Software Engineer Salary: Bangalore vs San Francisco
Annual median salary comparison (2024). All figures include local currency, USD equivalent, and PPP-adjusted purchasing power.
🇮🇳 Bangalore
India
₹1.8M INR
$22K USD
$86K PPP
VS
USD Difference
-88%
Bangalore vs San Francisco
🇺🇸 San Francisco
United States
$185K USD
$185K USD
$185K PPP
Higher Purchasing Power
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Bangalore | San Francisco | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Currency Salary | ₹1.8M INR | $185K USD | — |
| USD Equivalent | $22K | $185K | -88% |
| PPP-Adjusted SalaryWINNER | $86K | $185K 🏆 | -53% |
| 25th Percentile | ₹1.4M INR | $148K USD | — |
| Median | ₹1.8M INR | $185K USD | — |
| 75th Percentile | ₹2.3M INR | $231K USD | — |
| Annual Mean | ₹1.9M INR | $200K USD | — |
What Does This Mean?
Bangalore offers a Software Engineer salary of $22K USD, while San Francisco offers $185K USD — a difference of -88% in raw terms.
After adjusting for purchasing power parity (PPP), Bangalore's salary is worth $86K in US purchasing power terms, versus $185K for San Francisco. This means San Francisco offers better real purchasing power for this role.
PPP adjustment accounts for differences in local prices — for example, housing costs 3x more in San Francisco than in Warsaw, so a San Francisco salary needs to be much higher to provide an equivalent standard of living.