Project Managers' salaries haven't increased for two years, while Product Managers have started earning more. Where IT managers are paid the most

This data is provided by DOU in its fourth summer salary cycle study dedicated to managers in Ukrainian IT. All amounts are after taxes.

Products are breaking away from projects again

Project Management remains a much more stable segment than Product Management. Over the past six months, the median for Senior Project Manager has increased by only $75 to $3,400, while the median for Middle has remained at $2,000, and the median for Junior has fallen by $296 to $904.

Thus, at the Junior level, the difference between the two specializations is already almost $400: a Junior Product Manager receives a median of $1,300 versus $904 for a Junior Project Manager.

At the Middle and Senior levels, the gap is even wider. The median for a Middle Product Manager is $2,700 versus $2,000 for a Middle Project Manager. At Senior, it’s $4,300 versus $3,400.

At the same time, the last six months have been much better for Product Management. Senior Product Managers added $300, Middle — $200. Only in the Junior segment did the salary decrease by $100.

The overall median for Product Management is $3,550. It has increased by $50 in half a year — the first increase since June 2023.

In Project Management, the situation is the opposite: the median is $2,500 and has not changed since June 2024.

That is, the market is actually demonstrating two different trajectories: projects have been stagnant for a long time, while product salaries have begun to recover after a period of decline.

Head of Product — $6,000, Delivery Manager — $4,000

The highest median salary among the main management specializations is for Head of Product: $6,000.

An even more notable result is seen at the top of the salary distribution. The third quartile of Head of Product is $7,700. In the previous wave of the study, it was $6,575 — that is, it has increased by more than $1,100 in half a year.

Among other Product roles, Team Lead Product Managers and Senior Product Managers have high salaries. The third quartile for Team Lead Product Manager is $6,050, although there is a small sample here — only 15 questionnaires. For Senior Product Manager — $5,800 versus $4,875 in the previous wave.

In Project Management, the highest median is for Delivery Managers, $4,000. At the same time, it was this specialization that showed the biggest drop in half a year — minus $700.

The third quartile of Delivery Manager is $5,450, unchanged from the previous wave. For Senior and Technical Project Managers, it is $4,000 each.

Another role with negative dynamics is Scrum Master. Their median salary decreased by $200, to $3,600. DOU also notes that the number of Scrum Masters in the sample is decreasing with each subsequent survey wave, which may indirectly indicate a decrease in market interest in this specialization.

Outstaffing pays more than the product

The highest median salary by company type is in outstaffing companies: $3,300. In product companies, managers receive a median of $3,000, in service companies — $2,700, and in startups — $2,645.

At the same time, if we look not at the median, but at the top of the distribution, food companies are already ahead of outstaffing. The third quartile here is $4,300 versus $4,200.

Salaries are also directly related to company size. In companies with over 1,000 specialists, the median salary for managers is $3,150. In companies with up to 1,000 employees, it is $3,000, up to 200, $2,725, up to 50, $2,500, and in the smallest companies with up to 10 specialists, it is $2,100.

The difference is especially noticeable among the highest-paid managers. The third quartile in companies with more than 1,000 employees is $4,600, while in companies with a team of up to 10 people it is $3,000.

For Project Managers, however, experience is more important than company size. Among PMs with 3–5 years of experience, median salaries are almost the same depending on company size — around $2,000–2,125. The advantage of large companies becomes more noticeable among experienced professionals.

The most expensive managers are in the Employment Action

Most managers — 53% — work through a Ukrainian individual entrepreneur. Another 20% are registered as employees under the Labor Code, 13% work under gig contracts, and 7% — through Diya Employment.

At the same time, the type of registration is significantly correlated with salary. The highest median is $3,500 for those working through Diya Employment, as well as for specialists registered abroad. Gig contractors and those working through a Ukrainian FOP each earn $3,000. The lowest median salary is $2,500 for managers registered as full-time employees.

Vinnytsia overtook Kyiv

The geography of managerial salaries has also changed noticeably over the past six months.

The highest median is now in Vinnytsia — $3200. For comparison, in December 2025 it was $2550.

Kyiv retained the figure of $3,000. Zhytomyr and Cherkasy have the same median.

In Lviv, managers receive a median of $2,700, in Ternopil — $2,600, in Kharkiv — $2,550, in Odessa, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lutsk — $2,500 each.

In Dnipro, the median is $2,300, in Poltava — $1,850, and in Khmelnytskyi — $1,400.

At the same time, salaries decreased in most cities represented in both waves of the study. In Odesa, the median fell from $3,550 to $2,500, in Kharkiv — from $3,500 to $2,550, in Lviv — from $3,500 to $2,700, and in Dnipro — from $3,000 to $2,300.

Women already make up almost half of management

The portrait of an IT manager is also changing. Project Managers remain the largest group — their share has increased from 40% to 43%. Product Managers occupy 22%. More than half of managers — 52% — live in Kyiv, another 13% — in Lviv.

The median age of a management specialist increased from 32 to 33. At the same time, the share of managers with up to three years of IT experience increased from 10% to 16%, and the share of those with 10 or more years of experience decreased from 35% to 27%.

Another notable change is the gender structure. The share of women in management has increased from 43% to 48% in six months.

At the same time, English remains an important characteristic of the managerial profession: 75% of respondents have an Upper-Intermediate or Advanced level.

Six months of special checks, polygraph and salary from $950. GUR is looking for Data Scientist, Full Stack, Android developers and OSINT analysts

On the topic

Six months of special checks, polygraph and salary from $950. GUR is looking for Data Scientist, Full Stack, Android developers and OSINT analysts

Salaries for beginners increased by $100, while those of some experienced specialists decreased. Which IT specialists began to earn the most

On the topic

Salaries for beginners increased by $100, while those of some experienced specialists decreased. Which IT specialists began to earn the most

Read the country’s main IT news in our Telegram

On the topic

Read the country’s main IT news in our Telegram