Cost of hiring a senior developer in Australia, by role
DevOps is where an Australian hire costs the most: $162,000 a year, the $111,816 survey median plus 45% on top, against $92,160 for a Wild.Codes DevOps engineer. Backend and Full-stack also have samples of their own; the other three roles borrow the Australia median.
Up to 43% less on a DevOps engineer than hiring in Australia: $162,000 a year locally, $92,160 with Wild.Codes.
| Role | Australia full-time, per year | Wild.Codes, per year | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backend | $156,000Median pay $107,265 + 45%. 53 survey answers. | $94,080$7,840 a month, all-in | $61,920 less40% less with Wild.Codes |
| Full-stack | $141,000Median pay $97,514 + 45%. 103 survey answers. | $88,320$7,360 a month, all-in | $52,680 less37% less with Wild.Codes |
| Frontendall-roles median | $146,000All-roles median $100,765 + 45%. Too few Frontend answers (12), so this uses all 208. | $86,400$7,200 a month, all-in | $59,600 less41% less with Wild.Codes |
| Mobileall-roles median | $146,000All-roles median $100,765 + 45%. Too few Mobile answers (7), so this uses all 208. | $86,400$7,200 a month, all-in | $59,600 less41% less with Wild.Codes |
| DevOps | $162,000Median pay $111,816 + 45%. 20 survey answers. | $92,160$7,680 a month, all-in | $69,840 less43% less with Wild.Codes |
| Data / AIall-roles median | $146,000All-roles median $100,765 + 45%. Too few Data / AI answers (13), so this uses all 208. | $101,760$8,480 a month, all-in | $44,240 less30% less with Wild.Codes |
All roles we compare: median pay $100,765 from 208 survey answers.
Not shown for Australia: QA. The survey has too few answers for a fair median.
Partner teams in Africa: profiles on request.
Compare with the cost of hiring developers in New Zealand and cost of hiring developers in the UK, or see hiring costs in other countries.
Source: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 (ODbL 1.0), full-time employees with 5+ years of work experience, pay in US dollars as the survey converts it. Wild.Codes rates from /pricing. Data and method, updated 23 October 2026.
Questions about hiring developers in Australia
How much does it cost to hire a senior developer in Australia?
Between $141,000 and $162,000 a year for a full-time senior hire. Full-stack sits at the bottom of that range and DevOps at the top, and both are measured from Australian answers. The figures are survey median pay with 45% added for what an employer pays on top of salary.
Is hiring through Wild.Codes cheaper than hiring a developer in Australia?
Yes, for all six roles in the table, by 30% to 43%. Data / AI shows the smallest gap because our rate for that role is the highest. DevOps shows the largest: $162,000 a year locally against $92,160, a difference of $69,840.
What is the median software engineer salary in Australia?
For the roles on this page the median is $100,765 a year, from 208 Australian survey answers by full-time developers with 5+ years of experience. The survey reports total pay converted to US dollars, so bonuses are already inside that figure. What you pay as an employer comes on top of it.
How reliable are the Australia numbers?
Backend (53 answers), Full-stack (103) and DevOps (20) are priced from their own samples. Frontend, Mobile and Data / AI each had fewer than 15 answers, so their rows reuse the Australia median of all roles and carry a flag. QA had too few answers to show at all.
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