Software Engineer Salary in Portugal: Official Pay Data 2024
The average software engineer salary in Portugal was €2,779 gross a month in October 2024 for ICT specialists, including regular premiums and overtime, with base pay of €2,407 (Quadros de Pessoal, GEP/MTSSS). That is 1.76 times the average for all employees. With the legal Christmas and holiday subsidies, it comes to about €38,161 a year (our calculation).
Software engineers in Portugal (ICT specialists) earned an average of €2,779 gross a month in October 2024, paid in 14 instalments a year. This page is for software engineers deciding what to ask for in Portugal and for companies, often in the US or the UK, budgeting a hire there. It sets out what ICT specialists earn according to the labour ministry's Quadros de Pessoal, how pay changes with level and region, how Portugal compares in Europe and what an employer pays on top of salary.
ICT pay in Portugal by occupation group
Pay of ICT sector professionals: Portugal and neighbours
What software engineers earn in Portugal
ICT specialists in Portugal (sub-major group 25 of the Portuguese occupation classification CPP/2010, which includes software developers and analysts) earned an average of €2,779 gross a month in October 2024, according to Quadros de Pessoal, the employer census run by the labour ministry's statistics office (GEP/MTSSS). That figure, called ganho, is base pay plus regular premiums, allowances and overtime. Base pay alone averaged €2,407. Both are means for employees in mainland Portugal and leave out the Christmas and holiday subsidies.
The average for all employees was €1,583 in ganho and €1,309 in base pay, so ICT specialists earn about 1.76 times the national average (our calculation). ICT technicians (group 35) averaged €1,962. Men in group 25 averaged €2,840 and women €2,566.
The Labour Code adds a Christmas subsidy equal to one month of pay (article 263) and a holiday subsidy (article 264) based on base pay for the minimum holiday period, so pay comes in 14 instalments a year: 12 monthly salaries and the 2 subsidies. Counting the monthly ganho 12 times and the base pay twice for the 2 subsidies gives about €38,161 a year; 14 times the base pay alone gives €33,705 (both our calculation, assuming October pay is typical of the year).
Pay by level and region
Quadros de Pessoal does not publish software developers (group 251) separately, and it groups staff by qualification level rather than job titles like junior or senior. In computer programming, consultancy and information services (economic activity divisions 62 and 63), senior staff (quadros superiores) averaged €3,152 a month in ganho, supervisors and team leaders €3,037, middle staff €2,584, highly skilled professionals €2,587, skilled professionals €1,685 and interns and trainees €1,346. The average for the whole division was €2,629.
Region matters. For ICT specialists, base pay averaged €2,543 a month in Grande Lisboa and €2,340 in the Norte region, which includes Porto, against €2,054 in Península de Setúbal, €1,990 in Centro, €1,865 in the Algarve, €1,790 in Alentejo and €1,692 in Oeste e Vale do Tejo.
How Portugal compares in Europe
In Eurostat's Structure of Earnings Survey for 2022, professionals in the information and communication sector in Portugal earned a mean of €39,232 a year, 0.68 times the EU average of €57,522 (our calculation). Spain was at €45,646, Italy €49,625 and France €60,737, while Poland was lower at €29,721. Portugal had 283,900 ICT specialists in work in 2025, 5.4% of total employment, against 5.0% across the EU.
What an employer pays on top of salary
In 2026 the general Social Security contribution rate (taxa social única) for employees is 34.75% of pay: 23.75% paid by the employer and 11% withheld from the employee, under article 53 of the Contributory Regimes Code. The Christmas and holiday subsidies count as pay for contributions.
The 2 work compensation funds no longer add to the bill. Since 1 January 2024 employers no longer join or pay into the Work Compensation Fund (FCT), and payments to the Work Compensation Guarantee Fund (FGCT, 0.075% of base pay) are suspended while the medium-term income agreement between the government and social partners is in force.
At the estimated €38,161 a year for an ICT specialist, the employer's 23.75% comes to €9,063.27, for a total of €47,224.41 a year (our calculation, 2026 rate). Per month, 23.75% of the €2,779 average ganho is about €660. Workplace accident insurance and other insurances, meal allowances, any company pension and rates that differ for specific groups or contracts come on top and are not included.
Hiring a software engineer in Portugal remotely
We do placement, not employer of record. We source, screen and interview remote software engineers and other professionals from a network of more than 1,000,000 European remote professionals, 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 candidates who want to work remotely.
Once you have chosen someone, there are 3 common ways to employ them in Portugal:
- Portuguese entity: you register a company in Portugal, run payroll, pay the 14 instalments and the employer's contributions yourself.
- Employer of record (EOR): a third-party provider becomes the legal employer and runs Portuguese payroll for a monthly fee. Your company directs the work.
- Contractor: the person invoices you as an independent worker. 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. Read how to hire developers in Portugal.
Looking for a role yourself? Browse remote jobs in Portugal or see how our Land a Great Remote Job program helps.
How we built these figures
Portuguese pay figures come from Quadros de Pessoal 2024, published by GEP/MTSSS (now the Direção-Geral de Coordenação e Planeamento) on 19 December 2025. Employers report every employee for the month of October; the published tables cover mainland Portugal only, not the Azores or Madeira, and give means, not medians. The tables we use do not split full-time from part-time workers. Base pay excludes premiums, allowances and the Christmas and holiday subsidies; ganho adds regular premiums, allowances and overtime but still excludes the 2 subsidies. The source has no separate figure for software developers, by years of experience or by remote status. The Eurostat comparison is from 2022 and covers all professionals in the information and communication sector, not software engineers alone. 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 Portugal?
ICT specialists in mainland Portugal earned an average of €2,779 gross a month in October 2024, including regular premiums and overtime, and €2,407 in base pay, according to Quadros de Pessoal. With the Christmas and holiday subsidies, that is about €38,161 a year (our calculation).
How much does a senior software developer earn in Portugal?
Official statistics do not use the word senior. In computer programming and IT services, senior staff (quadros superiores) averaged €3,152 gross a month in October 2024 and supervisors and team leaders €3,037, before the Christmas and holiday subsidies.
Do software engineers in Portugal get paid 14 times a year?
Yes. The Labour Code gives employees a Christmas subsidy equal to one month of pay and a holiday subsidy based on base pay for the minimum holiday period, so pay comes in 14 instalments a year. The Quadros de Pessoal monthly averages leave both subsidies out.
How much does a software engineer cost an employer in Portugal?
The employer pays 23.75% Social Security on top of pay, including the 2 subsidies. At an estimated €38,161 a year for an ICT specialist, that is €9,063.27, for a total of €47,224.41, before insurance and any other benefits (our calculation, 2026 rate).
Can a company outside Portugal hire a software engineer there without a Portuguese 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
- GEP/MTSSS (now DGCP), Quadros de Pessoal 2024, tables 96, 97, 101, 111 and 113, published 19 Dec 2025. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
- GEP/MTSSS (now DGCP), Quadros de Pessoal 2024, summary. 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.
- Diário da República, Lei 110/2009, Contributory Regimes Code, articles 46 and 53. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
- Diário da República, Decreto-Lei 115/2023, article 4. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
- Segurança Social, Practical guide: Fundo de Garantia de Compensação do Trabalho, v4.04, 13 Aug 2026. Checked 9 Nov 2026.
- Diário da República, Labour Code, article 263 (Christmas subsidy) and article 264 (holiday subsidy). Checked 9 Nov 2026.
