TechPays has been acquired by Levels.fyi

2026-05-12 · Source: The Pragmatic Engineer · Field: Technology & Digital — Software Development & Engineering, Data Science & Analytics · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, short

Summary

TechPays, a leading European tech salary transparency platform co-founded by Zsombor Erdődy-Nagy, is being acquired by Levels.fyi. The platform originated from the co-founder's personal experience discovering a "secret, upper-tier" of compensation in Europe, where a principal engineer's salary could double from £93K in London to €220-250K in Amsterdam. This led to an article, "The Trimodal Nature of Software Engineering Salaries in the Netherlands and Europe," and subsequently the creation of TechPays to open-source compensation data, including anonymized data, freelancer compensation, and package breakdowns. The acquisition by Levels.fyi aims to integrate TechPays' European data and insights into a broader global platform, ensuring the continued availability and enhancement of pay transparency resources for tech professionals.

Key takeaway

For software engineers evaluating new opportunities in Europe, your assumptions about top-tier compensation may be significantly underestimated. Utilize platforms like Levels.fyi (now integrating TechPays data) to access comprehensive, transparent salary data, including equity and bonuses, before negotiating. This information can reveal higher compensation tiers and empower you to secure offers potentially double what you might expect, avoiding the mistake of under-valuing your skills.

Key insights

Pay transparency reveals a "hidden" upper-tier of tech compensation, especially in Europe, often unknown to engineers.

Principles

• Compensation data empowers negotiation.
• Transparency benefits developers.
• Equity vesting impacts total compensation.

Method

Collecting and open-sourcing anonymized compensation data, including base, equity, and bonus, helps reveal market realities and supports better negotiation for tech professionals.

In practice

• Research compensation data before interviews.
• Understand equity vesting schedules.
• Explore global salary platforms like Levels.fyi.

Topics

• TechPays Acquisition
• Levels.fyi
• Pay Transparency
• Software Engineer Compensation
• European Tech Salaries

Best for: Software Engineer, Entrepreneur, Tech Journalist

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by The Pragmatic Engineer.