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Kafka developer salary in Software startups in 2026

How much does Kafka developer expect to make in Software startups? The average expected salary for Kafka developers in Software startups is 130 per year, with a range from 29k to 300k. These amounts were gathered from Wellfound self-reported data and represent the median salary range. The salary range for Kafka developers in Software startup varies depending on factors such as location, experience, and startup stage.

129.8k

Average Salary

5 years

Average years of experience

Hiring data hero image

Salary

By quarter
The average salary for a Kafka developer in Software startups is$129,792, which is 2.4% lower than the average salary of$133,042 in Software startups. Kafka developer salaries in Software are based on exclusive Wellfound data. All data is updated on a weekly basis. Factors that may influence salary include: location, years of experience, title, size of company, and skill-set.

Top of market

$227,271/yr

Range $140k - $300k

Average

$129,792/yr

Range $50k - $190k

Below Average

$89,854/yr

Range $29k - $144k


Top Locations

The highest average salary a Kafka developer in Software can get in Seattle, that is $210,500. This pay is 62.2% higher than the average Kafka developer salary in Software startups, which is $129,792. Salaries will vary based on your location. The top-paying markets in the US, on average, are currently: Seattle (avg $210,500 per year), Chicago (avg $206,500 per year), Denver (avg $201,500 per year). Remote jobs often pay based on the location you reside in.
Seattle

$210.5k

Chicago

$206.5k

Denver

$201.5k

Austin

$183k

Boston

$133.5k

 

Industries

Use the filters above to discover compensation across companies similar to yours.

Tech Stack

The top-paying developer skills of 2026 are:
  • 1. Lisp

    $208k

  • 2. Celery

    $202k

  • 3. Clojure

    $195k

  • 4. OpenCV

    $192k

  • 5. Clojurescript

    $187.5k

  • 6. Principle

    $176k

  • 7. Scipy

    $175k

  • 8. Symfony

    $175k

  • 9. Vue

    $170k

  • 10. SOLR

    $165k


Years of experience

Below Average

Average

Top of Market

The highest average salary a Kafka developer in Software can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $170,000. This pay is 27.8% higher than the average salary in Software startups, which is $133,042. The salary range varies with years of experience and depends on other factors such as skill set, size of company, and industry.
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