Salary transparency in tech is getting better, but it is still messy. Some companies post a clean annual base salary range. Others post hourly rates. Others post monthly salary bands in local currency. And plenty of listings still avoid numbers entirely.
So we decided to put some structure around it.
Using a dataset of roughly 10,000 job listings posted on The SaaS Jobs, we normalized posted compensation into a single format so software engineers can compare roles on a like-for-like basis. This write-up is focused specifically on software engineer roles at SaaS companies, and it uses only roles where the employer provided usable compensation data.
A key note up front: not every job post includes salary information. The analysis below is based on the subset of software engineer-like listings that included both a minimum and maximum compensation figure, plus a currency and pay time frame we could reliably normalize. That means the numbers are informative, but they are not the final word on the entire market. Think of this as a “what companies are willing to publish” view of 2026.
What we analyzed and how we normalized it
We started with approximately 10,000 job listings from The SaaS Jobs dataset. From there, we filtered to roles with titles akin to:
- Software Engineer
- Software Developer
- Backend Engineer
- Frontend Engineer
- Full Stack Engineer
We also excluded titles that commonly reflect a different job family (for example, Engineering Manager, Solutions Engineer, QA, DevOps, SRE), because those roles often have different compensation structures and market bands.
Normalization rules
To make salaries comparable, we normalized compensation to USD and an annual time frame:
- Annual pay: kept as-is
- Monthly pay: multiplied by 12
- Hourly pay: multiplied by 2,080 (40 hours per week for 52 weeks)
For currency conversion, we used spot FX rates around late January 2026 for the currencies present in the dataset (primarily USD, GBP, and EUR). This is a pragmatic step for comparison, not an attempt to perfectly model real-world currency movement.
What “average salary range” means here
Each job has a posted minimum and maximum. We compute:
- Average minimum: mean of all minimums
- Average maximum: mean of all maximums
- Average midpoint: mean of each job’s midpoint, where midpoint = (min + max) / 2
That midpoint is useful because it provides a single “center of gravity” number for comparison.
Overall posted salary range (software engineer roles in SaaS)
- Average range: $216,701 to $304,662
- Average midpoint: $260,682
At first glance, these numbers are high. Two reasons explain that:
- The dataset includes a meaningful share of roles from US-based employers and US pay bands, which tend to be higher than many other markets.
- The roles that publish salary ranges are not randomly distributed. More mature companies and companies hiring in competitive talent markets are often more likely to publish ranges, and those ranges may skew higher.
So rather than treating the averages as “the market rate,” treat them as “the published market for SaaS software engineer roles that disclose comp.”
What the distribution looks like (not just the average)
Averages can hide a lot. Here are a few distribution checkpoints that give a better feel for what you might actually see when job hunting:
- Median minimum: about $217,500
- Median maximum: about $290,000
- 25th percentile minimum: about $170,000
- 75th percentile maximum: about $405,000
In plain English: published ranges in SaaS vary a lot, and the upper end stretches far above what many people think of as a typical software engineer salary. That is especially true for roles at companies competing for talent in highly profitable product lines, security-heavy areas, high-scale infrastructure, and major US hubs.
US vs non-US: what changes when geography changes
One of the most common questions we see from job seekers is whether US pay really dominates once you normalize everything. In this dataset, the answer is yes, but the gap is not always as dramatic as people expect, depending on the role type and company.
US-only vs non-US (annual USD)
US
- Average range: $218,646 to $310,342
- Average midpoint: $264,494
Non-US
- Average range: $213,210 to $294,466
- Average midpoint: $253,838
How to interpret this
- The US midpoint is higher, but not wildly higher in this particular subset of published salary ranges.
- A major reason is that many non-US listings in SaaS are for roles at global companies that anchor comp in a strong band, even if the employee is outside the US.
- Another reason is selection bias: companies posting salary ranges outside the US may skew toward larger, more standardized employers that already compete internationally.
If you are based outside the US, the takeaway is not “you will earn US money.” The takeaway is: there are plenty of non-US software engineer roles in SaaS that publish competitive bands, and currency normalization shows that many are closer to US levels than older salary folklore suggests.
Remote vs on-site: the numbers that surprise people
Remote work has matured. The market is no longer a single chaotic experiment. Companies have clearer remote policies, clearer location constraints, and more structured salary frameworks.
In our dataset, remote roles actually posted lower averages than on-site roles.
