Lithuania’s minimum wage is EUR 1,153 gross per month in the first half of 2026, which is about 44% of the economy-wide average gross wage of EUR 2,628.2 recorded for the second quarter. For a developer, the minimum wage says almost nothing about what a software job pays, but it anchors every other number in this country, so it is the right place to start.
TL;DR:
- Minimum wage: EUR 1,153 gross per month in 2026-S1, up from EUR 1,038 in 2025 and EUR 924 in 2024 (per Eurostat, dataset earn_mw_cur)
- Average gross wage, Q2 2026: EUR 2,628.2 per month, excluding individual enterprises; average net EUR 1,594.9 (per the State Data Agency, Statistics Lithuania)
- Telecommunication, computer programming and IT services (NACE 2.1 section K), Q2 2026: EUR 4,724.3 gross and EUR 2,858.2 net per month on average (per the State Data Agency), a mean across all roles in the sector, not a developer salary
- Among the Baltics and Poland, Lithuania’s minimum is above Estonia (EUR 886) and Latvia (EUR 780) and just above Poland (EUR 1,139), per Eurostat
- No official source publishes “the” Lithuanian developer salary, and this article does not invent one
This guide is for EU developers thinking about a job in Lithuania or a remote role with a Lithuanian employer. It reports published wage statistics and explains how far each one can take you. It is not tax or legal advice. If you are looking at the self-employed route instead, our guide to Lithuania’s Individual Activity Certificate covers that, and the broader pay picture is in the EU tech salary benchmarks for senior developers.
What Lithuania’s minimum wage is in 2026
Eurostat’s bi-annual minimum wage series gives Lithuania EUR 1,153 per month for the first half of 2026 (per Eurostat earn_mw_cur, dataset updated 31 July 2026). The series is gross: the figure is before income tax and the employee’s social contributions, so it is not what lands in your account.
The recent path is steep. The rate was EUR 924 throughout 2024 and EUR 1,038 throughout 2025, then moved to EUR 1,153 for 2026. From 2024 to 2025 that is a rise of about 12%, and from 2025 to 2026 about 11%.1
A software job is unlikely to pay it, but it is the baseline the rest of the Lithuanian pay distribution is measured from, as the next section shows.
What the average worker earns
Statistics Lithuania, published through the State Data Agency, reported that the average monthly gross wage in the whole economy, excluding individual enterprises, was EUR 2,628.2 in the second quarter of 2026 (per the State Data Agency, published August 2026, indicator S3R0050). From the agency’s quarterly figures (EUR 2,554.2 in Q1 2026 and EUR 2,387.0 in Q2 2025), that is 2.9% above the first quarter and 10.1% above the second quarter of 2025. The average net wage, after the employee’s taxes and contributions, was EUR 1,594.9.
The public and private sectors sit apart. Public-sector gross pay averaged EUR 2,819.1 and private-sector gross pay EUR 2,547.9 (same table). If you plan to work for a private company, the private figure is the closer reference point, though it still covers every occupation from cleaners to chief executives.
Put next to each other, the minimum wage equals about 44% of that average. That share divides two figures from different periods (2026-S1 for the minimum, Q2 2026 for the average). The State Data Agency publishes an official ratio of the minimum wage to average gross wage: 44.4% in 2024 and 45.8% in 2025 (indicator S3R301_M3061204, measured against the average gross wage in industry, construction and services, NACE sections B to S). Both point the same way: an economy where the floor sits at under half the average has a wide spread of pay, and the interesting question for you is where in that spread your role falls.
What the software and IT sector pays on average, and why that is not a developer offer
The comparable official figure sits in the same State Data Agency table as the national average. Telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information services (NACE Rev. 2.1 section K) averaged EUR 4,724.3 gross and EUR 2,858.2 net per month in the second quarter of 2026 (per the State Data Agency, dataflow S3R0050_M3060315_12). That is about 1.8 times the whole-economy average of EUR 2,628.2. This is a sector average, not a developer salary.
