Compensation benchmarks go stale fast, especially in high-demand functions like engineering, product and sales leadership. This report reflects ranges observed across live hiring mandates run through FOGS Recruitment in the first half of 2026, rather than a generic industry survey.
Why city still matters, even for remote roles
Remote-first hiring has narrowed city-based pay gaps but not eliminated them. Employers benchmarking purely against Bengaluru or Mumbai rates for roles that could be filled from tier-2 cities often overpay significantly, while employers ignoring metro rates for on-site roles struggle to close candidates.
Where the biggest year-on-year moves are
- Mid-level data and AI-adjacent engineering roles continue to see the sharpest increases
- Sales leadership compensation has become more variable-heavy, with lower fixed and higher incentive structures
- HRBP and compliance roles have seen modest but consistent increases as regulatory complexity grows
How to use benchmark data without over-relying on it
Benchmarks tell you the market range, not what a specific candidate should be paid. Internal pay equity, the candidate's current compensation, and how critical the role is to near-term business goals all matter more than hitting a median number exactly.
For a role-specific number rather than a general range, share your open position with our recruiters — benchmark conversations are part of every hiring consultation we run.