Forestown International Executive Search: 2026 Salary Benchmark Report for the IT, Internet, and Software Development Industries

Key Data Overview: By 2026, China’s IT, internet, and software development industry will be characterized by AI technology leading the way, steady performance in traditional development, deepening hierarchical stratification, and a pronounced urban wage gradient. The industry’s average pre-tax annual salary is approximately RMB 268,000, representing a year-on-year growth of 4.9%. Among these, core technical roles such as large-scale models, AI algorithms, deep learning, cloud computing, and cybersecurity are seeing salary increases exceeding 8%, while traditional front-end, back-end, and mobile development positions are experiencing growth of 2%–4%. In first-tier cities, average annual salaries are 35%–50% higher than in second- and third-tier cities; leading major firms offer salary premiums of 40%–70% compared with smaller and mid-sized companies; and AI-related roles command premiums of 40%–60% over standard development positions.

Forestown International Executive Search: 2026 Salary Benchmark Report for the IT, Internet, and Software Development Industries

I. Salaries for Entry-Level Technical and Basic Development Positions (National Average)

1. Junior Development Engineer (0–3 years)

• Java/Go Backend Developer: Monthly salary of RMB 12,000–20,000; annual salary of RMB 150,000–240,000; in first-tier cities, RMB 15,000–25,000 per month.
• Front-end Development (React/Vue): Monthly salary of RMB 11,000–18,000; annual salary of RMB 130,000–220,000; in first-tier cities, RMB 14,000–22,000 per month.
• Mobile Development (iOS/Android): Monthly salary of RMB 10,000–17,000, annual salary of RMB 120,000–200,000; growth in traditional mobile development has slowed.
• Test Engineer (Functional/Automation): Monthly salary of RMB 9,000–16,000; annual salary of RMB 110,000–190,000; with a 15% premium for automation testing.
• Operations and maintenance engineers, system administrators: monthly salary of RMB 9,500–17,000, annual salary of RMB 110,000–200,000, with a 20% premium for cloud O&M.

2. Basic Technical Support Position

• IT Technical Support and Desktop Operations: Monthly salary of RMB 6,000–9,000; annual salary of RMB 70,000–110,000, with a 20% premium in first-tier cities.
• Network Engineer / Low-Voltage Systems Operations and Maintenance: Monthly salary of RMB 8,000–13,000; annual salary of RMB 100,000–160,000; certification (CCNP/HCIE) commands a 30% premium.
• Data Labeling and AI Trainer: Monthly salary of RMB 7,000–11,000, annual salary of RMB 80,000–130,000, with a 25% premium for large-model training positions.

II. Compensation for Mid-Level Technical and Core Development Positions (3–5 Years of Experience)

1. Mid-Level Development Engineer

• Backend Development (Java/Go/C++): Monthly salary of RMB 20,000–35,000; annual salary of RMB 240,000–420,000; in first-tier cities, RMB 25,000–40,000 per month.
• Full-Stack Development Engineer: Monthly salary of RMB 22,000–38,000; annual salary of RMB 260,000–450,000; growing demand for versatile talent.
• Big Data Development (Hadoop/Spark): Monthly salary of RMB 25,000–40,000; annual salary of RMB 300,000–480,000; data governance experts command a 20% premium.
• Cloud Computing Development/Architecture (Alibaba Cloud/Tencent Cloud): Monthly salary of RMB 26,000–42,000; annual salary of RMB 310,000–500,000; leading in the cloud-native field.

2. Core AI and Algorithm Position (3–5 years of experience)

• Machine Learning Engineer: Monthly salary of RMB 30,000–50,000; annual salary of RMB 360,000–600,000—30%–50% higher than that of a typical developer.
• Large Model Algorithm Engineer: Monthly salary of RMB 35,000–70,000, annual salary of RMB 420,000–840,000—one of the most scarce roles in the industry.
• NLP/CV Algorithm Engineer: Monthly salary of RMB 32,000–55,000; annual salary of RMB 380,000–660,000; with a 15% premium for applications in vertical domains.
• AI Engineering/MLOps Engineer: Monthly salary of RMB 38,000–65,000; annual salary of RMB 450,000–780,000; supply-demand ratio of only 0.15.

