--- title: "How much should I pay my team? UK startup salaries revealed" id: "412737" type: "post" slug: "uk-startup-salaries" published_at: "2024-11-28T11:11:11+00:00" modified_at: "2024-11-28T11:11:11+00:00" url: "https://seedlegals.com/resources/uk-startup-salaries/" markdown_url: "https://seedlegals.com/resources/uk-startup-salaries.md" excerpt: "As a founder, getting your team’s pay right can feel like a guessing game - but it doesn’t have to be. In this post, we share real salary data from thousands of startups." taxonomy_category: - "Startup Guides" - "Deal Data" --- 4 min read Expert reviewed This article has been fact-checked by a SeedLegals subject matter expert. [Meet our experts](https://seedlegals.com/authors-and-experts/) and learn more about our review process and quality assurance in our [editorial policy](https://seedlegals.com/editorial-policy/) . # How much should I pay my team? UK startup salaries revealed Published: Nov 28, 2024 Contents [About our data](#about-our-data) [How much to pay your executive team](#how-much-to-pay-your-executive-team) [How much to pay department heads and other key leadership roles](#how-much-to-pay-department-heads-and-other-key-leadership-roles) [How much to pay your tech team](#how-much-to-pay-your-tech-team) [How much to pay your product team](#how-much-to-pay-your-product-team) [How much base salary to pay your sales and marketing teams](#how-much-base-salary-to-pay-your-sales-and-marketing-teams) [Talk to the startup experts](#talk-to-the-startup-experts) Read Next [How to hire on a startup budget](https://seedlegals.com/resources/how-to-hire-on-a-startup-budget/) [How much should I pay my team? UK startup salaries revealed](https://seedlegals.com/resources/uk-startup-salaries/) [Share options explained: the essential guide for UK startups](https://seedlegals.com/resources/share-options-explained/) [EMI or Unapproved Share Option Scheme – which is best?](https://seedlegals.com/resources/emi-or-unapproved-share-option-scheme-which-is-best-for-you/) [The legal documents you need for your EMI share option scheme](https://seedlegals.com/resources/emi-share-option-scheme-legal-documents/) [Giving share options to customers and social media influencers](https://seedlegals.com/resources/giving-share-options-to-customers-and-social-media-influencers/) [WriterKirsty MacSweenSenior Copywriter](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/kirsty/) [Expert contributorAnthony RoseCo-Founder and CEO](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/anthony/) [Expert contributorBen O'RourkeLead Data Engineer](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/ben/) As a founder, getting your team’s pay right can feel like a guessing game – but it doesn’t have to be. Offering competitive salaries is key to attracting and keeping the right talent, but it can be tricky to know what’s fair in the fast-paced world of UK startups. At SeedLegals, we’ve got access to real salary data from thousands of startups using our platform. In this post, we’ll share what those startups are paying across a range of roles, so you can make informed decisions to keep your team and your (fairly compensated) CFO happy. Whether you're making your first hire or expanding your team post-fundraise, understanding what similar startups are paying can help you stay competitive. Seeing how salaries vary across roles and company sizes can guide your budgeting and hiring decisions, helping you avoid overpaying or making offers that miss the mark. Plus, if you're fundraising, having a clearer picture of likely salary costs can help bring more structure to your financial planning. ## About our data In this report, we dive into the 74,000+ UK [employment contracts](https://seedlegals.com/start/team-agreements/employment-agreement/) created on SeedLegals in the past two years. The figures show the median salaries offered by startups using SeedLegals across different roles and company sizes, from companies making their first hire to teams of more than 30 employees. It’s a snapshot of what founders on our platform are paying their teams. It’s worth noting that we’re only looking at startups that use SeedLegals, rather than the entire UK startup ecosystem. So while the data can help you understand how similar companies approach compensation, it shouldn’t be treated as a definitive benchmark for every startup in the UK. **How do we define small, medium and large companies for this report?** We're looking mostly at early-stage startups, so we've divided our data set into three categories: 🌱 Small - between 1 and 5 employees 🪴 Medium - between 5 and 30 employees 🌳 Large - over 30 employees The company size is based on the headcount at the time the contract is signed, regardless of how much the company grows afterwards. Company size really does matter when it comes to salaries. You’ll see big differences between what small and large early-stage companies offer, especially for roles like CTO. That’s why we’ve broken our data down by company size. This way, you can easily spot how salaries change as your business grows, and make sure you’re staying competitive at every stage. **Salaries are just one half of the compensation equation** Equity also plays a huge role in the compensation package at early-stage startups. It’s very common for the founding team and the earliest hires to receive a smaller salary but a larger equity stake in the company’s future. Stay tuned for a future report that factors share options into the question of what fair compensation looks like. In the meantime, download our free [share options report](https://seedlegals.com/reports/share-options-report/) to see how UK startups structure their schemes. ## How much to pay your executive team In most startups, the executive team is often made up of the founding members; the people who were there from day one, taking the risks and making the foundational decisions that shape the business. The CEO is likely the founder, while roles like CTO and