How much do PHP developers earn?

The average PHP developer salary is £56,639, based on expected salaries of PHP developers looking for UK-based work on cord during 2021. The average salary range of Mid-Senior level PHP developer positions in the UK is £42,400-£66,875. These insights break down the details of the salary expectations of 495 PHP developers by years of experience, seniority, and chosen frameworks, as well as the salaries listed on 102 PHP developer positions at different seniority levels.

PHP developer salary expectations by years of experience

Up to 10 years' experience, PHP developer salaries increase at an average of £4,000 per year from £31,667 to £71,667. Above 10 years' experience, they level out, and don't tend to exceed £75,000 on average. This suggests that, at 10 years or more in, years' experience is no longer the most decisive factor in a PHP developer's salary expectations, and that they may need to change jobs (into, for example, architecture or management) in order to increase their earning potential above this level.

PHP Developer salary expectations by seniority

On average, UK-based PHP developers expect the following salaries:

• Entry-level: £30,476

• Junior: £33,425

• Mid: £45,848

• Senior: £65,283

• Lead: £72,342

Lead PHP developers don't earn significantly more than the most experienced (in terms of years) PHP developers do. To increase their earning potential above £75,000, it seems that PHP developers may need to move into senior management or architecture, though further analysis would be required to confirm this.

PHP developer salaries by framework and seniority

Laravel salaries

Laravel is the most popular PHP framework on cord, with 222 Engineers listing the framework as a primary skill in the last 12 months.

However, the salary expectations of Laravel developers trail those of the average PHP developer, with the gap widening at Senior and Lead level.

Symfony salaries

57 PHP developers listed Symfony as a skill in the past 12 months, making it the second most popular PHP framework on cord.

No entry-level engineers listed Symfony as a skill. Junior Symfony developers tend to have lower salary expectations than the average Junior PHP developer, but at mid and senior level the expectations of Symfony developers exceed those of the average PHP Developer.

Salary ranges of PHP developer positions

Positions on cord are posted with a minimum salary level and a maximum salary level. The graph below shows the average values of these ranges, as well as the average mid-point. Average ranges are large for several reasons, including that definitions of seniorities vary across companies, and that positions can be posted with multiple seniorities (but only one salary range).

Among 102 UK-based PHP developer positions, the average mid point of salaries listed were as follows:

• Entry-level: £35,000

• Junior: £36,538

• Mid: £51,500

• Senior: £57,813

• Lead: £70,536

Based on the expectations data above, PHP developers tend to expect salaries within the mid-point ranges at Entry, Junior and Mid level, but at Senior and Lead level they tend to expect salaries in line with the upper salary limits.

Key Insights

• The average PHP developer salary is £56,639

• PHP developer salaries increase at an average of £4,000 per year of experience from £31,667 to £71,667 after 10 years

• Laravel is the most popular PHP framework, despite its users having lower salary expectations than the average PHP developer

• Entry-Mid level PHP Developers expect to be paid around the mid-range of what companies are willing to offer. Senior and Lead PHP Developers expect to be paid near the maximum of these ranges

Data Disclaimer

Salary expectation data refers to 495 UK-based Back End or Full Stack engineers listing PHP as a Primary Skill, looking for UK-based (On-site or Hybrid) work on cord between January - December 2021.

Position salary data refers to 102 UK-based Back End or Full Stack developer positions posted on cord between January - December 2021 listing PHP as a required skill.

While data encompasses the whole of the UK, the majority of UK-based roles on cord are based in London, which makes the data more relevant to people considering work in London. Further information on regional salaries will be available soon.