Software Engineer Salary per Hour: Worldwide Rates Comparison in 2022

The IT industry is a massive and fast-growing field that has become one of the most demanded professions globally. This article is Qubit Labs‘ global research on rates of software engineers per hour. It will help you learn about developers’ salaries per hour worldwide with comparisons and facts that help you choose the best hiring destination. 

What Factors Affect Software Engineer Hourly Salary?

As mentioned, a few critical factors affect developers’ hourly rates—delving into them in more detail:

1. The Level of Relevant Experience

This is one of the primary factors that affect developers’ hourly rates. There are three main titles in the IT industry that highlight relevant experience: Junior, Middle, and Senior. 

2. Geographic Factors

Unsurprisingly, the employee’s salary ranges depending on location. Factors such as the cost of living in the country/state, taxes, and the size of the city affect the average hourly rate for a software developer. 

3. Level of Hard and Soft Skills.

Of course, the developers’ skills are one of the main factors that will affect the salary and hourly rates.
Programming languages like Java, Python, JavaScript, Ruby, and Node.js have considerable demand among the companies. Those factors also increased the hourly rates. Technical skills are a must, but facts about software developers reveal that nearly 60% of recruiters are more focused on finding tech employees with hard and soft skills.

The higher the level of hard and soft skills, the more the developer can do for your business, but you should be ready to increase the rate. 

4. Industry you Work in 

Another vital factor you should pay attention to is the industry and sphere of your projects. In 2022 the best-paid developers will work in the “Insurance” industry, followed by “Healthcare“, “Finance,” and “Aerospace.” 

5. Negotiation Strength of the Employee

While the stereotypical programmer is often portrayed as an introvert, it is undeniable that the ability of the employee to sell themselves to the employer is essential. Hence the more significant the presentability, communication & negotiation skills of the programmer, the higher salary he will be able to achieve. 

Software Developer Salary per Hour in the World 2022

A software developer salary per hour can vary depending on seniority level and experience. And the resources in different countries can be impolitely high.

As we can see below, the location, level of experience, and level of taxes are the strongest factors for the average hourly rate for software developers around the world. 

Let’s have a closer look at the hourly rates of software developers globally:

How Much Do Software Developers Make an Hour in North America?

The USA

The USA is the largest tech development market in the world. In 2022, the software development market in the USA has 28% of the world’s market share and includes the IT and business services. Software engineer salary per hour in USA depends on many factors you should pay attention to.

Besides generating the biggest share of revenue and giving out the biggest salaries, the USA includes one of the best IT company giants. Not surprising why the USA releases so many great software solutions highly praised worldwide.

As you could notice the hourly rate of software developers in the USA depends on the State as the taxes rate is different. For example, the highest hourly rates among States are in New York, California, and Los Angeles.

Let’s have a look at what the software engineer salary per hour in US is: 

New York

The Big Apple is a massive field for well-educated and highly hourly rated developers. New York is one of the biggest cities in the USA with a high level of tax and standards of living. For beginners in the IT field and Juniors, developers’ rates are around $42-50 per hour, for Middle developers it can be around $55-65 hourly, for developers with years of experience you should be ready for hourly rates around $65-73. 

California
Wealthy and expensive State with a large number of well-driven and ambitious IT developers. Software engineer salary in California per hour is approximately $33-42, the more experienced specialists can charge $46-57 hourly, for Senior developers rates are $59-68 per hour of their work.

Texas
An average hourly wage of a junior-level developer in Texas is $20-37, for more experienced coders the hourly rates are around $38-43, and Seniors charge around $44-55 per hour.

Delaver 

Software developers in Delaver charge $18-27 for junior level, $29-37 for middle-level developers, and seniors charge around $48-65 per hour. 

New Jersey 

New Jersey earnings are average, related to other regions, with payment for junior-level developers ranging from $29 to $33 and experienced coders pricing their work at $35 to $46. Senior specialists with over 3 years of experience make from $48 to $54 an hour. 

Michigan 

In Michigan the average hourly rate for junior IT developers is $25-34, for middle experienced developers is $36-43 and seniors can easily charge $45-54 per hour.

