IT salaries in Poland (PLN 8,000 – 10,000) are not high compared to many other European countries and North America but are much higher than the average salary in the country (PLN 5,200). It means that an IT specialist can afford a nice life in this country.
To qualify for an EU Blue Card (a residence permit for international high-skilled workers), you need to have a salary offer that is no lower than PLN 7,800 a month (at least 1.5 times the average gross salary in Poland — PLN 5,200 in Q4 2019).
How much you can earn
The best-paid IT positions in Poland include infrastructure security managers, security engineers, senior SysOps / DevOps engineers, senior cloud engineers, and cybersecurity specialists.
Average IT salaries per month in Poland (PLN, before taxes):
- Software developer: 8,030 – 14,000
- Back-end developer: 9,500 – 13,000
- Front-end developer: 9,880 – 12,500
- Full-stack developer: 12,000 – 13,700
- DevOps engineer: 8,980 – 13,500
- Database administrator: from 6,030
- System administrator: 6,730 – 11,000
- Project manager: 7,760 – 12,250
- QA engineer: 7,735 – 10,450
- Technical writer: from 5,180
IT salaries may vary depending on several factors:
1. Candidate’s experience (PLN per month):
- Junior: 4,000 – 7,750
- Middle: 6,750 – 14,000
- Senior: 13,000 – 20,000
Mid-level specialists are most sought-after by Polish employers. Middle developers’ most common technologies include React, JavaScript, Python, Android, and Java.
2. Main technology (PLN per month, for Middle developers):
- Android: 11,000
- Angular: 11,500
- C++: 11,000
- Java: 11,000
- JavaScript: 10,500
- iOS: 10,500
- .NET: 11,000
- Node: 11,000
- PHP: 9,500
- Python: 12,000
- React: 11,000
- Ruby: 11,000
- Scala: 11,000
- Spring: 12,000
- Swift: 11,000
3. Type of contract (PLN per month):
- B2B: 11,000 – 16,000
- Employment contract (UoP): 8,000 – 13,000
- Others: 5,000 – 8,750
There are two main types of contracts for IT workers in Poland: Umowa o pracę (UoP) — a regular employment contract and B2B — a contract where an employee is a self-employed person. According to No Fluff Jobs, 57% of IT contracts in Poland are B2B, and 38% are UoP.
4. Location. The highest salaries in Poland are offered in Warsaw in Kraków (PLN 13,500 and 13,000 on average, respectively). Experienced IT specialists earn PLN 12,000 in Wrocław, PLN 11,430 in Silesia, PLN 11,200 in Poznań, PLN 10,500 in Tri-City.
Don’t forget that there is also an income tax. For example, if your salary before taxes is PLN 10,000, you’ll pay about 30% as taxes (including retirement payments, health and disability insurance, and other costs), and your salary after taxes will be PLN 7,140. It’s still a lot in Poland as 80% of Polish people earn less than PLN 8,000 a month before taxes.
To calculate your salary after taxes, you can use one of the online calculators (in Polish).
Cost of living in Poland
The salary of PLN 8,000 per month before taxes (≈ 30%) is enough to live in Poland. The average expenses do not usually exceed PLN 5,000 per month for a family. This sum includes the following monthly expenses (PLN):
- Rental accommodation: 1,500 – 2,000
- Food: 1,000
- Leisure activities: 400
- Utilities and Internet: 700
- Transport: 150–170
Keep in mind that life in Warsaw is more expensive than in other Polish cities.