Java Developer Salary Trends in South Africa

03 April 2024, by Josh Nel

22.7% of South African developers are using Java as a primary programming language in 2024. This makes it the fifth most-used programming language in the country. Here’s an overview of average Java developer salaries by experience, and what full stack Java developers are earning across their careers.

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Entry-level and junior Java developer salary trends

EEntry-level Java developers can expect a gross monthly salary of R21 463, 9.42 less than 2023’s average. At this stage of their careers, they earn 4% and 8.9% less than entry-level Python and C# developers, respectively. At the same time, they earn 46% more than their PHP counterparts.

Once they’ve been in the profession for at least two years, the average junior Java developer’s salary increases by 40.2%. This gives them an average monthly salary of R33 053, 0.5% less than 2023’s average. They now earn 2.7% more than their C# counterparts, while the gap between themselves and junior PHP developers has narrowed to 16.7%. Junior Python developers earn 5.5% less than junior Java developers.

Java developers in South Africa can expect to see their biggest salary jump once they have more than four years of experience under their belt. Java developers with four to six years of experience see their salaries rise by 49.5% to R50 350. As a result of this increase, they’ve widened their advantage over their PHP counterparts to 27.1%.

Average Java Developer Salaries by Experience

Average Salary by Years Experience, showing 25th and 75th percentiles

Years of Experience	25th Percentile	Average	75th Percentile
0-2	R10,000	R21,463	R26,500
2-4	R17,500	R33,053	R39,500
4-6	R32,500	R50,350	R57,500
6-10	R47,500	R69,908	R82,500
10-15	R67,500	R100,564	R110,000

Senior Java Developer Salary Trends

After six years in the job, Java developers can expect a 36.2% increase for an average monthly salary of R69 908, 3.4% more than 2023’s average. As a result of this increase, senior Java developers earn 13.3% more than their C# counterparts and 24.5% more than developers working with PHP.

Senior Java developers with more than ten years of experience can expect an additional 42.3% increase for an average salary of R100 584. At this stage of their careers, they’ve overtaken senior Python developers by 6%.

A Java developer’s role can also affect their starting salary and earning potential across their careers. Let’s see what full stack Java developers earn at each stage of their careers.

Java Full Stack Developer Salary Trends

Entry-level full stack Java developers earn an average salary of R18 989, 11.5% less than the average for all Java developers with fewer than two years of experience. Java full stack developers see their salaries increase by 45.2% to R27 566 after they’ve been in the profession for at least two years. Despite this, they now earn 16.6% less than the average junior Java developer.

Once they have more than four years of experience, mid-level full stack Java developers experience a 55.1% pay rise to R42 766. Despite this significant increase, they still earn 16.1% less than Java developers with comparable experience.

Salary growth for senior developers picks up once they gain at least six years of experience: At this stage of their careers, they can look forward to a 61.9% pay rise for an average salary of R69 244. This slows to 26.8% after ten years for an average salary of R85 720.

Average Full Stack Java Developer Salaries by Experience

Years of Experience	25th Percentile	Average	75th Percentile
0-2	R10,000	R18,989	R28,000
2-4	R20,000	R27,566	R37,500
4-6	R32,500	R42,766	R57,500
6-10	R47,500	R69,224	R77,500
10-15	R67,500	R87,771	R97,500

Spring developer salary trends

Another factor that impacts a software developer’s salary is the framework they use. Spring is one of the most-used frameworks by Java developers in South Africa. Here, we’ll see what Spring developers earn at each stage of their careers and how that compares to the average Java developer’s salary.

Entry-level Spring developers start with an average monthly salary of R23 604, which is 10% more than the average for an entry-level Java developer.

Once they have two years of experience under their belts, the average salary for a junior Spring developer increases by a massive 53.8%. This gives them an average monthly salary of R36 302. By this stage of their careers, they earn 9.8% more than the average Java developer with comparable experience.

After passing the four-year mark, Spring developers can expect a 45.1% increase, giving them an average salary of R51 138. Despite the increase, the gap between intermediate Spring and Java developers has narrowed to just 1.6%.

Senior Spring developers with more than six years of experience can expect an additional 45.1% increase for an average salary of R74 207, 6.2% more than the average for comparable Java developers. This increases by a further 39.8% to R103 777 after they’ve been in the profession for more than ten years.

Average Spring Developer Salaries by Experience

Years of Experience	25th Percentile	Average	75th Percentile
0-2	R10,625	R23,604	R29,500
2-4	R22,500	R36,302	R46,500
4-6	R37,500	R51,138	R56,250
6-10	R47,500	R74,207	R82,500
10-15	R67,500	R103,777	R110,000

Keep in mind

The data in this article is taken from OfferZen’s 2024 State of the Software Developer Nation Report. In this article, ‘salary’ refers to the gross monthly salary (before tax) provided by more than 3935 survey respondents.

Average salaries are single data points and only one part of a bigger story. It’s expected that many respondents may earn significantly more or less than these averages. However, we hope to provide a picture of underlying trends by mapping the average salaries for different experience levels.

These averages should not be used to estimate what your actual salary will or should be.

Salaries depend on the industry, individual, perks and nature of work. These factors all influence the salary a company will offer to a prospective hire. In addition, most developers are “fluent” in several languages, which will affect the final figures.

It’s also important to remember that every individual’s context is different. Ultimately, salary is a personal conversation that should take place between employee and employer.

On OfferZen you can hire Java developers and find Java developer jobs.