Google, Apple or Meta, here’s which company pays its engineers more

Google vs Apple vs Meta: Big tech companies such as Google, Apple and Meta often pay millions of dollars to on-board top engineering talent to work on their software, devices and other secret project. But have you ever wondered which tech company is most generous when it comes to payout? Now, a new study shows that Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) tend to pay their software engineers more than other big tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and X (formerly Twitter). The study also shows that Apple is fairer in its compensation than other big tech companies.

According to new data from an anonymous forum for tech employees Blind (via The Verge), Apple and Microsoft pay the least on average for entry-level engineers, but for senior engineers, compensation becomes more comparable across the industry. “Google has one of the most balanced or consistent pay bands among Big Tech companies. This means it’s rare for someone at a lower job level to get paid more than someone at a higher level,” the study said. “Meta engineers appear to level up the fastest and have some of the highest pay,” it added.

Image: Blind

The study also showed that while Apple compensation might be less competitive than other big tech companies such as Google and Meta, “but their job levels and pay bands are consistent and fair”. The study also said Microsoft’s total compensation is also lower than its peers. “Microsoft has many job levels for software engineers, which might give the company more flexibility to hand out more promotions. However, their total compensation is lower than their peers across the board up until staff software engineer,” the study said.

The study showed that Amazon’s promotions can take longer than its peers, and its pay ranges for engineers are the widest. In addition, Microsoft has several job levels for software engineers, which may allow the company to give out more promotions.

The data for this study is based on compensation packages self-reported by Blind users from January of last year to this month.