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Principle Developer Salary and Equity in 2026
How much can a Principle developer expect to make at US-based startups? The average estimated salary for Principle developers is 190k per year, with a range from 133k to 277k. The salary range for Principle developers varies depending on factors such as location, industry, experience, and startup stage.
189.8k
Average Salary
5 years
Average years of experience
Salary
The average salary for a Principle developer is$189,800, which is 68.2% higher than the average startup salary of$112,833. Principle 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
$258,500/yr
Range $224k - $277k
Average
$189,800/yr
Range $165k - $222k
Below Average
$157,200/yr
Range $133k - $185k
Top Locations
The highest average salary a Principle developer can get in , that is $0. This pay is 100.0% lower than the average Principle salary in startups, which is $189,800. Salaries will vary based on your location. The top-paying markets in the US, on average, are currently: . Remote jobs often pay based on the location you reside in.
Industries
The highest average salary a Principle developer can get in Market Research, that is $221,500. This pay is 37.8% higher than the average Principle salary, which is $160,714. The highest-paying industries in 2023 are: Market Research (avg $221,500 per year), Software (avg $211,000 per year), Enterprise Software (avg $181,000 per year).
Tech Stack
Top Tech Stacks
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 Principle developer can get with 10+ years of experience, that is $221,500. This pay is 96.3% 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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