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PHP Developer Salary and Equity in 2026
How much can a PHP developer expect to make at US-based startups? The average estimated salary for PHP developers is 78k per year, with a range from 40k to 185k. The salary range for PHP developers varies depending on factors such as location, industry, experience, and startup stage.
78.1k
Average Salary
4 years
Average years of experience

Salary
The average salary for a PHP developer is$78,083, which is 30.8% lower than the average startup salary of$112,833. PHP developer salaries 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 industry.
Top of market
$155,292/yr
Range $120k - $185k
Average
$78,083/yr
Range $65k - $95k
Below Average
$53,542/yr
Range $40k - $80k
Top Locations
The highest average salary a PHP developer can get in Austin, that is $140,000. This pay is 79.3% higher than the average PHP salary in startups, which is $78,083. Salaries will vary based on your location. The top-paying markets in the US, on average, are currently: Austin (avg $140,000 per year), San Francisco Bay Area (avg $125,000 per year), Remote (avg $120,000 per year). Remote jobs often pay based on the location you reside in.
Austin
$140k
Remote
$120k
Denver
$105k
Melbourne
$92k
San Diego
$90k
Los Angeles
View SalariesVancouver
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View SalariesChicago
View SalariesIndustries
The highest average salary a PHP developer can get in Advertising Platforms, that is $200,000. This pay is 13.2% higher than the average PHP salary, which is $176,700. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Advertising Platforms (avg $200,000 per year), Financial Services (avg $200,000 per year), Local (avg $185,000 per year).
Tech Stack
Top Tech Stacks
The top-paying developer skills of 2026 are:
1. Celery
$202k
2. Clojure
$195k
3. OpenCV
$192k
4. Clojurescript
$187.5k
5. Symfony
$175k
6. Scipy
$175k
7. Heroku
$165k
8. Dart
$160k
9. Amazon ECS
$155k
10. DynamoDB
$150k
Years of experience
Below Average
Average
Top of Market
The highest average salary a PHP developer can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $115,000. This pay is 1.9% higher than the average salary in startups, which is $112,833. 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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