'₹70 LPA feels common, but it isn't': Investor debunks Bengaluru's high salary myth

An investor has challenged perceptions around Bengaluru’s tech salaries, saying ₹70 lakh per annum packages are far less common than they appear online and are largely limited to a small segment of top-paying firms.

“₹70 LPA in Bangalore often feels common, but that perception is driven more by visibility than reality…,” Vinneth K wrote on X, while reacting to a post which said: "₹70 LPA is so common in Bangalore these days."

Vinneth explained that salaries in Bangalore vary significantly across company types, and that the idea of ₹70 LPA being the norm does not reflect the broader market.

Service companies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro employ nearly 60–70% of engineers. Salaries here typically range from ₹3–20 LPA. “₹70 LPA: Almost non-existent except for 10+ year old roles,” he noted.

Mid-tier product companies and Global Capability Centres, including Oracle, Dell, IBM and Goldman Sachs, make up about 20–25% of the ecosystem. Salaries in this segment usually fall between ₹15–45 LPA, with ₹70 LPA limited to the “top 5–10% only”, he explained.

In the startup space, which accounts for 5–10% of engineers, compensation ranges between ₹20–70 LPA along with ESOPs. Companies like Swiggy, Flipkart, Razorpay and CRED fall in this category.

However, he clarified that “₹70 LPA: Upper band, not median (but good starting pays).”

At the top are elite firms such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Uber and Tower Research Capital. These account for just 2–5% of the ecosystem but offer salaries ranging from ₹40–80+ LPA, sometimes crossing ₹1 crore. In this segment, ₹70 LPA is “common within this small group,” he pointed out.

Looking at the ecosystem as a whole, he stated that the weighted average salary in Bangalore is around ₹18–20 LPA. He added that ₹70 LPA sits in the top ~5% of roles, while nearly 80% of engineers earn below ₹40 LPA.

He also outlined why high salaries appear more common than they are. “Social media bias → Only high packages get posted,” he observed, adding that “peer bubble → Product/startup circles skew perception” and “CTC structure → Stocks, ESOPs, bonuses inflate numbers.”

Summing up his argument, he remarked, “IMO, ₹70 LPA is not the norm, it’s concentrated in a very small, high-performing segment of companies.”

“It’s common in your feed, not in the full market,” he concluded.