Software Engineer Salary in India (Principal, Tier-1 cities) — 2026

p25 / p50 / p75 / p90 base compensation, in LPA, from n=2,222 anonymised records. A cohort only publishes once 12 or more anonymised offers land in it (k≥12 floor) — we never expose individual pay.

80.0 LPA

P25

125.0 LPA

P50 · median

125.0 LPA

P75

175.0 LPA

P90

CTC band distribution

USD-60-100K n=614

USD-100-150K n=1,253

USD-150-200K n=328

USD-200-300K n=27

By years of experience

YoE 15+ p50 125.0 LPA · p25–p90 80.0 LPA – 175.0 LPA n = 2,222

Software Engineer — other published bands

Entry (0–2 yrs) · Tier-1 (n=1,522) Entry (0–2 yrs) · Tier-2 (n=196) Entry (0–2 yrs) · Tier-3 (n=299) Lead (10–14 yrs) · Tier-1 (n=1,241) Lead (10–14 yrs) · Tier-3 (n=12) Mid (3–5 yrs) · Tier-1 (n=1,758) Mid (3–5 yrs) · Tier-2 (n=160) Mid (3–5 yrs) · Tier-3 (n=340) Senior (6–9 yrs) · Tier-1 (n=1,385) Senior (6–9 yrs) · Tier-2 (n=16) Senior (6–9 yrs) · Tier-3 (n=156)

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What k≥12 means: every number on this page is aggregated from a cohort of at least 12 anonymised offers, so no individual's compensation can be reverse-engineered. Last refreshed 2025-06-15 from 534,500+ verified job-market records. New to percentiles? How to read a salary band. Read the full methodology.

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