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Python Developer Salary Trends in South Africa

22 April 2024 , by Josh Nel

The 2024 Software Developer Salary Benchmarking Report is out. Get access to the report now.

Python remains South African developers’ most-wanted programming language and the country’s fourth most widely used language. In this article, we’ll explore what they can expect to earn throughout their careers and how their salaries compare to those of Go, Ruby and PHP developers.

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Average entry-level and junior Python developer salary trends

Salaries for entry-level Python developers have decreased by 4.7% since 2023. They now begin their careers on an average monthly income of R22 345. That’s 52% more than rookie PHP developers, but 31.2% less than Go, and 24.5% less than Ruby.

With at least two years of experience, Python developers should see the largest salary increase of their careers, jumping 56.6% to R34 990. That’s almost on par with 2023’s average of R35 006, while still being 23.6% ahead of PHP and 5.1% more than Ruby. However, they still find themselves 31.3% below Go developers.

With four-to-six years on the job, Python developers are in for another huge pay jump of 48.4%, bringing their income to R52 066 – 2.3% more than the 2023 equivalent. This puts them 31.4% ahead of PHP developers, but they still trail their Go and Ruby counterparts by 16.7% and 15.4%, respectively.

Average Python Developer Salaries by Experience



Average Salary by Years Experience, showing 25th and 75th percentiles
Years of Experience 25th Percentile Average 75th Percentile
0-2 R10,000 R22,345 R29,500
2-4 R22,500 R34,990 R42,500
4-6 R32,500 R52,066 R59,500
6-10 R47,500 R69,242 R81,500
10+ R67,500 R94,872 R105,000

Salaries for entry-level Python developers have decreased by 4.7% since 2023. They now begin their careers on an average monthly income of R22 345. That’s 52% more than rookie PHP developers, but 31.2% less than Go, and 24.5% less than Ruby.

With at least two years of experience, Python developers should see the largest salary increase of their careers, jumping 56.6% to R34 990. That’s almost on par with 2023’s average of R35 006, while still being 23.6% ahead of PHP and 5.1% more than Ruby. However, they still find themselves 31.3% below Go developers.

With four-to-six years on the job, Python developers are in for another huge pay jump of 48.4%, bringing their income to R52 066 – 2.3% more than the 2023 equivalent. This puts them 31.4% ahead of PHP developers, but they still trail their Go and Ruby counterparts by 16.7% and 15.4%, respectively.

Around the six-year mark, a 33% increase puts senior Python developers on a monthly income of R69 242, a nominal 0.4% bump over 2023’s average. PHP developers at this level earn 23.3% less, Go 16.7 more, and Ruby 15.5% more.

Salaries for highly experienced Python developers with at least a decade under their belts have risen just 2.3% since 2023, but thanks to a substantial 37% increase from their previous level, they can expect to earn a respectable R94 872. That’s 23% more than PHP, 12.2% less than Go, and 15.5% less than Ruby.

Senior Python developers should have excellent coding and design skills, while also taking on responsibilities like creating technical software reports, supervising testing, training other team members and guiding the overall improvement of the software. Unsurprisingly, candidates with these skills are desirable, which explains why salaries continue to rise so generously for more experienced Python developers.

Average Python Developer Salaries in 2023 vs 2024

Years of Experience 2023 2024
0-2 R23,450 R22,345
2-4 R35,006 R34,990
4-6 R50,900 R52,066
6-10 R68,995 R69,242
10+ R92,759 R94,872

Keep in mind

The data in this article is taken from OfferZen's 2024 State of the Software Developer Nation Report. In this article, 'salary' refers to the gross monthly salary (before tax) provided by more than 3935 survey respondents.

Average salaries are single data points and only one part of a bigger story. It's expected that many respondents may earn significantly more or less than these averages. However, we hope to provide a picture of underlying trends by mapping the average salaries for different experience levels.

These averages should not be used to estimate what your actual salary will or should be.

Salaries depend on the industry, individual, perks and nature of work. These factors all influence the salary a company will offer to a prospective hire. In addition, most developers are "fluent" in several languages, which will affect the final figures.

It's also important to remember that every individual's context is different. Ultimately, salary is a personal conversation that should take place between employee and employer.

On OfferZen you can hire Python developers and find Python developer jobs.

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