Software Engineer/Developer
UK
The median Software Engineer/Developer daily rate in the UK is £725, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 1 May 2025.
The table below provides contractor rate benchmarking and summary statistics, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.
| 6 months to 1 May 2025 |
Same period 2024 | Same period 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 410 | 435 | 586 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +25 | +151 | -101 |
| Contract jobs requiring a Developer/Software Engineer | 111 | 147 | 132 |
| As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK | 0.38% | 0.34% | 0.22% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.41% | 0.36% | 0.23% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 107 | 144 | 110 |
| 10th Percentile | £450 | £538 | £438 |
| 25th Percentile | £588 | £650 | £475 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £725 | £725 | £600 |
| Median % change year-on-year | - | +20.83% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £875 | £800 | £750 |
| 90th Percentile | - | £888 | £788 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £325 | £600 | £550 |
| % change year-on-year | -45.83% | +9.09% | -8.33% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Median hourly rate | - | £80.00 | - |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | - | £80.00 | - |
All Contract IT Job Vacancies
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job vacancies. 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 with a recognized job title | 27,084 | 40,415 | 56,464 |
| % of contract IT jobs with a recognized job title | 92.52% | 92.78% | 94.61% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 17,692 | 26,309 | 39,470 |
| 10th Percentile | £300 | £275 | £313 |
| 25th Percentile | £406 | £410 | £425 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £515 | £525 | £540 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -1.90% | -2.78% | +2.86% |
| 75th Percentile | £625 | £638 | £650 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £750 | £750 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £475 | £492 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | -3.46% | -1.60% | +5.26% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 1,035 | 2,664 | 1,570 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.07 | £12.86 | £14.29 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.50 | £16.30 | £19.50 |
| Median hourly rate | £29.00 | £36.42 | £45.00 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -20.37% | -19.07% | +91.49% |
| 75th Percentile | £62.50 | £60.75 | £65.75 |
| 90th Percentile | £75.00 | £72.50 | £75.75 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £28.00 | £39.55 | £42.50 |
| % change year-on-year | -29.20% | -6.94% | +117.95% |
Developer/Software Engineer
Job Vacancy Trend
Job postings that featured Developer/Software Engineer in the job title as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.
Developer/Software Engineer
Contractor Daily Rate Trend
3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Developer/Software Engineer.
Developer/Software Engineer
Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Developer/Software Engineer over the 6 months to 1 May 2025.
Developer/Software Engineer
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend
3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Developer/Software Engineer.
Developer/Software Engineer
Top 7 Contract Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Developer/Software Engineer within the UK over the 6 months to 1 May 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +12 | 102 | £738 | +1.72% | 8 |
| London | +2 | 101 | £738 | +1.72% | 5 |
| Work from Home | +74 | 93 | £675 | -10.00% | 3 |
| UK excluding London | +63 | 9 | £325 | -45.83% | 4 |
| Northern Ireland | - | 8 | £325 | - | |
| East Midlands | - | 1 | - | - | |
| Midlands | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
Developer/Software Engineer Skill Set
Top 30 Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities
For the 6 months to 1 May 2025, Developer/Software Engineer contract job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number co-occurrences and as a proportion of all contract job ads featuring Developer/Software Engineer in the job title.
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Developer/Software Engineer Skill Set
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category
The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:
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