Everyone talks about “competitive salaries” in Europe.
Here’s what that actually means in euros — for tech roles, right now.
📊 Average tech salary ranges by country (2026 data):
🇨🇠Switzerland: €95k–€120k
🇱🇺 Luxembourg: €75k–€95k
🇮🇪 Ireland: €60k–€78k
🇩🇰 Denmark: €62k–€76k
🇳🇱 Netherlands: €60k–€75k
🇩🇪 Germany: €65k–€80k
🇬🇧 United Kingdom: €65k–€78k
🇸🇪 Sweden: €55k–€68k
🇫🇷 France: €48k–€65k
🇪🇸 Spain: €38k–€52k
🇵🇱 Poland: €30k–€50k
🇵🇹 Portugal: €28k–€45k
🇷🇴 Romania: €25k–€42k
(Sources: EuroSalary.eu 2026 — Eurostat + verified job posting data | CompVerdict 2026 official government statistics | CareerCheck.io Tech Salaries Europe 2026)
3 things this data tells you:
1. The East-West gap is still massive — but Eastern Europe is closing it fast.
Switzerland pays 3x more than Romania for the same role. But Eastern Europe posted 20%+ salary growth over the past 4 years — the fastest in the continent. The gap is real, but it’s moving.
2. “Hot skills” carry a 20–30% premium above these medians.
Senior engineers at major tech firms in Amsterdam, Dublin, or Stockholm are hitting €150k–€200k including equity. DevOps, ML, and Security talent consistently earns well above country medians — everywhere.
3. The EU Pay Transparency Directive is now law.
The transposition deadline was 7 June 2026. Companies with 150+ employees must now publish salary ranges and begin tracking gender pay gaps — with first reports due in 2027 covering 2026 data. If you’re still posting “competitive salary” without a number, you’re already behind.
One more stat that should keep every hiring manager awake:
The average tenure for an IT professional in Europe is just 19 months.
Replacing one engineer costs you roughly 6–9 months of their salary in lost productivity, recruiter fees, and onboarding time.
Underpaying to save money is the most expensive decision you can make.
Are your offers competitive? Or are you just hoping candidates won’t Google it?
📌 Sources: EuroSalary.eu 2026 (eurosalary.eu) | CompVerdict Software Engineer Salaries Europe 2026 (compverdict.com) | CareerCheck.io Tech Salaries Europe 2026 | Ogletree Deakins — EU Pay Transparency Directive Update May 2026 | ScaleTwice Tech Salaries 2026
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