Side-by-side distribution
Application Security
$194,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 53.4%
- Live roles
- 324
Security Engineer
$190,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 48.1%
- Live roles
- 2,004
Highest-paying jobs
Staff+ Application Security Engineer - M&A
Staff+ Application Security Engineer
Security Engineer, Application Security
Security Engineer, Application Security
Security Engineer, Application Security
Principal Software Engineer II - Product Security
Senior Software Engineer, Application Security
Security Engineer, Application Security
Principal Security Software Engineer, Application Security
Security Engineer, Product
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Security Platform Engineer I
Staff AI Security Engineer
Principal Software Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Principal Security Engineer, Infrastructure Security
Offensive Security Agent Engineer
Offensive Security Engineer, Agent Products
Staff+ Software Security Engineer
Staff+ Application Security Engineer
Staff+ Software Engineer, Cybersecurity Products
Staff+ Application Security Engineer - M&A
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$187,250 | 8 |
DigitalOcean
|
$155,150 | 6 |
Compass
|
$222,050 | 4 |
SpaceX
|
$175,000 | 4 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 3 |
Brex
|
$216,000 | 3 |
Okta
|
$213,500 | 3 |
Airwallex
|
$205,000 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
SpaceX
|
$147,500 | 31 |
EverAI
|
$104,103 | 21 |
|
Anduril Industries
|
$204,500 | 19 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 18 |
Elastic
|
$119,534 | 16 |
|
Anthropic
|
$362,500 | 15 |
|
DigitalOcean
|
$189,900 | 13 |
Palantir
|
$167,500 | 13 |
Application Security salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $237,500 | 42 |
| New York | $235,000 | 31 |
| London | $220,000 | 4 |
| Denver | $219,000 | 3 |
| Chicago | $213,750 | 7 |
| Seattle | $197,500 | 13 |
| Boston | $197,500 | 9 |
| Toronto | $185,000 | 6 |
| Austin | $165,000 | 3 |
| Los Angeles | $150,000 | 6 |
Application Security vs Security Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Application Security is $194,750 per year (typically $157,500–$237,952), versus $190,000 for Security Engineer ($146,950–$230,000). That puts Application Security about 3% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Application Security and Security Engineer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.