Remote Software Engineer Salary Insights
With international hiring booming, employers and candidates are wondering: How do salaries for software engineers working for U.S. companies stack up?
Our Remote Software Engineer Salary Insights include data from 260K+ candidates and hired in-market employees. Employers can better inform hiring decisions, and candidates can understand their earning potential.
Canada
Median Salary for Software Engineer: $131,958
Salaries are 28% lower than the U.S.
Close in proximity and culture to the U.S., Canada’s tech salaries are higher than those in Latin America and Europe — though significantly lower than U.S. salaries.
Latin America
Median Salary for Software Engineers: ~$99,300
Salaries are 46% lower than the U.S.
A premier nearshore tech talent region, Latin America’s salaries are comparable across countries, including Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
Global Remote Software Engineer Salary Takeaways
Highest Paid Roles: AI Engineer & Data Scientist
Lowest Paid Role: Designer
Data-driven and specialized roles — like AI and data science — are in high demand and come with steeper price tags. Less technical roles like designers and data analysts sit at the lower end of the payscale. Meanwhile, traditional software engineering roles like backend, frontend, and full-stack engineers fall in the middle of the salary range.
Biggest Salary Growth: Typically Mid-Career
The biggest salary growth typically occurs mid-career, between the middle and senior levels. The one exception to this trend is Canada, where the largest salary boost comes much earlier, between the entry and junior career levels.
Employment Costs: Range Between 9 and 40%
Employment costs - mandatory benefits and taxes employers pay as a percentage of the employee salary - vary considerably. In Latin America, median salaries are roughly equivalent—$99,300+. However, Chile has a 9% added employment cost, while Costa Rica’s is 40%, significantly affecting the cost of hiring a tech professional.
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About Our Remote Engineer Salary Data
Terminal collected salary expectations for full-time employment from more than 260,000 candidates across 10 countries. Our data sources also include nearly 500 job postings and 1,000 employed engineers sourced through Terminal. This data was cleaned, normalized, and modeled to represent an accurate picture of salary expectations in each country.
Want in-depth expert insights about this data?
Download our comprehensive Remote Engineer Salary Insights Report. Packed with data and insights about global tech talent salaries, the report offers invaluable information for individuals and teams.
Browse Global Remote Software Engineer Salaries
Explore salaries for remote software engineers working for U.S. companies from Canada, Latin America, and Europe.
Canada
Colombia
Mexico