When companies decide to hire remote software developers from Eastern Europe, compensation is usually one of the first questions. The region is often discussed as if it were one market, but the data shows a more varied picture. Salary expectations differ by country, role, seniority, employment structure, and the type of company making the offer.
This article reconstructs our 2023 salary analysis using the public data from the 2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey. It provides a historical benchmark for hiring conversations, not a current quotation. Market conditions, exchange rates, tax rules, and candidate expectations can change quickly, so employers should validate a live role against the relevant local market before making an offer.
Key findings from the 2023 data
- Median reported compensation across the selected markets ranged from about $39,000 to $62,000 per year.
- The spread within each country was substantial, which means country averages alone are not enough for setting a hiring budget.
- Engineering management, data engineering, DevOps, and machine learning roles generally reported higher medians than broad front-end and full-stack categories.
- Salary is only one part of employer cost. Taxes, benefits, paid leave, recruitment, equipment, and employment administration must be budgeted separately.
How we analysed the salary data
The Stack Overflow survey received 89,184 qualified responses from 185 countries. Its salary question was optional, and 48,026 respondents provided compensation data. Stack Overflow converted local-currency answers into US dollars using exchange rates from 2 June 2023.
For this regional analysis, we selected respondents who:
- described themselves as professional developers;
- reported full-time employment;
- provided a value for converted annual compensation;
- were based in one of the selected Central, Eastern, or Southeastern European markets;
- reported annual compensation between $1,000 and $500,000; and
- belonged to a country group with at least 30 qualifying responses.
The survey asked about total annual compensation before taxes and deductions, including salary, bonuses, and perks. The results are self-reported and are affected by respondent mix, exchange rates, job type, seniority, and employer profile. They are useful for direction and comparison, but they are not a substitute for a current salary benchmark for a specific vacancy.
Software developer salaries by country
The median is the midpoint of reported compensation. The middle 50% column shows the range between the first and third quartiles. This is often more useful than a single average because it makes the breadth of each market visible.
| Country | Responses | Median | Middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | 113 | $61,576 | $48,190 to $74,963 |
| Lithuania | 158 | $57,721 | $42,836 to $74,963 |
| Czech Republic | 323 | $54,592 | $36,872 to $71,954 |
| Poland | 904 | $54,552 | $34,454 to $76,684 |
| Latvia | 78 | $53,545 | $37,588 to $72,553 |
| Slovenia | 120 | $52,474 | $41,738 to $70,947 |
| Slovakia | 112 | $49,261 | $37,481 to $62,648 |
| Serbia | 162 | $48,190 | $23,462 to $67,995 |
| Romania | 282 | $48,176 | $26,822 to $69,835 |
| Bulgaria | 208 | $45,983 | $31,162 to $64,613 |
| Ukraine | 333 | $45,672 | $12,000 to $68,400 |
| Croatia | 134 | $40,694 | $25,701 to $53,545 |
| Hungary | 243 | $40,606 | $30,130 to $59,168 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 40 | $39,041 | $16,334 to $61,180 |
Source: euDevelopers analysis of the public 2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey dataset. Amounts are converted annual compensation in US dollars.
Two points stand out. First, there was no single Eastern European salary. Estonia and Lithuania appeared at the upper end of this group, while Hungary, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina reported lower medians. Second, every country showed a wide internal range. Poland had a median of $54,552, but the middle half of qualifying responses ran from $34,454 to $76,684.
That variation matters in practice. A senior platform engineer working for an international product company may have very different expectations from a mid-level front-end developer working in a local services business, even when both candidates live in the same city.
How compensation differed by technical role
We also grouped qualifying respondents across the 14 selected markets by the developer roles they selected. Respondents could choose more than one role, so the rows overlap and should not be added together.
| Role | Responses | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering manager | 66 | $75,411 |
| Data engineer | 53 | $62,794 |
| DevOps specialist | 57 | $57,423 |
| Data scientist or ML specialist | 44 | $55,628 |
| Back-end developer | 944 | $54,592 |
| Mobile developer | 143 | $54,013 |
| Full-stack developer | 998 | $44,978 |
| Front-end developer | 309 | $42,836 |
Source: euDevelopers analysis of the public 2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey dataset.
Engineering managers reported the highest median in this selected comparison, followed by data engineers. DevOps, machine learning, back-end, and mobile roles also sat above the medians for broad full-stack and front-end categories.
