EMEA & Japan engineering salary benchmarks.
Real numbers, local tax realities, and engagement norms. Stop guessing what to offer senior developers across Europe and Tokyo.
| Region / hub | Timezone | Senior band | Staff / lead band | Common legal vehicle | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poland Warsaw / Kraków / Wrocław | UTC+1 | €75k – €110k | €115k – €145k | Ryczałt 12% flat lump-sum on IT B2B sole trader | B2B Default |
Japan Tokyo | UTC+9 | ¥12M – ¥16M ($80k–$110k) | ¥16M – ¥22M ($110k–$150k) | EOR permanent contract (kenkō hoken + pension) or bilingual contractor | EOR Default |
Portugal Lisbon / Porto | UTC+0 | €60k – €85k | €90k – €120k | Recibos verdes (independent worker) or EOR contrato sem termo | Hybrid EOR |
Romania Bucharest / Cluj-Napoca | UTC+2 | €65k – €95k | €100k – €135k | SRL micro-company or PFA B2B contracting | B2B Default |
United Kingdom London / Remote UK | UTC+0 | £85k – £115k ($110k–$150k) | £125k – £165k ($160k–$210k) | PAYE direct employment or Outside-IR35 limited company contractor | Hybrid EOR |
Estonia Tallinn / Remote | UTC+2 | €70k – €100k | €105k – €140k | OÜ entity (0% tax on retained/reinvested profits) or e-Residency | B2B Default |
B2B sole proprietorships
In Poland (Ryczałt 12%) and Romania (SRL 1-3%), engineers vastly prefer direct B2B invoicing over traditional local employment contracts due to dramatic net take-home differences.
Tokyo base + minashi zangyō
Japanese tech companies frequently include 20–45 hours of deemed overtime (minashi zangyō) in annual base figures. Cross-border remote companies offering clean base pay easily win talent.
Currency pegs
Central & Eastern European engineers predominantly contract in EUR or USD. Japanese talent prefers JPY with quarterly exchange rate reviews or USD pegged contracts.
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