Colorado

In Colorado, the payment for a junior-level programmer starts at $29 and reaches $32, while for a middle-level specialist this number equals $34-$45 for the same period. As for senior-level jobs, they are paid at $47-$51 per hour.

Canada

Canada as a wealthy country provides a lot of tech gurus as it is a great place for high-quality education, professional courses and the latest technologies. The IT industry in Canada is well-developed and growing each year. 

Let’s see what the software developer salary per hour in Canada is:

For junior developers hourly rate is $19-30, for middle ones – $32-42 and seniors can charge $45-51 per hour.

Mexico

For the past few years Mexico gained a popularity among other counties in North America where to find qualified IT developers. Mexico had around 225 thousand software developers which is quite impressive. 

Junior software developers in Mexico charge around $2-5 per hour, middle software developers will charge $6-8 and a seniors rate per hour will be around $10-15.

Costa Rica

Unsurprisingly, Costa Rica is a great destination to hire diligent, ambitious and relatively cheap IT developers. Never heard of it? Let’s have a quick look at the hourly rates: 

Junior IT developer in Costa Rica charge around $3-7 per hour as long as middle software developer charge $8-10 and senior with years of experience will cost you $11-15

How Much Does a Software Developer Make an Hour in Latin America?

In 2022, there were approximately 500,000 software developers involved in offshore development in Brazil, while Argentina totaled over 100,000.

In addition, developers in Latin America are keeping up with the top software development technologies, using Python, Java Script, and HTML as their top programming languages making them a demanding expert when working with different clients. 

Brazil

Did you know that over one million software engineers are located in Latin America, with over 470,000 of them currently living and working in Brazil!
And the rates there for software engineers are relatively low. In Brazil a junior software engineer charges $5-8 per hour, hourly rate for a middle software engineer is around $9-11, seniors will charge you around $13-16.

Argentina 

Argentina is becoming more and more popular for hiring software developers as it has a lot of good specialists, low taxes and hiring there will cost you a lot less than hiring developers in Western Europe, for example. 

In Argentina junior developers charge $3-5 per hour, middle one around $10-15 and senior developers with years of experience will cost you $20-30. 

What is the Average Hourly Rate for a Software Developer in Western Europe?

Western Europe makes attempts to become a strong leader in the software development market. The largest segment in Europe is also enterprise software covering $56,505 million in revenue. When it comes to the number of software developers by country, Germany, the UK, and France take the top three spots.

Germany

Germany has the highest number of developers – 873,398. Although its size makes Germany an interesting market, many companies are not interested in cooperation with German software developers as they charge quite a lot.

According to our research an average developer salary per hour in Germany ranges from $19 to $25 for junior-level specialists. Middle-level and senior pros require $27-$35 to $40-$55 for their hourly services respectively.

The United Kingdom

The UK is one of the top ranked hubs for IT developers, counting 813,500 of them.
The IT sector in the UK is growing faster each year which makes it one of the biggest IT hubs. Technicals Universities graduate thousands of new IT specialists. As a junior software developer you can count on $22-33 per hour, if you have more experience and become a middle you charge $34-46 and for seniors hourly rate will be $41-57 per hour.

Denmark 

The IT sector in Denmark goes through hard times. Despite Denmark having a low rate of unemployment and an economy which continues to improve, Denmark is facing a serious talent shortage. Denmark is expected a big shortage of 19,000 IT developers by 2030.

Nevertheless if you are a junior software developer in Denmark you can charge $16-20, for middle ones it is around $35-42 and for seniors it can cost from $36 up to $45 per hour.

Netherlands

The Netherlands has the sixth-highest GDP in Europe. An impressive 60% of all Forbes 2000 IT companies have established operations in the Netherlands, making the country a real IT hotspot. With 19 professional developers per 1000 inhabitants, the Netherlands has the highest density of software developers in the EU.

Junior developers in the Netherlands charge $18-25 per hour, middle software developers would ask for $31-42 per hour of their work and seniors charge $35-45 per hour.

Norway

Norway has a good economy and a low unemployment rate. With at least 80,000 people working in the IT industry, the gap between supply and demand for IT skills is currently continuing to rise in Norway. Almost 30% of companies cite a shortage of IT expertise as the principal obstacle to growth. 