COO are often filled by close, trusted team members who’ve been part of the startup’s journey from the start. Unlike later hires, the exec team is invested on multiple levels: they’re not just building the business, they’re building their future. That said, even founders need to pay themselves and their leadership team competitively. If you’re planning to pitch for angel or institutional investment, investors will want to know that their capital is going into building a successful business – not paying (what might seem to them) inflated salaries. In the graph below, we reveal the median salaries for the key exec roles in UK startups using SeedLegals, so you can see what’s typical for founders and their core team across different company sizes. Data source: SeedLegals employment contracts. Figures reflect salaries offered by startups using SeedLegals ## How much to pay department heads and other key leadership roles Here’s a broad idea of what UK startups using SeedLegals are paying for key leadership roles. These positions are critical as startups scale, helping to drive growth, build teams, and shape the future of the business. Data source: SeedLegals employment contracts. Figures reflect salaries offered by startups using SeedLegals ## How much to pay your tech team The tech team is the backbone of most startups, especially those driven by innovation and product development. From building and maintaining the product to scaling infrastructure as the company grows, the roles within this team, particularly engineering and product leadership, are essential. Data source: SeedLegals employment contracts. Figures reflect salaries offered by startups using SeedLegals ## How much to pay your product team The product team is the creative engine that shapes a startup’s offerings, with roles like product managers and product designers working together to build solutions that resonate with users. Beyond designing and managing features, they collaborate closely with tech, sales, and customer support to ensure the product evolves with market needs. Data source: SeedLegals employment contracts. Figures reflect salaries offered by startups using SeedLegals ## How much base salary to pay your sales and marketing teams A startup’s sales and marketing teams often wear many hats to drive growth and visibility. In addition to their core responsibilities of attracting customers and closing deals, these teams frequently plug gaps across the business – whether it’s helping with customer support, shaping product strategies or managing partnerships. In sales and marketing roles, base salaries are often lower because a significant part of compensation comes from bonuses and commission. These performance-based incentives reward team members for meeting or exceeding targets, making their overall earnings potential higher. The figures below show base salary only. Total compensation may be significantly higher once bonuses and commission are taken into account. Data source: SeedLegals employment contracts. Figures reflect salaries offered by startups using SeedLegals **More insights from SeedLegals data** Keen for more expert analysis into what’s really going on across UK startups? Check out more of our free, exclusive reports: 🥧 [Options report: option scheme trends, decoded by our experts](https://seedlegals.com/reports/share-options-report/) 🤝 [Termometer: the UK’s deepest analysis of early-stage deal terms](https://seedlegals.com/termometer/) 💰[Funding report: how much are startups raising and how?](https://seedlegals.com/reports/uk-funding-report/) ## Talk to the startup experts Get ready for growth with the all-in-one platform for startups. On SeedLegals, you can: - Build and manage your [cap table](https://seedlegals.com/start/cap-table/) - Create [essential contracts](https://seedlegals.com/legal-documents/) , such as employment agreements, NDAs and IP assignments - Lock in [SEIS/EIS tax relief](https://seedlegals.com/start/seis-eis/) for investors - Take investment through a [funding round](https://seedlegals.com/raise/raise-a-round/) or raise smaller sums of money with [SeedFAST](https://seedlegals.com/raise/raise-before-a-round/) or [Instant Investment](https://seedlegals.com/raise/top-up-a-round/) - Create and manage [option schemes](https://seedlegals.com/grow/share-options-scheme/) to compensate your team with equity - Claim a portion of your dev expenses back through [R&D tax relief](https://seedlegals.com/grow/rd-tax-credit-claim/) [Start free for 7 days](https://app.seedlegals.com/signup?utm_keyword=seedlegals&utm_campaign=13371049380&utm_content=323058988&utm_term=seedlegals&utm_network=g&utm_medium=PPC&utm_device=c&utm_source=adwords&utm_matchtype=e&utm_adposition=&utm=%7B%22utm_source%22%3A%22adwords%22%2C%22utm_medium%22%3A%22PPC%22%2C%22utm_campaign%22%3A%2213371049380%22%2C%22utm_content%22%3A%22323058988%22%2C%22utm_term%22%3A%22seedlegals%22%7D) or use the form below to choose a time to chat to our friendly experts. Next up in [SeedLegals Academy](https://seedlegals.com/seedlegals-academy/) [Share options explained: the essential guide for UK startups](https://seedlegals.com/resources/share-options-explained/) Data revealed: UK option schemes trends 2025 Get exclusive insights into how other startups structure their schemes, and why. ## Related posts [5 min readWhy you can't validate your startup idea, and what to do insteadMost founders think they have validated their startup idea. Here is why the evidence usually fails, and the three questi... Charles Hope](https://seedlegals.com/resources/validate-your-startup-idea/) [4 min readMost founders don't think about GDPR until someone asks for their dataOf course you ignore GDPR. Right up until you get an email “Send me all my data. Delete everything you have on me.” Sud... Laura Brentnall](https://seedlegals.com/resources/most-founders-dont-think-about-gdpr-until-someone-asks-for-their-data/) [2 min readSunbathing or scaling? 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