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Home / Compensation / AI Lab Compensation Report 2026
The frontier AI labs are the most-searched employers in our compensation dataset and the least documented: private, pre-IPO, and paying in a mix of unusually high cash and tender-offer-priced equity that public salary sites struggle to normalise. This report puts OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity side by side with the five Big Tech employers most candidates are choosing between, level by level, from the same public-source ranges that power every /comp page.
Published 2026-09-14. Public-source estimates (Beta). Figures are annualized USD total compensation (base + equity + bonus). Free to cite with a link to this page.
Mid-level median $620K across the AI labs vs $395K at Big Tech (+57%). Cash share averages 49% vs 68%.
| AI labs | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI5 levels | $340K | $680K | $1.4M | $540K - $1.1M | 49%base $330K |
| Anthropic5 levels | $320K | $620K | $1.3M | $500K - $980K | 52%base $320K |
| Perplexity4 levels | $305K | $520K | $650K | $425K - $815K | 46%base $240K |
| Big Tech | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta5 levels | $220K | $480K | $1M | $390K - $730K | 65%base $245K + bonus $65K |
| Google5 levels | $195K | $410K | $800K | $340K - $580K | 71%base $240K + bonus $50K |
| Apple5 levels | $195K | $395K | $820K | $320K - $590K | 67%base $225K + bonus $40K |
| Amazon5 levels | $170K | $360K | $850K | $290K - $560K | 64%base $185K + bonus $45K |
| Microsoft5 levels | $165K | $340K | $730K | $280K - $500K | 74%base $215K + bonus $38K |
Mid-level median $680K across the AI labs vs $415K at Big Tech (+64%). Cash share averages 46% vs 64%.
| AI labs | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI5 levels | $360K | $740K | $1.6M | $580K - $1.2M | 45%base $330K |
| Anthropic5 levels | $350K | $680K | $1.4M | $540K - $1.1M | 49%base $330K |
| Perplexity4 levels | $335K | $575K | $720K | $465K - $910K | 43%base $250K |
| Big Tech | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta5 levels | $230K | $510K | $1.1M | $415K - $770K | 61%base $245K + bonus $65K |
| Google5 levels | $205K | $440K | $900K | $365K - $640K | 67%base $245K + bonus $50K |
| Apple5 levels | $200K | $415K | $855K | $335K - $625K | 64%base $225K + bonus $40K |
| Amazon5 levels | $175K | $410K | $920K | $320K - $680K | 56%base $185K + bonus $45K |
| Microsoft5 levels | $170K | $355K | $760K | $290K - $530K | 71%base $215K + bonus $38K |
Mid-level median $940K across the AI labs vs $840K at Big Tech (+12%). Cash share averages 39% vs 49%.
| AI labs | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI3 levels | $720K | $1.0M | $1.4M | $800K - $1.7M | 37%base $385K |
| Anthropic3 levels | $660K | $940K | $1.3M | $740K - $1.6M | 39%base $370K |
| Perplexity4 levels | $445K | $680K | $845K | $550K - $1.1M | 41%base $280K |
| Big Tech | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta4 levels | $510K | $1.1M | $1.4M | $820K - $1.8M | 47%base $370K + bonus $130K |
| Apple4 levels | $440K | $920K | $1.3M | $720K - $1.6M | 48%base $350K + bonus $95K |
| Google4 levels | $430K | $840K | $1.2M | $680K - $1.4M | 51%base $325K + bonus $100K |
| Microsoft4 levels | $360K | $790K | $1.3M | $620K - $1.3M | 56%base $320K + bonus $120K |
| Amazon4 levels | $280K | $620K | $920K | $480K - $1.0M | 44%base $185K + bonus $85K |
Mid-level median $623K across the AI labs vs $380K at Big Tech (+64%). Cash share averages 51% vs 70%.
| AI labs | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI5 levels | $325K | $645K | $1.3M | $510K - $1.1M | 50%base $325K |
| Anthropic5 levels | $310K | $600K | $1.2M | $480K - $945K | 53%base $315K |
| Big Tech | Entry (p50) | Mid (p50) | Senior (p50) | Mid p25 - p90 | Cash share (mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta5 levels | $220K | $470K | $980K | $380K - $720K | 65%base $240K + bonus $65K |
| Google5 levels | $200K | $400K | $770K | $330K - $580K | 73%base $240K + bonus $50K |
| Apple5 levels | $190K | $380K | $790K | $305K - $565K | 68%base $220K + bonus $40K |
| Amazon5 levels | $170K | $340K | $800K | $270K - $530K | 69%base $185K + bonus $50K |
| Microsoft5 levels | $160K | $320K | $690K | $265K - $470K | 77%base $210K + bonus $35K |
All three labs are private. Equity in these tables is priced at the most recent tender offer or priced round, so a paper number can move sharply between rounds in either direction. Anthropic in particular tilts toward base and cash to compete with FAANG offers; OpenAI's grants are large but carry the profit-participation-unit structure that public comparison sites often mislabel as RSUs. Read the cash-share column as 'what you can bank this year' and the equity column as a bet on the next round.
Liquidity and predictability. A Google or Meta RSU vests into cash on a schedule you can plan around; a tender offer happens when the company decides it happens. At the senior levels the Big Tech p90s are also broader than the tables suggest because refresh grants compound - a Meta E6 with three years of refreshers is often above the E6 p75 shown here.
Anchor on the mid-level medians, not the p90s: the p90 is a small number of people with unusual leverage. If a lab offer is within 10% of the Big Tech median for your level, the decision is about the equity's liquidity and your risk appetite, not the number. Model both offers four years out with the offer calculator before you answer.
Ranges are aggregated from Levels.fyi public reports, US DOL H-1B disclosures, state pay-transparency postings and public career-page postings, then bucketed into p25/p50/p75/p90 per level. Entry, mid and senior in the summary tables are the p50 total compensation of the first, middle and last level on each company's ladder. Cash share is (base + bonus) / total at the mid level. Private-company equity is priced at the most recent tender or priced round. This is a beta dataset refreshed quarterly; treat it as an anchor, not a quote.
Company detail pages list the sources behind each ladder: OpenAI · Anthropic · Perplexity. Corrections: patrick@noblerworks.com.
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