Software Engineer Salary in Belgium: Official Pay Data 2022
Software and applications developers and analysts in Belgium earned a mean of €5,833 gross a month in October 2022 working full-time, according to Statbel. That is 1.43 times the €4,076 mean for all full-time employees (our calculation), and the figure leaves out the 13th-month pay and double holiday pay. On top of pay, a Belgian employer with 10 or more workers pays at least 26.72% in social security contributions in 2026 (ONSS).
Software and applications developers and analysts in Belgium earned a mean of €5,833 gross a month in 2022, according to Statbel, the Belgian statistical office. This page is for software engineers deciding what to ask for in Belgium and for companies, often in the US or the UK, budgeting a hire there. It sets out what the official data shows for software and related ICT roles, how Belgium compares with its neighbours and what an employer pays on top of salary in 2026.
Pay of software and ICT jobs in Belgium
Pay of ICT sector professionals: Belgium and neighbours
What software engineers earn in Belgium
Full-time software and applications developers and analysts (ISCO-08 group 251, which includes software developers) earned a mean of €5,833 gross a month in October 2022, according to Statbel's structure of earnings survey. That is 1.43 times the €4,076 mean for all full-time employees, whose median was €3,728 (our calculation for the ratio). The mean for this group rose from €5,357 in 2021, an increase of 8.9% (our calculation).
Statbel's monthly wage includes regular premiums such as shift or weekend pay, but not annual or irregular premiums such as 13th-month pay and double holiday pay, so yearly pay is higher than 12 times the monthly figure. Twelve months at the mean come to €69,996 before those premiums (our calculation). Statbel does not publish a median for this occupation group in this file.
Pay in related ICT jobs
Database and network professionals had a mean of €5,711 a month in 2022, ICT services managers €8,787, telecommunications and broadcasting technicians €4,625 and ICT operations and user support technicians €4,148. Across all jobs in the computer programming, consultancy and related activities sector, the mean was €5,356. Belgium had 302,300 ICT specialists in work in 2025, 5.9% of total employment, against 5.0% across the EU (Eurostat).
How Belgium compares in Europe
For a cross-country view, Eurostat's Structure of Earnings Survey for 2022 gives the mean annual pay of all professionals in the information and communication sector, including annual bonuses. In Belgium it was €74,098, 1.29 times the EU average of €57,522 (our calculation). Germany (€78,189) and Luxembourg (€76,730) were slightly higher, while the Netherlands (€69,120) and France (€60,737) were lower. These are sector averages for all professionals, not software engineers alone.
What an employer pays on top of salary
Belgian employers pay social security contributions to the National Social Security Office (ONSS, RSZ in Dutch). Since 2018 the basic employer contribution for private-sector workers in categories 1 and 3 of the structural reduction is 19.88% of gross pay, and the wage moderation contribution adds at most 5.12%, for 25.00% together (our calculation). Employers that had on average 10 or more workers also pay 1.69%. The 2026 instructions list 2 small special contributions as well: 0.01% for the asbestos fund, collected in the first 3 quarters of 2026, and 0.02% for work accidents.
On 12 months at the 2022 mean, €69,996, those rates come to €18,702.93 a year, 26.72% on top of pay, for a total of €88,698.93 at an employer with 10 or more workers (our calculation, 2026 rates). Left out: 13th-month pay and holiday pay and the contributions on them, the company closure fund and temporary unemployment contributions, which depend on the employer's size and sector, structural reductions, sector fund contributions, the compulsory work accident insurance premium and any group insurance or company pension.
Hiring a software engineer in Belgium remotely
We do placement. We source, screen and interview remote software engineers and other professionals across Europe, then deliver a shortlist of 3 vetted candidates within 21 days for a flat $6,500, or your deposit back. Every placement carries a 12-month replacement guarantee. See how placement works.
Prefer to run the search yourself? Post a job for $299, live for 60 days, and reach more than 1,000,000 European remote professionals.
Once you have chosen someone, there are 3 common ways to employ them in Belgium:
- Belgian entity: you register a company in Belgium, run payroll and pay the employer's ONSS contributions yourself.
- Employer of record (EOR): a third-party provider becomes the legal employer and runs Belgian payroll for a monthly fee. Your company directs the work.
- Contractor: the person invoices you as a self-employed professional. The relationship has to be genuinely independent, or it can count as employment.
Euro Remote Talent does not employ people on your behalf. We find and shortlist the candidate, and you employ them through the route that fits.
Looking for a role yourself? Browse remote jobs in Belgium or see how our Land a Great Remote Job program helps.
How we built these figures
Belgian pay figures come from Statbel's annual structure of earnings survey, covering more than 184,000 employees. They are mean gross monthly wages of full-time employees in enterprises with 10 or more employees in October 2022, the latest year published, and include regular premiums but not 13th-month pay or double holiday pay. Occupations follow ISCO-08 at 3 digits, so software developers (2512) are grouped with other software and applications developers and analysts (251). The survey does not give figures by job title such as frontend or backend engineer, by years of experience or by remote status. The European comparison uses Eurostat's 2022 survey (table earn_ses22_49) for all professionals in the information and communication sector. Employer rates come from the ONSS administrative instructions 2026/3. Where we multiply or divide, we say so.
More guides
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and collective agreements can set different terms. Confirm with a local accountant or lawyer before you hire.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average software engineer salary in Belgium?
Full-time software and applications developers and analysts earned a mean of €5,833 gross a month in October 2022, according to Statbel. That excludes 13th-month pay and double holiday pay, which come on top.
How does that compare with the average Belgian salary?
It is 1.43 times the €4,076 mean for all full-time employees in Belgium, whose median was €3,728 a month in 2022 (Statbel; ratio is our calculation).
Do software engineers earn more in Belgium than in the Netherlands or France?
In Eurostat's 2022 survey, professionals in the information and communication sector in Belgium earned a mean of €74,098 a year, against €69,120 in the Netherlands and €60,737 in France. Germany (€78,189) and Luxembourg (€76,730) were slightly higher.
How much does a software engineer cost an employer in Belgium?
On top of pay, an employer with 10 or more workers pays at least 26.72% in social security contributions in 2026. On 12 months at the €5,833 mean, €69,996, that is €18,702.93, for a total of €88,698.93, before 13th-month and holiday pay, the closure fund, insurance and pension costs (our calculation).
Can a company outside Belgium hire a software engineer there without a Belgian entity?
Yes. The usual routes are an employer of record, which employs the person for you, or a genuine contractor agreement. Euro Remote Talent handles the placement: a shortlist of 3 vetted candidates within 21 days for a flat $6,500, and you choose the route.
Sources
- Statbel, An overview of Belgian wages and salaries, with the data file An overview of Belgian wages and salaries 1999-2022. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
- Eurostat, Employed ICT specialists, isoc_sks_itspt. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
- Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey 2022, earn_ses22_49. Checked 7 Nov 2026.
- ONSS, Instructions administratives 2026/3, Les cotisations de sécurité sociale. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
- ONSS, Instructions administratives 2026/3, Fonds amiante. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
- ONSS, Instructions administratives 2026/3, Fonds de fermeture des entreprises. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
