Europe Salary Comparison 2026 — by City and Role
What the same job actually pays in London, Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Milan, Amsterdam, Zurich and 10 more European hubs. Gross annual base bands for 60+ roles across eight job families, with cost-of-living adjustments and negotiation guidance.
Job families
- Marketing salaries in Europe — From growth marketer to CMO — what marketing roles pay across 17 European cities in 2026.
- Sales salaries in Europe — SDR to CRO — base salary and OTE benchmarks for European sales roles in 2026.
- Software engineering salaries in Europe — Engineering pay across Europe in 2026 — from junior developer to VP of Engineering.
- Data and analytics salaries in Europe — Data analyst, data scientist and AI engineer pay in Europe's major hubs, 2026.
- Finance salaries in Europe — Financial analyst to CFO — European finance pay benchmarks for 2026.
- Product manager and designer salaries in Europe — Product management and UX/product design salary bands across European cities, 2026.
- HR and people salaries in Europe — Recruiter, HR business partner and People Director pay across Europe in 2026.
- Operations salaries in Europe — Operations, logistics and supply chain salaries in European cities, 2026.
Cities benchmarked
- London, United Kingdom — pay index 1.34, cost of living 155. Europe's deepest job market and highest nominal pay outside Switzerland — but rent eats a large share of it.
- Zurich, Switzerland — pay index 1.85, cost of living 190. The highest gross salaries in Europe, paired with the highest living costs and low income tax.
- Dublin, Ireland — pay index 1.28, cost of living 145. EMEA headquarters city for most US tech and pharma companies, which keeps pay well above the EU average.
- Copenhagen, Denmark — pay index 1.42, cost of living 150. High base salaries, strong worker protection, and a flat pay structure with narrow senior premiums.
- Amsterdam, Netherlands — pay index 1.20, cost of living 138. English-speaking hiring, the 30% ruling for many expats, and a dense scale-up scene.
- Munich, Germany — pay index 1.18, cost of living 140. Germany's highest-paying city: automotive, enterprise software and insurance headquarters.
- Frankfurt, Germany — pay index 1.16, cost of living 128. Banking and fintech hub — finance roles carry a visible premium over the rest of Germany.
- Stockholm, Sweden — pay index 1.14, cost of living 132. Strong product and engineering market; compensation is base-heavy with modest bonuses.
- Berlin, Germany — pay index 1.08, cost of living 118. Startup capital of continental Europe: lower base than Munich, more equity and English-first roles.
- Paris, France — pay index 1.08, cost of living 133. Large corporate market with structured pay grids; cadre status and 13th-month bonuses are common.
- Brussels, Belgium — pay index 1.04, cost of living 122. EU institutions plus corporate HQs; heavy taxes offset by meal vouchers, cars and net allowances.
- Vienna, Austria — pay index 1.01, cost of living 120. Stable market with 14 monthly salary payments per year — always check if quotes are ×12 or ×14.
- Milan, Italy — pay index 0.80, cost of living 116. Italy's commercial capital: fashion, finance and consumer brands pay above the national average.
- Madrid, Spain — pay index 0.73, cost of living 100. Fast-growing hub for shared services and tech; salaries lag northern Europe but so do living costs.
- Barcelona, Spain — pay index 0.71, cost of living 104. Startup and remote-work magnet; pay is slightly below Madrid for corporate roles, similar in tech.
- Lisbon, Portugal — pay index 0.62, cost of living 96. Lowest salaries of the western European hubs, but a magnet for remote contracts paid abroad.
- Warsaw, Poland — pay index 0.60, cost of living 82. Strong purchasing power: nominal pay is low, but B2B contracting pushes senior tech pay far higher.
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