Google Software Engineer Compensation
Levels L3 (entry) through L7 (senior staff). Equity is the dominant component; bonuses are 15-20% target on top.
Ranges aggregated from publicly-available sources. Treat the median (p50) as roughly representative; quartile bands reflect negotiation range. Have specific data points or corrections? Send them in.
Company-specific notes
Google's equity grants are RSUs in publicly-traded GOOG/GOOGL, vesting on a front-loaded schedule (33/33/22/12 in recent grants). Refresh grants are typical at 1-2 years tenure. Bonus target is 15% at L3-L4, 20% at L5+. NYC/SF/Bay Area locations carry +5-10% over national medians; remote bands are typically lower.
Levels
L3
Software Engineer II (New Grad)| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $130K | $145K | $160K | $175K |
| Equity (annualized) | $30K | $35K | $45K | $55K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $15K | $18K | $22K | $26K |
| Total comp | $175K | $195K | $215K | $235K |
Entry-level. New grad offers cluster around p50. Top-of-band offers go to candidates with strong competing offers from Meta or research backgrounds.
L4
Software Engineer III| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $175K | $195K | $215K | $235K |
| Equity (annualized) | $50K | $75K | $110K | $150K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $25K | $32K | $38K | $45K |
| Total comp | $240K | $285K | $340K | $400K |
Mid-level. The most-common Google SWE level. Range varies sharply with leveling negotiation - L4 vs L5 calibration debates are routine.
L5
Senior Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $215K | $240K | $265K | $290K |
| Equity (annualized) | $90K | $130K | $180K | $240K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $40K | $50K | $60K | $70K |
| Total comp | $340K | $410K | $490K | $580K |
Senior IC. The level where Google's compensation curve gets steep. Strong negotiators can land in the p75-p90 band; default offers cluster around p25-p50.
L6
Staff Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $250K | $280K | $310K | $340K |
| Equity (annualized) | $160K | $240K | $350K | $480K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $60K | $75K | $90K | $110K |
| Total comp | $470K | $580K | $720K | $900K |
Staff IC. Equity becomes the dominant component. Stock-price movement creates significant year-to-year variance.
L7
Senior Staff Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $290K | $320K | $350K | $380K |
| Equity (annualized) | $280K | $400K | $600K | $880K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $80K | $95K | $110K | $130K |
| Total comp | $650K | $800K | $1.05M | $1.4M |
Senior staff. Promotion to L7 is a serious gate; many engineers cap at L6. Comp at L7+ is heavily equity-driven.
Primary sources
- ·Levels.fyi (public reports, 1000+ Google data points)
- ·US DOL H1B Disclosure Data (Q4 2025)
- ·WA State Pay Transparency postings (Google careers Kirkland office)
- ·NYC Pay Transparency postings (Google careers NYC)
- ·Comprehensive.io aggregated data
Cross-referenced against public reporting, state pay-transparency postings, and triangulated where source ranges disagreed. Last refresh: 2026-04-29.
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