Software Engineer Contract Job Trends in Bristol

Software Engineer
South West > Bristol

The median Software Engineer daily rate in Bristol is £525, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 29 June 2026.

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

6 months to
29 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 46 14
Rank change year-on-year +41 -32 +20
Contract jobs requiring a Software Engineer 209 17 94
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 15.68% 2.74% 8.39%
As % of the Job Titles category 16.69% 2.93% 8.88%
Number of daily rates quoted 34 3 5
10th Percentile £395 £456 £478
25th Percentile £500 £522 £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £638 £525
Median % change year-on-year -17.65% +21.43% +16.67%
75th Percentile £583 £644 £675
90th Percentile £644 - £683
South West median daily rate £550 £619 £550
% change year-on-year -11.11% +12.50% +4.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 156 12 78
10th Percentile £61.25 £62.30 £52.50
25th Percentile - - £65.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year - -7.14% +6.87%
75th Percentile £68.00 £68.75 -
90th Percentile - £74.38 -
South West median hourly rate £65.00 £66.25 £70.00
% change year-on-year -1.89% -5.36% +6.87%

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 1,252 580 1,059
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 93.92% 93.55% 94.55%
Number of daily rates quoted 584 308 575
10th Percentile £363 £235 £260
25th Percentile £425 £357 £378
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £440 £500
Median % change year-on-year +13.64% -12.00% -2.44%
75th Percentile £588 £557 £600
90th Percentile £650 £645 £688
South West median daily rate £525 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 338 91 257
10th Percentile £19.25 £18.13 £27.50
25th Percentile £45.00 £18.87 £44.94
Median hourly rate £65.00 £55.00 £67.50
Median % change year-on-year +18.18% -18.52% +3.85%
75th Percentile £68.00 £68.00 £72.50
90th Percentile £70.00 £75.00 £80.00
South West median hourly rate £57.50 £33.67 £55.25
% change year-on-year +70.78% -39.06% -11.67%

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 June 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 29 June 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 29 June 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.

1 209 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 80 (38.28%) C++
3 77 (36.84%) Ada
4 48 (22.97%) Security Cleared
5 40 (19.14%) SC Cleared
6 34 (16.27%) Linux
7 29 (13.88%) C#
7 29 (13.88%) Java
8 25 (11.96%) CI/CD
9 23 (11.00%) Def Stans
10 21 (10.05%) IEC 61508
11 20 (9.57%) Middleware
11 20 (9.57%) UML
12 19 (9.09%) MATLAB
13 18 (8.61%) C
14 14 (6.70%) Rational Rhapsody
14 14 (6.70%) SysML
15 12 (5.74%) PHP
15 12 (5.74%) Python
16 11 (5.26%) Docker
16 11 (5.26%) Qt
17 10 (4.78%) Agile
17 10 (4.78%) IBM
17 10 (4.78%) MISRA
17 10 (4.78%) Validation
17 10 (4.78%) Workflow
17 10 (4.78%) Workflow Management
18 9 (4.31%) Full-Stack Development
18 9 (4.31%) MathWorks
18 9 (4.31%) MISRA C