Remote-only vs on-site (annual USD)
Remote
- Average range: $179,438 to $243,921
- Average midpoint: $211,680
On-site
- Average range: $224,939 to $318,089
- Average midpoint: $271,514
Why remote looks lower here
This does not necessarily mean remote work pays less in general. It means that, in this dataset of published ranges:
- Many high-paying roles are tied to specific locations (often US hubs) and are marked on-site or not-remote.
- Some remote roles are posted with broader location eligibility, and employers may benchmark pay to wider bands, sometimes anchored to lower-cost regions.
- Remote roles may include more international hires where base salary is lower but total compensation can vary widely depending on equity, benefits, and local norms.
If you are remote-first as a job seeker, this is still good news. A $210k average midpoint in published SaaS salary ranges is not a “low” market. It is a reminder to read the details: remote eligibility, location constraints, and whether the employer adjusts salary by region.
A practical guide to reading salary ranges in 2026
Salary ranges are not a promise. They are a policy artifact. Here is how to extract signal from them.
1) A wide range often signals flexibility, not generosity
A band like $180k to $380k can mean:
- multiple levels are being hired under one job posting, or
- the company is using a broad global range, or
- comp depends heavily on location, scope, and interview performance.
When you see a very wide band, focus on:
- the midpoint as an anchor
- the responsibilities and expectations
- any language about “depending on location” or “leveling”
2) A narrow range can be a strong indicator of leveling maturity
If the range is tight, the company likely has:
- a defined leveling framework
- consistent internal comp bands
- less room for negotiation, but often more clarity
3) Posted salary is typically base pay, not total compensation
Many SaaS companies pay meaningful value through:
- equity (RSUs or options)
- bonuses
- benefits (health coverage, retirement contributions, home office stipends)
When comparing two roles with similar base salary, the real decision often comes down to:
- equity package size and realism of its value
- company stage and risk profile
- refresh grants and promotion velocity
4) Time frame and currency matter more than people think
Monthly or hourly postings can hide surprises when normalized:
- Hourly rates can look modest but annualize high if full-time.
- Monthly salaries can be misleading if you assume US-style annual structure.
- Currency conversion is a comparison tool, not a guarantee of purchasing power.
What software engineer job seekers should do with this data
Here are a few concrete ways to use these benchmarks in your search.
Use the midpoint as your negotiation anchor
If a listing says $200k to $300k, the midpoint is $250k. That midpoint is usually close to the “target” pay for a fully qualified candidate at the intended level in the intended location.
A simple approach:
- If you match the role strongly, anchor near or above the midpoint.
- If you are a stretch candidate or changing domains, anchor closer to the lower half.
- If the company is flexible on level, ask early what level they are hiring for.
Calibrate expectations by geography and work mode
Based on this dataset of published SaaS software engineer ranges:
- US roles trend higher than non-US roles.
- On-site roles trend higher than remote roles.
That does not mean you should avoid remote roles. It means you should be more deliberate:
- Ask whether salary is location-adjusted.
- Ask what locations are eligible.
- Ask whether the band includes multiple levels.
Decide what you are optimizing for
Many software engineers get trapped comparing salaries as if they are the only variable. In SaaS, the bigger long-term drivers can be:
- growth opportunities and promotion velocity
- quality of mentorship and engineering culture
- product trajectory and company fundamentals
- equity upside that is actually plausible
Salary matters. It also should not be the only thing that matters.
Limitations and what to keep in mind
This analysis is useful, but it has constraints:
- It reflects posted salary ranges only, not all jobs.
- It does not include equity, bonus, or benefits, which can materially change total compensation.
- It uses standardized annualization assumptions (for example, 2,080 hours for hourly roles).
- It normalizes currencies using spot FX rates, which can shift over time.
- Job titles are not perfectly consistent across companies, especially in SaaS, where leveling conventions vary.
Even with those limitations, the dataset provides a strong, grounded view into what SaaS employers are willing to publish in 2026 for software engineer roles.
The takeaway for 2026
If you are a software engineer considering SaaS roles in 2026, the market is still offering strong compensation, especially for roles at competitive employers that publish transparent ranges.
From our analysis of published ranges on The SaaS Jobs:
- Overall average posted range: $216,701 to $304,662, midpoint $260,682
- US midpoint: $264,494, non-US midpoint: $253,838
- Remote midpoint: $211,680, on-site midpoint: $271,514
The most important lesson is not a single number. It is that published salary ranges are increasingly common, and when you normalize them properly, you can compare opportunities far more confidently.
If you want to browse software engineer roles in SaaS with transparent salary ranges, The SaaS Jobs is built for exactly that.
