Greek startups’ attractive salaries

Greek technology startups are a major attraction for young talent in the country as they offer much more competitive salaries compared to other sectors of the local economy, according to a new study by Marathon Venture Capital.

At the same time salaries at Greek startups remain considerably lower than those found in more mature economies, such as Germany, Britain and the US, rendering Greece more attractive for tech companies abroad that want to get a foothold in this country and hire local staff, as is the case with Germany’s Celonis, which recently bought out Greek-owned firm Lenses.io, as well as with Microsoft, which has acquired Softomotive.

The study, titled “The Greek Startups Industry: Salaries and Benefits 2021,” showed that positions with high demand from companies, such as data scientists and software engineers, can earn employees between 17,000 and 44,000 euros per annum, while the average rate comes to €22,000, or €1,192 net per month. For a backend software engineer, the annual pay can reach €64,000, or some €2,700 net per month.

In general, starting salaries for inexperienced workers are at around €700-1,000 net per month. For workers with experience in areas such as leadership and data science, salaries may come up to €6,000 net per month (€152,000 gross per annum or €10,857 gross per month).

The study is based on data from 27 companies with a total of 1,915 employees in Greece. It showed that the worst-paid jobs in local startups concern quality engineers at entry level, who earn €680 net per month or €11,200 per year, followed by QA analysts, who average at €866 net per month or €15,000 gross per annum.

Furthermore, an increasing number of Greek startups are offering their employees shares in the company, as a form of incentive to attract more talent. Thanks to the low taxation of incomes from capital (15% rate) in Greece, the provision of company shares constitutes a significant opportunity when choosing a company to work at. Therefore four out of 10 employees in technology positions receive shares.