3. Technical Management and Project Positions

• Technical Director/Development Team Lead: Monthly salary of RMB 23,000–38,000; annual salary of RMB 280,000–450,000; leads a team of 5–10 members.
• Software Project Manager and Head of Product Technology: Monthly salary of RMB 21,000–35,000; annual salary of RMB 250,000–420,000; with a 20% premium for internet projects.

III. Compensation for Senior Technical and Expert Positions (5–10 years of experience)

1. Senior Developer and Architect

• Senior Backend Engineer / Technical Expert: Monthly salary of RMB 35,000–50,000; annual salary of RMB 420,000–600,000; top-tier major companies offer RMB 500,000–800,000.
• System Architects and Technical Architects: monthly salary of RMB 40,000–60,000, annual salary of RMB 480,000–720,000; for core teams at major tech companies, RMB 700,000–1.2 million.
• Big Data Architect and Data Warehouse Specialist: Monthly salary of RMB 42,000–65,000; annual salary of RMB 500,000–780,000; with a 25% premium for Data Lake architecture expertise.
• Cloud-native architects and microservices experts: monthly salary of RMB 45,000–70,000, annual salary of RMB 540,000–840,000; K8s experts can earn over RMB 900,000 per year.

2. AI High-End Technical Position

• AI algorithm experts and large-model researchers: monthly salary of RMB 60,000–100,000, annual salary of RMB 720,000–1.2 million; top-tier experts: RMB 1.5–3 million.
• AI Scientist and Head of Deep Learning: Monthly salary of RMB 70,000–130,000; annual salary of RMB 840,000–1.56 million; top-tier companies offer annual salaries exceeding RMB 2 million.
• Embodied Intelligence and Multimodal Algorithms Expert: Annual Salary of RMB 800,000–1.8 million; tailored compensation packages for top talent in cutting-edge fields.

3. Mid- to Senior-Level Technical Management

• Technical Director and R&D Director: annual salary of RMB 500,000–900,000; in major internet companies, RMB 800,000–1.5 million, including equity incentives.
• CTO, Chief Technology Officer: Annual salary of RMB 800,000–2 million; for listed companies, RMB 1.5–3 million, including stock and dividends.
• Head of Division Technology and President of Cloud Business: Annual salary of RMB 1–2.5 million; for core business lines, RMB 2–4 million.

IV. Salaries for Non-Technical Internet Positions

1. Product Position

• Product Manager (0–3 years of experience): Monthly salary of RMB 10,000–18,000; annual salary of RMB 120,000–220,000.
• Senior Product Manager (3–5 years of experience): Monthly salary of RMB 18,000–30,000; annual salary of RMB 220,000–360,000.
• Product Director and Head of AI Products: Annual salary of RMB 350,000–600,000; for top-tier companies, RMB 600,000–900,000.

2. Operations Position

• Internet Operations & User Operations: Monthly salary of RMB 8,000–15,000; annual salary of RMB 100,000–180,000.
• Growth Operations & Private Domain Operations: Monthly salary of RMB 10,000–20,000; annual salary of RMB 120,000–240,000.
• Chief Operating Officer and Head of User Growth: Annual salary of RMB 300,000–500,000; for core roles at major tech companies, RMB 500,000–800,000.

3. Functional Positions

• HR, Administration, and Finance Specialists: Monthly salary of RMB 7,000–12,000; annual salary of RMB 80,000–140,000.
• Internet Finance Manager, HR Business Partner: Monthly salary of RMB 12,000–22,000; annual salary of RMB 150,000–260,000.
• Functional Directors, CHO/CFO: Annual salary of RMB 400,000–700,000; for top-tier companies, RMB 600,000–1,000,000.

V. Salary Tiers by City (2026)

1. First Tier (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou)

• Average annual salary across the industry: RMB 320,000–380,000; core technical roles: RMB 450,000–700,000; AI experts: RMB 800,000–1.5 million+
• The average monthly salary in Beijing is RMB 22,000, in Shanghai RMB 21,000, in Shenzhen RMB 19,000, and in Hangzhou RMB 17,000.