This does not mean that every data engineer will cost more than every full-stack developer. Scarcity, years of experience, leadership responsibility, sector knowledge, and the exact technology stack can outweigh a broad job title. The role data is most useful for setting an initial search range before a recruiter tests it against active candidates.
What changes a developer’s salary expectation?
Seniority and scope
Years of experience matter, but scope matters too. A developer who owns architecture, mentors colleagues, handles production incidents, or influences product decisions is likely to expect more than someone delivering well-defined tickets with limited ownership.
Technology and talent scarcity
Common skills usually produce a wider pool. Highly specific combinations, such as deep cloud infrastructure experience plus security clearance, or machine learning expertise plus a regulated-industry background, can make a search significantly more competitive.
Employer profile
International product companies often compete in a different compensation market from local agencies and domestic employers. A remote role can expose a candidate to more offers, which may narrow the historical salary difference between locations.
Communication and commercial context
Strong English, stakeholder communication, product judgement, and experience working across time zones can increase a candidate’s value to a distributed team. These capabilities are especially important when the role involves direct collaboration with customers or business leadership.
Employment model
An employee salary and a contractor rate are not directly comparable. A contractor may fund their own leave, benefits, insurance, accounting, equipment, and periods between projects. A higher gross contractor figure does not automatically mean a higher total cost for the company, or a better net outcome for the individual.
Salary versus the true cost of hiring
A salary benchmark should be the beginning of a budget, not the whole budget. The final cost depends on where the person is employed and how the working relationship is structured.
Base salary, performance bonus, allowances, and any equity or long-term incentives.
Employer taxes, social contributions, statutory benefits, paid leave, and local payroll administration.
Recruitment, internal interview time, background checks, legal review, and onboarding.
Equipment, software, security controls, travel, learning budgets, and team meetups.
Companies should also decide whether they will employ the developer through a local entity, an employer of record, or another compliant arrangement. Contractor engagement can be appropriate in some cases, but the written contract must reflect how the relationship works in practice. Employment classification and tax treatment should always be reviewed for the relevant countries.
How to build a realistic hiring budget
- 01Define the actual level of responsibility
Separate essential technical skills from preferences, then state the ownership, decision-making, and communication expected from the role.
- 02Choose the markets you can support
Consider time-zone overlap, employment options, language, security requirements, and whether your compensation approach will be local, regional, or globally aligned.
- 03Benchmark the live candidate market
Historic survey data gives context. Active candidates tell you what a realistic offer needs to look like now.
- 04Model total employer cost
Add statutory costs, benefits, equipment, recruitment, and administration before comparing markets or employment models.
- 05Keep room for the exceptional candidate
A rigid ceiling can cause a team to lose the person who would create the most value. Agree in advance how much flexibility exists and who can approve it.
A recruitment partner with local market knowledge can help test the role before a full search begins. This is particularly useful when the company is hiring its first person in a country or comparing several markets at the same time.
Frequently asked questions
Which Eastern European country has the lowest software developer salaries?
There is no reliable answer without specifying the role, seniority, employment model, and date. In this filtered 2023 survey sample, Bosnia and Herzegovina had the lowest country median, but it also had the smallest qualifying sample in the table. Employers should not select a market from one median alone.
Should remote developers be paid in euros or their local currency?
The answer depends on the employment arrangement, local payroll requirements, and what both parties agree. If compensation is linked to a foreign currency, the contract should explain how conversions and reviews are handled.
Are contractors always cheaper than employees?
No. Contractor rates can be higher because contractors cover costs and risks that an employer would otherwise carry. Companies also need to consider classification, continuity, intellectual property, benefits, and the way the relationship will operate in practice.
How often should a company review salary benchmarks?
Review the range before each important hire and revisit existing bands at least annually. Faster reviews may be necessary when exchange rates, inflation, or demand for a specific skill changes materially.
Final perspective
Eastern Europe offered a broad and technically strong hiring market in 2023, but it was never one uniform salary zone. The most useful budget combines historical data, current candidate conversations, a clearly defined role, and the full cost of compliant employment.
If you plan to hire remote developers from Eastern Europe, start with the work that needs to be done and the level of ownership the person will have. From there, compare the markets where that profile is available and build an offer that is credible for the people you actually want to hire.
Sources and methodology
- Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023 results and methodology
- Stack Overflow Developer Survey data archive
The country and role tables are original euDevelopers calculations based on the public survey dataset. Figures were rounded to the nearest US dollar.