React Native Developer Salary Guide UK 2026: Junior to Senior Rates

If you are hiring a React Native developer — or if you are one and want to know your market worth — this salary guide gives you the clearest picture of UK pay in 2026. We have broken the data down by experience level, location, engagement type, and specialist skill so that both employers and developers can negotiate from a position of knowledge.

Why React Native Developer Salaries Matter

The mobile app development industry in the UK is growing fast. Demand for cross-platform developers who can build for iOS and Android simultaneously outpaces supply, which has pushed salaries upward year on year. Understanding current rates helps businesses budget accurately and helps developers benchmark their own compensation — two equally important goals.

Salary by Experience Level

Junior React Native Developer (0–2 Years)

• Salary range: £30,000–£45,000 per year
• Freelance rate: £30–£50 per hour
• Typical responsibilities: Implementing UI screens from design specs, fixing bugs, writing unit tests, contributing to pull requests under senior guidance
• Skills expected: Solid JavaScript foundations, basic React and React Native knowledge, familiarity with Git, willingness to learn fast

Junior developers are the backbone of any app development company’s workforce. They handle the volume work whilst seniors focus on architecture and complex problems. If you are hiring a junior, budget for mentorship time from a more experienced team member — the investment pays dividends in retention and productivity.

Mid-Level React Native Developer (2–5 Years)

• Salary range: £45,000–£65,000 per year
• Freelance rate: £50–£75 per hour
• Typical responsibilities: Leading feature development, integrating third-party APIs, contributing to technical design decisions, mentoring juniors
• Skills expected: Deep React Native knowledge, experience with state management (Redux, Context API), API integration, basic mobile backend development understanding, strong debugging skills

Mid-level developers are the sweet spot for most mobile app development projects. They have enough experience to work independently but are still hungry to grow — making them cost-effective and highly productive.

Senior React Native Developer (5+ Years)

• Salary range: £65,000–£95,000 per year
• Freelance rate: £75–£125 per hour
• Typical responsibilities: System architecture, code reviews, technical strategy, app modernisation planning, cross-team collaboration, mentoring mid-level developers
• Skills expected: Deep platform knowledge (iOS and Android internals), native module development, performance optimisation at scale, CI/CD pipeline management, security best practices

Senior developers command a significant premium — and they earn it. A good senior saves the team weeks of debugging, makes architectural decisions that prevent technical debt, and sets the standard for code quality across the project.

Lead/Technical Architect (8+ Years)

• Salary range: £90,000–£120,000+ per year
• Contract rate: £100–£150 per hour
• Typical responsibilities: Defining technical vision, evaluating frameworks and tools, leading discovery phases, mobile app consulting for stakeholders, hiring and team-building
• Skills expected: Cross-functional leadership, deep understanding of both native app development and hybrid app development trade-offs, business acumen alongside technical mastery

Salary by Location

London

London commands the highest salaries in the UK, reflecting the cost of living and the concentration of tech companies.

• Junior: £35,000–£50,000
• Mid-level: £52,000–£72,000
• Senior: £75,000–£105,000
• Lead: £100,000–£135,000+

Manchester and Leeds

A growing tech hub with competitive salaries and significantly lower living costs than London.

• Junior: £30,000–£42,000
• Mid-level: £44,000–£60,000
• Senior: £62,000–£85,000
• Lead: £85,000–£115,000

Birmingham and Bristol

Solid regional centres with healthy demand for mobile application developers.

• Junior: £28,000–£40,000
• Mid-level: £42,000–£58,000
• Senior: £60,000–£82,000
• Lead: £82,000–£110,000

Edinburgh and Glasgow

Scotland’s tech scene is vibrant, with salaries sitting just below London but well above the national average.

• Junior: £30,000–£43,000
• Mid-level: £45,000–£62,000
• Senior: £63,000–£88,000
• Lead: £88,000–£118,000

Remote (UK-Based)

Remote roles have converged towards regional rather than London rates, though some employers still pay London-equivalent compensation to attract top talent.

• Junior: £30,000–£44,000
• Mid-level: £44,000–£63,000
• Senior: £63,000–£90,000
• Lead: £88,000–£120,000

Freelance vs Permanent: How Pay Differs

Freelance mobile developers earn more per hour than permanent employees — but they also pay their own taxes, insurance, and do not receive holiday pay or pension contributions. The rule of thumb is that a freelancer’s effective take-home, once you account for downtime and self-employment costs, works out roughly equivalent to a permanent salary about 20–30% lower than their headline hourly rate multiplied by 2,000 hours.

Permanent salaries include employer National Insurance contributions, pension auto-enrolment (minimum 3%), and statutory leave — costs that add roughly 15–20% on top of the headline salary figure.

Specialist Skills That Command a Premium

Certain technical skills push a React Native developer’s salary above the standard range:

• Native module development (Swift/Kotlin): +£5,000–£10,000 annually
• Machine learning integration (TensorFlow Lite, CoreML): +£8,000–£15,000
• Real-time systems (WebSockets, Socket.IO): +£4,000–£8,000
• Security and compliance expertise (HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR): +£6,000–£12,000
• DevOps and CI/CD (Fastlane, GitHub Actions): +£4,000–£8,000
• Team leadership and project management: +£8,000–£15,000

What Affects Salary Beyond Experience and Location?

Company size and type: Startups often pay slightly less in base salary but compensate with equity and flexible working. Large corporates and established app development agencies offer higher base pay but less equity upside.

Industry: Fintech and healthcare apps attract higher salaries due to the compliance complexity involved. E-commerce and consumer apps sit closer to the median.

Portfolio quality: Developers with apps in the App Store and Google Play — particularly apps with significant user bases — can negotiate 10–15% above the standard range.

Certification and education: Whilst formal qualifications matter less in mobile development than demonstrated ability, Google’s Flutter or Meta’s React Native certifications can provide a modest negotiating edge.

How to Use This Data When Hiring

If you are an employer, use these ranges as a starting point but be prepared to go above the midpoint if the candidate’s skills, portfolio, and references are exceptional. Underpaying a senior React Native developer by £5,000–£10,000 costs far less than replacing them if they leave — developer attrition in mobile development runs at 15–20% per year.

If you are a developer, use these benchmarks to negotiate confidently. Know your market value, present evidence of your contributions, and do not be afraid to ask for what you are worth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are React Native developer salaries higher or lower than Flutter developer salaries? They are broadly comparable. Both frameworks target the same market and require similar levels of expertise. Slight variations exist by region and employer, but the ranges overlap significantly.

Do contract rates include or exclude IR35 considerations? The rates quoted here are gross. If you are contracting inside IR35, your take-home will be lower after tax and National Insurance. Outside IR35, you retain more flexibility but bear more risk.

How often should I review and adjust salaries? Annually, at minimum. The mobile development market moves fast, and a salary that was competitive 18 months ago may now be below market.