Side-by-side distribution
Java
$127,674
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 20.1%
- Live roles
- 1,401
Kotlin
$199,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 9.4%
- Live roles
- 53
Highest-paying jobs
Java of Senior Software Engineer, AI Training
Senior Java Data Platform Engineer - Clearance Required
Senior Software Engineer, Java
Senior Software Engineer, Java
ETL Java Developer (SME)
Java Developer (SME)
Upcoming Opportunity – Principal Engineer – Java/AWS
Senior Software Engineer, Treasury and Reference Data (Java/Ruby/Python)
Distinguished Engineer - Java / AWS - Zelle
Platform Engineer (Hybrid) - Python/Java/AWS/Linux
Highest-paying jobs
Software Engineer 2 - Python/Kotlin/Java/Terraform/Elasticsearch/Opensearch/AWS
Software Engineer 1 - Python/Kotlin/Java/Terraform/Elasticsearch/Opensearch/AWS
Senior Mobile Engineer, Kotlin and Cross-Platform
Lead Product Software Engineer (Kotlin)
Senior Frontend Engineer (Kotlin / Android UX)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Elastic
|
$104,155 | 30 |
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 27 |
|
Leidos
|
$151,475 | 12 |
Referral Board
|
$117,865 | 11 |
Bank of America
|
$141,400 | 10 |
GDIT
|
$185,000 | 9 |
State Street
|
$119,750 | 8 |
Accenture
|
$101,920 | 7 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Captivation Software
|
$200,000 | 2 |
|
Hiya
|
$199,000 | 1 |
| DI Disney | $190,900 | 1 |
|
Aescape
|
$180,000 | 1 |
Java vs Kotlin: which pays more?
The median for Java is $127,674 per year (typically $103,110–$173,425), versus $199,000 for Kotlin ($190,900–$200,000). That puts Kotlin about 56% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Java and Kotlin 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.