How much can you earn as a software engineer in Singapore? (2024)
January 21, 2022
Singapore is a very international country. Many large international companies have their APAC headquarters in Singapore. Due to the competition for international talents with Asian hubs such as Hong Kong and Japan in recent years, the salary has increased a lot in Singapore.
When I was considering coming to Singapore, I did my own research on salary, and finally decided to come to Singapore after a comprehensive consideration. This article will present all the data about salary in Singapore collected from different sources. I will share the salary level from fresh graduates to senior engineers. Let's find out, how much can you earn as a software engineer in Singapore!
Salary Reference Website
First of all, I will provide you with 6 sources of salary that you can refer to when you come to work in Singapore.
levels.fyi
On this website, the salaries provided by most people who are from FAANG or big tech companies. Thus, usually salaries are relatively high compared to the overall on levels.fyi . The salary reported there is usually broken down into base salary, bonus, and stock options.
My Careers Future
This website is the official website of the Singapore government related to employment. Companies seeking talents will post job opportunities on this website. In addition, they must also announce the range of monthly salary. Therefore, if you see a job opportunity for a small and medium-sized Singapore company on Linkedin, but the salary range is not announced, you can check the salary on the My Careers Future website.
In addition, it should be noted that because the monthly salary is provided, there is no additional data on bonuses or stocks, and the monthly salary will be a little lower than that on levels.fyi.
Straits Times Singapore salary guide 2022
Straits Times is a media website. By entering salary, age, occupation, and industry, you can calculate the current salary in your age group. The source of information on this website is from the Singapore government — MOM (Ministry of Manpower), so it should be quite accurate.
Blind
On the Blind website, many people will share the offers they got and ask netizens for their opinions on whether the offer is reasonable. Since Blind's anonymity nature, people are willing to share and reply. So assuming you get an offer from a big tech company, it is recommended to check on this website first.
indeed
Indeed is a job search site, but it also provides salary information.
Glassdoor
Glassdoor is a job search site similar to Indeed.
Median monthly salary of software engineer
Before comparing the salaries of software engineers, let me provide you with the overall monthly income in Singapore: The median monthly income in Singapore in 2022 is S$5,070, which is equivalent to $3,841 USD. (Source)
According to the data provided by different job search websites and salary websites, the median monthly salary of the overall software engineer is between S$5,000 ~ S$10,000, which is equivalent to annual salary of $86,383 ~ $172,766. USD.
| medium | |
|---|---|
| levels.fyi (source) | S$10,016 |
| Glassdoor (source) | S$6,000 |
| indeed (source) | S$5,286 |
| payscale (source) | S$4,955 |
Next, we will use different statistical sources to see the salary for software engineers in different level, from junior software engineers, mid-level, to senior software engineers.
New Grad Software Engineer Salary
The Singapore government will calculate the salary data of new graduates every year. The following data comes from two very well-known universities in Singapore - National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Computer Science graduates Median salary of students.
The median monthly salary is between S$5,000 ~ S$6,000, equivalent to $3,788 ~ $4,546 USD. Taking the average salary of software engineering graduates from these two schools as an example, the first job after graduation can get a salary above the median salary of Singapore’s overall income of S$5,070.
| Medium | |
|---|---|
| NUS (source) | S$6,000 |
| NTU (source) | S$4,800 |
Junior Software Engineer (0 - 2 years)
According to the salary data of the two websites levels.fyi and MyCareersFuture, software engineers from big tech companies with 0-2 years of experience usually make S$6,300 ~ S$9,800 per month (this data is the total income, which is the sum of base salary, stock and bonus).
FAANG and big tech software companies in Singapore
| Company (YOE, date) | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Tencent (2y, 2022/12/12) | S$75,600 | S$6,300 |
| Amazon (0y, 2022/11/23) | S$82,500 | S$6,875 |
| Zendesk (2y, 2022/10/14) | S$94,500 | S$7,875 |
| ByteDance (0y, 2022/12/07) | S$96,000 | S$8,000 |
| Apple (0y, 2022/12/07) | S$96,000 | S$8,000 |
| Shopee (1y, 2022/10/21) | S$118,043 | S$9,837 |
Source： levels.fyi
The salary level of non-big-tech companies falls in the monthly salary of S$4,000 ~ S$9,500. Among non-big-tech software companies, the salary in the financial industry is usually higher; the salary in small and medium-sized companies is not very high, but compared with the salary in other parts of Asia, the salary is still relatively high overall.
