What does AI talent cost?

Published salary figures and recruiter estimates. Compare the role and pay basis before using a number in your hiring plan.

Annual amounts in local currency. Means, percentile ranges and recruiter estimates are kept separate. Experience selection applies only to Ireland.

AI and adjacent-role salary benchmarks. Statistical bases and currencies differ.
Market	Source role / category	Annual benchmark	What it represents	Evidence
Sweden	Data scientistRole-specific	SEK 504,000–926,160Gross / year	Middle 80%All levels / unspecified	Source & notes Unionen ↗ 2025 Member salary statistics; range covers the middle 80%. Monthly figures are annualised by multiplying by 12. Role sample size not published on the open page. Source: SEK 42,000–77,180 per month. Annual equivalent = monthly pay × 12; not total compensation.
United Kingdom	Machine Learning EngineerRole-specific	GBP 54,375–90,000Gross / year	25th–75th percentileAll levels / unspecified	Source & notes IT Jobs Watch ↗ 6 months to 14 September 2026 Salaries quoted in permanent job advertisements. Range is the 25th–75th percentile. 47 quoted salaries; 81 matching permanent vacancies. Median GBP 70,000. Advertised pay, not a survey of everyone employed in the role; bonus treatment can vary by advert. Median: GBP 70,000.
Switzerland	ML, AI categoryBroad category	CHF 113,600Gross / year	Published meanAll levels / unspecified	Source & notes DevITjobs European report ↗ 2025 report Employer-supplied salary ranges from more than 23,000 listings across the full report. Values below are published category means, not individual job-title medians. Gross annual pay excludes stock and bonuses. Country-by-category sample sizes and the exact collection window are not stated in the cited charts. Report page 38. Broad technology category, not a salary benchmark for a specific AI role.
Switzerland	Data categoryBroad category	CHF 114,100Gross / year	Published meanAll levels / unspecified	Source & notes DevITjobs European report ↗ 2025 report Employer-supplied salary ranges from more than 23,000 listings across the full report. Values below are published category means, not individual job-title medians. Gross annual pay excludes stock and bonuses. Country-by-category sample sizes and the exact collection window are not stated in the cited charts. Report page 38. Covers data-related listings; not specific to data scientists or data engineers.
Germany	ML, AI categoryBroad category	EUR 66,000Gross / year	Published meanAll levels / unspecified	Source & notes DevITjobs European report ↗ 2025 report Employer-supplied salary ranges from more than 23,000 listings across the full report. Values below are published category means, not individual job-title medians. Gross annual pay excludes stock and bonuses. Country-by-category sample sizes and the exact collection window are not stated in the cited charts. Report page 42. Broad technology category, not a salary benchmark for a specific AI role.
Germany	Data categoryBroad category	EUR 61,800Gross / year	Published meanAll levels / unspecified	Source & notes DevITjobs European report ↗ 2025 report Employer-supplied salary ranges from more than 23,000 listings across the full report. Values below are published category means, not individual job-title medians. Gross annual pay excludes stock and bonuses. Country-by-category sample sizes and the exact collection window are not stated in the cited charts. Report page 42. Covers data-related listings; not specific to data scientists or data engineers.
Netherlands	ML, AI categoryBroad category	EUR 58,000Gross / year	Published meanAll levels / unspecified	Source & notes DevITjobs European report ↗ 2025 report Employer-supplied salary ranges from more than 23,000 listings across the full report. Values below are published category means, not individual job-title medians. Gross annual pay excludes stock and bonuses. Country-by-category sample sizes and the exact collection window are not stated in the cited charts. Report page 54. Broad technology category, not a salary benchmark for a specific AI role.
Netherlands	Data categoryBroad category	EUR 56,000Gross / year	Published meanAll levels / unspecified	Source & notes DevITjobs European report ↗ 2025 report Employer-supplied salary ranges from more than 23,000 listings across the full report. Values below are published category means, not individual job-title medians. Gross annual pay excludes stock and bonuses. Country-by-category sample sizes and the exact collection window are not stated in the cited charts. Report page 54. Covers data-related listings; not specific to data scientists or data engineers.
Ireland	Generative AI EngineerRole-specific	EUR 45,000–70,000Annual · pay inclusions unspecified	Recruiter estimate3–5 years	Source & notes Realtime Recruitment ↗ 2026 guide Recruiter guide estimates for permanent roles, with experience bands. These are guidance ranges, not percentiles. The table separates salary from contractor day rates. Role sample sizes and a statistical estimation method are not supplied in the cited table. The table does not explicitly define bonus treatment; confirm with the provider. Page 5. Mid-level range shown by default. Source experience bands are not organisational maturity levels.
