South Africa’s IT sector is seeing salaries for in-demand tech roles hitting new heights. Roles such as data engineers, DevOps specialists and cyber security professionals are commanding top pay in a market struggling to keep up with the demand for digital skills.
According to the Pnet Job Market Trends Report 2026: January, employers are offering competitive compensation to attract talent in areas where scarcity meets high enterprise demand.
The report is based on empirical data sourced from The Stepstone Group − a global job tech company that runs recruitment platforms in several countries, including Pnet and CareerJunction in South Africa.
With digital transformation accelerating across public and private sectors, SA’s IT salaries are expected to remain robust.
Employers are leveraging competitive pay bands and training opportunities to secure scarce talent, while candidates are increasingly prioritising roles that offer flexibility, career growth and exposure to emerging technologies.
The report underscores that specialised skills, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud and cyber security, are driving recruitment activity and salary premiums.
“Job postings for AI-related roles have jumped 352% since 2019, creating high-demand, high-pay positions,” notes the report.
“Most IT opportunities are located in Gauteng, SA’s economic hub, where the majority of top-paying roles exist. After a contraction, flexible work arrangements are expanding again, influencing recruitment strategies and compensation packages.”
At the top end of the spectrum, DevOps engineers earn between R45 000 and R62 000 per month (cost to company), highlighting the demand for professionals who can manage complex deployment pipelines and cloud infrastructure.
Close behind are cyber security specialists, whose salaries range from R40 000 to R60 000, underscoring the critical need for protecting enterprise systems against increasing cyber threats.
“Data engineers command monthly salaries between R42 900 and R59 100, reflecting their central role in structuring and managing organisational data. Similarly, Java developers earn between R42 900 and R56 600, while Python developers see slightly lower salaries, ranging from R41 000 to R55 000, depending on experience and expertise.
“Professionals capable of managing both front-end and back-end development as full-stack developers earn between R38 000 and R54 000 per month,” the report notes.
In the design and user experience space, UX designers take home between R39 000 and R48 700 (cost to company), reflecting the growing importance of customer-facing digital experiences.
Business analysts in IT earn between R32 000 and R48 000, as their work bridges business strategy and technical implementation. Technical infrastructure roles also see competitive pay: network engineers earn between R35 000 and R50 000, while systems administrators, who maintain and troubleshoot IT systems, earn between R28 000 and R42 000 per month.
“This salary landscape underscores both the competitiveness of the IT job market in South Africa and the clear financial incentives for professionals who develop in-demand skills in emerging technologies like AI, cloud computing and cyber security,” says Pnet.
Rising expertise deficit
South Africa’s IT sector has long endured a critical skills shortage, with many companies struggling to fill key technical roles.
While the number of vacancies across the IT sector decreased by 5% over the last three years amid a wave of global tech retrenchments, demand for tech professionals in SA surged in the second half of 2025, signalling a positive rebound for the sector.
According to Pnet’s report, roles in AI, data engineering, cyber security and cloud computing are consistently the hardest to fill.
According to the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa’s ICT Skills Survey 2024, employers cite a mismatch between available skills and industry needs, with many graduates entering the workforce lacking exposure to emerging technologies.
South Africa’s ICT skills gap is further exacerbated by “skills recycling” and the shortage of teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, it says.
A concentration of talent in Gauteng leaves smaller provinces with fewer qualified professionals.
While nearly two-thirds of IT jobseekers are based in Gauteng, demand for tech skills is rising nationwide, creating a disparity between supply and need.
“The previous surge in tech demand came at the onset of COVID and the demand at that time for IT professionals to facilitate digitisation and remote work,” says Anja Bates, head of data at Pnet.
“The current spike in demand is about data, AI, machine learning and robotics.Our data shows organisations are struggling to recruit for tech roles, with a lower volume of applications compared to the applications received for other sectors.
“Companies need skills to drive projects, such as building cyber-physical systems, leveraging AI for competitive advantage and improving data-driven decision-making. There is a lot to learn and achieve and many companies are just starting the journey.”
The shortage is also influenced by rapid digital transformation in the private and public sectors, including fintech, e-commerce and government digital services.
Companies are increasingly competing for a limited pool of highly-specialised talent, which has pushed salaries upward and accelerated investment in upskilling initiatives, including internal training, mentorship programmes and partnerships with universities.
“In parallel, the sector is seeing strong growth in remote and hybrid work opportunities, which has allowed companies to access talent from beyond their immediate geographic regions. Yet, while remote work opens doors, it also highlights disparities in internet access, technical infrastructure and skills readiness across the country,” according to Pnet.
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