The Fresher Pay Landscape
What a fresher can earn, where the bands cluster, and where the step-up happens.
Pay-Band Overview
The median entry offer sits at 8 LPA, and half of all offers land between 4 and 14. Nine in ten stay at or under 20 LPA, so treat the top end as the exception, not the plan.
Pay by Profile
| Profile | Rs 4 LPA | Rs 8 LPA | Rs 12 LPA | Rs 18 LPA | Rs 20 LPA | Rs 30+ LPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backend Dev | 15–30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | 5–15% | 15–30% |
| Frontend Dev | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Fullstack Dev | 15–30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | 15–30% | < 5% |
| Mobile Dev | ≥ 30% | 5–15% | 15–30% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Data Science & ML | 15–30% | 5–15% | ≥ 30% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Data Engineering | 15–30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | < 5% | 5–15% |
| DevOps & Platform | 5–15% | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | < 5% | < 5% |
| AI & LLM | 15–30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | 5–15% |
| Security Eng | 5–15% | 5–15% | ≥ 30% | 5–15% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Systems & Embedded | 15–30% | 15–30% | ≥ 30% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
| QA & Testing | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | 5–15% | < 5% |
| Enterprise Plat. | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | 15–30% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Domain Specific | 5–15% | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | 15–30% | < 5% |
| Generalist SWE | 5–15% | 15–30% | ≥ 30% | 5–15% | 5–15% | 5–15% |
Profile decides how far right an entry offer can sit. Backend Dev, Generalist SWE, and AI and LLM lean furthest toward the upper rungs, with real weight past 12 LPA. Frontend Dev, Mobile Dev, and Enterprise Platforms cluster low instead, packing most of their postings into the 4 and 8 LPA bands.
Pay by Company Class
| Profile | Rs 4 LPA | Rs 8 LPA | Rs 12 LPA | Rs 18 LPA | Rs 20 LPA | Rs 30+ LPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNCs & GCCs | < 5% | < 5% | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | < 5% |
| Unicorns & Indian Product | < 5% | < 5% | ≥ 30% | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | < 5% |
| MAANG & Elite Global Tech | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% | ≥ 30% |
| Established SME | < 5% | ≥ 30% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Funded Startups | < 5% | ≥ 30% | ≥ 30% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Indian IT Services / WITCH | < 5% | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | 15–30% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Lala Companies | ≥ 30% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
MAANG and Elite Global Tech is the only bucket whose biggest bubble sits at the 30 LPA and above rung. MNCs, unicorns, and funded startups peak at 12 LPA, established SMEs and the services firms at 8, and Lala Companies at 4. At entry, the employer class is the pay decision.
Pay by City
| Profile | Rs 4 LPA | Rs 8 LPA | Rs 12 LPA | Rs 18 LPA | Rs 20 LPA | Rs 30+ LPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangalore | 15–30% | 15–30% | ≥ 30% | 5–15% | 5–15% | < 5% |
| Delhi NCR | ≥ 30% | 5–15% | 5–15% | 5–15% | < 5% | 5–15% |
| Hyderabad | 15–30% | 15–30% | 5–15% | ≥ 30% | < 5% | 5–15% |
| Pune | 5–15% | 15–30% | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | < 5% | < 5% |
| Chennai | 5–15% | 15–30% | 15–30% | ≥ 30% | < 5% | 5–15% |
| Mumbai Region | 15–30% | ≥ 30% | 15–30% | < 5% | < 5% | 15–30% |
| Kolkata | ≥ 30% | ≥ 30% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% | < 5% |
No city owns the top end at entry level. Hyderabad and Chennai peak at the 18 LPA rung, and Bangalore centers on 12 with a thinner tail above. Mumbai runs low and high at once, with a small pocket at 30 LPA and above. Kolkata stays pinned to the bottom two rungs.
The Aspirational Step-Up
The MAANG step-up is real, sharp, and small. It reaches around one in twenty entry openings, landing in the 29 to 32 LPA band, about 3.9 times the entry median. That group sets the upper bound of the whole distribution. The freshers who clear it are competing in a different market, on a path that is narrow but clearly lit.