Ireland	Machine Learning EngineerRole-specific	EUR 45,000–70,000Annual · pay inclusions unspecified	Recruiter estimate3–5 years	Source & notes Realtime Recruitment ↗ 2026 guide Recruiter guide estimates for permanent roles, with experience bands. These are guidance ranges, not percentiles. The table separates salary from contractor day rates. Role sample sizes and a statistical estimation method are not supplied in the cited table. The table does not explicitly define bonus treatment; confirm with the provider. Page 5. Mid-level range shown by default. Source experience bands are not organisational maturity levels.
Ireland	Data EngineerRole-specific	EUR 45,000–75,000Annual · pay inclusions unspecified	Recruiter estimate3–5 years	Source & notes Realtime Recruitment ↗ 2026 guide Recruiter guide estimates for permanent roles, with experience bands. These are guidance ranges, not percentiles. The table separates salary from contractor day rates. Role sample sizes and a statistical estimation method are not supplied in the cited table. The table does not explicitly define bonus treatment; confirm with the provider. Page 5. Mid-level range shown by default. Source experience bands are not organisational maturity levels.
Ireland	MLOps EngineerRole-specific	EUR 55,000–75,000Annual · pay inclusions unspecified	Recruiter estimate3–5 years	Source & notes Realtime Recruitment ↗ 2026 guide Recruiter guide estimates for permanent roles, with experience bands. These are guidance ranges, not percentiles. The table separates salary from contractor day rates. Role sample sizes and a statistical estimation method are not supplied in the cited table. The table does not explicitly define bonus treatment; confirm with the provider. Page 5. Mid-level range shown by default. Source experience bands are not organisational maturity levels.
Ireland	Data Governance ManagerAdjacent role	EUR 55,000–85,000Annual · pay inclusions unspecified	Recruiter estimate3–5 years	Source & notes Realtime Recruitment ↗ 2026 guide Recruiter guide estimates for permanent roles, with experience bands. These are guidance ranges, not percentiles. The table separates salary from contractor day rates. Role sample sizes and a statistical estimation method are not supplied in the cited table. The table does not explicitly define bonus treatment; confirm with the provider. Page 5. Mid-level range shown by default. Source experience bands are not organisational maturity levels. Data role used as adjacent context; no AI-specific premium is inferred.
Ireland	Data Product ManagerAdjacent role	EUR 55,000–85,000Annual · pay inclusions unspecified	Recruiter estimate3–5 years	Source & notes Realtime Recruitment ↗ 2026 guide Recruiter guide estimates for permanent roles, with experience bands. These are guidance ranges, not percentiles. The table separates salary from contractor day rates. Role sample sizes and a statistical estimation method are not supplied in the cited table. The table does not explicitly define bonus treatment; confirm with the provider. Page 5. Mid-level range shown by default. Source experience bands are not organisational maturity levels. Data role used as adjacent context; no AI-specific premium is inferred.
France	Ingénieur DevOpsAdjacent role	EUR 60,000–80,000Gross / year	25th–75th percentileAll levels / unspecified	Source & notes Robert Half France ↗ 2026 guide Starting gross annual fixed pay excluding bonuses and benefits. Range is the published 25th–75th percentile. Role sample size not published on the open page. Median EUR 72,000. DevOps is adjacent to MLOps; no AI-specific premium is included. Median: EUR 72,000.

15 benchmarks across 7 markets

Download salary data ↓View salary sources ↗

Use the range for the right decision.

Start with a role and location, then account for responsibility, experience, benefits and the work you need delivered. Organisational maturity is not a salary multiplier.

How comparable are these figures?

Sweden shows the middle 80% of Unionen member salaries, annualised from monthly pay. UK figures come from permanent job adverts. Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands show means for broad technology categories. Ireland and France use recruiter guides. These are different samples and statistical measures; they do not support a country cost ranking.

What is missing?

This release has no consistent salary evidence for every role in all 41 markets. Broad categories and adjacent roles are labelled. We have not added an assumed AI premium, invented missing salaries or inferred pay from a country’s readiness score. Contractor rates, equity, employer taxes and currency conversion are excluded.

Where are estimates used?

Irish salary-guide ranges are source estimates. Other rows show published statistics with their source basis. No new salary estimates have been created by this site. The source date and sample information are available in each row.