Poland Has Become Europe's Top Place for Software Engineers: Deep Dive into Warsaw, Salaries, Taxes & Growth

In the past couple of years I've been spending a lot of time in Central and Eastern Europe, and I've discovered a few things:

• Great place to travel to from Zurich, as you have short direct flights to many capitals in the region
• Rich in history and culture, and in many ways still unspoiled from mass tourism
• Very affordable, compared to Western Europe
• Really good food options!
• People are welcoming and friendly
• They are also serious and hardworking. It's impressive to see how much countries in this region have developed over the past couple of decades
• Most countries here are extremely safe and have very good infrastructure and clean cities. I feel more safe going out here at night than in most big cities in Western Europe
• Partying in Eastern Europe is very good too! People definitely know how to have fun 🙂🥳

And speaking about Tech… I find the place to be extremely appealing to both engineers and founders alike. 🧑‍💻👩‍💼📈

Explore opportunities in Poland and Central Europe →

My Favourite City in Central Europe: Warsaw 🌆🇵🇱

I see Warsaw as the capital of this part of Europe, and it's personally the one I prefer to spend the most time in. For a few reasons:

Why Warsaw Stands Out

1. Poland's economic miracle: It's the capital of the fastest growing economy in Europe. Poland has had an incredible ride in the past 50 years, experiencing an "economic miracle". Now it's a leading country in the EU and increases its international relevance by the day.

2. Major Tech hub: Growing number of big tech companies and startups alike steadily increasing their presence here: Google, Waymo, Netflix, Bolt, Amazon, Snowflake, Oracle, NVIDIA are just some of the companies with an engineering office in the city.

3. Affordable costs: Lower than most cities in Western Europe while still offering all modern amenities.

4. Modern metropolis feel: All kinds of amenities and services that make you feel like you're living in a bustling, modern city.

5. Safe and clean: Great infrastructure throughout the city.

6. International hub: People from every corner of Eastern Europe move here for opportunities, as well as people from the West. It's among the most "western" cities in New Europe. Full of Ukrainians and Belarusians who've brought their culture and businesses here. I've met many people from India and the Middle East here too.

7. Can-do atmosphere: The city grows constantly and it's full of opportunities and of people who want to do and build.

8. Best-connected airport: In the region, making it easy to travel to and from here.

Why Warsaw is Currently Europe's Best City for Software Engineers

Take a look at this real job posting for a mid-level SWE position at Asana in Warsaw:

Base salary: €70k-€100k

Including bonus and stocks, total comp will probably be in the €100k-€180k range.

Taxes will be around 30% total (because stocks are taxed at a flat 19% tax while salary for these ranges will be around 39%).

The Mind-Blowing Comparison

Considering that in Zurich the salary range for devs outside of big tech is €100k-€150k, this is kind of crazy.

And Warsaw is full of companies like Asana. ALL of them EXPANDING.

Warsaw's CoL is about half of Zurich or London.

Let's checkout Warsaw's real estate market:

Property Type	Location	Price	Notes
Studio flat	City center	€150k	Near Old Town, modern building
55m² apartment	Suburb	<€200k	Good public transport access
2-bed apartment	Mid-range area	€180-250k	Family-friendly neighborhoods

The wealth-building math: With that mid-level Asana job, you should be able to buy a flat every year with a 20/80 mortgage, with rent covering the mortgage installments.

Given Poland's economic boom, it's not unlikely that properties you buy in Warsaw today will be worth twice as much 10 years from now.

Compare this with salary and savings data across European cities—Warsaw's advantage becomes crystal clear.

Most of these dynamics are true for a lot of countries in Central Europe. Poland is just the leader here, and Warsaw the capital.

Poland: Best Place in Europe to Start a Tech Company

Especially if you're bootstrapping. Here's why:

The Complete Founder Advantage

Advantage	Details	Impact
Low Taxation	9% corporate tax if profits under €2M/year	Keep more runway
IP Box Regime	5% corp tax for R&D-heavy software	Best in Europe for SaaS
Low Costs	Affordable accounting, company setup, office space	Extend runway 2-3x
Top IT Workforce	World-class devs at optimal price point	Build faster, cheaper
High Retention	LCOL = high purchasing power for employees	Happy, loyal team
EU Country	Easy business with largest market on earth	Access 450M consumers
Strategic Location	Close to Estonia, Romania, Serbia	Expand to other IT hubs
Western Proximity	Right next to Germany	Access capital, customers
Supportive Environment	Pro-entrepreneurship culture	You're not alone

Why the Talent Market is Perfect

All big companies are massively expanding their presence in Poland. This means:

• While you can get devs at a much better price than in the US...
• Thanks to the LCOL, these devs will have absurd purchasing power...
• Making it easier to keep them happy and retain them

Additional Poland Advantages for Founders

Excellent lifestyle: Much safer than Western Europe, excellent infrastructure, great schools and healthcare (especially private, which is affordable), amazing restaurants, modern buildings, solid airports.

