Django Developer Salary Report

The Foxley Talent 2026 Django Developer Salary Report Is Now Live

Each year we publish a Django Developer Salary Report to give developers and hiring companies a clear view of what’s actually happening in the market.

Not what job boards suggest.
Not what headline salaries imply.
But what people are really being paid and what companies are genuinely offering.
No hype, just facts (and a little bit of opinion)

The 2026 Django Developer Salary Report is now available, and it’s based on real conversations with Django developers, founders, and engineering leaders, alongside roles we’ve worked on and placements we’ve made over the last 12 months.

You can download the full report here.

A Market That’s Improving – But Staying Sensible

The overall theme for 2026 is steady progress rather than a dramatic rebound.

Hiring confidence is returning, particularly among companies that avoided over-hiring and heavy reliance on external investment over the last few years. One of the biggest changes we’ve seen is intent. More companies are planning multiple hires across the year rather than making a single cautious addition and stopping there.

In the US, hiring volumes have increased following the reversal of Section 174 (a tax legislation) and tighter regulations around importing talent on work visas. These changes have encouraged companies to invest in their domestic engineering teams again.

The UK market is also improving, with more roles coming to market and slightly more flexibility around salary compared to 2024 and the first half of 2025. Europe remains harder to quantify due to regional variation, but the overall direction looks similar.

This isn’t a return to the pre-2022 hiring boom, but it is a healthier, more sustainable market.

Remote Isn’t Dead – But It’s Not the Default Either

Fully remote roles still exist, but hybrid positions are now far more common than they were a couple of years ago.

For developers, this can actually be an advantage. Hybrid and onsite roles dramatically reduce the number of people you’re competing against. Remote-only roles continue to attract overwhelming numbers of applications, making it hard to stand out.

One piece of advice we’re giving repeatedly in 2026 is to run two job searches in parallel:

1. Looking out for that ideal remote role
2. Focused locally, based on companies and teams within a reasonable commute

Many companies see no need to hire globally, as local talent pools remain strong enough to meet their hiring needs.

AI, Bots, and Standing Out as a Human

Another major change over the last year has been the rise of AI-generated and fraudulent applications.

Many roles now receive hundreds of submissions shortly after being advertised, with a significant portion either loosely relevant or entirely fabricated. As a result, applications are increasingly reviewed with scepticism rather than optimism.

For employers, the rule is simple: if it smells like a bot, it’s usually best to reject and move on quickly.

For developers, the takeaway is just as clear. Standing out now means you should endeavor to be more human. Applications written in your own words, with specific examples of your work and a bit of personality, are far more likely to be noticed. In a process cluttered with automation, being "recognisably human" has become a real advantage.

What’s Inside the Report

The full report breaks down 2026 salary bands for:

• Junior Django Developers
• Mid-Level Developers
• Senior Developers
• Principal, Staff, and Lead roles
• Engineering Managers

All figures are based on real world data rather than best case outliers, with context around how companies are hiring and what they expect at each level.

Read the full 2026 Django Developer Salary Report here

Looking for a New Role in 2026?

If you’re considering moving jobs this year, or just want to understand where you sit in the market, the report should give you a realistic benchmark.

You can also view the current Django and Python roles we’re working on here.

If you’d like to talk through the market, your options, or your next hire, feel free to get in touch with the Foxley Talent for an honest, no-pressure conversation.