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PHP Developer Salary in the United Kingdom 2026: £75K Median & Range

What does a PHP Developer earn in the United Kingdom?

The median PHP Developer salary in the United Kingdom is £75K in 2026, with a typical range from £65K to £85K. Year-on-year movement is still building as more matched salary data is published. This is base salary for permanent employees.

What does A PHP Developer do?

A PHP Developer is responsible for designing and building server-side web applications and RESTful APIs using PHP, Laravel, and Symfony for e-commerce platforms, content management systems, and custom business applications.

Day-to-day responsibilities

  • Writing and reviewing PHP code using Laravel and Symfony frameworks
  • Building and maintaining RESTful APIs
  • Working with MySQL and PostgreSQL databases
  • Developing and customising WordPress and WooCommerce e-commerce solutions
  • Integrating with third-party APIs and payment gateways
  • Performing debugging and performance optimisation
Low demand+16% Laravel PHP framework+13% Symfony PHP framework+10% WordPress and WooCommerce development

Permanent Salary Benchmark for PHP Developer

Permanent salary benchmarks for PHP Developer in the United Kingdom, from the low end to the top of the range, based on published market compensation data.

£75K

national median per year

£75K
£65K£85K
Low
£65K
P25
£75K
Median
£75K
P75
£75K
High
£85K

Moderate evidence · United Kingdom annual benchmark · 2026 data · How we check our numbers

Skills That Command a Premium for PHP Developers

Certain technical skills push PHP Developer salaries in the United Kingdom significantly above the £75K median. These are the most impactful skills to develop or highlight when negotiating.

Laravel PHP framework

+16%

salary premium vs median

Symfony PHP framework

+13%

salary premium vs median

WordPress and WooCommerce development

+10%

salary premium vs median

MySQL and database optimisation

+11%

salary premium vs median

REST API development with PHP

+13%

salary premium vs median

PHP Developer Salary in London & South East, North, Midlands & Scotland and South West & Wales

How much does a PHP Developer earn by city in the United Kingdom?

PHP Developer salary varies meaningfully by location. London & South East pays the most at £60K (20% below the national benchmark), while North, Midlands & Scotland sits at £48K (36% below the national benchmark). Location is worth factoring into any offer negotiation.

PHP Developer Take-Home Pay in the UK (2026/27)

After Income Tax & National Insurance · single, standard payroll deductions

Entry

Take-home/year

£54,057

Effective rate

27.9%

Median

Take-home/year

£54,057

Effective rate

27.9%

Senior

Take-home/year

£54,057

Effective rate

27.9%

See the full band-by-band breakdown for PHP Developer

Adjust for your actual salary, see each Income Tax and NI band, and get monthly and weekly figures.

Contract day rates available for this role

Median £475/day, see full breakdown, city rates, and take-home calculator

View PHP Developer day rates →

Contract break-even

What day rate beats a £75K PHP Developer salary after tax?

Break-even day rate

£354/day

to match £75K permanent net

Permanent net take-home

£54,057/yr

£75K gross, 2026/27 rates

Outside IR35 (ltd), 220 days, no pension. Net figures are estimates; use the calculators for exact results.

Market Demand & Outlook

Hiring demand, top locations, and career outlook for PHP Developer

Moderate Confidence

Demand level

Low

Based on hiring signals relative to similar roles in this market.

Top hiring locations

LondonLondon & South EastNorth, Midlands & ScotlandSouth West & Wales

Career outlook

Outlook building

PHP Developer pay guidance is based on the current £75K median; year-on-year comparison data is not yet available for this role.

Compare this role

Put the PHP Developer benchmark in context

Compare adjacent roles, employer estimates, published agency guides, and an offer against the market before you make a decision.

Why PHP Developer Salaries Are at This Level

PHP Developers in the United Kingdom earn a median salary of £75K in 2026, with a typical range from £65K at the 25th percentile to £85K at the 75th percentile. This benchmark reflects published market compensation data for annual pay across the United Kingdom market.

London & South East currently leads city pay at £60K, which is 20% below the national benchmark. City coverage for this role includes London & South East, North, Midlands & Scotland, South West & Wales, helping you compare local pay differences without needing separate city-role pages.

At experience level, and upper bands continue to trend above the median. Demand is currently steady for this role based on recent coverage and salary momentum signals.

Frequently Asked Questions About PHP Developer Salary in the United Kingdom

1

What is the median PHP Developer salary in the United Kingdom?

The median PHP Developer salary in the United Kingdom is £75K in 2026. The typical range runs from £65K at the 25th percentile to £85K at the 75th percentile, based on published market compensation data.