In Norway , interns and junior programmers cost a company from $17 up to $22. More experienced coders make from $25 to $34 for middle level and $35-$39 for senior specialists.

France 

The French software and services market in the country amounts to over $57 billion. The size of software development and mobile application development software in France makes it a competitive player in the software industry. As a result, France became popular in the European IT community.

Most junior software developers earn $18-$23 for their hourly services. As for middle and senior-level coders, they charge up to $28-$32 and $34-$40 per hour respectively.

Italy

The economic situation in Italy can be called quite unstable, still it has a big number of IT developers with a lot of experience in the technologies and variety of skills. The economic situations in the county make their services a bit less expensive than in other Western European countries. 

Italy statistics suggest junior-level earnings from $10 to $18 rising to $19-$29 for senior specialists. Middle-level programmers get an hourly salary of $30 to $36.

Software Developers Hourly Rates in Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is home to over 200,000 outsourcing programmers with science, technology, and engineering degrees. Many tech firms opt to outsource such jobs to Ukrainian vendors in an effort to benefit from budget-friendly IT expertise. Average hourly rate for software developer in Eastern Europe also ranges differently and depends on level of hard and soft skills 

All of that combined with the perfect cost-to-quality ratio makes outsourcing software development to Eastern Europe a perfect option. More and more brands today switch to leading Eastern European software development companies.

Let’s have a look at how much software developers make an hour in Eastern Europe:

Poland

In Poland, there are over 295,000 software developers who are skilled enough to work on projects of different complexity levels. The country offers a great “mixture” of ambitious graduates who want to dive deeper into the tech world and their more experienced colleagues with impressive portfolios.

Junior software developer in Poland make from $10 to $13 hourly, middle developer charge $15-23 per hour and experienced and skilled senior developer would ask from $24 to $30.

Ukraine

Competitive prices for Ukrainian developers, an ever-growing talent pool, and extensive experience in this sphere skyrocketed the advancement of the local IT industry. Big development hubs are located in Ukraine and employ thousands of developers who work on projects for international companies.

If you are just starting your career as a software developer in Ukraine you can easily charge from $7 to $10 per hour. Middle IT developers in Ukraine earn $11-18 per hour and seniors charge around $21-28 hourly.

Romania

The IT sector in the country has rapidly advanced during the last 20 years, making software development outsourcing in Romania one of the most popular choices for Western companies in the Eastern European region. Romania is the second-largest country n Eastern Europe, right after Ukraine. It has around 120,000 IT specialists who work at the best software development companies in Romania and boast impressive professional backgrounds.

In Romania, junior developers charge between $5 and $10, while middle-level coders’ services cost around $12 to 15 per month. As for senior programmers, they get between $13 and $17.

Moldova

Countries with experienced and diligent specialists, but most people don’t even know about one country with a big talent pool in the IT sector. Moldova is full of specialists in data analytics, UI/UX design, development of software, application, mobile software development, and even data visualization.

The entry-level developer salary in Moldova ranges from $10 to $18, while senior-level specialists charge between $42 and $50. Middle-level developers charge from $20 to $24.

Software Developer Hourly Rates in Asia 

Caucasus Region

The primary focus of the technology sector in the Caucasus Region is on attracting international donors and investors. The cost of software development in this region currently varies from $20 to $65 per hour, 10% of all rates are $20-35 per hour, and approximately 10% – is more than $60 an hour.  

Georgia

Georgia has a unique geographical location because it’s the only country in the region that has a direct connection with the European infrastructure. Local authorities are considering turning the country into a digital hub, significantly affecting foreign companies’ chances of finding top developers in Georgia.

The junior software developer salary per hour in Georgia goes from $10 to $15 per hour. Middle developers charge around $18-20 and seniors charge from $21 to $30 per hour.

Armenia 

The establishment of Armenian IT companies is gaining momentum because the country decided to emphasize the advancement of its tech industry.
The startup ecosystem in Armenia is growing in leaps and bounds. There are several world-known startups that have their roots in Armenia.

