Software developers are among the best-paid professionals on the Polish labour market. Monthly gross salaries range from around 6,000 PLN for entry-level candidates to over 30,000 PLN for senior engineers and architects. The average sits at approximately 15,000 PLN gross per month.
What does a software developer do?
A software developer designs, builds and maintains software systems — from web and mobile applications to backend services and cloud infrastructure. Daily work includes writing and reviewing code, collaborating with product managers and designers, analysing business requirements and participating in agile ceremonies. Depending on specialisation, a developer may work as a frontend, backend, full-stack or mobile engineer.
What factors affect salary?
- Experience — the gap between junior and senior often exceeds 200%, making seniority the most important salary lever.
- Technology — niche or high-demand stacks such as Scala, Go or Rust typically command higher rates.
- Employment type — B2B contracts usually deliver a higher net income than a standard employment contract, as social contributions are structured differently.
- Location — Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw lead on pay, though the rise of remote work has significantly narrowed regional differences.
- Company sector — fintech, e-commerce and product companies often pay above the market average.
Regional differences and experience bands
Warsaw consistently offers the highest salaries, typically 10–15% above the national average for a given level. Krakow and Wroclaw follow closely, while Poznan, Gdansk and Lodz have been catching up. Fully remote roles — now standard in the Polish IT market — allow developers in smaller cities to access top-tier rates from Warsaw-based or international employers.
A junior developer with up to two years of experience earns 6,000–9,000 PLN gross. A mid-level developer with two to five years earns 10,000–16,000 PLN. A senior developer or tech lead with more than five years typically earns 17,000–30,000 PLN gross, and principal engineers or architects can exceed that ceiling on B2B contracts.
Career path and outlook
The typical progression runs from junior to mid to senior developer, then on to tech lead, architect or engineering manager roles. Specialising in cloud-native development, machine learning or security engineering can accelerate salary growth at every stage.
Despite periodic fluctuations in the volume of job postings, underlying demand for experienced software developers remains strong. Poland's IT sector continues to attract international investment, and digital transformation across industries — finance, manufacturing, retail — sustains long-term hiring pressure. Use our salary calculator to convert any gross figure into an estimated net monthly take-home.