2

Is PHP Developer salary increasing in the United Kingdom?

Year-on-year trend data is not yet available for this role. Check back as the dataset grows.

3

How does PHP Developer salary vary by city in the United Kingdom?

PHP Developer salaries vary across the United Kingdom. London & South East leads at £60K (-20% vs the national benchmark), while North, Midlands & Scotland sits at £48K. Use the city breakdown above to compare all locations.

4

What does a PHP Developer take home after tax in the United Kingdom?

A PHP Developer earning the median £75K gross in the United Kingdom will take home a net amount after income tax and other deductions. Use the PayMetric Labs take-home calculator on this page for an exact breakdown by tax band.

5

Is a £75K PHP Developer hybrid role worth the commute in the UK?

On a 3-day hybrid schedule with a typical UK commute (£15/day travel, 60-minute round trip, daily meal premium, annual wardrobe costs), your true net income at £75K is approximately £44,797 per year, compared to £54,057 net without any commute. The commute costs £9,260 per year in direct expenses and lost time. A fully remote role paying £59,100 would leave you equally well off.

6

What remote salary is equivalent to a £75K hybrid PHP Developer salary in the UK?

Assuming a 3-day hybrid schedule with typical commute costs, you would need a remote salary of at least £59,100 to match the true net value of a £75K hybrid PHP Developer role in the UK. For a 5-day fully in-office role, the break-even remote salary rises to £49,300, as the higher office frequency increases travel, meal, and time costs significantly.

7

How many hours per year does a PHP Developer in the UK spend commuting?

On a 3-day hybrid schedule with a 60-minute round trip, a PHP Developer in the UK spends approximately 138 hours commuting per year, equivalent to 17 full working days. Valued at the implied hourly rate for a £75K salary (£43/hr), that time is worth £6,000 annually.

8

How does the 2026 Return to Office trend affect PHP Developer compensation in the UK?

As more employers in the UK reintroduce hybrid or full in-office mandates in 2026, the true value of a PHP Developer salary depends increasingly on the number of required office days. At £75K, each additional day in the office costs roughly £2,920 per year in direct and time costs (moving from 3 to 5 days). Candidates evaluating offers should compare true net income rather than gross salary alone.

9

What day rate do you need to earn more than a PHP Developer permanent salary in the United Kingdom?

A PHP Developer earning £75K permanently takes home approximately £54,057 per year after tax in the United Kingdom. As a outside IR35 limited company contractor at 220 billable days, you need a day rate of at least £354/day to match that net income. Anything above that rate puts more money in your pocket compared to the permanent equivalent. Use the IR35 calculator at /uk/calculators/ir35-calculator for a full breakdown.

10

Is contracting more profitable than a permanent PHP Developer role in the United Kingdom?

Whether contracting beats permanent pay for a PHP Developer in the United Kingdom depends entirely on the day rate you can command. The break-even rate is approximately £354/day (220 working days, outside IR35 limited company), which is the minimum required to match the £75K median permanent net take-home of £54,057 per year. Day rates above this produce a higher net income; rates below it mean the permanent role pays more after tax.

11

How reliable is this PHP Developer salary benchmark?

This benchmark is derived from verified market compensation data and is rated Moderate Confidence. High Confidence means the benchmark is corroborated across independent sources and is citation-ready. Moderate Confidence is directional context while coverage is still building. Limited Market Data means early signals only.

12

Is PHP Developer pay increasing?

There is not enough matched prior-year data yet to publish a reliable growth figure. Growth is matched using the closest comparable prior-year role, location, seniority, currency, and salary type available in the salary intelligence tables.

13

What should employers and candidates take from this benchmark?

Candidates should compare offers against the £65K-£85K middle-market band, while employers should treat £75K as the current market midpoint for this role.

Sources and review

How this salary is built

Reviewed 4 September 2026

This is a PayMetric Labs benchmark, not a salary quote or a guaranteed offer. We align available United Kingdom market-guide evidence by job title, seniority, pay period, and location before publishing the range.

01 · Collect

Recorded salary and rate-guide evidence

02 · Align

Role, seniority, location, and pay period

03 · Review

Outliers, coverage, and data quality

Recorded agency-guide evidence

These organisations have guide evidence recorded for this market. Coverage differs by role and location, so a listed organisation is not necessarily the direct source for every figure on this page.

Adria UKHays UKHenderson Scott UKInta People UKMichael Page UKMorgan McKinley UKOliver Bernard UKRobert Half UK
Read our methodology

Compare PHP Developer pay in another market

The same role has published benchmarks in these markets. Open each local page for its salary range, tax context, and city detail.

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