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Last month, we learned about Microsoft's guidelines for paying its employees, starting from entry-level engineers all the way up to distinguished engineers. We found out that salary ranges typically average around $96,000 for the former and around $252,000 for the latter. Annual bonuses and stock awards are separate from the salaries and can vary significantly based on your position. Now, a new document has leaked details about the actual salaries of Microsoft employees.
Business Insider has come across a Microsoft document where employees have self-reported their salaries internally. The spreadsheet currently contains 850 entries and while we don't have access to it ourselves, it is likely anonymous because matters of wages are typically confidential across most organizations. The outlet analyzed data from 350 entries from software engineers based in the U.S., and here are some of its findings:
| Level | Base Pay | Cash Bonus | Bonus Percentage | Stock Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59 | $120.8–124K | $3–$19.3K | 8–14% | $7–19.3K |
| 60 | $111–160K | $9.3–21.7K | 8–16% | $7.2–20K |
| 61 | $128–170K | $11.3–27K | 8–20% | $10.8–36K |
| 62 | $139.2–191K | $11–30.8K | 8–20% | $8–45K |
| 63 | $153.5–224.8K | $8–50K | 10–25% | $22–64K |
| 64 | $162.7–230.6K | $11–50K | 10–140% | $38–80K |
| 65 | $188–$230K | $32.7–61.7K | 16–28% | $39–91K |
| 66 | $217.6–$269K | $59–60.7K | 20–120% | $78–140K |
| 67 | $248-$250K | $70–82K | 28–34% | $145–252K |
Below, you'll also find attached the wages broken down by team:
| Team | Base Pay | Cash Bonus | Bonus Percentage | Stock Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azure | $122.2–240K | $11.4–60K | 10–27% | $12–100K |
| Cloud + AI | $128–340K | $4.5–213K | 10–63% | $8–1000K |
| Commerce + Ecosystems | $158.2–248.1K | $24.4–68.3K | 16–28% | $35.2–140K |
| Core AI | $126.6–213K | $15.3–49K | 10–25% | $10–64K |
| Experiences + Devices | $120–250K | $6–82K | 8–140% | $7.2–252K |
| Microsoft AI | $139–207K | $13.8–50K | 10–21% | $18–56K |
| Security | $127.5–218K | $3.6–48K | 10–24% | $10–66K |
| Xbox | $132–215K | $11.2–48K | 10–24% | $12–64K |
As can be seen in both the tables above, there is a large variance in salaries both across ranks / levels and teams. This is somewhat expected considering that the data is sourced only from 350 entries, and can't really be verified. It is likely that as time passes, more people will add their wages in the spreadsheet, but regardless, it will always be a minuscule sample size considering that the company currently employs over 228,000 people worldwide.
Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.
Posted Thursday 21 August 2025 at 1:15 pm AEST (my time).
News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of July): 3,458
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