Side-by-side distribution
Full-Stack
$160,950
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 26.5%
- Live roles
- 4,490
QA Automation
$137,750
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 22.8%
- Live roles
- 987
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Staff Full Stack Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Senior/Staff Full Stack Engineer, Applied AI
Fullstack Software Engineer, Agent Platform
Founding Engineer - Full Stack
Full-Stack Engineer, ChatGPT Education & Learning
Full Stack Engineer, Fleet Scheduling
Staff+ Software Engineer, Enterprise (Full Stack)
Staff+ Fullstack Software Engineer, Safeguards Engineering
Staff+ Software Engineer, Full-stack
Lead / Staff Full-Stack Software Engineer - Console Experience
Highest-paying jobs
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Connectors)
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Graph Database)
Staff Software Development Engineer in Test (Infrastructure)
Senior Principal, Solution Test & Automation Engineer
Lead Automation QA Engineer (Calypso)
Lead Automation QA Engineer (Calypso)
Lead Automation QA Engineer (Calypso)
Principal Test Automation Engineer
Senior SDET – Data [Remote-US]
Senior SDET - Platform [Remote-US]
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$142,400 | 44 |
|
OpenAI
|
$355,500 | 26 |
CACI
|
$143,125 | 26 |
Accenture Federal Services
|
$135,200 | 23 |
GDIT
|
$168,000 | 19 |
Affirm
|
$183,000 | 15 |
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 15 |
SpaceX
|
$142,500 | 15 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Air Apps
|
$59,402 | 11 |
PlayStation Global
|
$145,600 | 7 |
|
CACI
|
$134,200 | 7 |
Blue Origin
|
$161,953 | 6 |
Anduril Industries
|
$150,000 | 5 |
Fiserv
|
$132,400 | 5 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$125,500 | 5 |
Lightmatter
|
$190,250 | 4 |
Full-Stack salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $207,500 | 154 |
| Seattle | $200,041 | 36 |
| New York | $195,000 | 169 |
| Boston | $171,450 | 39 |
| Los Angeles | $165,000 | 27 |
| London | $156,168 | 14 |
| Austin | $155,000 | 24 |
| Chicago | $152,500 | 20 |
| Denver | $150,000 | 15 |
| Atlanta | $145,450 | 14 |
QA Automation salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $167,500 | 4 |
| Seattle | $161,953 | 10 |
| New York | $145,000 | 7 |
| Denver | $142,888 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $141,500 | 10 |
| Boston | $140,750 | 6 |
| Atlanta | $137,500 | 5 |
| Chicago | $128,503 | 10 |
| Toronto | $106,497 | 12 |
Full-Stack vs QA Automation: which pays more?
The median for Full-Stack is $160,950 per year (typically $125,758–$200,000), versus $137,750 for QA Automation ($105,000–$167,500). That puts Full-Stack about 17% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Full-Stack and QA Automation 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.