Software Engineer Contract Job Trends in Bristol

Software Engineer
South West > Bristol

The median Software Engineer daily rate in Bristol is £400, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 29 December 2025.

The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
29 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 9 8 36
Rank change year-on-year -1 +28 -1
Contract jobs requiring a Software Engineer 82 77 44
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 9.74% 11.36% 4.52%
As % of the Job Titles category 10.46% 11.76% 4.73%
Number of daily rates quoted 7 6 9
10th Percentile £67 £230 £390
25th Percentile £225 £285 £463
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £400 £475 £550
Median % change year-on-year -15.79% -13.64% +13.87%
75th Percentile £607 £572 -
90th Percentile £695 £594 £720
South West median daily rate £449 £550 £539
% change year-on-year -18.45% +2.04% -10.17%
Number of hourly rates quoted 71 37 30
10th Percentile £61.25 £61.05 £61.25
25th Percentile - £62.00 -
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.50 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -0.76% +0.77% -0.76%
75th Percentile - £68.75 £70.00
90th Percentile - £70.00 -
South West median hourly rate £65.00 £66.50 £65.00
% change year-on-year -2.26% +2.31% -0.76%

All Contract IT Job Roles
Bristol

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in Bristol. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of contract jobs in our overall sample.

Contract vacancies in Bristol with a recognized job title 784 655 931
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 93.11% 96.61% 95.68%
Number of daily rates quoted 395 361 576
10th Percentile £231 £200 £263
25th Percentile £400 £350 £381
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £475 £525
Median % change year-on-year +5.26% -9.52% +5.00%
75th Percentile £600 £600 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £700
South West median daily rate £525 £500 £526
% change year-on-year +5.00% -4.99% +0.24%
Number of hourly rates quoted 187 79 127
10th Percentile £17.69 £33.05 £40.60
25th Percentile £25.15 £58.63 £57.50
Median hourly rate £62.50 £65.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year -3.85% - -
75th Percentile £65.00 £69.38 £76.63
90th Percentile £67.84 £75.00 £83.40
South West median hourly rate £40.00 £65.00 £59.68
% change year-on-year -38.46% +8.91% -8.18%

Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in Bristol

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings featuring 'Software Engineer' in the job title relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in Bristol.

Software Engineer job vacancy trend in Bristol

Software Engineer
Daily Rate Trend in Bristol

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in Bristol.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in Bristol

Software Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram in Bristol

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Software Engineer in Bristol over the 6 months to 29 December 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Software Engineer in Bristol

Software Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend in Bristol

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in Bristol.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in Bristol

Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Bristol

For the 6 months to 29 December 2025, Software Engineer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads across the Bristol region featuring Software Engineer in the job title.

1 82 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 54 (65.85%) C++
3 26 (31.71%) Def Stans
4 25 (30.49%) Security Cleared
5 22 (26.83%) Middleware
5 22 (26.83%) MISRA
6 21 (25.61%) SC Cleared
7 18 (21.95%) Qt
8 17 (20.73%) IEC 61508
9 15 (18.29%) Ada
9 15 (18.29%) C
10 13 (15.85%) MISRA C
11 11 (13.41%) Rational Rhapsody
12 10 (12.20%) CI/CD
12 10 (12.20%) Validation
13 9 (10.98%) DO-178B
13 9 (10.98%) Firmware
13 9 (10.98%) Systems Engineering
14 8 (9.76%) Collaborative Culture
14 8 (9.76%) Linux
14 8 (9.76%) Windows
15 7 (8.54%) Agile
15 7 (8.54%) Docker
15 7 (8.54%) Software Testing
16 6 (7.32%) C#
16 6 (7.32%) Integration Testing
16 6 (7.32%) Node.js
16 6 (7.32%) Test Automation
16 6 (7.32%) UML
17 5 (6.10%) AWS

