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This year our company – Optiveum became strategic Partner of JustJoinIT a leading IT job portal in Poland in the creation of this Salary Report.
According to the Just Join IT Salary Report 2026, Poland remains one of Europe’s most important technology hubs but hiring decisions are now driven by specialization, experience, and measurable business value, rather than volume.
The report is based on:
For international companies considering IT recruitment in Poland, the conclusion is clear: the market is competitive, transparent, and predictable but no longer inflated.
The Polish IT market now strongly favors mid-level and senior professionals, particularly in Data, Cloud, and AI.
A defining feature of the Polish IT market is the coexistence of:
In the last year there has been a great public debate whether these B2B contracts should still be legal. There were initial plans to limit their legality to very specific cases. Fortunately, the business approach won, and it has been confirmed that the government is not planning to introduce any changes.
This is one of the key differentiators of the Polish IT market: the flexibility of employment and relatively low employment costs.
| Seniority | B2B (net) | Employment Contract (gross) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | ~€2,100 | ~€1,860 | B2B ≈ +13% |
| Mid-level | ~€4,395 | ~€3,490 | B2B ≈ +26% |
| Senior | ~€5,760 | ~€5,015 | B2B ≈ +15% |
How to read this correctly?
As a result, the real take-home difference between B2B and employment contracts is often even larger than shown above.
One of the most valuable insights from the report is the comparison between job offer ranges and real earnings.
Real earnings closely match advertised salaries (±1–2%). Expectations are generally realistic.
Actual earnings are on average 19–21% lower than the upper ranges shown in job ads.
This is the largest expectation gap in the market.
Seniors are the only group whose real earnings slightly exceed advertised rates (+1%).
This reflects strong negotiation power and scarcity of advanced skills.
For international employers, this confirms that salary ranges in job ads often represent upper limits, not guarantees.
Despite cautious hiring strategies, salary growth continued across most seniority levels:
Senior developers on employment contracts recorded the highest salary stability, indicating that companies increasingly treat key specialists as long-term assets.
The strongest salary and hiring momentum are concentrated in:
Generalist development roles are losing relative value, while deep specialization is consistently rewarded with higher compensation and stronger job security.
From an international perspective, Poland offers:
Poland remains cost-effective, but success in hiring depends on accurate salary benchmarking and realistic expectations.
Based on ongoing recruitment projects for international clients, three patterns dominate the Polish IT market:
Hybrid work is now the norm.
Fully remote roles are declining, but flexibility remains a key factor in recruitment.
The Polish IT market in 2026 is no longer an “easy money” environment, but a mature, professional, and globally competitive ecosystem.
For companies that understand real salary levels, contract structures, and specialization trends, Poland continues to be one of Europe’s strongest locations for building high-quality tech teams.
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