Non-big-tech companies
| Company (YOE, date) | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary |
|---|---|---|
| DBS (1y, 2022/12/16) | S$83,000 | S$5,500 |
| Adyen (0y, 2022/9/21) | S$84,500 | S$6,917 |
| Xfers (2y, 2022/11/10) | S$66,000 | S$7,042 |
| Credit Suisse (1y, 2022/08/31) | S$114,000 | S$9,500 |
source： levels.fyi
| Company (YOE) | Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| ZIONEXT (1y) | S$4,800 |
| INSIDER SECURITY (0y) | S$4,500 ~ S$5,500 |
| OBVIO HEALTH PTE (0y) | S$5,000 ~ S$6,000 |
| IWOW (2y) | S$3,500 ~ S$5,000 |
| XJERA LABS (2y) | S$4,000 ~ S$8,000 |
source：My Careers Future
Mid to senior software engineer (2 - 6 years)
According to the salary data of two websites, levels.fyi and MyCareersFuture, mid-level or senior software engineers with 2-6 years of experience make S$12,000 ~ S$21,000 per month, If you have become an mid-level or senior engineer, you will be able have a very comfortable live here in Singapore
FAANG and big tech software companies in Singapore
| Company (YOE, date) | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Grab (6y, 2022/11/28) | S$143,800 | S$11,983 |
| Shopee (3y, 2022/12/19) | S$150,001 | S$12,500 |
| Bytedance (4y, 2022/10/06) | S$170,476 | S$14,206 |
| Facebook (5y, 2022/11/15) | S$200,000 | S$16,667 |
| Google (6y, 2022/6/14) | S$212,505 | S$17,709 |
| Apple (4y, 2022/10/01) | S$221,080 | S$18,423 |
| Indeed (4y, 2022/08/31) | S$262,392 | S$21,866 |
source： levels.fyi
The salary level of medium and small companies is about S$5,000 ~ S$15,000 per month.
Non-big-tech companies
| Company (YOE, date) | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Singtel (3y, 2022/11/12) | S$105,000 | S$8,750 |
| Lazada (5y, 2022/11/18) | S$135,000 | S$11,250 |
| BIGO (6y, 2022/09/15) | S$190,000 | S$15,833 |
source： levels.fyi
| Company (YOE) | Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| 2359 MEDIA (4y) | S$5,800 ~ S$8,500 |
| GLOBALTIX (3y) | S$4,500 ~ S$6,500 |
| XJERA LABS (5y) | S$7,000 ~ S$12,000 |
| UNISOFT INFOTECH (5y) | S$6,000 ~ S$8,000 |
| ENSIGN INFOSECURITY (3y) | S$5,000 ~ S$10,000 |
source：My Careers Future
Summary
If you want to work in Singapore, what is the reasonable salary?
- Graduates: S$6,000 monthly salary
- Junior software engineer (0-2 years): FAANG or big tech, monthly salary above S$8,000, the highest may be close to S$10,000
- Mid-level to senior software engineer (2-6 years): more than 10,000 Singapore dollars
The median salary of a software engineer in Singapore can be twice compared to other professions
According to levels.fyi, the median monthly salary of a software engineer is S$10,016, which is almost twice the median monthly salary in Singapore in other sectors.
In big tech company, salary in Singapore is higher than other countries in Asia
If you are working for a big tech software company (such as Google, Amazon), etc., according to the information on levels.fyi, Singapore is among the top when it comes to salary. This is only the pre-tax salary. If you look at the post-tax salary, due to Singapore's low income tax policy, the post-tax salary in Singapore will be much higher than that in other offices in Asia if you work for the same company.
For non-big-tech company, Singapore's salary is also the highest in Asia
For a non-big-tech company, the salary of software engineers in Singapore is still much higher than other Asian countries. Thus, you are considering moving to Asia, Singapore should be among your top choices from the salary perspective.