Software Engineer Contract Job Trends in Bristol

Software Engineer
South West > Bristol

The median Software Engineer daily rate in Bristol is £548, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 19 May 2026.

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

6 months to
19 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 33 16
Rank change year-on-year +28 -17 +28
Contract jobs requiring a Software Engineer 203 30 75
As % of all contract jobs in Bristol 15.87% 5.22% 7.08%
As % of the Job Titles category 16.89% 5.48% 7.45%
Number of daily rates quoted 24 6 9
10th Percentile £449 £230 £473
25th Percentile £500 £276 £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £548 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +9.50% -4.76% +16.67%
75th Percentile £630 £630 £550
90th Percentile £644 £644 £678
South West median daily rate £573 £575 £550
% change year-on-year -0.43% +4.55% +1.85%
Number of hourly rates quoted 164 23 64
10th Percentile £61.25 £61.25 £52.50
25th Percentile - - £64.06
Median hourly rate £65.00 £65.00 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year - -7.14% +6.87%
75th Percentile £67.31 £68.00 -
90th Percentile £68.00 £68.75 -
South West median hourly rate £65.00 £65.75 £70.00
% change year-on-year -1.14% -6.07% +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 1,202 547 1,007
% of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title 93.98% 95.13% 95.00%
Number of daily rates quoted 557 319 545
10th Percentile £358 £213 £257
25th Percentile £413 £356 £375
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £450 £500
Median % change year-on-year +11.11% -10.00% -2.44%
75th Percentile £575 £562 £600
90th Percentile £652 £650 £688
South West median daily rate £520 £500 £514
% change year-on-year +4.00% -2.63% -2.19%
Number of hourly rates quoted 324 88 232
10th Percentile £18.28 £18.51 £35.00
25th Percentile £45.00 £32.19 £45.00
Median hourly rate £65.00 £63.50 £67.50
Median % change year-on-year +2.36% -5.93% +3.05%
75th Percentile £67.84 £68.00 £72.50
90th Percentile £70.00 £75.00 £84.50
South West median hourly rate £57.50 £60.00 £55.00
% change year-on-year -4.17% +9.09% -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 19 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 19 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 19 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.

1 203 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 80 (39.41%) Ada
3 75 (36.95%) C++
4 52 (25.62%) Security Cleared
5 41 (20.20%) SC Cleared
6 32 (15.76%) Def Stans
7 31 (15.27%) Linux
8 28 (13.79%) CI/CD
9 27 (13.30%) IEC 61508
9 27 (13.30%) Java
9 27 (13.30%) Middleware
10 25 (12.32%) C
10 25 (12.32%) C#
11 21 (10.34%) MATLAB
12 20 (9.85%) UML
13 19 (9.36%) Rational Rhapsody
14 16 (7.88%) MISRA
15 14 (6.90%) Docker
15 14 (6.90%) Qt
15 14 (6.90%) SysML
16 13 (6.40%) Python
17 12 (5.91%) MISRA C
17 12 (5.91%) Validation
17 12 (5.91%) Workflow
18 11 (5.42%) GitLab
18 11 (5.42%) IBM
18 11 (5.42%) Workflow Management
19 10 (4.93%) MathWorks
20 9 (4.43%) Full-Stack Development
20 9 (4.43%) Systems Engineering

