- 1.SREs earn approximately 14% more than DevOps Engineers at equivalent experience levels ($165K vs $145K median) (Glassdoor 2024)
- 2.The salary gap reflects different focus: SRE is more engineering-intensive with stronger coding requirements
- 3.DevOps is more common at smaller companies; SRE is concentrated at large tech companies with scale challenges
- 4.On-call requirements are more formalized for SRE, often with additional compensation ($5K-$15K/year)
- 5.Both paths converge at senior levels toward Platform Engineering leadership ($200K+)
DevOps vs SRE Salary Comparison
SRE consistently pays more than DevOps, but the roles aren't identical. SRE (coined by Google) emphasizes software engineering applied to operations problems—writing code to automate away toil. DevOps focuses on tooling, processes, and collaboration between dev and ops teams. The salary premium reflects SRE's higher coding bar and concentration at top-paying companies.
DevOps vs SRE: Head-to-Head
Median compensation comparison
Site Reliability Engineer
Median Annual Salary
DevOps Engineer
Median Annual Salary
Understanding the Role Differences
While often conflated, DevOps and SRE have distinct origins, philosophies, and day-to-day responsibilities. Understanding these differences explains the salary gap.
Focuses on tooling, automation, and processes to improve software delivery. Bridges development and operations teams. Manages CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, and deployment automation. More ops-heavy with development skills.
Key Skills
Common Jobs
- • DevOps Engineer
- • Build Engineer
- • Release Engineer
- • Platform Engineer
Applies software engineering to operations problems. Writes code to automate toil, manages SLOs/SLIs, leads incident response, and ensures system reliability at scale. More dev-heavy with operations context. Coined by Google in 2003.
Key Skills
Common Jobs
- • SRE
- • Production Engineer (Meta)
- • Reliability Engineer
- • Systems Engineer
DevOps vs SRE: Role Comparison
| Factor | DevOps Engineer | SRE | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Tooling & automation | Reliability & scalability | — |
| Coding Requirement | Moderate (scripting) | Heavy (production code) | SRE |
| On-Call | Sometimes | Almost always | DevOps |
| Company Size | Any size | Usually large/scale | — |
| Job Availability | Higher (185K jobs) | Lower (85K jobs) | DevOps |
| Salary | $145K median | $165K median | SRE |
Source: Industry analysis
Salary by Experience Level
The SRE premium exists at all experience levels but is most pronounced at senior levels where the engineering depth matters most.
Compensation by Experience
| Level | DevOps Engineer | SRE | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry (0-2 years) | $80K-$100K | $90K-$115K | +12% |
| Mid (3-5 years) | $110K-$145K | $125K-$165K | +14% |
| Senior (6-10 years) | $145K-$185K | $165K-$220K | +15% |
| Staff (10+ years) | $175K-$230K | $200K-$280K | +17% |
Source: Levels.fyi, Glassdoor 2024
Salary by Company Type
Company type significantly impacts compensation. SRE roles are concentrated at companies with scale challenges—Big Tech and high-growth startups.
Compensation by Company Type (Senior Level)
| Company Type | DevOps TC | SRE TC | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAANG/Big Tech | $250K-$350K | $300K-$400K | SRE title more common |
| Unicorn Startup | $200K-$280K | $230K-$320K | Both titles used |
| Enterprise Tech | $150K-$200K | $170K-$220K | DevOps more common |
| Mid-size Startup | $140K-$180K | $155K-$200K | Often same role |
| Traditional Enterprise | $120K-$160K | $135K-$175K | DevOps dominant |
Source: Levels.fyi 2024
Skills Comparison
Skill overlap is significant, but SRE roles emphasize stronger software engineering fundamentals.
Skills Requirements
| Skill | DevOps Importance | SRE Importance |
|---|---|---|
| CI/CD Pipelines | Essential | Important |
| Infrastructure as Code | Essential | Essential |
| Kubernetes/Containers | Essential | Essential |
| Programming (Python/Go) | Important | Essential |
| Distributed Systems | Helpful | Essential |
| SLO/SLI Management | Helpful | Essential |
| Incident Response | Important | Essential |
Source: Job posting analysis
Career Trajectories
Both roles lead to platform/infrastructure leadership. The paths converge at senior levels.
Career Progression Paths
DevOps → Platform Engineering
Senior DevOps engineers often transition to Platform Engineering—building internal developer platforms. Focus shifts from pipelines to developer experience. Salary: $180K-$250K at senior levels.
SRE → Infrastructure Leadership
Senior SREs lead reliability programs across organizations. May manage SRE teams or become principal engineers setting reliability strategy. Salary: $220K-$350K.
Both → Engineering Management
Infrastructure engineering managers lead DevOps/SRE teams. Requires people skills beyond technical expertise. Manager of SRE at Big Tech: $300K-$450K TC.
SRE → Software Engineering
Strong SREs can transition to backend or infrastructure software engineering. The coding skills transfer directly. Often lateral move in compensation.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose based on your interests and background, not just salary.
Decision Framework
| If You... | Choose DevOps | Choose SRE |
|---|---|---|
| Prefer tooling over coding | ✓ | — |
| Want stronger engineering focus | — | ✓ |
| Dislike on-call | ✓ (more flexibility) | ⚠ (usually required) |
| Target Big Tech | Possible | ✓ (more common) |
| Have sysadmin background | ✓ (natural fit) | Requires upskilling |
| Have SWE background | Possible | ✓ (natural fit) |
Source: Career analysis
Salary data from crowdsourced databases and job postings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Articles
Data Sources
Crowdsourced tech compensation
Salary reports by role
Taylor Rupe
Full-Stack Developer (B.S. Computer Science, B.A. Psychology)
Taylor combines formal training in computer science with a background in human behavior to evaluate complex search, AI, and data-driven topics. His technical review ensures each article reflects current best practices in semantic search, AI systems, and web technology.