Stripe Software Engineer Compensation
Levels L2 through L6 (staff). Pre-IPO equity at notional valuation; meaningful upside if the company IPOs at or above its tender-offer valuation.
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
Stripe is private. Equity is in pre-IPO stock priced at the most recent tender offer (~$70B valuation as of 2024). RSUs vest over 4 years (25/25/25/25) with no cliff. Equity values quoted at tender-offer price; actual realized value depends on IPO timing and price. Stripe runs annual tender offers that allow employees to liquidate a portion. Comp tilts heavily to equity vs cash.
Levels
L2
Software Engineer (New Grad / Early Career)| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $150K | $165K | $180K | $195K |
| Equity (annualized) | $50K | $65K | $90K | $115K |
| Total comp | $200K | $230K | $270K | $310K |
Entry-level. Stripe historically pays well at the bottom of the ladder vs FAANG comparables. Equity values quoted at tender price.
L3
Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $175K | $195K | $215K | $235K |
| Equity (annualized) | $75K | $110K | $155K | $205K |
| Total comp | $260K | $310K | $370K | $440K |
Standard mid-level engineer. Common entry point for engineers with 2-3 YOE.
L4
Senior Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $215K | $235K | $255K | $275K |
| Equity (annualized) | $130K | $195K | $280K | $380K |
| Total comp | $360K | $440K | $540K | $660K |
Senior IC. Stripe's most common level for experienced hires. Equity component grows fast.
L5
Staff Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $245K | $270K | $295K | $320K |
| Equity (annualized) | $220K | $320K | $460K | $640K |
| Total comp | $480K | $600K | $770K | $970K |
Staff IC. Typical level for experienced engineers from FAANG L5/E5.
L6
Senior Staff Software Engineer| Component | p25 | p50 | p75 | p90 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | $280K | $305K | $330K | $360K |
| Equity (annualized) | $380K | $555K | $780K | $1.13M |
| Total comp | $680K | $870K | $1.12M | $1.5M |
Senior staff. Heavy equity. Realized value highly contingent on Stripe IPO outcome.
Primary sources
- ·Levels.fyi (public reports, 200+ Stripe data points)
- ·WA State Pay Transparency postings (Stripe Seattle)
- ·Public Stripe career-page postings (US)
- ·Comprehensive.io aggregated data
- ·Stripe tender offer disclosures (where public)
Cross-referenced against public reporting, state pay-transparency postings, and triangulated where source ranges disagreed. Last refresh: 2026-04-29.
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