Python Developer Salary Trends in South Africa

Python remains South African developers’ most-wanted programming language and the country’s fourth most widely used language. In this article, we’ll explore what they can expect to earn throughout their careers and how their salaries compare to those of Go, Ruby and PHP developers.

Average entry-level and junior Python developer salary trends

Salaries for entry-level Python developers have decreased by 4.7% since 2023. They now begin their careers on an average monthly income of R22 345. That’s 52% more than rookie PHP developers, but 31.2% less than Go, and 24.5% less than Ruby.

With at least two years of experience, Python developers should see the largest salary increase of their careers, jumping 56.6% to R34 990. That’s almost on par with 2023’s average of R35 006, while still being 23.6% ahead of PHP and 5.1% more than Ruby. However, they still find themselves 31.3% below Go developers.

With four-to-six years on the job, Python developers are in for another huge pay jump of 48.4%, bringing their income to R52 066 – 2.3% more than the 2023 equivalent. This puts them 31.4% ahead of PHP developers, but they still trail their Go and Ruby counterparts by 16.7% and 15.4%, respectively.

Average Python Developer Salaries by Experience

Average senior Python developer salary trends

Salaries for entry-level Python developers have decreased by 4.7% since 2023. They now begin their careers on an average monthly income of R22 345. That’s 52% more than rookie PHP developers, but 31.2% less than Go, and 24.5% less than Ruby.

With at least two years of experience, Python developers should see the largest salary increase of their careers, jumping 56.6% to R34 990. That’s almost on par with 2023’s average of R35 006, while still being 23.6% ahead of PHP and 5.1% more than Ruby. However, they still find themselves 31.3% below Go developers.

With four-to-six years on the job, Python developers are in for another huge pay jump of 48.4%, bringing their income to R52 066 – 2.3% more than the 2023 equivalent. This puts them 31.4% ahead of PHP developers, but they still trail their Go and Ruby counterparts by 16.7% and 15.4%, respectively.

Average senior Python developer salary trends

Around the six-year mark, a 33% increase puts senior Python developers on a monthly income of R69 242, a nominal 0.4% bump over 2023’s average. PHP developers at this level earn 23.3% less, Go 16.7 more, and Ruby 15.5% more.

Salaries for highly experienced Python developers with at least a decade under their belts have risen just 2.3% since 2023, but thanks to a substantial 37% increase from their previous level, they can expect to earn a respectable R94 872. That’s 23% more than PHP, 12.2% less than Go, and 15.5% less than Ruby.

Senior Python developers should have excellent coding and design skills, while also taking on responsibilities like creating technical software reports, supervising testing, training other team members and guiding the overall improvement of the software. Unsurprisingly, candidates with these skills are desirable, which explains why salaries continue to rise so generously for more experienced Python developers.

Average Python Developer Salaries in 2023 vs 2024

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 Python developers and find Python developer jobs.

Related resources:

• State of South Africa’s Software Developer Nation
• 2024 Software Developer Salary Benchmarking Report
• Decoding the 2024 tech job market
• How to Negotiate a Job Offer That’s More Than Just the Money
• How to Negotiate when Hiring Developers
• Developer Salaries 2023: Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria
• Developer Salary Hub
• How to Benchmark Your Salary Expectations as a Developer in 2023
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