A $100,000 engineering budget sounds substantial until you try to hire a senior developer in the US.
The median US software developer salary is now $135,980 — before looking at the rest of the employment cost.
Move the same budget to Eastern Europe and the picture changes quickly.
The Short Answer
Here’s roughly what a $100,000 total annual employer budget can support:
| Country | Approx. gross salary supported | What you can realistically hire |
|---|---|---|
| United States | ~$70K–$80K | Junior / mid-level engineer |
| Poland | ~$80K | Strong senior engineer |
| Bulgaria | ~$89K | Top-end senior / specialist |
| Romania | ~$93K | Top-end senior / specialist |
These aren’t salary recommendations. They show how much of a $100K budget can go toward gross salary after employer costs.
For Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, the calculation also includes RemoteMore’s EOR fee, which starts at €349/month.
United States: $100K Doesn’t Buy a Senior Engineer
This one is straightforward.
The median software developer in the US earns about $136,000. Software developers working for software publishers have a median salary above $164,000.
And salary isn’t the full cost.
BLS data shows that wages account for about 70% of average private-sector employee compensation, with benefits accounting for the remaining 30%. The exact ratio for a software engineer depends heavily on the company and benefits package.
So with a hard $100,000 all-in budget, you are probably looking at a salary somewhere around $70,000–$80,000.
You can hire a developer in the US for that.
You’re just probably not hiring the senior engineer you had in mind.
Poland: $100K Gets You a Real Senior
Poland is the most expensive Eastern European market in this comparison.
It’s also the deepest.
Our current salary benchmarks put senior Polish engineers roughly between $50,000 and $100,000.
Employer contributions add another roughly 19–22% at normal salary levels. Some contributions stop once annual income reaches the 2026 statutory cap, so the effective percentage falls for highly paid engineers.
Once you account for those contributions and an EOR fee, a $100K budget supports roughly an $80,000 salary.
That’s firmly in senior-engineer territory.
If you’re planning to hire a larger team, Poland is probably the safest of the three Eastern European markets. You pay more, but you get a much larger talent pool.
Our full regional salary comparison is here: Senior Software Engineer Salary Guide 2026
Bulgaria: The Higher You Pay, the Better It Looks
Bulgaria works a little differently.
Employer social and health contributions are roughly 19% of gross salary, but only up to a relatively low maximum insurable income.
In 2026, that ceiling was €2,111.64 per month through July and €2,300 from August onward.
That means the employer contribution stops growing once the salary gets above the ceiling.
For a highly paid engineer, total employer contributions work out to roughly €5,000 for the year.
Add the EOR fee and a $100,000 budget can support close to $89,000 in gross salary.
Our current senior range for Bulgaria is roughly $62,000–$95,000, so $89K puts you near the top of the market.
This is one reason I think Bulgaria remains underpriced.
The tradeoff is scale. The talent pool is much smaller than Poland’s.
For five very good engineers, Bulgaria can be excellent.
For fifty hires in the same stack, it gets much harder.
Romania: You Probably Don’t Need the Full $100K
Romania has the lowest employer burden in this comparison.
For employees working under normal conditions, most social contributions sit on the employee side. The employer’s standard work insurance contribution is only 2.25%.
With the EOR fee included, a $100,000 budget could support roughly $93,000 in gross salary.
But you probably don’t need to spend that much.
Our current benchmark puts senior Romanian engineers around $40,000–$76,000.
That means you can compete toward the top of the normal senior market and still come in well below $100K all-in.
So Where Should You Hire?
For talent depth: Poland.
If you expect to keep adding engineers, Poland is probably the easiest market to scale in.
For a small senior team: Bulgaria.
The contribution cap makes higher-paid engineers unusually cost-efficient.
For pure employment economics: Romania.
Low employer costs mean more of your budget goes directly to the engineer.
For the US: increase the budget.
There are plenty of reasons to hire in the US. Cost isn’t one of them.
The Part Salary Guides Usually Miss
Most salary comparisons stop at gross salary.
But that’s not what the company actually pays.
The number that matters is:
Salary + employer contributions + benefits + the cost of employing the person legally.
That’s where international hiring gets interesting.
The opportunity isn’t finding the cheapest developer.
It’s being able to compete for very strong engineers in markets where your budget goes much further.
Planning an engineering hire and want to know the real all-in cost before you make an offer? Talk to RemoteMore →
Sources
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Software Developers
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Poland: Social Security Contributions
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Bulgaria: Social Security Contributions
Bulgarian National Social Security Institute — 2026 Insurable Income Limits
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — Romania: Social Contributions
RemoteMore — Senior Software Engineer Salary Guide 2026
Calculations are approximate and use 2026 statutory contribution rates, RemoteMore EOR pricing starting at €349/month, and exchange rates as of September 1, 2026. Actual costs vary by benefits, employer type, occupational risk category, exchange rate and employment setup. General information, not legal or tax advice.
