Microsoft Software Engineer Compensation
Levels SDE through Partner SDE (61-69+). Equity vests 25%/year. Bonus targets are 10-15% at IC levels.
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
Microsoft uses internal 'level numbers' (59 = SDE, 60 = SDE II, 62/63 = Senior, 64/65 = Principal, 66+ = Partner). Stock comp has historically been less generous than FAANG comparables but stock price gains have offset. RSUs vest 25%/year (no cliff). Bonus targets: 10-15% IC, higher for Partner+.
Levels
59 (SDE)
Software Engineer (New Grad)| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $120K | $130K | $140K | $150K |
| Equity (annualized) | $12K | $18K | $25K | $35K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $12K | $15K | $18K | $22K |
| Total comp | $145K | $165K | $185K | $205K |
Entry-level. New grad SDE. Microsoft's new-grad offers tend to be slightly below Google/Meta.
60-61 (SDE II)
Software Engineer II| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $150K | $170K | $185K | $200K |
| Equity (annualized) | $25K | $40K | $60K | $85K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $18K | $22K | $27K | $32K |
| Total comp | $195K | $230K | $270K | $320K |
Mid-level. Most-common SDE level. Comparable to Amazon SDE II.
62-63 (Senior)
Senior Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $190K | $215K | $235K | $255K |
| Equity (annualized) | $60K | $90K | $130K | $185K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $30K | $38K | $47K | $56K |
| Total comp | $280K | $340K | $410K | $500K |
Senior IC. Equity component grows. Comparable to Google L5 but tends to be 10-20% lower on total comp.
64-65 (Principal)
Principal Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $235K | $260K | $285K | $310K |
| Equity (annualized) | $130K | $200K | $290K | $410K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $45K | $55K | $65K | $80K |
| Total comp | $410K | $510K | $640K | $800K |
Principal IC. Roughly comparable to Google L6.
66+ (Partner)
Partner Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $285K | $315K | $345K | $375K |
| Equity (annualized) | $220K | $320K | $470K | $670K |
| Bonus / sign-on amortized | $75K | $95K | $125K | $155K |
| Total comp | $580K | $730K | $940K | $1.2M |
Partner. Company-wide visibility. External hires at this level are rare.
Primary sources
- ·Levels.fyi (public reports, 700+ Microsoft data points)
- ·US DOL H1B Disclosure Data (Q4 2025)
- ·WA State Pay Transparency postings (Microsoft Redmond / Bellevue)
- ·Public Microsoft career-page postings
- ·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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