Senior Software Developer Job Trends
Senior Software Developer
UK
The median Senior Software Developer salary in the UK is £65,000 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 25 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 25 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 468 | 579 | 477 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +111 | -102 | +16 |
| Permanent Senior Software Developer jobs | 387 | 82 | 287 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.32% | 0.17% | 0.42% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.35% | 0.18% | 0.44% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 333 | 63 | 261 |
| 10th Percentile | £50,000 | £55,100 | £52,500 |
| 25th Percentile | £55,000 | £59,375 | £60,000 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £65,000 | £67,500 | £70,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | -3.70% | -3.57% | +7.69% |
| 75th Percentile | £73,750 | £78,750 | £85,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £82,500 | £85,000 | £125,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £62,500 | £70,000 | £65,000 |
| % change year-on-year | -10.71% | +7.69% | - |
All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK
For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job adverts matching a recognised job title. The table also shows what proportion of all permanent IT job adverts they make up.
| 6 months to 25 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent job adverts in the UK matching a recognised job title | 111,434 | 44,511 | 65,398 |
| % of permanent job adverts matching a recognised job title | 92.17% | 90.16% | 95.27% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 75,024 | 26,375 | 37,255 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,500 | £28,000 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,000 | £41,750 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £59,250 | £52,500 | £56,509 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +12.86% | -7.09% | -5.82% |
| 75th Percentile | £76,250 | £73,750 | £75,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £98,750 | £93,750 | £95,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £55,000 | £45,000 | £50,000 |
| % change year-on-year | +22.22% | -10.00% | -4.76% |
Senior Software Developer Job Vacancy Trend
Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent Senior Software Developer job postings relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised.
Senior Software Developer Salary Trend
Salary distribution trend for Senior Software Developer job vacancies in the UK.
Senior Software Developer Salary Histogram
Salary distribution for Senior Software Developer jobs over the 6 months to 25 October 2026.
Senior Software Developer Top 16 Job Locations
The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in Senior Software Developer jobs within the UK over the 6 months to 25 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 Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +67 | 323 | £65,000 | -7.14% | 95 |
| UK excluding London | +88 | 320 | £62,500 | -10.71% | 74 |
| North of England | +26 | 119 | £60,000 | -20.00% | 21 |
| South West | -35 | 59 | £65,000 | -7.14% | 12 |
| Midlands | -10 | 53 | £65,000 | - | 14 |
| London | -40 | 53 | £100,000 | +56.25% | 31 |
| North West | +9 | 51 | £65,000 | -13.33% | 9 |
| Work from Home | -63 | 49 | £57,423 | -11.66% | 56 |
| Yorkshire | -2 | 39 | £40,000 | -42.86% | 7 |
| Wales | -42 | 35 | £57,000 | +16.17% | 6 |
| North East | -42 | 29 | £70,000 | +7.69% | 5 |
| West Midlands | -23 | 27 | £65,000 | - | 10 |
| East Midlands | -21 | 26 | £65,000 | +28.08% | 4 |
| South East | -57 | 26 | £62,500 | -19.35% | 5 |
| Scotland | +22 | 16 | £60,000 | -4.00% | 4 |
| East of England | -28 | 12 | £55,000 | - | 8 |
Senior Software Developer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 25 October 2026, Senior Software Developer 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 permanent Senior Software Developer job ads.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C# | 27.9% | 108 |
| 2 | .NET | 26.6% | 103 |
| 3 | Agile | 17.6% | 68 |
| 4 | Software Engineering | 16.3% | 63 |
| 5 | Security Cleared | 15.8% | 61 |
| 6 | CI/CD | 14.7% | 57 |
| 7 | AWS | 13.7% | 53 |
| 8 | Azure | 12.9% | 50 |
| 9 | Problem-Solving | 12.7% | 49 |
| 10 | DevOps | 11.6% | 45 |
| 10 | JavaScript | 11.6% | 45 |
| 12 | Full-Stack Development | 10.6% | 41 |
| 12 | Java | 10.6% | 41 |
| 14 | Python | 10.3% | 40 |
| 15 | SC Cleared | 9.8% | 38 |
| 16 | Mentoring | 9.3% | 36 |
| 17 | SQL | 9.0% | 35 |
| 18 | Continuous Improvement | 8.8% | 34 |
| 18 | TDD | 8.8% | 34 |
| 20 | SQL Server | 8.5% | 33 |
| 21 | React | 8.3% | 32 |
| 21 | Test Automation | 8.3% | 32 |
| 23 | Code Quality | 8.0% | 31 |
| 23 | Git | 8.0% | 31 |
| 25 | AI | 7.5% | 29 |
| 25 | Microsoft | 7.5% | 29 |
| 27 | Clean Code | 7.2% | 28 |
| 28 | C++ | 7.0% | 27 |
| 29 | GitHub | 6.5% | 25 |
| 30 | OO | 5.9% | 23 |
Senior Software 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 | Software Developer | 97.9% | 379 |
| 2 | Senior .NET Software Developer | 7.0% | 27 |
| 3 | Senior C# Software Developer | 5.4% | 21 |
| 4 | Senior Consultant | 4.7% | 18 |
| 4 | Software Consultant | 4.7% | 18 |
| 6 | C++ Software Developer | 3.9% | 15 |
| 6 | Senior C++ Developer | 3.9% | 15 |
| 8 | Senior Full-Stack Developer | 3.6% | 14 |
| 9 | Developer/Software Engineer | 2.6% | 10 |
| 9 | Senior Software Engineer | 2.6% | 10 |
| 11 | Senior Python Developer | 2.1% | 8 |
| 12 | Embedded Software Developer | 1.8% | 7 |
| 12 | Senior Full-Stack Software Engineer | 1.8% | 7 |
| 14 | Senior C# .NET Developer | 1.6% | 6 |
| 15 | Developer in Test | 1.3% | 5 |
| 15 | Lead Software Developer | 1.3% | 5 |
| 15 | Senior Applications Developer | 1.3% | 5 |
| 15 | Senior Java Software Developer | 1.3% | 5 |
| 15 | Senior Scala Developer | 1.3% | 5 |
| 20 | PostgreSQL Developer | 1.0% | 4 |