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 (2.46%) AWS
2 3 (1.48%) Azure
3 1 (0.49%) GCP
Communications & Networking
1 5 (2.46%) Ethernet
1 5 (2.46%) TCP/IP
2 1 (0.49%) Bluetooth
2 1 (0.49%) Wireless
Database & Business Intelligence
1 2 (0.99%) PostgreSQL
2 1 (0.49%) GIS
Development Applications
1 19 (9.36%) Rational Rhapsody
2 11 (5.42%) GitLab
3 5 (2.46%) Eclipse
3 5 (2.46%) Git
3 5 (2.46%) Visual Studio
4 2 (0.99%) Jenkins
4 2 (0.99%) JIRA
4 2 (0.99%) Rational DOORS
5 1 (0.49%) Artifactory
5 1 (0.49%) Bitbucket
5 1 (0.49%) JUnit
5 1 (0.49%) NUnit
5 1 (0.49%) Selenium
General
1 22 (10.84%) Aerospace
2 10 (4.93%) Law
3 7 (3.45%) Finance
3 7 (3.45%) Military
3 7 (3.45%) Social Skills
4 4 (1.97%) Analytical Skills
4 4 (1.97%) Electronics
5 2 (0.99%) Presentation Skills
6 1 (0.49%) Documentation Skills
6 1 (0.49%) Telecoms
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 27 (13.30%) Middleware
2 14 (6.90%) Qt
3 6 (2.96%) .NET
4 5 (2.46%) Node.js
4 5 (2.46%) Web Services
5 3 (1.48%) React
6 2 (0.99%) Flask
6 2 (0.99%) Jest
6 2 (0.99%) pytest
6 2 (0.99%) REST
7 1 (0.49%) Apache NiFi
7 1 (0.49%) Bun
7 1 (0.49%) OLE
7 1 (0.49%) Playwright
7 1 (0.49%) Quarkus
7 1 (0.49%) Yocto
Miscellaneous
1 43 (21.18%) Algorithms
2 6 (2.96%) Embedded Systems
3 4 (1.97%) Legacy Systems
4 2 (0.99%) CUDA
5 1 (0.49%) AI Agents
5 1 (0.49%) Cloud Native
5 1 (0.49%) Device Driver
5 1 (0.49%) Legacy Applications
5 1 (0.49%) Video\Live Streaming
Operating Systems
1 31 (15.27%) Linux
2 8 (3.94%) Windows
3 5 (2.46%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 2 (0.99%) Embedded Linux
5 1 (0.49%) FreeRTOS
5 1 (0.49%) Windows Server
Processes & Methodologies
1 203 (100.00%) Software Engineering
2 28 (13.79%) CI/CD
3 20 (9.85%) UML
4 14 (6.90%) SysML
5 12 (5.91%) Validation
5 12 (5.91%) Workflow
6 11 (5.42%) Workflow Management
7 9 (4.43%) Full-Stack Development
7 9 (4.43%) Systems Engineering
8 8 (3.94%) Agile
8 8 (3.94%) Virtual Environments
9 7 (3.45%) Configuration Management
9 7 (3.45%) TDD
9 7 (3.45%) Test Automation
10 6 (2.96%) Containerisation
10 6 (2.96%) Integration Testing
10 6 (2.96%) Verification and Validation
11 5 (2.46%) DevOps
11 5 (2.46%) Digital Twin
11 5 (2.46%) Synthetic Environment
Programming Languages
1 80 (39.41%) Ada
2 75 (36.95%) C++
3 27 (13.30%) Java
4 25 (12.32%) C
4 25 (12.32%) C#
5 21 (10.34%) MATLAB
6 13 (6.40%) Python
7 7 (3.45%) JavaScript
8 4 (1.97%) PHP
9 3 (1.48%) TypeScript
10 2 (0.99%) PowerShell
11 1 (0.49%) Bash
Qualifications
1 52 (25.62%) Security Cleared
2 41 (20.20%) SC Cleared
3 2 (0.99%) 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 32 (15.76%) Def Stans
2 27 (13.30%) IEC 61508
3 16 (7.88%) MISRA
4 12 (5.91%) MISRA C
5 4 (1.97%) DO-178B
6 2 (0.99%) Accessibility
6 2 (0.99%) NCSC
6 2 (0.99%) WCAG
7 1 (0.49%) DICOM
7 1 (0.49%) HL7
7 1 (0.49%) QA
System Software
1 14 (6.90%) Docker
2 4 (1.97%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 5 (2.46%) Kubernetes
2 2 (0.99%) Ansible
3 1 (0.49%) Progress Chef
3 1 (0.49%) Puppet
3 1 (0.49%) Terraform
Vendors
1 11 (5.42%) IBM
2 10 (4.93%) MathWorks
3 5 (2.46%) Microsoft
4 3 (1.48%) Red Hat
5 1 (0.49%) F5
5 1 (0.49%) Google