Hiring Digital Talent – We reveal 2025 salary expectations!
When it comes to hiring digital talent and crafting a winning digital recruitment strategy in 2025, understanding salary expectations is absolutely essential.
Over recent years, pay has become one of the most important priorities for digital professionals – and that’s not changing anytime soon. Candidates are becoming increasingly transparent about what they expect to earn and want the same clarity from the companies looking to hire them.
Our 2025 Digital Salary Survey offers fresh insights into how professionals in this fast-moving space are feeling about pay. So, what are they expecting and how can employers adapt?
Salary expectations in the digital industry
If you want to attract and retain top-tier digital talent, you need to know what they expect to be paid. Our latest data gives a snapshot of the current landscape—and it shows a cautious but clear desire for progression.
What kind of salary increase are digital professionals expecting in 2025?
- Less than 5% increase: 34%
- 5% increase: 24%
- 10% increase: 12%
- 15% increase: 5%
- More than 15% increase: 6%
- No increase at all: 19%
The takeaway? While there’s optimism, many digital professionals are tempering their expectations. Just over a third expect only a small pay rise, while nearly one in five don’t expect any increase at all. And yet, 51% told us they received a salary bump in the past year.
This may reflect economic uncertainty, or perhaps a disconnect between expectations and reality when salary reviews come around. Either way, one thing is clear: employers need to be transparent and realistic in their pay conversations. Clear benchmarking and early dialogue go a long way.
Salary expectations in the digital industry
If you want to attract and retain top-tier digital talent, you need to know what they expect to be paid. Our latest data gives a snapshot of the current landscape – and it shows a cautious but clear desire for progression.
What kind of salary increase are digital professionals expecting in 2025?
- Less than 5% increase: 34%
- 5% increase: 24%
- 10% increase: 12%
- 15% increase: 5%
- More than 15% increase: 6%
- No increase at all: 19%
The takeaway? While there’s optimism, many digital professionals are tempering their expectations. Just over a third expect only a small pay rise, while nearly one in five don’t expect any increase at all. And yet, 59% told us they received a salary bump in the past year.
This may reflect economic uncertainty, or perhaps a disconnect between expectations and reality when salary reviews come around. Either way, one thing is clear: employers need to be transparent and realistic in their pay conversations. Clear benchmarking and early dialogue go a long way.
Are digital professionals satisfied with their salaries?
We asked respondents to rate their salary satisfaction out of 10. The average score for 2025…6/10. That’s up slightly from 5.5 in 2024, so there’s progress, but still room for improvement.
This small rise may point to stronger salary reviews, better offer packages or people landing roles that match their financial goals. Still, an average score of 6 means there’s plenty of dissatisfaction simmering beneath the surface.
Employers can’t afford to assume everything is fine – especially in such a competitive space. Reviewing salary bands regularly, listening to employee feedback, and making pay structures more transparent will be key to standing out.
How do people feel about salary progression?
Progression remains a pain point. When we asked how satisfied people were with their company’s salary progression opportunities, the average score was just 4.7/10…the same as last year.
This flatlining figure suggests that many professionals still feel stuck. Whether it’s a lack of visible promotion paths or unclear performance expectations, the result is the same: top digital talent won’t wait around for change.
Businesses that want to retain high performers need to get serious about career development. That means clearly mapping out how salaries grow with performance, and making sure every team member knows what it takes to move forward.
Hiring digital talent? It’s time to be transparent about salaries
This latest survey tells us a lot about how digital professionals are feeling – and how businesses can respond. While overall satisfaction is slowly rising, there’s still plenty of work to do.
From better salary transparency to clearer growth opportunities, companies that truly listen to their teams will be the ones that succeed in hiring and keeping top digital talent in 2025.
Want to dive deeper into the numbers? Download the full Digital Salary Survey report for even more insights into trends, attitudes and expectations across the industry.
