France Tech Pay Insights
Real analysis of what France tech salaries and contractor day rates are actually doing, and what it means if you are hiring, job-hunting, or contracting right now.
Featured · France
Indemnité de Licenciement 2026: Calculation, Tax and the 2027 Change
Indemnité de licenciement: 1/4 of a month's pay per year up to 10 years, 1/3 after. Worked examples, rupture conventionnelle, tax, and the 2027 plan to cap the tax-free part at €48,060.
6 October 2026 · 10 min read
AI Engineer Salary in France 2026
AI engineers in France earn a median €75,825, netting €4,198 a month. Toulouse and Lyon both outpay Paris, and cadre charges take a third of gross.
Portage Salarial vs Auto-Entrepreneur 2026: Which Nets More?
On €66,000 of revenue, auto-entrepreneur nets €42,932 (65.0%) vs €32,744 (49.6%) under portage salarial. What portage's lower retention actually buys you.
Cost to Hire in France 2026: Charges Patronales Explained
A €45,000 salary in France costs an employer about €60,750 once charges patronales are added, a rate rising from about 9% near the SMIC to 43% above 3x SMIC.
BSPCE & AGA 2026: France's Startup Equity Tax Rules
A €90,000 BSPCE gain is taxed at 31.4% with 3+ years' tenure at grant, or 48.6% under 3 years, a €15,480 difference. How BSPCE and AGA tax events work.
Software Engineer Salary in France 2026
French software engineers earn a €52K median, typically €47K-€58K, with Paris at €58K and senior pay up 3-7% since 2024. Career ladder and freelance day rates.
France Brut to Net: Why Calculators Miss Your Real Pay
A French salary calculator's net figure is now accurate, but it leaves out APEC for cadres, mutuelle and titres-restaurant. What a full offer really nets you.
UK vs France Take-Home Pay 2026: Which Payslip Keeps More?
The UK leads by 10.1 points at the equivalent of 50k. The sharper number: only 48.2% of what a French employer spends reaches you, against 68.1% in the UK.
Auto-Entrepreneur vs Salarié 2026: The Gap on €60,000
Invoice €60,000 as a BNC auto-entrepreneur and 2026 cotisations take 25.6% before tax; a €60,000 salarié pays less overall. The worked comparison, explained.
CSG, CRDS and Prélèvement à la Source Explained
CSG, CRDS and prélèvement à la source are three different mechanisms on a French payslip. How each is calculated and how they interact on a real payslip.
How Salarié Tax + CSG/CRDS Actually Hit Your French Paycheck
A French payslip runs CSG/CRDS on every payslip plus income tax via prélèvement à la source. How the abattement, décote and CSG/CRDS combine, at €60,000.
Cross-market guides
Ireland
United Kingdom
Ireland vs UK Tech Salaries: How Do They Compare?
Dublin vs London tech pay: median salaries, cost-of-living adjustments and net take-home compared, to see where tech workers are actually better off.
Read the full comparisonMore Ireland & UK comparisons