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 (0.48%) Confluence
Applications
1 1 (0.48%) Microsoft Office
Cloud Services
1 5 (2.39%) AWS
2 3 (1.44%) Azure
3 1 (0.48%) GCP
Communications & Networking
1 7 (3.35%) Ethernet
2 6 (2.87%) TCP/IP
3 1 (0.48%) Bluetooth
3 1 (0.48%) RS-232
3 1 (0.48%) RS-422
3 1 (0.48%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (0.96%) PostgreSQL
2 1 (0.48%) GIS
Development Applications
1 14 (6.70%) Rational Rhapsody
2 8 (3.83%) GitLab
3 7 (3.35%) Visual Studio
4 6 (2.87%) Eclipse
5 5 (2.39%) Git
6 3 (1.44%) Rational DOORS
7 2 (0.96%) Jenkins
7 2 (0.96%) JIRA
8 1 (0.48%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.48%) JUnit
8 1 (0.48%) NUnit
8 1 (0.48%) Selenium
General
1 22 (10.53%) Aerospace
2 11 (5.26%) Finance
3 10 (4.78%) Law
4 8 (3.83%) Social Skills
5 6 (2.87%) Military
6 2 (0.96%) Analytical Skills
6 2 (0.96%) Avionics
6 2 (0.96%) Documentation Skills
6 2 (0.96%) Presentation Skills
6 2 (0.96%) Telecoms
7 1 (0.48%) Electronics
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 20 (9.57%) Middleware
2 11 (5.26%) Qt
3 6 (2.87%) .NET
3 6 (2.87%) Node.js
3 6 (2.87%) Web Services
4 3 (1.44%) React
5 2 (0.96%) Flask
5 2 (0.96%) Jest
5 2 (0.96%) Playwright
5 2 (0.96%) pytest
5 2 (0.96%) Yocto
6 1 (0.48%) Bun
6 1 (0.48%) OLE
6 1 (0.48%) Quarkus
6 1 (0.48%) REST
Miscellaneous
1 38 (18.18%) Algorithms
2 4 (1.91%) Embedded Systems
2 4 (1.91%) Legacy Systems
3 2 (0.96%) Device Driver
4 1 (0.48%) AI Agents
4 1 (0.48%) Cloud Native
4 1 (0.48%) CUDA
4 1 (0.48%) Legacy Applications
4 1 (0.48%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 34 (16.27%) Linux
2 8 (3.83%) Windows
3 5 (2.39%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 3 (1.44%) Embedded Linux
5 1 (0.48%) FreeRTOS
5 1 (0.48%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 209 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 25 (11.96%) CI/CD
3 20 (9.57%) UML
4 14 (6.70%) SysML
5 10 (4.78%) Agile
5 10 (4.78%) Validation
5 10 (4.78%) Workflow
5 10 (4.78%) Workflow Management
6 9 (4.31%) Full-Stack Development
7 8 (3.83%) Configuration Management
7 8 (3.83%) TDD
7 8 (3.83%) Wealth Management
8 7 (3.35%) Multithreading
8 7 (3.35%) Test Automation
8 7 (3.35%) Verification and Validation
9 6 (2.87%) Containerisation
9 6 (2.87%) Continuous Delivery
9 6 (2.87%) Digital Twin
9 6 (2.87%) Synthetic Environment
9 6 (2.87%) Visualisation
Programming Languages
1 80 (38.28%) C++
2 77 (36.84%) Ada
3 29 (13.88%) C#
3 29 (13.88%) Java
4 19 (9.09%) MATLAB
5 18 (8.61%) C
6 12 (5.74%) PHP
6 12 (5.74%) Python
7 8 (3.83%) JavaScript
8 3 (1.44%) TypeScript
9 1 (0.48%) Ada 95
9 1 (0.48%) Bash
9 1 (0.48%) PowerShell
Qualifications
1 48 (22.97%) Security Cleared
2 40 (19.14%) SC Cleared
3 4 (1.91%) BPSS Clearance
4 1 (0.48%) ISTQB
4 1 (0.48%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (11.00%) Def Stans
2 21 (10.05%) IEC 61508
3 10 (4.78%) MISRA
4 9 (4.31%) MISRA C
5 2 (0.96%) Accessibility
5 2 (0.96%) NCSC
5 2 (0.96%) WCAG
6 1 (0.48%) DICOM
6 1 (0.48%) DO-178B
6 1 (0.48%) HL7
6 1 (0.48%) MIL-STD-1553
System Software
1 11 (5.26%) Docker
2 1 (0.48%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 4 (1.91%) Kubernetes
2 1 (0.48%) Ansible
2 1 (0.48%) Progress Chef
2 1 (0.48%) PTC Integrity
2 1 (0.48%) Puppet
Vendors
1 10 (4.78%) IBM
2 9 (4.31%) MathWorks
3 7 (3.35%) Microsoft
4 2 (0.96%) Red Hat
5 1 (0.48%) F5
5 1 (0.48%) Google
5 1 (0.48%) Green Hills
5 1 (0.48%) PTC