The label changed in 2026. Statistics Lithuania now uses NACE Rev. 2.1, which splits the old information and communication section: software, telecom and IT services are now section K, while publishing and broadcasting stay in section J, which averaged EUR 3,084.2 gross in the same quarter. Do not read the J figure as IT pay.
Read the section K figure with two cautions.
First, it is a mean for the whole sector. Section K is a statistical category of activities, not a job title, so it takes in everyone the sector’s employers put on payroll, telecom operators included. A mean is also pulled upward by a small number of very high earners. Nobody should read the sector mean as the salary of a mid-level backend developer, in either direction.
Second, the direction of travel matters more than the level. The Rev. 2.1 section K series starts in 2026, so for growth you need the older NACE Rev. 2 information and communication series, which ends in 2025Q4 (State Data Agency, S3R0050_M3060315_1). From that series, Q2 average gross pay rose 16.5% in 2022 and 11.5% in 2023 on the previous year’s Q2, then 3.3% in 2025Q2 against 2024Q2.1 Over the same period the minimum wage rose 12.3% from 2024 to 2025. A sector that grew by double digits in 2022 and 2023 was growing more slowly than the floor by 2025. The Rev. 2 series is not comparable with section K, so the growth rates describe the old, wider category.
The sector sits well above the national average, and its pay growth has slowed since 2022 and 2023. Neither gives you a number to negotiate with. For that you need pay for your specific role, seniority and employer, from job ads that state a range or from people doing the job.
How Lithuania compares with other EU minimum wages
The same Eurostat series lets you place Lithuania among its neighbours and a few larger markets. These are gross monthly amounts for the first half of 2026.
| Country | Minimum wage, EUR gross per month (2026-S1) |
|---|---|
| Latvia | 780 |
| Estonia | 886 |
| Poland | 1,139 |
| Lithuania | 1,153 |
| Spain | 1,425 |
| France | 1,823 |
| Netherlands | 2,295 |
| Germany | 2,343 |
Source: Eurostat, earn_mw_cur, retrieved 25 October 2026.
The table shows the first half of 2026. Eurostat’s dataset already lists second-half 2026 values, and some differ: Estonia 946, Poland 1,119, France 1,867 and the Netherlands 2,338, while Lithuania (1,153), Latvia (780), Germany (2,343) and Spain (1,425) are unchanged. Check the dataset for the latest.
Lithuania is the highest of the three Baltic states and just above Poland, and it is well below the Western European markets. Do not over-read that. A minimum wage is a national pay floor, so it follows national bargaining and politics as much as the tech market. Germany’s floor being twice Lithuania’s does not mean a German developer earns twice as much, and Latvia’s low floor does not mean Riga pays developers a fraction of Vilnius.
If you are comparing countries for a move, put the minimum wage in the same column as cost of living and use it to understand the floor under local salaries. The cost of living versus remote salary guide goes through the comparison with developer-relevant numbers.
How to read a Lithuanian offer
Say a recruiter sends you a figure.
Ask whether it is gross or net, monthly or annual, and how many payments a year it covers. Every statistic in this article is gross, so check in writing which basis the recruiter means rather than assume. Ask what is in the figure: base salary only, or base plus a bonus, allowances or equity. A package that includes a variable component is not the same as a fixed monthly amount.
Then use the published averages for what they are, which is context. If an offer sits above the EUR 2,547.9 private-sector average you can say it is above a typical Lithuanian private-sector wage. If it sits well below the sector average, ask what the role covers, since the sector average also includes telecom and consulting roles and senior staff. Neither comparison tells you whether the offer is fair for your skills.
Net pay is the number you will live on, and nothing in this article lets you convert from one to the other for yourself. The official average net wage of EUR 1,594.9 against an average gross of EUR 2,628.2 shows the overall relationship for the typical worker, about 61 cents of each gross euro, but your own take-home depends on your contract type, your tax status and rules that change from year to year. Check the current rules with the Lithuanian tax authority or an adviser before you plan around a net figure.
