SaaS Salary Benchmarks

Head of Development Salary Benchmarks

Compensation data for the Head of Development role at US SaaS companies, based on 26 verified salaries.

Quartile breakdown All SaaS roles

Base salary · US SaaS26 salaries

$68,764

Median base salary

Bottom 25% avg$0Top 25% avg$164,364

Average base salary: $109,210
Typical range (P25–P75): $68,764–$160,000
Salaries analyzed: 26

Hiring for this role? At the median, one Head of Development costs $68,764 a year in base salary.

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Overview

26 salaries

Head of Development Salary Overview

Bottom 25% AverageNo salaries in this band in the current sample: —
Middle 50% AverageAverage of the middle half · 15 salaries: $68,764
Top 25% AverageAverage of the highest-paid quarter · 11 salaries: $164,364

Median Head of Development base pay by pay period

Per year: $68,764
Per month: $5,730
Every two weeks: $2,645
Per hour: $33.06

Base-pay equivalents before tax; hourly assumes 2,080 working hours a year.

Head of Development salaries at SaaS companies average $109,210, with typical salaries ranging from $68,764 to $160,000. Based on 26 real salary data points from SaaS companies.

Quartile bands

Employees · annualized base

Detailed Head of Development Compensation Breakdown

Head of Development base salary by percentile band
Percentile Band	Salary range	Average Base Salary	# of salaries
Top 25%	$160,000 and up	$164,364	11 salaries
Middle 50%	$68,764–$160,000	$68,764	15 salaries
Bottom 25%	—	—	0 salaries

Hiring budget

Base salary · fully loaded

What Does a Head of Development Cost to Hire?

Budget for Head of Development hires at the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile of this benchmark, as base salary and as fully loaded cost.

Pay level

Hires

One Head of Development hire at the median: $68,764 a year in base salary, $85,955–$96,270 fully loaded.

Cost of one hire by pay level
Per hire	P2525th percentile	MedianMedian	P7575th percentile
Base salary / year	$68,764	$68,764	$160,000
Base salary / month	$5,730	$5,730	$13,333
Fully loaded / year1.25–1.4× base	$85,955–$96,270	$85,955–$96,270	$200,000–$224,000
Fully loaded / month1.25–1.4× base	$7,163–$8,022	$7,163–$8,022	$16,667–$18,667

Fully loaded adds employer payroll taxes, health and retirement benefits, software seats, and equipment at 1.25–1.4× base salary. That multiplier is a planning rule of thumb applied to this benchmark, not a surveyed cost figure. Commission, bonus, equity, and recruiting fees are not included.

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Key insights

Head of Development Pay by the Numbers

The middle half of Head of Development salaries spans $68,764–$160,000: a $91,236 spread, 133% of the $68,764 median.
A 75th-percentile Head of Development earns 2.3× the 25th-percentile salary.
The Head of Development median is 48% below the median Leadership role ($132,000 across 91 roles).

What Drives Higher Head of Development Pay?

Years of experience and proven track record
Company stage and funding (later stage typically pays more)
Technical expertise and specialization
Location and remote work policies

FAQ

Head of Development salary

On a median base salary of $68,764, a Head of Development at a US SaaS company makes about $5,730 a month, $2,645 every two weeks, or $33.06 an hour over 2,080 working hours a year. The middle half of salaries (25th–75th percentile) works out to $5,730–$13,333 a month. These are base-pay equivalents before tax, and they leave out bonus, commission, and equity.

Expect the lower half of this benchmark. Across 26 verified SaaS Head of Development salaries, the 25th percentile is $68,764 and the median is $68,764. A Head of Development at a seed or Series A startup, or at a bootstrapped company under roughly $10M ARR, will often land between those two figures. Base pay typically moves toward and past the $160,000 75th percentile as the company adds headcount and ARR. Those stage bands are a rule of thumb applied to this benchmark, not a breakdown by company size, which the dataset does not report.

Budget for more than base salary. On a median base of $68,764, the fully loaded cost of a US Head of Development is roughly $85,955–$96,270 per year once employer payroll taxes (~7.65% FICA plus federal and state unemployment), health and retirement benefits, software seats, and equipment are added. That 1.25–1.4x multiplier is a planning rule of thumb applied to the benchmark on this page, not a surveyed cost figure. Commission, bonuses, and equity sit on top where the role carries them. Also budget one-off hiring costs: agency recruiting fees commonly run 15–25% of first-year base, and a new hire takes weeks to months to reach full productivity.

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