Am I underpaid?
A free, instant check for cybersecurity professionals. Pick your role and country, enter your base salary, and see whether you sit below, at, or above the typical market range - with a concrete gap number you can take into a raise conversation.
Bands are curated benchmarks cross-checked against live disclosed job postings and anonymous community submissions. Enter your base in USD (use the USD equivalent if you're paid in another currency).
Typical Security Engineer base in United States: $110,000 - $175,000 ($110k–$175k)
Make this sharper - add your number
These bands get more accurate with every real, anonymous data point. Add yours (no login, ~20s) and help the next person negotiate.
Typical cybersecurity base pay by role (US)
Annual base salary ranges. Senior, staff, and leadership roles run higher; bonus and equity add on top.
| Role | Typical base (US) |
|---|---|
| Security Engineer | $110,000 - $175,000 |
| Senior Security Engineer | $150,000 - $220,000 |
| GRC Analyst | $78,000 - $125,000 |
| Cloud Security Engineer | $125,000 - $195,000 |
| SOC Analyst | $58,000 - $92,000 |
| AppSec Engineer | $120,000 - $185,000 |
| Penetration Tester | $95,000 - $155,000 |
| CISO | $200,000 - $350,000 |
Full country cuts + percentiles in the Cybersecurity Salary Report.
Frequently asked questions
- Am I underpaid as a cybersecurity professional?
- Enter your role, country, and base salary above to compare against the typical market band. As a US reference, security engineers typically earn $110k-$175k, SOC analysts $58k-$92k, and GRC analysts $78k-$125k in base pay - if you're below the bottom of your role's range, you're likely underpaid.
- What is a good cybersecurity salary?
- It depends on role, seniority, and country. In the US, base pay typically runs $110k-$175k for a security engineer and rises well above that for senior, staff, and leadership roles. Our numbers are curated benchmarks cross-checked against live disclosed job postings and self-reported community data.
- How do I know if my security salary is competitive?
- Compare your base against the market band for your exact role and country. If you sit below the bottom of the band you have a strong case for a raise or a move; mid-band is market rate; above the band means you are paid well. Total comp (bonus + equity) can shift this, so factor those in.
- Is this cybersecurity salary data free?
- Yes - the checker and the underlying benchmarks are free and public. You can also add your own anonymous salary to sharpen the data for everyone, and browse live security roles that disclose pay.