Median tech pay in India falls 40% to $22k
BENGALURU: The median pay for engineering and data professionals in India fell by 40% to $22,000 in 2025 from $36,000 in 2024, a report by payroll and compliance platform Deel and equity management platform Carta showed. In contrast, median compensation for similar roles in the US rose to $150,000 from $122,000 during the same period. Product and design roles in India also saw a decline, with median salaries decreasing to $23,000 compared to $138,000 in the US. Gender pay gaps remain starker in tech and product roles compared to sales positions, where some improvements have been observed. The largest gaps are observed in Canada, France, and the US. India stands out for having one of the smallest gender gaps globally, with median salaries for men and women nearly equal, both ranging between $13,000 and $23,000, depending on role and function. In the sales portfolio, India achieved gender parity, with both males and females earning $12,000. However, in product and design roles, the median male salary was $23,000 compared to $18,000 for females. Similarly, the median salary for men in data roles was $18,000, while for women it was $13,000.
Deel has over 1 million contracts and 35,000 customers across more than 150 countries. Equity data comes from thousands of Carta total compensation customers, with over 900,000 current salary and equity data points used by CTC. Only companies with a valuation of at least $300 million were included in the global comparisons. The report showed that total compensation for top technical talent is rising globally, driven by growing equity-based pay. Data from Carta shows that median equity grants for engineers – as a share of company ownership – steadily increased between 2021 and 2025, with the fastest gains in emerging markets like Brazil and India. The trend underscores a global shift toward equity-heavy compensation models.
