x more (money is important to me right now), but am planning to return after my wife and I have kids- the quality of life differences are just too great.

I live in Athens, Greece, work for a company that calls itself a startup (but has been around for a decade) and I make ~35k a year.

My general sentiment is that locally that's more than what most startups are paying, but at the same time most startups aren't hiring mid-senior people.

As far as regular tech companies go, it's a good but not great salary.

There is this survey from 2017: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15088840

Answers here: https://goo.gl/X45Dtt

Maybe worth a re-post on HN.

UK, small county with growing tech scene. My personal experience:

Junior - £16-18k

Mid Web Developer - £30k

Very early startup React/Laravel - £28-30k

Senior/Head of Web Development - £30k

Software Developer - ~£42k

Expected future salary - £50k-£60k (~15 years experience)

Reading HN can give you a very unrealistic view of salaries when you look at the UK outside of London.

Happy to give you specific salaries for London, UK. Let me know what roles you're interested in and I'll post numbers.

For context, I've been running talent functions for tech startups in London for about ten years as well as running a number of tech job boards over the years.

How does equity or stock options work in Europe?

Is it as common as the US? What is normal for percentages/allotments?

in London

30-45 - junior

45-60 - mid

60-80 - senior

80-95 - principal

95-120 - vp