OpenAI offers senior engineers 2.6x the pay of Microsoft hires

The widening pay gap

New data from Levels.fyi reveals a stark contrast in how OpenAI and Microsoft compensate new software engineering hires in the United States. According to figures shared by Levels.fyi co-founder Zuhayeer Musa, OpenAI’s median offer for senior engineers reaches $730,000. In comparison, Microsoft offers a median of $280,000 for comparable roles.

This means that OpenAI is paying senior engineers roughly 2.6 times as much as Microsoft. The disparity is even more pronounced at the staff level, where the dollar gap reaches $495,000. These figures are based on median offers submitted by users to the Levels.fyi platform between October 2024 and October 2026.

While the gap is massive at the senior level, the data shows that the difference begins to shrink as engineers move into higher tiers. At the principal level, OpenAI’s median offer is $1.25 million, while Microsoft’s is $884,000. This represents a much smaller ratio of about 1.4 times.

How stock drives the numbers

The primary driver of OpenAI's high compensation packages is equity rather than base salary. For senior engineers, stock makes up 60% of the median total pay, which equates to $435,000 of the $730,000 total. At the principal level, the stock component is even higher, accounting for 68% of the $1.25 million median offer.

Microsoft's compensation structure differs significantly by comparison. At the senior level, stock only accounts for 18% of the median offer, and it rises to 44% at the principal level. Additionally, Microsoft's principal offers include a $214,000 bonus, a component that was not reported in the OpenAI data.

The volatility and growth of this stock can create massive swings in total value for employees. One senior engineer who joined OpenAI about a year ago saw their stock grant jump from $338,000 a year to $703,000 a year after a new funding round. This move brought their total compensation to just shy of $1 million.

The mechanics of the data

To understand these numbers, it is important to know how the data is calculated and grouped. Levels.fyi matched the roles by using a specific leveling comparison system. Because Microsoft has a much more granular leveling system, their roles were grouped in pairs to ensure a fair comparison with OpenAI's levels.

The stock figures provided in the report are derived rather than reported directly. They were calculated by taking the median total offer and subtracting the median base salary and bonus. This means the final stock value depends on the reported totals provided by the engineers who submitted their data to the platform.

It is also worth noting that the data is based on self-reported submissions rather than official company disclosures. For the mid-level and Microsoft principal-level columns, the data rests on fewer than 10 offers. This suggests that while the trends are visible, the specific medians for those tiers may have a smaller sample size.

The competitive landscape

The aggressive pay at OpenAI reflects a broader trend of AI labs competing for the same pool of elite talent. The data shows that OpenAI medians remain higher than Microsoft's at every matched level. These ratios range from 1.41 times at the principal level to 2.61 times at the senior level.

As the AI market matures, the competition for engineers who can build and scale intelligence is intensifying. The high premiums seen at OpenAI are tied to the company's recent valuations, which were reported as high as $1.25 trillion in recent rounds. This valuation directly impacts the value of the equity being handed out to new hires.

The narrowing gap at the principal level suggests that Microsoft is trying to remain competitive for top-tier leadership. Zuhayeer Musa noted that at this high level, Microsoft's offers

What comes next for talent

For engineers, these numbers provide a clear map of where the highest rewards currently sit in the tech industry. The data confirms that while Big Tech remains a standard, the