2023 Python Developer Salaries Around the World

You’re an owner, founder, CEO, assistant researching the market for Python developers and Python development companies. But you’re not sure. Where should you start looking? Is it better to in-house or outsource? Do you use freelancers or find a good development agency? And, of course, how much will it all cost?

You’re not alone. Companies of all sizes and industries are also looking to hire Python programmers and are uncertain which direction to go. So let’s take a closer look at the market, put some numbers on the costs involved, and see what makes the most sense for you.

How much does a Python developer cost? And where should you look for one?

Well, it depends. There are probably four key determinants of Python developer salaries:

• Region
• Experience level
• Position type
• Outsourced vs. in-house employment

Region

Python developer salaries vary significantly depending on where developers are located. Hence, we collected and compared Glassdoor’s Python Developer annual salaries (including only “high” or “very high confidence” figures, based on recency and volume).

US and West > East

Based on Glassdoor, Salary Explorer, and Economic Research Institute data,  the US ($102,333) and Switzerland ($103,596) stand out as the most costly places to hire a Python 2.7 developer, while the least expensive countries are Ukraine ($22,164), Romania ($21,024), Colombia ($18,828), and India ($5,949). Globally, the United States has the highest average Python developer salaries, while Canada’s average ($67,425) is closer to Germany ($69,292) and the rest of Western Europe generally.

Western > Central & Eastern Europe

Regionally, Western Europe has higher Python developer salaries than Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe. Though Glassdoor was less certain about average Python coder salary figures for Norway ($85,538), Denmark ($69,947), Austria ($56,446), Italy ($33,622), Spain ($36,099), Poland ($27,768), and Ukraine ($22,164), these numbers conform to the general pattern (corroborated by Stack Overflow data, to which we turn later). Python developers cost more in the West than in the East.

Below are the averaged Salary Explorer, Economic Research Institute, and Glassdoor data on European Python salaries in 2023.

East costs less at all experience levels

Stack Overflow’s latest Developer Survey generally corroborates Glassdoor’s “high” (and “low”) confidence data. However, Stack Overflow’s 70,000 global respondents prove to be more senior Python developers with correspondingly higher salaries. And based on the data samples for specific countries, we can assume that higher wages in traditionally “cheaper” regions, in this case, reflect a large proportion of senior devs among the surveyed local audience.

On the map below, we’ve gathered the average salaries of senior Python developers worldwide, demonstrating the most cost-effective regions for hiring Python coders.

Experience level: Senior Developers cost 40% more

50% of Stack Overflow survey respondents have been coding for around ten years and, therefore, likely represent more Senior Python Developer positions than Glassdoor Python Developer salaries. Stack Overflow salaries are 2.7 times Glassdoor salaries. Also, Glassdoor Senior Python Developer salaries are 1.5 times higher than general Python developer salaries.

Junior vs Senior (US data)

Glassdoor average Junior Python Developer salaries are $81,304, and Senior $133,146 (March 2023 data). Our analysis of ZipRecruiter validated US salaries (March 2023) found, on average, $82,340 for Junior Python Developer positions and $132,487 for Senior Python Developers.

Position: skills and titles

Region and experience level aren’t the only determinants of developer salaries for the Python programming language. What kind of developer you need is also a significant determinant of what you’ll pay. (Note: “Python Developer” average salary figures from Indeed, Payscale, and Glassdoor are virtually identical to their salary figures for “Django Developer”).

According to Indeed (US data from roughly 2.3K salaries), specific skills (including the understanding of data structures and choice of code versioning tools, to mention a few), are associated with substantially increased Python Developer salaries.

In-housing a developer is not cheap

Finally, whether you hire Django developers in-house or outsource your Python Developers also makes a significant cost difference. Based on the latest 2023 data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average employer cost for employee compensation in the US (paid leave, life, health, and disability insurance, supplemental pay, retirement, and savings, social security and medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation) stands at $41.03 per hour. As a result, the cost of maintaining full-time teams is consistently increasing, making it more expensive.

In-housing is cost-prohibitive

And these benefits expenses are just the static costs of in-house employees. Add to this the cost of hiring, onboarding, training, office equipment and space, accounting, and HR overhead, and in-housing a developer becomes a very expensive proposition. Considering freelance Django developer rates, cutting costs alone is enough to make hiring freelancers an attractive option.

But in-housing has obvious benefits

There are, however, many upsides to in-house developers. They generally permit full control of the development process, faster development, less disappearance, more predictability, fewer security breach issues, real-time fixes, access to in-house developer resources, and full legal protection. Hiring freelance developers confers none of these advantages.

Employees prefer in-house work

In-house development also appears to be preferred by developers. JetBrains data (2021) indicates that 62% of Python developer respondents reported full-time employment. Only 6% identified as freelancers.

Moreover, according to the 2022 Stack Overflow survey, 80,76% of professional developers are employed full-time.

Outstaffing

So, if in-housing your Python developers is too expensive and trusting your development to freelancers is too risky, where do you find reliable, affordable Python Developers who fulfill your Python programming needs?

Outsource to the East

Market data and logic suggest outstaffing. Hiring Django developers with a software development company provides you the benefits of in-house development while relieving you of its burdens — time and money.

The outsourcing market, already well developed in the US, is expanding globally.

Outstaffing is projected to continue growing, and it stands to expand most where it is less developed but well resourced.

Where should you outstaff?

As for a location with affordable salaries, both Glassdoor and Stack Overflow salary data indicate Central and, especially, Eastern Europe as low-cost opportunities for organizations that need Python developers.

Who should you outstaff to?

Outstaff your Python developer needs to a software development company with the depth of experience in your need area. It will take some additional looking to find a software development company that’s a good match for your Python Development needs.

And, yes — full disclosure — we at Beetroot are in this market too. But we’re set up here for the same reason Python developers and client companies are: it makes good financial and business sense.

• Beetroot can offer cost-efficient, highly talented Python developers handpicked from the deep pool of Python developers across Europe, including Sweden, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. We have a lot of completed and in-progress Python-powered projects, including reforestation AI, sustainability, travel tech, online course admin, healthcare, genomics, and more.
• We make sure our Python developers enjoy a vast array of in-house resources in a collaborative environment that frees us to leverage our expertise fully, develop efficiently, and enthusiastically tailor a sustainable solution to your Python programming needs. Plus, we like people, and we’re a pleasure to work with. So don’t be a stranger. Get in touch.