Software Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Bristol by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 1 (1.22%) Apache
Cloud Services
1 5 (6.10%) AWS
1 5 (6.10%) Azure
2 4 (4.88%) GCP
3 3 (3.66%) Azure DevOps
4 2 (2.44%) Azure AKS
4 2 (2.44%) Azure Cosmos DB
4 2 (2.44%) Entra ID
5 1 (1.22%) npm
Communications & Networking
1 1 (1.22%) Ethernet
1 1 (1.22%) TCP/IP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 5 (6.10%) GIS
2 3 (3.66%) PostgreSQL
3 2 (2.44%) Elasticsearch
3 2 (2.44%) MongoDB
3 2 (2.44%) NoSQL
3 2 (2.44%) SQL Server
Development Applications
1 11 (13.41%) Rational Rhapsody
2 5 (6.10%) GitLab
3 3 (3.66%) Git
4 1 (1.22%) Artifactory
4 1 (1.22%) CMake
4 1 (1.22%) Eclipse
4 1 (1.22%) GoogleTest
4 1 (1.22%) Jenkins
4 1 (1.22%) Visual Studio
General
1 9 (10.98%) Analytical Skills
1 9 (10.98%) Electronics
2 6 (7.32%) Law
3 3 (3.66%) Aerospace
3 3 (3.66%) Military
3 3 (3.66%) Social Skills
4 2 (2.44%) Finance
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (26.83%) Middleware
2 18 (21.95%) Qt
3 6 (7.32%) Node.js
4 5 (6.10%) React
5 2 (2.44%) .NET
5 2 (2.44%) Express.js
5 2 (2.44%) Next.js
6 1 (1.22%) Apache NiFi
6 1 (1.22%) Boost C++ Libraries
6 1 (1.22%) OpenCV
6 1 (1.22%) REST
6 1 (1.22%) Web Services
6 1 (1.22%) YAML
Miscellaneous
1 10 (12.20%) Embedded Systems
2 8 (9.76%) Algorithms
3 7 (8.54%) CUDA
4 5 (6.10%) Video\Live Streaming
5 2 (2.44%) Cloud Native
6 1 (1.22%) Raspberry Pi
6 1 (1.22%) Robotics
Operating Systems
1 8 (9.76%) Linux
1 8 (9.76%) Windows
2 1 (1.22%) Android
2 1 (1.22%) Robot Operating System
Processes & Methodologies
1 82 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 10 (12.20%) CI/CD
2 10 (12.20%) Validation
3 9 (10.98%) Systems Engineering
4 8 (9.76%) Collaborative Culture
5 7 (8.54%) Agile
5 7 (8.54%) Software Testing
6 6 (7.32%) Integration Testing
6 6 (7.32%) Test Automation
6 6 (7.32%) UML
7 5 (6.10%) Information Security
8 4 (4.88%) DevOps
8 4 (4.88%) Full-Stack Development
8 4 (4.88%) Ontologies
9 3 (3.66%) Virtual Environments
10 2 (2.44%) Clean Code
10 2 (2.44%) Design Patterns
10 2 (2.44%) Digital Transformation Programme
10 2 (2.44%) Infrastructure as Code
10 2 (2.44%) Security Operations
Programming Languages
1 54 (65.85%) C++
2 15 (18.29%) Ada
2 15 (18.29%) C
3 6 (7.32%) C#
4 5 (6.10%) TypeScript
5 4 (4.88%) JavaScript
5 4 (4.88%) Python
6 3 (3.66%) MATLAB
7 2 (2.44%) Bicep
7 2 (2.44%) Java
7 2 (2.44%) SQL
8 1 (1.22%) Embedded C++
8 1 (1.22%) PowerShell
Qualifications
1 25 (30.49%) Security Cleared
2 21 (25.61%) SC Cleared
3 1 (1.22%) BPSS Clearance
3 1 (1.22%) Computer Science Degree
3 1 (1.22%) Degree
3 1 (1.22%) DV Cleared
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 26 (31.71%) Def Stans
2 22 (26.83%) MISRA
3 17 (20.73%) IEC 61508
4 13 (15.85%) MISRA C
5 9 (10.98%) DO-178B
6 1 (1.22%) QA
System Software
1 9 (10.98%) Firmware
2 7 (8.54%) Docker
3 2 (2.44%) Active Directory
Systems Management
1 3 (3.66%) Kubernetes
2 2 (2.44%) Kibana
2 2 (2.44%) Terraform
3 1 (1.22%) Ansible
Vendors
1 3 (3.66%) Microsoft
2 2 (2.44%) IBM
2 2 (2.44%) NVIDIA
3 1 (1.22%) Google
3 1 (1.22%) MathWorks
3 1 (1.22%) Red Hat