Verified Salary and Total Compensation Benchmarks

What It Is

Levels.fyi is an open compensation platform designed to give jobseekers transparency into what companies actually pay. Originally built to map software engineering job levels across major technology firms, the tool has expanded to cover salary bands, bonuses, and equity grants across technology, investment banking, consulting, and finance roles globally.

Unlike broad salary aggregators that rely on vague averages or self-reported job titles with little context, Levels.fyi organizes compensation around standardized seniority tiers. It breaks down total compensation into its constituent parts: base salary, annual cash bonuses, and equity or stock compensation. Users can view submissions based on verified documentation, such as offer letters and pay stubs, which provides a clearer view of what candidates are negotiating and receiving in the current market.

The link to this offer is at the foot of the page ↓

What You Get Out of It

For someone actively interviewing or holding a job offer, the primary benefit is leverage and clarity during salary negotiations. Assessing an offer in isolation is difficult, especially when compensation packages include variable bonuses or multi-year vesting schedules. Levels.fyi gives you the data needed to evaluate whether an offer aligns with the market rate for your specific level of experience.

• Detailed compensation breakdowns: See exact numbers for base pay, performance bonuses, and equity grants rather than an unhelpful lump-sum average.
• Level mapping across employers: Compare job titles directly between companies to see how a Senior title at one firm translates to an equivalent tier elsewhere.
• Verified data points: Distinguish between general user submissions and entries backed by verified offer letters and pay documentation.
• Location filtering: Filter data by country and metropolitan area to see market adjustments, including compensation reports for the United Arab Emirates and broader Middle East region.
• Negotiation context: Identify top-of-band figures for specific roles to understand where employers have flexibility to increase base pay or sign-on incentives.

What It Costs

Accessing the core compensation database, filtering by company and location, and reviewing salary bands on Levels.fyi is free. You do not have to pay a subscription fee to search through the compensation benchmarks or compare roles. The platform operates on a community-driven model where users can freely browse data and contribute their own salary details if they choose.

The link to this offer is at the foot of the page ↓

Who It Suits

This tool is best suited for professionals working in Information Technology, Software Engineering, Data Science, Product Management, Banking, Investment, and Management Consulting. If you work for a multinational company, a venture-backed startup, or a major financial institution, you will likely find substantial data directly relevant to your situation.

Jobseekers evaluating relocations or international transfers will also find it helpful, as it highlights how global firms adjust packages between headquarters and regional offices, such as Dubai. If your compensation package includes stock units, carried interest, or complex bonus structures, this tool is one of the few places where those elements are catalogued clearly alongside standard base salaries.

The link to this offer is at the foot of the page ↓

Limitations to Keep in Mind

While Levels.fyi is comprehensive for its core target sectors, it has clear boundaries that jobseekers should understand before relying on it:

• Tech and finance heavy: If you work in construction, healthcare, education, retail, logistics, or government administration, data is often thin or nonexistent. The user base leans heavily toward corporate tech and high finance.
• Regional sample sizes: While global hubs have growing datasets, the volume of submissions for Dubai and the wider Gulf region is smaller than for North America or Europe. A search for a specific role at a local firm might only return one or two entries, which is not enough to form a statistically sound benchmark.
• Local compensation structures: In the Gulf, total compensation frequently hinges on housing allowances, transport stipends, schooling allowances, and flight tickets. Levels.fyi is primarily structured around the Western model of base pay, cash bonus, and equity, meaning local allowances may be lumped together or omitted entirely.
• Self-selection bias: People who are paid above market rate or who work at prestigious firms are generally more motivated to share their numbers. Base-level salaries at smaller, local businesses are frequently underrepresented.

Before You Search

You can search and filter the data anonymously without creating an account or submitting your own salary details. However, when reviewing regional submissions for the UAE, pay close attention to the submission date and currency to ensure the figures reflect post-inflation market realities. Treat the numbers as reference points to inform your negotiation strategy, not as guaranteed figures that an employer is required to match.