Marketing Manager vs SEM

Put two roles head to head — any role, in any location or worldwide-remote.

Side A

Side B

Marketing Manager pays about 23% more at the median.

Side-by-side distribution

Marketing Manager SEM
$145.1k
$118k
$72k box = 25th–75th · whiskers = 10th–90th $224.7k

Marketing Manager

$145,075

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▲ +3.6%
$140,000 $145,075
$115k 25th
$145.1k Median
$175k 75th
$85.3k
$214.2k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $5k – $5,000k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
43.3%
Live roles
3,622
Browse roles Set alert

SEM

$118,000

median · per year, annualized USD

Median over time ▼ -12.4%
$134,700 $118,000
$95k 25th
$118k Median
$150.5k 75th
$82.5k
$174k
Box 25th–75th · whiskers 10th–90th Full range $12.7k – $5,000k · outliers off-axis
Disclosing
28.4%
Live roles
116
Browse roles Set alert

Highest-paying jobs

VE

Performance Marketing Manager

Vercel · Hybrid - San Francisco, New York City, Austin

$1,000,000 – $5,000,000 Ruby Labs

Performance Marketing Lead (Social Media Ads)

Ruby Labs · Serbia

$5,000,000 – $5,000,000 Hometap

Senior Manager, Search Marketing

Hometap · Boston (Remote)

$5,000,000 – $5,000,000 Ruby Labs

Performance Marketing Lead (Google & Microsoft Ads)

Ruby Labs · Ukraine

$5,000,000 – $5,000,000 Pariveda

Digital Marketing Manager

Pariveda · Dallas

$1,390,800 – $1,671,600 Jobscan

Senior Performance Marketing Manager - Latin America

Jobscan · Remote - Brazil

$1,200,000 – $1,200,000 Jobscan

Senior Performance Marketing Manager - SEA

Jobscan · Remote - Singapore

$1,200,000 – $1,200,000 Jobscan

Senior Performance Marketing Manager - Australia

Jobscan · Sydney

$1,200,000 – $1,200,000 Jobscan

Senior Performance Marketing Manager - Taiwan

Jobscan · Taipei, Taiwan

$1,200,000 – $1,200,000 Jobscan

Senior Performance Marketing Manager

Jobscan · Remote - USA

$1,200,000 – $1,200,000

Highest-paying jobs

Hometap

Senior Manager, Search Marketing

Hometap · Boston (Remote)

$5,000,000 – $5,000,000 WITHIN

Search Engine Marketing Account Manager

WITHIN · Long Island City, New York

$1,000,000 – $1,000,000 Airwallex

Senior Manager, Performance Marketing, SEM

Airwallex · US - San Francisco

$138,000 – $210,000 Harvey

Senior Performance Marketing Manager, Paid Search

Harvey · San Francisco

$136,000 – $204,000 Harvey

Senior Performance Marketing Manager, Paid Search

Harvey · New York

$136,000 – $204,000 Rula

Sr. Manager, Paid Search (Remote)

Rula · Remote - United States

$153,765 – $171,855 Airwallex

Manager, Performance Marketing, Paid Search

Airwallex · US - San Francisco

$120,000 – $170,000 Airwallex

Manager, Technical SEO Marketing

Airwallex · US - San Francisco

$110,000 – $170,000 Hover

Growth Marketing Manager (SEO & GEO)

Hover · san_francisconew_york

$139,000 – $163,000 Wispr Flow

Paid Search Performance Marketing Manager

Wispr Flow · San Francisco or New York

$140,000 – $160,000

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Launch Potato $135,000 18
Brex $151,533 16
Airwallex $174,000 15
DoorDash USA $176,400 14
Socure $192,500 12
Verkada $158,750 12
Lyft $144,000 10
Air Apps $59,364 10

Top companies hiring

Company Median Roles
Airwallex $145,000 3
Wpromote $90,000 3
Harvey $170,000 2
Omnicom Media $92,500 2
Hometap $5,000,000 1
WITHIN $1,000,000 1
Rula $162,810 1
Hover $151,000 1

Marketing Manager salary by location

Location Median Roles
Dublin $215,300 3
Singapore $180,000 3
San Francisco $174,000 324
Atlanta $155,000 28
Seattle $151,533 55
New York $150,750 396
Boston $150,000 58
Denver $150,000 35
Austin $144,000 53
Chicago $135,500 56

SEM salary by location

Location Median Roles
San Francisco $150,500 6
New York $129,100 9

Marketing Manager vs SEM: which pays more?

The median for Marketing Manager is $145,075 per year (typically $115,000–$175,000), versus $118,000 for SEM ($95,000–$150,500). That puts Marketing Manager about 23% ahead at the median.

Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Marketing Manager and SEM 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.

See full salary data

Marketing Manager salary SEM salary

More comparisons

Marketing Manager vs Product Marketing Marketing Manager vs Growth Marketing Manager vs Performance Marketing Marketing Manager vs Demand Generation Marketing Manager vs Content Marketing Marketing Manager vs SEO

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