Great English skills: Learning Polish could enhance your lifestyle, but it's absolutely not required, especially in major cities.

Cosmopolitan big cities: Warsaw is full of skilled and talented Ukrainian and Belarusian people, as well as young talent from all over the world who recently moved there for better quality of life, lower costs, better job opportunities, better taxation and business friendliness.

Strong Defense: While Poland is close to Russia, it's also investing heavily in its military and security. In a few years it'll probably be the strongest army in Europe—a strong deterrent to any threat from the east.

Better Politics: My impression is that the political class in Poland is quite skilled, especially relative to some other EU countries.

Strategic positioning for post-war growth: Post-war countries, if they have the right fundamentals, can be great places to invest in. Post-war Ukraine has a great chance to become a growth hub, and Poland's proximity can be strategical.

Rail Baltica: An under-construction rail infrastructure project that will tightly connect Poland to the Baltics. Did you know that Riga, Latvia is one of the best property markets in the world?

The Unique Advantage: Local + Remote Job Market

Local salaries and fully-remote salaries are at the same level.

This means that, if you're based in Poland, the pool of companies you can apply to is HUGE.

Not only Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw and Gdańsk have a large and fast growing number of top quality companies with offices there...

But you can also target all the worldwide and Europe-remote dev jobs...

And be able to have great purchasing power and saving rates, thanks to the optimal cost of living and taxation in Poland.

For freelancers: You can easily get a total tax burden of under 15% flat rate (including social security).

Having such a large employment market to benefit from (mix of local and remote), is a feature that very few locations in the world have.

The Switzerland comparison: Getting a remote job in Switzerland is not very attractive... considering that you'd have little tax advantage in being a freelancer over being a permanent employee, and considering the HCOL.

For more on career planning strategies, understanding this job market flexibility is crucial.

Poland is Closing the Gap with the US for Building Wealth

By "wealth" I mean net worth in absolute terms.

Sounds crazy, I know. But let's break down the math:

10-Year Wealth Building Comparison

We'll analyze Net Worth (NW) growth for a dev working a decade in big tech: starting entry-level, getting a promo every 3 years.

Saving rates (using codecapitals.com):

Location	Entry-Level (3 yrs)	Mid-Level (3 yrs)	Senior (3 yrs)	Total 10-Year Savings
Warsaw	3 × €20k = €60k	3 × €35k = €105k	3 × €60k = €180k	€345k
San Francisco	3 × €55k = €165k	3 × €100k = €300k	3 × €160k = €480k	€945k

Investment Returns (10-Year Forecast)

Warsaw housing market: 68-106% total increase (using 88% for calculations)

SF housing market: 20-37% estimated increase (using 28%)

S&P 500: 97% total appreciation, but 60% when deployed gradually

Net Worth After 10 Years

Strategy	Final Net Worth	Method
SF + Real Estate	€2.1M	High leverage, higher risk
SF + S&P 500	€1.5M	Standard diversified approach
Warsaw + Real Estate	€1.34M	Strong local market growth

These numbers are already much closer than one would think.

Key Insights

1. The SF real estate strategy is riskier (gains come more from high leverage than from high returns)
2. The salary gap between SF and Warsaw is narrowing down
3. The saving rates in both places will probably change in the next few years in a way that favours Warsaw
4. Warsaw strategy has lower risk, less financial anxiety, and better quality of life

Compare these scenarios with other European career paths to see how different strategies play out.

Lifestyle, Weather, and Culture: The Full Picture

1. Weather Reality

Winter: If you can't stand cold weather, you won't like Poland in winter. It gets pretty cold (between 0°C and -20°C).

But if you like "real winter", you'll like it:

• Snow and cute Christmas markets
• Cuisine well-fitting cold weather (lots of soups, vodka, etc)
• Plenty of indoor activities
• In big cities you won't get bored

Seasons: They have real seasons. Coming from Southern Europe, I don't really like "winter" there: it doesn't feel like winter, it's a bit nasty because buildings aren't made for cold weather and you'll almost end up feeling colder than in Poland (humidity and poor isolation).

Poland can get a bit too grey in winter. But with a few weeks in Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco or Canary Islands, you should get enough sunshine.

Summer: Nice, but personally I prefer Swiss, Greek, Italian, French or Spanish summers because of better access to water (seaside/lakes/rivers).

