Side-by-side distribution
Backend Engineer
$185,838
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.4%
- Live roles
- 2,487
iOS
$167,681
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 26.1%
- Live roles
- 602
Highest-paying jobs
Intermediate Backend Software Engineer
Senior Staff Backend Engineer ($500k - $1.5m salary)
Lead Backend Developer – Typescript (Node.js)
Staff Software Engineer (Backend)
Lead Software Engineer (Backend)
Senior/Staff Backend Engineer, Applied AI
Backend Engineer, AI
Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer
Senior Backend Engineer (Java)
Highest-paying jobs
iOS Engineer
Mobile iOS Engineer
Staff Software Engineer, iOS
iOS Engineer, ChatGPT Mobile Infrastructure
iOS Engineer, Applied Foundations
iOS Engineer, Ad Formats
Software Engineer, iOS
Mobile iOS Engineer
Senior Software Engineer, iOS
Mobile Engineer, iOS
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Air Apps
|
$68,094 | 33 |
Remote
|
$86,575 | 30 |
Grafana Labs
|
$180,940 | 19 |
Databricks
|
$195,500 | 15 |
Affirm
|
$183,000 | 13 |
Whoop
|
$150,000 | 11 |
Brex
|
$171,000 | 10 |
|
OpenAI
|
$307,500 | 9 |
Mindrift
Robinhood
Airwallex
Suno
Backend Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $216,000 | 174 |
| New York | $207,500 | 175 |
| Seattle | $196,750 | 40 |
| Los Angeles | $184,075 | 14 |
| Austin | $179,000 | 10 |
| Boston | $175,000 | 25 |
| Chicago | $173,000 | 7 |
| Atlanta | $173,000 | 3 |
| Denver | $167,300 | 7 |
| Singapore | $151,940 | 3 |
Backend Engineer vs iOS: which pays more?
The median for Backend Engineer is $185,838 per year (typically $145,000–$225,000), versus $167,681 for iOS ($124,800–$208,275). That puts Backend Engineer about 11% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Backend Engineer and iOS 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.