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 20 October 2026.
The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.
| 6 months to 20 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 468 | 583 | 473 |
| Rank change year-on-year | +115 | -110 | +17 |
| Permanent jobs requiring a Senior Software Developer | 392 | 78 | 292 |
| As % of all permanent jobs in the UK | 0.33% | 0.16% | 0.42% |
| As % of the Job Titles category | 0.35% | 0.18% | 0.44% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 337 | 60 | 270 |
| 10th Percentile | £50,000 | £55,450 | £52,500 |
| 25th Percentile | £55,000 | £60,000 | £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 | £75,000 | £80,000 | £85,000 |
| 90th Percentile | £83,500 | £85,000 | £115,000 |
| UK excluding London median annual salary | £63,500 | £70,000 | £65,000 |
| % change year-on-year | -9.29% | +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 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 permanent jobs in our overall sample.
| 6 months to 20 Oct 2026 |
Same period 2025 | Same period 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent vacancies in the UK with a recognized job title | 110,883 | 43,839 | 65,925 |
| % of permanent jobs with a recognized job title | 92.32% | 89.78% | 95.36% |
| Number of salaries quoted | 74,898 | 25,844 | 37,668 |
| 10th Percentile | £30,450 | £28,000 | £31,250 |
| 25th Percentile | £41,250 | £35,000 | £41,254 |
| Median annual salary (50th Percentile) | £59,000 | £52,500 | £56,000 |
| Median % change year-on-year | +12.38% | -6.25% | -6.67% |
| 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 IT job postings featuring 'Senior Software Developer' in the job title 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 jobs citing Senior Software Developer over the 6 months to 20 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 IT jobs citing Senior Software Developer within the UK over the 6 months to 20 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 |
Matching Permanent IT Job Ads |
Median Salary Past 6 Months |
Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year |
Live Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | +95 | 327 | £65,000 | -6.73% | 104 |
| UK excluding London | +109 | 321 | £63,500 | -9.29% | 88 |
| North of England | +40 | 123 | £60,000 | -14.29% | 23 |
| South West | -32 | 57 | £65,000 | -7.14% | 12 |
| North West | +6 | 56 | £65,000 | -13.33% | 11 |
| London | -54 | 56 | £100,000 | +56.25% | 33 |
| Midlands | -5 | 54 | £65,000 | - | 17 |
| Work from Home | -48 | 52 | £60,000 | -7.69% | 71 |
| Yorkshire | -1 | 39 | £40,000 | -38.46% | 7 |
| Wales | -41 | 34 | £56,000 | +34.94% | 8 |
| West Midlands | -33 | 29 | £70,000 | +7.69% | 13 |
| North East | -47 | 28 | £70,000 | +7.69% | 5 |
| South East | -41 | 27 | £62,500 | -19.35% | 7 |
| East Midlands | -19 | 25 | £65,000 | +25.00% | 4 |
| Scotland | +23 | 17 | £60,000 | -4.00% | 5 |
| East of England | -33 | 9 | £52,788 | - | 8 |
Senior Software Developer Skill Set Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities
For the 6 months to 20 October 2026, Senior Software Developer 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 permanent job ads featuring Senior Software Developer in the job title.
| Rank | Skill | Share | Job Ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C# | 26.8% | 105 |
| 2 | .NET | 24.7% | 97 |
| 3 | Agile | 18.4% | 72 |
| 4 | Software Engineering | 17.9% | 70 |
| 5 | Security Cleared | 15.6% | 61 |
| 6 | CI/CD | 14.8% | 58 |
| 7 | AWS | 14.5% | 57 |
| 8 | Azure | 13.5% | 53 |
| 9 | Problem-Solving | 12.2% | 48 |
| 10 | DevOps | 12.0% | 47 |
| 11 | JavaScript | 11.7% | 46 |
| 12 | Full-Stack Development | 11.5% | 45 |
| 13 | Java | 10.5% | 41 |
| 13 | Python | 10.5% | 41 |
| 15 | Mentoring | 10.2% | 40 |
| 16 | SC Cleared | 9.4% | 37 |
| 17 | Continuous Improvement | 9.2% | 36 |
| 17 | React | 9.2% | 36 |
| 17 | TDD | 9.2% | 36 |
| 20 | SQL | 8.9% | 35 |
| 21 | SQL Server | 8.4% | 33 |
| 22 | Code Quality | 7.9% | 31 |
| 22 | Git | 7.9% | 31 |
| 22 | Test Automation | 7.9% | 31 |
| 25 | Microsoft | 7.4% | 29 |
| 26 | AI | 7.1% | 28 |
| 26 | C++ | 7.1% | 28 |
| 26 | Clean Code | 7.1% | 28 |
| 29 | GitHub | 6.4% | 25 |
| 30 | RESTful | 6.1% | 24 |
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 | 97.7% | 383 |
| 2 | Senior .NET Software Developer | 7.1% | 28 |
| 3 | Senior C# Software Developer | 6.1% | 24 |
| 4 | Senior Consultant | 4.3% | 17 |
| 4 | Software Consultant | 4.3% | 17 |
| 6 | C++ Software Developer | 3.8% | 15 |
| 6 | Senior C++ Developer | 3.8% | 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 | 2.3% | 9 |
| 12 | Embedded Software Developer | 2.0% | 8 |
| 13 | Lead Software Developer | 1.8% | 7 |
| 13 | Senior C# .NET Developer | 1.8% | 7 |
| 13 | Senior Full-Stack Software Engineer | 1.8% | 7 |
| 16 | Developer in Test | 1.5% | 6 |
| 17 | Senior Applications Developer | 1.3% | 5 |
| 17 | Senior Java Software Developer | 1.3% | 5 |
| 19 | PostgreSQL Developer | 1.0% | 4 |
| 19 | Senior Scala Developer | 1.0% | 4 |