One South African city where software developers can earn over R100,000 per month

Software developers in Cape Town earn slightly more than their peers in Johannesburg and Pretoria, according to data from South African developer job marketplace Offerzen.
Despite this, there has been a slight reduction in the number of developers who work from the Mother City, while Johannesburg and Durban have seen increases.
These findings come from Offerzen’s latest State of the Developer Nation and Software Developer Salary Benchmark reports.
In 2024, monthly average salaries for developers in Cape Town varied from R28,820 to R100,141, depending on the number of years’ experience a developer had.
In Johannesburg, the average salaries ranged between R23,637 and R95,274. The third most popular city for developers — Pretoria — had average salaries varying between R23,900 and R93,586.
Cape Town has garnered a reputation as Africa’s tech hub, particularly as a breeding ground for new and innovative businesses.
“The Mother City is home to more startups, and developers in the city tend to work in smaller, product-driven companies,” Offerzen stated.
In terms of industries, Cape Town is particularly popular for tech roles in software-as-a-service, e-commerce, and online gaming.
However, although Cape Town was the best-paying city for South African developers, adjusting the figures for the cost of living showed that Johannesburg’s developers had 9.7% more buying power.
Offerzen said Cape Town’s higher cost of living meant that developers there expected a higher base salary, making it more expensive to offer a standout package in the city.
Offerzen found that developers in Johannesburg were nearly twice as likely to work for a large corporation, with 6.2% at companies with more than 5,000 employees.
“It’s the heart of banking and consulting, making it the ideal city for developers who prefer working in the financial sector or larger enterprises,” it said.
However, many software developers with up to 10 years’ experience earn more in neighbouring Pretoria than in Johannesburg.
The table and graph below compare the average salaries of software developers in South Africa’s four major tech hubs.
Experience | Cape Town | Pretoria | Johannesburg | Durban |
---|---|---|---|---|
0-2 years | R28,820 | R23,900 | R23,637 | R27,288 |
2-4 years | R38,819 | R36,259 | R31,160 | R33,039 |
4-6 years | R51,928 | R53,633 | R48,211 | R42,177 |
6-10 years | R72,171 | R72,412 | R69,119 | R59,873 |
10+ years | R100,141 | R93,586 | R95,274 | R87,515 |

Durban salaries are pretty decent — but only for starters
Offerzen’s reports also showed that Durban offered the second-best entry-level developer salaries, beating Pretoria and Johannesburg for position requiring less than two years’ experience.
The proportion of South African developers working in Durban also increased from 4.2% to 5.2% in the last two years.
However, salaries in Durban are worse for developers as experience increases, especially from four years onwards. Therefore, salary growth prospects could be poor.
While Cape Town still accounts for most developers in the country, Johannesburg is hot on its heels.
Cape Town’s share of the market declined from 37.2% to 35.9%, while Johannesburg’s increased from 32.7% to 34.2%.
Apart from Stellenbosch, which saw a marginal increase, the shares of smaller cities and towns like Gqeberha, Bloemfontein, George, and Potchefstroom declined in the past two years.
It should be emphasised that Offerzen’s reports were focused on software developers and not the broader tech industry.
Market research firm Analytico also surveyed more than 2,500 ICT professionals and executives in South Africa in February 2025.
It found that average salaries for 90th percentile C-level executives could be as high as R220,000 per month.
Programming and software development professionals with the highest level of experience and pay in the survey earned average salaries of R150,000.
Analytico also found that professionals working for large corporations in Gauteng or Cape Town could expect to earn more than those with a job at small enterprise in a small town.