From US job postings with disclosed pay at seed-stage startups, last 12 months. Updated October 2026.
Quick answer: At seed-stage startups, the typical posted base band for a software engineer is $170K–$235K (midpoint $200K, 99 postings), and for a senior software engineer $175K–$240K (midpoint $200K, 50 postings). Seed pays about the same base as Series A. Staff, founding and forward deployed engineer postings with pay are too few at seed alone to give a reliable band, so this page shows those roles across seed to Series B instead.
> Hiring your first engineers after a seed round? We work with seed to Series C startups hiring software, AI/ML and forward deployed engineers. https://calendly.com/kiran-recruitingfromscratch/intro?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=book_a_call&utm_content=seed-stage-engineer-salary-2026
| Role | Typical posted base band | Midpoint | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineer (all levels) | $170K–$235K | $200K | 99 |
| Senior software engineer | $175K–$240K | $200K | 50 |
Staff (17 postings), founding (16) and forward deployed engineer (19) postings with pay at seed are each below our 20-posting minimum, so we don't give a seed-only band for them.
| Role (midpoint) | Seed | Series A | Series B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software engineer (all levels) | $200K | $200K | $210K |
| Senior software engineer | $200K | $200K | $200K |
Raising a Series A does not move posted engineering base pay much. What changes between stages is usually equity size, team size and how specialized the roles get. For the later stages, see our Series A and Series B salary guides.
These bands pool seed, Series A and Series B postings, so read them as an early-stage range, not a seed-only figure.
| Role | Typical posted base band | Midpoint | Postings with pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff software engineer | $200K–$270K | $235K | 179 |
| Founding engineer | $160K–$250K | $205K | 35 |
| Forward deployed engineer | $150K–$220K | $195K | 130 |
Founding engineer roles are the most office-based: 46 of 61 founding postings (75%) were onsite. More on founding pay in our founding engineer compensation guide.
| Location | Software engineer midpoint |
|---|---|
| New York | $210K |
| San Francisco Bay Area | $210K |
| Other US cities | $190K |
| Remote | $185K |
Location splits pool seed to Series B postings; seed alone is too small to split by city.
A seed company usually can't outbid later-stage companies on cash, and doesn't need to: the posted bands above are close to Series A and B. What seed companies can control:
The typical posted base band is $170K–$235K, with a midpoint of $200K, from 99 US seed-stage postings with disclosed pay over the last 12 months.
A typical posted base band of $175K–$240K, with a midpoint of $200K, from 50 postings.
Not on posted base. The software engineer midpoint is $200K at both seed and Series A, and the senior midpoint is $200K at seed, Series A and Series B.
Seed alone has too few founding engineer postings with pay to give a reliable band. Across seed to Series B, the typical posted band is $160K–$250K with a midpoint of $205K, from 35 postings, so treat it as a rough guide.
Software engineers who booked a call with us in the last six months asked for a median base of $220K, across all company stages. Expect asks above the seed midpoint.
We work on contingency, with no upfront cost, and send a shortlist of 3–5 vetted candidates instead of a pile of resumes. https://www.recruitingfromscratch.com/employer-form?src=ef&pg=seed-stage-engineer-salary-2026
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