The AI Pay Premium: ML Engineers vs Software Engineers (November 2026)
Machine learning engineer ads in the UK advertise a median salary of £95k, against £57.5k for software engineers: a gap of £37.5k, or about 1.65 times. The figures are from live ads on salaryshown.com on 9 November 2026, using the jobs data last updated on 8 November (4,000 open roles). Only 67 machine learning ads state a salary, so the numbers are a snapshot, not a settled rate.
The gap holds in every split we can test. It is smaller than the headline once you compare the same type of employer, and several cells are thin.
The headline comparison
| Role family | Open roles | Ads with a salary | Median advertised salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| ML engineering | 194 | 67 | £95k |
| Software engineering | 1,470 | 925 | £57.5k |
| Data science | 166 | 61 | £80k |
| Data engineering | 182 | 95 | £75k |
Medians use the midpoint of each advertised range. The machine learning engineer salary page and the software engineer salary page show the same medians, with the software figure rounded to £58k there. Only about a third of machine learning ads (67 of 194) state a salary, against about two thirds of software ads.
Employer type changes the picture
The two families are priced by very different employers. Most priced software ads come from recruitment agencies, which we list only when they state pay: 794 of the 925. Among priced machine learning ads, 47 of 67 are agency ads.
| Employer type | ML engineering median (ads) | Software engineering median (ads) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Startups | £132.5k (17) | £107.5k (73) | £25k |
| Agencies | £90k (47) | £55k (794) | £35k |
| Other direct employers | £42k (3) | £47.7k (58) | not enough ML data |
Startups advertise the most in both families. Within startups the machine learning premium is £25k; within agency ads it is £35k. The direct-employer machine learning figure rests on three ads, so we do not draw anything from it.
By seniority
| Level | ML engineering median (ads) | Software engineering median (ads) |
|---|---|---|
| Junior | £37.5k (3) | £31.8k (48) |
| Mid | £85k (29) | £50.2k (508) |
| Senior | £95k (21) | £70k (149) |
| Lead | £128.8k (12) | £67.5k (196) |
At mid and senior level the machine learning ads are well above the software ads, on samples of 20 or more. The junior machine learning figure is three ads and the lead figure is 12, so read those two rows loosely. The software lead median sitting below the senior median is what the ads show; we have not tested why.
By location
| Location | ML engineering median (ads) | Software engineering median (ads) |
|---|---|---|
| London | £115k (40) | £92.5k (163) |
| Elsewhere in the UK | £67.5k (27) | £52.5k (762) |
London has 40 of the 67 priced machine learning ads. The premium is £22.5k in London and £15k elsewhere. The London-only software median of £92.5k is much closer to the machine learning figure than the all-UK software median is.
What this means
- Compare like with like. A £95k machine learning ad and a £57.5k software ad are mostly different employers in different places.
- If you are a software engineer looking at machine learning roles, the closest comparison is your own level and location. Mid-level ads show £85k against £50.2k.
- Expect fewer machine learning ads to state pay. Check the machine learning engineer jobs and software engineer jobs lists, and filter by salary.
- AI research ads are too few to compare: 16 priced ads, with a median of £100.5k.
Advertised salary is what employers list, not what anyone is paid or will accept.
Related reading
- Data engineer vs data scientist salary in the UK compares the two data roles by level.
- UK tech salaries 2026: what employers actually advertise is the full round-up across roles.
- Which UK tech employers show the salary? explains why startup and direct-employer pay is underrepresented.
- Market-wide figures are on the insights page.
Figures taken 9 November 2026 from salaryshown.com/jobs.json (data updated 8 November). Medians are of range midpoints; cells under about 10 ads are noted.