Software Engineer
UK > UK excluding London
The median Software Engineer daily rate in the UK excluding London is £500, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 19 December 2025.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 19 Dec 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 97 | 93 | 97 |
| Rank change year-on-year | -4 | +4 | +9 |
| Contract jobs requiring a Software Engineer | 460 | 378 | 470 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK excluding London | 2.53% | 2.52% | 2.39% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 2.81% | 2.73% | 2.55% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 159 | 147 | 235 |
| 10th Percentile | £375 | £350 | £411 |
| 25th Percentile | £427 | £450 | £463 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £500 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | - | -4.76% | -2.78% |
| 75th Percentile | £600 | £608 | £578 |
| 90th Percentile | £696 | £663 | £675 |
| UK median daily rate | £550 | £600 | £575 |
| % change year-on-year | -8.33% | +4.35% | -2.34% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 184 | 83 | 156 |
| 10th Percentile | £49.84 | £47.50 | £50.00 |
| 25th Percentile | £61.25 | £58.27 | £54.88 |
| Median hourly rate | £65.00 | £65.00 | £65.00 |
| 75th Percentile | £67.31 | £68.75 | £69.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £70.00 | £70.20 | £90.00 |
| UK median hourly rate | £65.00 | £65.00 | £65.00 |
All Contract IT Job Vacancies
UK excluding London
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies in the UK excluding London. 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 the UK excluding London with a recognized job title | 16,356 | 13,848 | 18,397 |
| % of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title | 90.08% | 92.36% | 93.52% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 10,052 | 8,265 | 12,022 |
| 10th Percentile | £210 | £213 | £213 |
| 25th Percentile | £369 | £363 | £381 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £475 | £489 | £500 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -2.86% | -2.20% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £575 | £591 | £600 |
| 90th Percentile | £675 | £676 | £688 |
| UK median daily rate | £500 | £525 | £525 |
| % change year-on-year | -4.76% | - | -4.55% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 1,646 | 795 | 1,208 |
| 10th Percentile | £13.85 | £15.41 | £14.36 |
| 25th Percentile | £17.50 | £20.30 | £18.35 |
| Median hourly rate | £25.15 | £32.50 | £45.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -22.62% | -27.78% | +80.76% |
| 75th Percentile | £57.50 | £64.61 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £70.08 | £71.25 | £77.50 |
| UK median hourly rate | £25.50 | £34.00 | £44.50 |
| % change year-on-year | -25.00% | -23.60% | +48.33% |
Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London
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 the UK excluding London.
Software Engineer
Daily Rate Trend in the UK excluding London
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK excluding London.
Software Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Software Engineer in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 19 December 2025.
Software Engineer
Hourly Rate Trend in the UK excluding London
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Software Engineer job vacancies in the UK excluding London.
Software Engineer
Hourly Rate Histogram in the UK excluding London
Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Software Engineer in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 19 December 2025.
Software Engineer
Contract Job Locations in the UK excluding London
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Software Engineer within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 19 December 2025. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.
| Location | Rank Change on Same Period Last Year |
Matching Contract IT Job Ads |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North of England | +24 | 135 | £525 | +7.69% | 293 |
| East of England | +16 | 119 | £525 | +5.00% | 233 |
| South West | -22 | 89 | £449 | -18.45% | 219 |
| Yorkshire | +8 | 67 | £513 | +1.23% | 103 |
| North West | 0 | 58 | £550 | +15.79% | 154 |
| Scotland | +25 | 48 | £469 | -6.25% | 99 |
| South East | -52 | 44 | £475 | -5.00% | 373 |
| Midlands | -35 | 31 | £502 | +5.58% | 220 |
| West Midlands | -15 | 26 | £525 | +10.53% | 115 |
| North East | 0 | 12 | £575 | - | 37 |
| East Midlands | -27 | 5 | £475 | - | 94 |
| Software Engineer UK |
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Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London
For the 6 months to 19 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 UK excluding London region featuring Software Engineer in the job title.
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Software Engineer Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London 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:
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