London – IT, Tech and AI Salary & Contractor Rates – April 2026

London Market Insights: April 2026 Update

The £100k Benchmark – In Central London, Senior Engineering, DevOps, and Data Science roles have officially solidified at the £100k median. For Leadership roles like IT Director, this is now the baseline starting point; any package offered below this threshold is currently seeing a significant drop-off in candidate engagement during initial screenings.

The “Execution” Pivot – Last month was about strategy; April is about delivery. We are seeing a shift in London vacancies from “Consultative” roles to “Hands-on Implementation.” This has kept Cloud and Solution Architect medians strong at £105k–£120k, as firms move from AI audits to building the actual production-ready infrastructure.

The Hybrid “Commuter Tax” – The friction between office mandates and talent retention remains the primary negotiation point in the City. To secure top-tier talent for roles requiring 4-5 days on-site, London clients are increasingly having to offer a 10% “Commuter Premium” over our listed medians to compete with the flexibility offered by hybrid-first competitors.

Operational Stability vs. Hype – While AI continues to dominate headlines, the London market is reinvesting in its “Engine Room.” 3rd Line Support and IT Support Managers have seen a steady rise in demand. Firms are realising that advanced AI tools require a stable, high-calibre foundational layer, driving a 3.9% annual growth in these core operational salaries.

  • Category
    Job Title
    Yearly Low
    Yearly Median
    Yearly High
    Salary Change
    Contractor Day Rate 
    Day Rate Change
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    1. Leadership
    CTO
    £125,000
    £165,000
    £210,000
    1.5%
    £1,200
    2.3%
     
    CIO
    £115,000
    £155,000
    £195,000
    1.5%
    £1,150
    2.3%
     
    IT Director
    £90,000
    £115,000
    £140,000
    1.5%
    £850
    2.3%
     
    Head of Data / AI
    £110,000
    £145,000
    £180,000
    1.5%
    £1,000
    2.2%
     
    Head of IT
    £75,000
    £95,000
    £120,000
    1.5%
    £750
    2.3%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    2. Operations
    3rd Line (SysAdmin)
    £45,000
    £55,000
    £65,000
    3.9%
    £425
    5.2%
     
    2nd Line Support
    £35,000
    £42,000
    £50,000
    3.9%
    £300
    5.1%
     
    1st Line Support
    £26,000
    £30,000
    £36,000
    3.9%
    £215
    5.0%
     
    IT Support Manager
    £52,000
    £65,000
    £80,000
    3.9%
    £550
    5.2%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    3. Architecture
    Enterprise Architect
    £90,000
    £115,000
    £140,000
    3.8%
    £1,050
    5.7%
     
    Solution Architect
    £85,000
    £105,000
    £125,000
    3.8%
    £900
    5.7%
     
    Cloud Architect
    £90,000
    £120,000
    £145,000
    3.8%
    £950
    5.7%
     
    Security Architect
    £95,000
    £125,000
    £155,000
    3.8%
    £1,100
    5.7%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    4. Engineering
    AI / ML Engineer
    £85,000
    £110,000
    £140,000
    3.0%
    £950
    4.4%
     
    DevOps / SRE
    £75,000
    £100,000
    £125,000
    3.1%
    £850
    4.5%
     
    Cyber Security Eng
    £65,000
    £85,000
    £105,000
    2.9%
    £750
    4.6%
     
    Software Dev (Snr)
    £75,000
    £100,000
    £125,000
    3.1%
    £750
    4.5%
     
    Data Engineer
    £70,000
    £90,000
    £115,000
    3.0%
    £750
    4.6%
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    5. Data & PM
    Data Scientist (Snr)
    £75,000
    £100,000
    £125,000
    3.2%
    £850
    4.9%
     
    Data Analyst
    £42,000
    £52,000
    £65,000
    3.1%
    £475
    4.9%
     
    IT Project Manager
    £65,000
    £85,000
    £105,000
    3.2%
    £700
    4.8%
     
    Business Analyst
    £55,000
    £70,000
    £85,000
    3.2%
    £600
    4.7%
If your company is thinking of hiring, do it now. As demand rises, so too with the rates of pay and the difficulty levels of attracting and securing the right talent.

If, however, your company is slowing down – beware! If your IT staff start to feel insecure, talent competitors and recruiters will find it very easy to persuade your staff to interview elsewhere. Despite the stress and negativity that may exist, take the time to focus on reassuring your team and, where appropriate, reward their loyalty. It’s a false economy to avoid salary increases for your best people. Doing so risks leave yourself vulnerable to losing key staff and the larger costs in both time and money of replacing them.

Should you be considering recruitment or simply would like some advice on anything recruitment related, please do not hesitate to give us a call and see how we can really help you to Recruit Someone Worth Recruiting.

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