Tech Salaries in Germany 2026: What Developers, Data Scientists & Engineers Actually Earn
Real salary data for 14 tech roles across Berlin, Munich, and beyond
If you work in tech in Germany — or you are thinking about moving there — the salary question comes up fast. And the answers you find online are usually wrong.
Glassdoor says one thing. LinkedIn says another. Your recruiter friend says "it depends." And half the data is from 2023.
So here is what the numbers actually look like in 2026, based on real market data across 14 tech roles and multiple German cities.
The Big Picture: Germany vs. US
Let us address the elephant in the room. Yes, US tech salaries are higher. A senior software engineer in San Francisco might earn $180K-$250K. The same role in Berlin pays €75K-€100K.
But raw numbers are misleading. When you factor in:
The gap shrinks significantly. Total compensation adjusted for purchasing power and benefits puts Germany within 20-30% of US markets for most roles — not the 50-60% gap that raw salary numbers suggest.
Software Engineer Salaries
The bread and butter of German tech.
Berlin and Munich are the two main markets, but they play differently.
Berlin is startup-heavy. Salaries skew slightly lower, but equity packages can be generous. The cost of living is lower than Munich, which effectively narrows the salary gap. A Software Engineer in Berlin earning €70K lives roughly as well as one in Munich earning €80K. Munich has the corporates — BMW, Siemens, Allianz, plus a growing startup scene. Base salaries are 10-15% higher than Berlin, but so is rent. Check the Software Engineer Munich salary data for specifics. Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart — smaller markets, but some pay surprisingly well, especially in automotive tech (Stuttgart) and fintech (Frankfurt).Data Scientist Salaries
Data science has matured in Germany. The wild gold-rush premiums of 2018-2021 have normalized, but demand remains strong.
Berlin leads in sheer number of data science jobs. Companies like Zalando, Delivery Hero, N26, Siemens, and SAP are always hiring. The Data Scientist Berlin salary page has the full breakdown by experience level.
Specialization matters more than ever. General "data science" is commoditizing. If you specialize in NLP, computer vision, or recommendation systems, expect a 10-20% premium over generalist roles.
DevOps & Cloud Engineering
Cloud skills are the hidden salary multiplier in German tech.
AWS and Azure certifications genuinely move the needle here — more so than in many other roles. Companies migrating to cloud (and in Germany, that is still a LOT of companies) will pay premiums for experienced cloud architects.
Kubernetes expertise specifically commands 10-15% above generic DevOps roles.
ML Engineer Salaries
ML Engineering sits at the intersection of data science and software engineering — and the salaries reflect that premium positioning.
This is one of the highest-paying individual contributor tracks in German tech. The ML Engineer salary data shows Berlin offering competitive packages, particularly at well-funded startups and scale-ups.
Backend Engineering
Strong demand, stable salaries, less hype than ML/AI.
Java and Go developers command the highest premiums in backend. Python backend roles tend to pay slightly less due to larger talent pools. Rust is emerging but niche — the roles that exist pay well, but there are not many of them yet.
Frontend Engineering
Frontend salaries have closed most of the historic gap with backend.
React and TypeScript are essentially required. Next.js experience is increasingly a differentiator. The days of "CSS monkey" stereotypes are gone — modern frontend engineering is complex, and salaries reflect that.
Product Management
Not strictly engineering, but deeply embedded in tech teams.
Munich tends to pay more for PM roles due to the concentration of large tech companies. Berlin PMs are more likely to get equity as compensation. The Product Manager salary data has the city-specific breakdown.
The City Factor
Not all German cities are equal for tech careers. Here is the hierarchy:
Berlin
Munich
Hamburg
Frankfurt
Stuttgart
What is Changing in 2026
Three trends are reshaping German tech salaries:
1. Remote work normalization. More companies offer full-remote, but many still tie salary to location. Berlin-remote is common. "Live anywhere in Germany" roles are growing. US-remote for German companies is rare but exists at some scale-ups. 2. AI premiums. Anyone who can build, deploy, or manage AI/ML systems commands a premium. This is not just for ML Engineers — backend developers who can integrate LLMs, DevOps engineers who can deploy GPU clusters, and product managers who understand AI capabilities are all seeing salary bumps. 3. The experience premium is growing. Junior salaries are relatively flat year-over-year. Senior and staff-level salaries keep climbing. Companies would rather pay €130K for one Staff Engineer than €65K each for two juniors. If you are mid-career, this is great news. If you are just starting, focus on getting experience fast.Negotiation Tips Specific to Germany
German salary negotiation is culturally different from the US.
Do:For detailed negotiation strategies, see our salary negotiation guide.
How to Check Your Market Value
Stop guessing. The gap between what you earn and what you could earn might be smaller than you think — or much larger.
Check your specific role and city on our salary explorer — we cover 14 tech roles across Berlin, Munich, and major international hubs. Then use CareerCheck's job fit analysis to see how your skills match against roles that interest you.
Because the only thing worse than being underpaid in Germany is not knowing it. And in a market with strong worker protections and plenty of demand for tech talent, you have more leverage than you think.
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