So it’s not surprising that Armenia has a big talent pool with experienced developers. Let’s look closer at their hourly rate. 

Junior software developer in Armenia earns from $11 to $19 per hour while the middle developer charge from $25 to $38 hourly, senior software developer will ask about $40-55 per hour for their job.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is experiencing the appearance of startups that have high chances of taking leading positions on a global scale. Yet, the government isn’t focusing enough on creating the programs that might help this industry skyrocket.

Hourly rate for junior developers in Azerbaijan is $10-18 per hour, middle-level developers earn $20-28 per hour and seniors $29-35.

Kazahstan

Kazakhstan has made a significant leap in the development of several spheres of the economy, especially in the IT industry. The local government is the leading partner, investor, and employer in the IT sphere. Large volumes of funding for various projects and other means of stimulating the tech industry have led to the successful implementation of innovative technologies and the growth of the number of local IT companies. 

In Kazakhstan junior developers earn about $7-10 hourly, middle developers get $11-15 and the senior developers with years of experience charge $16-25 per hour.

South Asia

The reason why India and Philippines became such popular outsourcing destinations is quite simple: they offered software outsourcing services for a really low cost, something other countries simply didn’t afford before.

India

India is definitely the leading nation within the software development outsourcing field. That is mainly because the country has a huge talent pool with different skill levels that combine to provide great value to any company. India is also considered to be among the best countries to offer excellent value software development services at affordable prices.

The average hourly rate for software developer in India is about $2-5 per hour, as long as the middle developer charges $5-11 and the experienced senior developer will charge $12-18. 

Philippines

The Philippines is becoming a popular destination for hiring software developers as the hourly rates there are quite cheap but still developers are well educated and ambitious. 

Junior developers charge approximately $3-5 per hour, middle experienced ones could ask around $7-10 for their work and seniors charge around $8-13 per their work. 

How Much Do Software Engineers Make an Hour in Australia?

Despite the isolated location, the IT industry in Australia continues growing rapidly. Big demand for Australian software engineers has increased a lot in the past few years. And it is not surprising. Australia has a large number of diligent, talented and experienced developers. The custom Australian software development market employed more than 104,000 programmers in 2022. The Australian Financial Review predicts a whopping amount of $84.8 billion in technology spending.

As for salaries and rates – entry-level positions start at $45 and up to $65 per hour, while most experienced workers make up to $90 per hour.

Full-stack developers who can develop for the cloud and work with Redis or React are the best-paid in their field, earning an average of $95-100 per hour. For front-end developers, expertise in React charge is $105 for their work.

How to Choose the Best Location to Find Software Developers? 

The whole world is a huge talent pool of developers and this field keeps growing faster and faster. More companies from all over the world need software developers for their business and projects but we talk about hiring people – where is the best destination to find software developers? There are a few important factors:

1. Salary Rates 

One of the most important factors to think about. What is the budget you have? In different countries there are different hourly rates among developers. Taxes play an important role in salary formation as these are obligatory in every country. Deducing tax payment should not leave the developer with less than a basic salary. It is considered to be illegal.

2. Time Zone and Location

Also the transport communication is important for pricing ranging. You should also think about if you plan to visit your developers somehow in person. Therefore, if you are from Europe and are looking for a software development partner, we would recommend you to choose the one from countries in the Eastern Europe or Caucasus Region to have the same time zone, and benefit from location proximity. 

3. Level of Education 

The higher level of education – the higher chance that you found a really diligent and driven professional who can work on the result. Of course, to be up to date with new technologies, developers need to continue to self-educate and take additional training and courses. Opportunities for further education are becoming more widespread, administered privately by highly experienced practitioners from the IT Industry

4. Language Skills 

Last but not least is to pay attention to their English level skills. The English level of software developers is highly important for successful cooperation. Overall developers in all reviewed countries have a good level of English as it is basically a basic requirement for the IT industry.

Let us Find Developers Who Grow Your Business

In conclusion, finding the right specialist can be really difficult. There are a massive amount of factors which affect their rates and salaries plus you have to spend a lot of time getting in touch with everybody. What could we recommend? Qubit Labs knows where to find the best candidate that suits your projects, budget and preferences.