Senior Developer Contract Job Trends
Senior Developer
UK
The median Senior Developer daily rate in the UK is £550, according to job vacancies posted in the 6 months leading up to 31 October 2026.
The table below compares current contractor rates and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 31 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 181 | 186 | 123 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +5 | -63 | +54 |
| Contract Senior Developer jobs | 893 | 538 | 728 |
| As % of all contract jobs in the UK | 1.64% | 1.57% | 1.99% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 1.79% | 1.72% | 2.14% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 606 | 375 | 490 |
| 10th Percentile | £403 | £400 | £390 |
| 25th Percentile | £450 | £450 | £463 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £550 | £540 | £550 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +1.85% | -1.82% | -8.33% |
| 75th Percentile | £725 | £675 | £685 |
| 90th Percentile | £913 | £808 | £814 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £510 | £500 |
| % change year-on-year | -1.96% | +2.00% | -4.76% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| 10th Percentile | £41.09 | - | £40.29 |
| 25th Percentile | £44.93 | - | £48.22 |
| Median hourly rate | £45.56 | - | £61.43 |
| 75th Percentile | £46.18 | - | £74.47 |
| 90th Percentile | £49.96 | - | £82.29 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £45.56 | - | £60.00 |
| % change year-on-year | - | - | +14.29% |
All Contract IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all contract IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 31 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 49,938 | 31,221 | 33,983 |
| % of contract job adverts matching a recognised job title | 91.64% | 90.95% | 92.91% |
| Number of daily rates quoted | 29,355 | 19,779 | 20,508 |
| 10th Percentile | £328 | £279 | £300 |
| 25th Percentile | £425 | £401 | £412 |
| Median daily rate (50th Percentile) | £525 | £500 | £525 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +5.00% | -4.76% | - |
| 75th Percentile | £638 | £619 | £638 |
| 90th Percentile | £738 | £725 | £738 |
| UK excluding London median daily rate | £500 | £475 | £490 |
| % change year-on-year | +5.26% | -3.06% | -2.00% |
| Number of hourly rates quoted | 4,233 | 1,754 | 1,296 |
| 10th Percentile | £14.22 | £14.00 | £15.08 |
| 25th Percentile | £18.50 | £17.50 | £20.28 |
| Median hourly rate | £40.00 | £25.15 | £38.14 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +59.05% | -34.05% | -15.26% |
| 75th Percentile | £68.00 | £51.02 | £65.00 |
| 90th Percentile | £81.25 | £69.65 | £73.75 |
| UK excluding London median hourly rate | £40.00 | £25.13 | £37.50 |
| % change year-on-year | +59.19% | -32.99% | -15.73% |
Senior Developer Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of contract Senior Developer job postings relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.
Senior Developer Daily Rate Trend
Contractor daily rate distribution trend for Senior Developer job vacancies in the UK.
Senior Developer Daily Rate Histogram
Daily rate distribution for Senior Developer jobs over the 6 months to 31 October 2026.
Senior Developer Hourly Rate Trend
Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for Senior Developer job vacancies in the UK.
Senior Developer Hourly Rate Histogram
Hourly rate distribution for Senior Developer jobs over the 6 months to 31 October 2026.
Senior Developer Top 17 Contract Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in Senior Developer jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 31 October 2026. 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 |
Job Ads Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate Past 6 Months |
Median Daily Rate % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | -11 | 709 | £600 | +9.09% | 156 |
| London | -7 | 430 | £650 | - | 63 |
| UK excluding London | -3 | 329 | £500 | -1.96% | 113 |
| Work from Home | -23 | 268 | £525 | -4.55% | 74 |
| North of England | -3 | 139 | £550 | - | 44 |
| North West | +3 | 63 | £625 | +25.00% | 23 |
| Yorkshire | -21 | 59 | £475 | -24.00% | 14 |
| Midlands | -8 | 57 | £475 | -8.21% | 20 |
| Scotland | +26 | 54 | £451 | +9.21% | 5 |
| West Midlands | -1 | 46 | £475 | -16.48% | 8 |
| South West | -31 | 42 | £525 | +10.53% | 12 |
| South East | -76 | 26 | £427 | -12.33% | 19 |
| North East | -21 | 19 | £425 | -21.84% | 10 |
| East Midlands | -2 | 11 | - | - | 12 |
| Wales | -6 | 7 | £419 | +65.02% | 6 |
| East of England | -30 | 7 | £597 | +11.50% | 8 |
| Northern Ireland | +4 | 2 | £650 | +44.44% |
Senior Developer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 31 October 2026, Senior Developer contract job ads cited 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 Senior Developer job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CI/CD | 34.0% | 304 |
| 2 | Agile | 33.9% | 303 |
| 3 | Java | 29.5% | 263 |
| 4 | Azure | 20.4% | 182 |
| 5 | C# | 20.3% | 181 |
| 6 | AWS | 19.9% | 178 |
| 7 | SQL | 19.7% | 176 |
| 8 | Python | 19.1% | 171 |
| 9 | Microservices | 18.1% | 162 |
| 10 | JavaScript | 17.7% | 158 |
| 11 | DevOps | 17.6% | 157 |
| 12 | REST | 17.1% | 153 |
| 12 | Security Cleared | 17.1% | 153 |
| 14 | TypeScript | 16.0% | 143 |
| 15 | Git | 15.6% | 139 |
| 15 | Test Automation | 15.6% | 139 |
| 17 | SC Cleared | 15.3% | 137 |
| 18 | .NET | 15.1% | 135 |
| 18 | Software Engineering | 15.1% | 135 |
| 20 | React | 13.7% | 122 |
| 21 | AI | 13.3% | 119 |
| 22 | Spring | 12.9% | 115 |
| 23 | Problem-Solving | 12.8% | 114 |
| 24 | Full-Stack Development | 12.2% | 109 |
| 25 | RESTful | 12.0% | 107 |
| 26 | Docker | 11.4% | 102 |
| 27 | Spring Boot | 11.3% | 101 |
| 28 | Continuous Improvement | 11.1% | 99 |
| 29 | Microsoft | 10.9% | 97 |
| 30 | TDD | 10.4% | 93 |
Senior Developer Skill Set Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category
The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.
Job Titles
| Rank | Job Title | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Senior Java Developer | 21.8% | 195 |
| 2 | Senior Python Developer | 11.6% | 104 |
| 3 | Senior Software Developer | 6.9% | 62 |
| 4 | Software Developer | 6.8% | 61 |
| 5 | Senior Full-Stack Developer | 6.7% | 60 |
| 6 | Senior React Developer | 5.9% | 53 |
| 7 | Senior .NET Developer | 5.8% | 52 |
| 8 | .NET Developer | 5.3% | 47 |
| 8 | Senior C# Developer | 5.3% | 47 |
| 10 | Senior Backend Developer | 4.0% | 36 |
| 11 | Senior Front-End Developer | 3.7% | 33 |
| 12 | Senior Salesforce Developer | 3.6% | 32 |
| 12 | Senior UI Developer | 3.6% | 32 |
| 14 | Senior ServiceNow Developer | 3.0% | 27 |
| 15 | Senior SQL Developer | 2.6% | 23 |
| 16 | Senior Oracle Developer | 2.4% | 21 |
| 17 | Python/Django Developer | 2.2% | 20 |
| 18 | AWS Developer | 2.0% | 18 |
| 18 | Azure Developer | 2.0% | 18 |
| 20 | Full-Stack .NET Developer | 1.9% | 17 |