Side-by-side distribution
Frontend Engineer
$160,950
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 31.9%
- Live roles
- 1,326
Software Engineer
$172,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.7%
- Live roles
- 32,920
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Frontend Engineer ($400k - $500k salary)
Staff/Principal Frontend Software Engineer
Staff/Principal Frontend Software Engineer
Software Engineer, Frontend
Frontend Software Engineer, ChatGPT Space
Frontend Software Engineer, Codex App
Principal Frontend AI Engineer - Cortex Code
Senior / Staff Software Engineer, Frontend
Principal Frontend Software Engineer - Discovery
Staff Software Engineer, Frontend
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Software Engineer, Machine Learning (Audio)
Senior Software Engineer
Senior Software Engineer (Database Reliability)
Staff Software Engineer, Kubernetes Platform
Staff Software Engineer, Node Infra
Staff+ Software Engineer, Developer Productivity
Staff Software Engineer, Code RL
Staff Software Engineer, Claude Code
Software Engineer, Research Productivity
Staff Software Engineer, Environments Infrastructure
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CACI
|
$137,075 | 18 |
Air Apps
|
$58,701 | 11 |
Sift Stack, Inc.
|
$205,000 | 9 |
GDIT
|
$155,000 | 9 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$113,700 | 9 |
|
Harvey
|
$241,700 | 8 |
Verkada
|
$225,000 | 7 |
|
Roblox
|
$268,610 | 6 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Anduril Industries
|
$222,000 | 333 |
Northrop Grumman
|
$131,950 | 272 |
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 176 |
SpaceX
|
$145,000 | 173 |
|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 168 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 153 |
Speechify
|
$170,000 | 144 |
Blue Origin
|
$197,582 | 140 |
Frontend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $210,000 | 63 |
| San Francisco | $206,500 | 66 |
| Boston | $200,000 | 8 |
| Seattle | $193,000 | 15 |
| Austin | $183,125 | 6 |
| Chicago | $155,600 | 8 |
| Los Angeles | $134,531 | 4 |
| Paris | $130,094 | 3 |
| Denver | $127,250 | 6 |
| Atlanta | $120,000 | 3 |
Software Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $226,350 | 1,575 |
| Sydney | $212,347 | 4 |
| New York | $212,000 | 1,396 |
| Seattle | $202,500 | 681 |
| Los Angeles | $195,000 | 237 |
| Austin | $187,000 | 202 |
| Boston | $185,000 | 287 |
| Denver | $180,316 | 218 |
| London | $180,000 | 127 |
| Atlanta | $169,000 | 122 |
Frontend Engineer vs Software Engineer: which pays more?
The median for Frontend Engineer is $160,950 per year (typically $121,308–$202,500), versus $172,000 for Software Engineer ($133,642–$215,000). That puts Software Engineer about 7% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Frontend Engineer and Software 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.