Software Engineer Contract Job Trends in Bristol

Software Engineer
South West > Bristol

The median Software Engineer daily rate in Bristol is £570, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 1 May 2026.

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

6 months to
1 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 22 22
Rank change year-on-year +17 0 +28
Contract jobs requiring a Software Engineer 206 34 65
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 16.72% 6.33% 6.15%
As % of the Job Titles category 17.79% 6.64% 6.47%
Number of daily rates quoted 20 3 8
10th Percentile £423 - £476
25th Percentile £500 - £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £570 £230 £538
Median % change year-on-year +147.83% -57.21% +26.47%
75th Percentile £644 £409 £581
90th Percentile - £516 £679
South West median daily rate £575 £600 £550
% change year-on-year -4.17% +9.09% +4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 173 28 55
10th Percentile £61.25 £61.25 £52.50
25th Percentile - - £61.25
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £67.50
Median % change year-on-year - -3.70% +3.05%
75th Percentile £67.25 £68.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £68.00 £68.23 -
South West median hourly rate £65.00 £66.50 £66.01
% change year-on-year -2.26% +0.74% +0.78%

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 1,158 512 1,004
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 93.99% 95.34% 94.99%
Number of daily rates quoted 530 302 541
10th Percentile £350 £213 £250
25th Percentile £413 £355 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year +11.11% -10.00% -1.96%
75th Percentile £575 £564 £613
90th Percentile £652 £650 £688
South West median daily rate £510 £500 £520
% change year-on-year +2.00% -3.85% -0.95%
Number of hourly rates quoted 322 90 218
10th Percentile £18.01 £18.51 £36.25
25th Percentile £52.76 £43.75 £45.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £65.00
Median % change year-on-year - - -0.76%
75th Percentile £67.50 £68.00 £73.75
90th Percentile £70.00 £75.00 £85.00
South West median hourly rate £57.50 £63.50 £55.00
% change year-on-year -9.45% +15.45% -15.38%

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 1 May 2026.

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
Hourly Rate Histogram in Bristol

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Software Engineer in Bristol over the 6 months to 1 May 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Software Engineer in Bristol

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

For the 6 months to 1 May 2026, 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.

1 206 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 83 (40.29%) C++
3 80 (38.83%) Ada
4 55 (26.70%) Security Cleared
5 44 (21.36%) SC Cleared
6 36 (17.48%) Def Stans
7 29 (14.08%) IEC 61508
7 29 (14.08%) Linux
7 29 (14.08%) Middleware
8 27 (13.11%) C
9 26 (12.62%) CI/CD
9 26 (12.62%) Java
10 21 (10.19%) C#
10 21 (10.19%) MATLAB
10 21 (10.19%) UML
11 20 (9.71%) MISRA
11 20 (9.71%) Rational Rhapsody
12 16 (7.77%) Qt
13 14 (6.80%) MISRA C
13 14 (6.80%) SysML
14 13 (6.31%) Docker
14 13 (6.31%) Python
14 13 (6.31%) Validation
15 12 (5.83%) Workflow
16 11 (5.34%) IBM
16 11 (5.34%) Workflow Management
17 10 (4.85%) GitLab
17 10 (4.85%) MathWorks
17 10 (4.85%) Systems Engineering
18 9 (4.37%) Full-Stack Development