2. Second-tier cities (Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Suzhou)

• Average annual salary: RMB 220,000–280,000; core technical positions: RMB 300,000–450,000—15%–25% lower than in first-tier cities.
• Chengdu and Wuhan are hubs for the gaming and IT outsourcing industries, with salaries approaching 80% of those in first-tier cities.

3. Third-tier cities (Xi’an, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Qingdao)

• Average annual salary: RMB 160,000–210,000; core technical positions: RMB 220,000–320,000; entry-level positions: 30%–40% lower than front-line roles.
• Primarily traditional enterprises and on-premises internet companies, characterized by strong stability and moderate growth.

VI. Starting Salary Standards for Fresh Graduates (Class of 2026)

1. Doctorate

• AI algorithms, large models, and high-performance computing: annual salary of RMB 400,000–600,000; top-tier leading companies offer RMB 600,000–1 million, including equity.
• Computer and software engineering R&D: annual salary of RMB 250,000–400,000; core internet roles: RMB 350,000–500,000.

2. Master’s degree

• AI/Large Model Algorithm Position: Monthly salary of RMB 25,000–35,000; annual salary of RMB 300,000–420,000; SP offer of RMB 450,000–600,000.
• Backend/Big Data/Cloud Computing Development: Monthly salary of RMB 18,000–28,000; annual salary of RMB 220,000–340,000.
• Front-end/Mobile/Test Development: Monthly salary of RMB 15,000–22,000; annual salary of RMB 180,000–260,000.
• Product/Operations Position: Monthly salary of RMB 12,000–18,000; annual salary of RMB 150,000–220,000.

3. Bachelor’s degree

• Technical Development Position: Monthly salary of RMB 12,000–18,000; annual salary of RMB 140,000–220,000; for top-tier companies, RMB 180,000–280,000.
• Non-technical positions (Product/Operations): Monthly salary of RMB 8,000–13,000; annual salary of RMB 100,000–160,000.
• Junior/Trainee Positions: Basic Development/Test Roles—RMB 6,000–9,000 per month, annual salary RMB 70,000–110,000

VII. Salary Structure and Growth Trends

In 2026, internet-sector compensation will primarily be structured as 14–18 monthly salaries, comprising base salary, performance bonuses, and year-end bonuses, with stock options additionally provided for core roles. For positions in AI, large-scale models, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, average salary increases will range from 5.3% to 7%, with senior talent seeing raises of 20% to 35%. Traditional development and on-site outsourcing roles will receive salary adjustments of 3% to 4%, though some companies will offer no raises at all. Leading major tech firms, AI companies, and cloud-service providers provide comprehensive benefits packages, including housing allowances, meal subsidies, paid annual leave, stock options, and household-registration quotas.

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If you need talent profiles for specialized roles in IT, the internet, and software development; customized compensation packages; executive- and mid-level headhunting for AI algorithm R&D, large-model development, cloud computing architecture, backend engineering, and cybersecurity; precise matching for hard-to-fill positions such as large-model researchers, MLOps engineers, cloud-native experts, and AI scientists; or salary-negotiation benchmarks, please reach out to our dedicated executive search team. With years of deep expertise in the IT, internet, and software-development sectors, we maintain an extensive network of high-caliber mid- to senior-level talent from leading internet giants, AI technology firms, cloud-computing companies, software industry leaders, and internet unicorns. We have a thorough understanding of industry compensation trends and the core requirements of each role, enabling us to help organizations efficiently build cutting-edge teams in AI R&D, core technologies, cloud computing, and big data—while reducing recruitment costs and securing a competitive edge in attracting top-tier internet and AI talent.

Data are comprehensively sourced from:

1. Maimai Talent Think Tank’s “2025–2026 Internet Talent Market Insights Report” (based on a sample of over 500,000 industry professionals)

2. Boss Zhipin’s “2026 IT and Internet Software Development Salary White Paper” (with over 1 million job descriptions)

3. Liepin’s Q1 2026 Salary Survey for the IT and Internet Industry (Data on 300,000+ Mid-to-High-End Professionals)

4. Korn Ferry’s “2026 Compensation Guide for the High-Tech Industry in Mainland China”

5. Zhaopin’s “2026 IT Industry Salary Survey Report”

6. Levels.fyi 2026 China Internet Giant Job Level and Salary Database