Finally, remember where you are on the pay scale. A developer’s offer should be compared with other developer offers for the same level. The minimum wage marks the national pay floor for employment contracts and nothing more.
FAQ
What is the minimum wage in Lithuania in 2026?
Eurostat lists EUR 1,153 gross per month for the first half of 2026, up from EUR 1,038 in 2025 and EUR 924 in 2024. It is a gross figure, so what reaches your account is lower.
Is the Lithuanian minimum wage higher than in Latvia and Estonia?
Yes. In the first half of 2026 Eurostat shows EUR 1,153 for Lithuania, EUR 886 for Estonia and EUR 780 for Latvia. Poland is close to Lithuania at EUR 1,139.
What is the average salary in Lithuania in 2026?
Statistics Lithuania, the State Data Agency, reported an average monthly gross wage of EUR 2,628.2 for the second quarter of 2026, excluding individual enterprises, and an average net wage of EUR 1,594.9.
How much does the IT sector pay in Lithuania?
The State Data Agency reports an average of EUR 4,724.3 gross and EUR 2,858.2 net per month in Q2 2026 for telecommunication, computer programming, consulting and other information services (NACE Rev. 2.1 section K). That is an average across every role in the sector, not an offer for a developer.
Can I compare a developer offer with the minimum wage?
Not usefully. The minimum wage is a national pay floor, not a market rate for any profession. A developer offer is better read against the pay for the specific role, level and employer, with the national and sector averages as background only.
Are these figures net or gross?
The minimum wage and the Statistics Lithuania averages of EUR 2,628.2 and EUR 4,724.3 are all gross. The net figures here are the official average net wages of EUR 1,594.9 (whole economy) and EUR 2,858.2 (telecommunication, programming and IT services) for Q2 2026.
Where this leaves you
Lithuania’s floor is rising fast, its average gross wage was up 10.1% on the year in the second quarter of 2026, and software and IT pay well above the national average, though sector pay growth slowed in 2025. No public statistic prices a developer. Treat the minimum wage as a floor, the sector figure as context rather than a target, and your own offer as the number that matters.
Ready to land that role? See Xeito at xeito.ai — track every application in one place.
Related articles in this series
- Lithuania Individual Activity Certificate for Remote Developers
- EU Tech Salary Benchmarks 2026
- Cost of Living vs Remote Salary in Europe
- Estonia Digital Nomad Visa for Remote Developers
Sources
All figures last checked on 25 October 2026 against the pages below.
- Monthly minimum wages, bi-annual data (earn_mw_cur) — Eurostat — Lithuania EUR 924 (2024), EUR 1,038 (2025), EUR 1,153 (2026-S1); 2026-S1 for Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Spain, France, Netherlands and Germany, with second-half 2026 values listed for some countries; dataset updated 31 July 2026.
- Average gross and net monthly earnings, indicator S3R0050 — State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania) — Q2 2026, published August 2026: whole-economy average gross EUR 2,628.2 excluding individual enterprises, net EUR 1,594.9, Q1 2026 gross EUR 2,554.2, Q2 2025 gross EUR 2,387.0 (NACE Rev. 2 series), public EUR 2,819.1, private EUR 2,547.9. NACE Rev. 2.1 table (dataflow S3R0050_M3060315_12): section K (telecommunication, computer programming, consulting, computing infrastructure and other information services) gross EUR 4,724.3, net EUR 2,858.2; section J (publishing, broadcasting and content production and distribution) gross EUR 3,084.2.
- Minimum wage as a share of average gross wage, indicator S3R301_M3061204 (B_TO_S) — State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania) — official ratio of 44.4% (2024) and 45.8% (2025).
- Average gross and net monthly earnings, NACE Rev. 2 series S3R0050_M3060315_1 — State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania) — information and communication, series ending 2025Q4; the source of the Q2-on-Q2 growth rates above.
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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Wage statistics are revised and published on a schedule; confirm the current figures with the issuing body before you rely on them.