2. Lifestyle in Warsaw

Life in Warsaw is that of a big city, so lots of things going on, plenty of people outside, etc.

It has that "work hard party hard" culture, which I like.

If you want it quieter, smaller cities like Krakow, Gdansk or Wroclaw might offer that.

In Warsaw you have a huge offering of:

• Great restaurants
• Bars and clubs
• Exhibitions and cultural events
• Easy to meet new people
• Never get bored

3. Culture and Social Integration

Someone once commented on my posts saying that he didn't feel very welcome in Warsaw. That people were not very friendly etc.

I'm not sure I agree here.

I really like people in Poland. I never had any issue. Everyone always seemed welcoming, trustworthy and friendly to me.

Important cultural notes:

It's a Slavic country though, so don't expect people to be laughing and dancing all the time as if you were in Sicily or Puerto Rico.

They can also be quite direct and to the point when talking. Which is a type of communication I'm accustomed to, so it was never a problem for me. Actually I like it.

Alternative social cultures in the region:

If you prefer a more southerner environment, you could look into the Balkans, where people can be more expansive and inclusive:

• Romanians seemed very friendly and hospitable when I visited
• Serbians were probably the friendliest and most hospitable I've ever met
• And if you like a relaxed attitude and a very social society, Spain will be your best shot

For more perspectives on different European cities, check out the top European cities rankings.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What salary range should I expect as a software engineer in Warsaw?

Entry-level (0-2 years): €30-50k at local companies, €60-80k at international tech companies. Mid-level (3-5 years): €50-85k locally, €80-120k at companies like Asana, Snowflake, Google. Senior (6+ years): €70-110k locally, €100-180k+ at top-tier companies. Staff+ engineers at big tech can reach €150-250k total compensation. Remote roles for US/Western companies can pay even more while you enjoy Poland's lower costs and taxes.

How do taxes work for software engineers in Poland?

Employees typically pay 30-39% total (income tax + social security) depending on salary bracket. However, freelancers can optimize significantly: Sole proprietorship with "flat tax" (ryczałt): ~15% total burden including social security. B2B contracts: 19% flat tax + social contributions = ~23-25% total. IP Box regime: 5% tax rate for qualifying software R&D work (requires specific legal structure). Compare this with Switzerland's 30-40% for similar salaries—Poland wins for optimization potential.

Is Warsaw really safer than Western European cities?

Yes, noticeably safer based on both statistics and lived experience. Warsaw has very low violent crime rates compared to London, Paris, Berlin, or Barcelona. Streets feel safe late at night, even for solo travelers. Petty crime (pickpocketing) is much less common than in tourist-heavy Western cities. The same applies to other Polish cities (Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk). Most Central/Eastern European capitals share this safety advantage—I personally feel safer walking around Warsaw, Prague, or Budapest at night than in most Western European big cities.

Can I work remotely in Poland for a US or Western European company?

Absolutely, and this is one of Poland's biggest advantages. Many engineers do exactly this: €100-150k remote salary from US/Western companies, living in Warsaw with €25-35k annual costs, 15-25% tax burden as a freelancer, resulting in €70-100k+ savings per year (60-70% saving rate). The time zone works well for US companies (6-9 hour difference). Excellent internet infrastructure throughout Poland. Growing digital nomad and remote worker community. This is THE optimal strategy for maximizing wealth building in tech.

What's the real estate investment opportunity in Poland?

Strong fundamentals for 10-year horizon. Warsaw property prices: €2,500-4,500/m² depending on location (compare to €8,000-15,000/m² in Western capitals). Historical growth: Polish real estate has grown 80-120% in past decade in major cities. Economic drivers: Fastest-growing EU economy, rising incomes, EU funds, infrastructure development. Rental yields: 4-6% gross, with potential for 7-9% in well-located properties. Risk factors: Local market knowledge needed, property management if remote, currency fluctuation (PLN vs EUR). Best strategy: Buy in Warsaw/Krakow/Wroclaw, rent to expats or locals, hold 10+ years.

Should I move to Poland or stay in Western Europe for my tech career?

Move to Poland if: (1) You value high savings rate over absolute salary, (2) You can secure local role €70k+ or remote role €100k+, (3) You're okay with colder winters and less international environment than London/Berlin, (4) You want to build wealth fast through low costs + solid income. Stay in Western Europe if: (1) You're early career and need resume-building at prestigious local companies, (2) You strongly prefer warmer climate or specific lifestyle (Mediterranean, etc.), (3) Your network and career opportunities are deeply rooted in Western location, (4) You're in specialized field with limited Poland opportunities. Hybrid approach: 2-3 years West building experience + salary negotiation power, then move East with high-paying remote role.