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 (0.49%) Apache
1 1 (0.49%) Confluence
Applications
1 1 (0.49%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 5 (2.43%) AWS
2 3 (1.46%) Azure
3 1 (0.49%) GCP
Communications & Networking
1 4 (1.94%) Ethernet
1 4 (1.94%) TCP/IP
2 1 (0.49%) Bluetooth
2 1 (0.49%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (0.97%) PostgreSQL
2 1 (0.49%) GIS
Development Applications
1 20 (9.71%) Rational Rhapsody
2 10 (4.85%) GitLab
3 5 (2.43%) Git
4 4 (1.94%) Eclipse
4 4 (1.94%) Visual Studio
5 2 (0.97%) Jenkins
5 2 (0.97%) JIRA
5 2 (0.97%) Rational DOORS
6 1 (0.49%) Artifactory
6 1 (0.49%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.49%) JUnit
6 1 (0.49%) NUnit
6 1 (0.49%) Selenium
General
1 21 (10.19%) Aerospace
2 10 (4.85%) Law
3 7 (3.40%) Social Skills
4 6 (2.91%) Analytical Skills
4 6 (2.91%) Electronics
4 6 (2.91%) Military
5 3 (1.46%) Finance
6 2 (0.97%) Presentation Skills
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 29 (14.08%) Middleware
2 16 (7.77%) Qt
3 6 (2.91%) .NET
4 4 (1.94%) Node.js
4 4 (1.94%) Web Services
5 3 (1.46%) React
6 2 (0.97%) Flask
6 2 (0.97%) Jest
6 2 (0.97%) pytest
6 2 (0.97%) REST
7 1 (0.49%) Apache NiFi
7 1 (0.49%) OLE
7 1 (0.49%) Quarkus
Miscellaneous
1 42 (20.39%) Algorithms
2 7 (3.40%) Embedded Systems
3 4 (1.94%) Legacy Systems
4 3 (1.46%) CUDA
5 1 (0.49%) AI Agents
5 1 (0.49%) Cloud Native
5 1 (0.49%) Legacy Applications
5 1 (0.49%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 29 (14.08%) Linux
2 7 (3.40%) Windows
3 5 (2.43%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 1 (0.49%) Embedded Linux
4 1 (0.49%) FreeRTOS
4 1 (0.49%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 206 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 26 (12.62%) CI/CD
3 21 (10.19%) UML
4 14 (6.80%) SysML
5 13 (6.31%) Validation
6 12 (5.83%) Workflow
7 11 (5.34%) Workflow Management
8 10 (4.85%) Systems Engineering
9 9 (4.37%) Full-Stack Development
10 7 (3.40%) Agile
10 7 (3.40%) Configuration Management
10 7 (3.40%) Integration Testing
10 7 (3.40%) Test Automation
10 7 (3.40%) Virtual Environments
11 6 (2.91%) Containerisation
11 6 (2.91%) TDD
12 5 (2.43%) Collaborative Culture
12 5 (2.43%) Secure Coding
12 5 (2.43%) Software Testing
12 5 (2.43%) Verification and Validation
Programming Languages
1 83 (40.29%) C++
2 80 (38.83%) Ada
3 27 (13.11%) C
4 26 (12.62%) Java
5 21 (10.19%) C#
5 21 (10.19%) MATLAB
6 13 (6.31%) Python
7 6 (2.91%) JavaScript
8 3 (1.46%) TypeScript
9 2 (0.97%) PowerShell
10 1 (0.49%) Bash
Qualifications
1 55 (26.70%) Security Cleared
2 44 (21.36%) SC Cleared
3 2 (0.97%) BPSS Clearance
4 1 (0.49%) Computer Science Degree
4 1 (0.49%) Degree
4 1 (0.49%) DV Cleared
4 1 (0.49%) ISTQB
4 1 (0.49%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 36 (17.48%) Def Stans
2 29 (14.08%) IEC 61508
3 20 (9.71%) MISRA
4 14 (6.80%) MISRA C
5 6 (2.91%) DO-178B
6 2 (0.97%) Accessibility
6 2 (0.97%) NCSC
6 2 (0.97%) WCAG
7 1 (0.49%) DICOM
7 1 (0.49%) HL7
7 1 (0.49%) QA
System Software
1 13 (6.31%) Docker
2 6 (2.91%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 5 (2.43%) Kubernetes
2 2 (0.97%) Ansible
3 1 (0.49%) Progress Chef
3 1 (0.49%) Puppet
3 1 (0.49%) Terraform
Vendors
1 11 (5.34%) IBM
2 10 (4.85%) MathWorks
3 4 (1.94%) Microsoft
4 3 (1.46%) Red Hat
5 1 (0.49%) F5
5 1 (0.49%) Google