Before an interview, most of us do a little digging. We scan public reviews, hop on LinkedIn, and try to work out what the job might actually feel like. And sooner or later, the salary question comes up: Is the offer likely to match my expectations?
Glassdoor is one of the biggest job search communities, offering access to company reviews, salary information, and new job offers. But it’s not without its disadvantages. Reviews may not be well verified, and can be easily removed or altered by registered companies. Also, as with many crowd-based review platforms, people are more likely to post about bad experiences than good ones, which can skew ratings for a decent workplace.
Likewise, salary data, curated by Glassdoor, isn’t always accurate. Since many entries are dated (2+ years), they don’t accurately reflect today’s compensation. Similarly, public bands often don’t include the entire compensation package, which can include RSUs, bonuses, and stock options.
So if you’re looking for more accurate salary data, here are six Glassdoor alternatives to browse.
Levels.fyi
Levels.fyi is a self-proclaimed salary transparency website, curating over 1+ million entries for roles in the tech sector. It lets you compare compensation across companies, roles, seniority levels, industries, and even locations, so you can come up with a good number when asked what your desired salary is. Unlike Glassdoor, Levels.fyi breaks total compensation into base salary, stock, and bonuses, so you know what’s on offer.
An even cooler feature is level-by-level company data. You can see how an L4 software engineer’s salary compares with an L5 package, explore salary percentiles, and map potential earnings as your career progresses. Since salary submissions are anonymous and companies with fewer than five entries are hidden, the platform also takes sensible steps to reduce privacy concerns.
To boot, it includes a job board with filters for compensation, seniority, remote status, and posting date. You can also pay to get your resume reviewed or get negotiation coaching.
Main features
- Salary benchmarking by company, title, level, and location
- Total compensation breakdowns
- Salary heatmaps, charts, and calculators
- Benefits comparisons
- Internship and H-1B salary databases
- Filterable job board
- Resume review and salary negotiation services
Payscale
Payscale curates the latest salary ranges on hundreds of jobs across the US — from agriculture and forestry to science and executive positions.
For each position, Payscale lists gross salary ranges, estimated bonuses, profit sharing, and possible commissions. To get a more accurate number, you can narrow down the comparison by city, seniority level, or even specific skills. Or, if you register an account and provide more details, you’ll receive a personalized salary report based on factors like your work experience, skills, education, and geographic market.
Main features
- Salary calculator by title and city
- Compensation breakdowns by experience level
- Employer salary, benefits, and bonus research
- Salary data by skill, industry, degree, and certification
- Cost-of-living calculator for relocation planning
- Career research across multiple countries
O*NET
O*NET is one of the lesser-known salary data resources among job seekers, but it’s a cult favorite for HR managers. Even without a professional subscription, you can look up median wage data across loads of occupations, based on the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For all supported professions, you get median wage estimates, annual and hourly, which you can further filter by state or even Zip code. It also shows that top industries are hiring for these roles at the moment, alongside projected job growth and the expected number of job openings in the next decade. That’s handy for recent graduates or career switchers.
Main features
- Searchable database of 900+ occupations
- Detailed job descriptions and typical tasks
- Skills, abilities, and knowledge requirements
- Education, experience, and training guidance
- Salary data and employment projections
- Bright Outlook career recommendations
- Career browsing by industry, job family, and required preparation level
Deel Salary Insights
Deel is a global hiring platform, allowing companies to employ people from almost any corner of the world on a local payroll. Their Salary Insights Tool offers access to some of the salary data they’ve aggregated across markets.
You can choose your role from the list, seniority level, country, currency, and payment method, and receive an estimate. The cool thing is that you can check pay ranges across different countries at the same time — a cool feature if you’re looking to relocate and want to understand the take-home pay after local taxes.
Main features
- Salary benchmarking by job title and location
- Market-rate comparisons across 120+ countries
- Real-time global compensation data
- Salary research for employees and contractors
- Location-based pay insights
- Take-home pay visibility after local taxes
Salary Expert
Salary Expert is a resource backed by the Economic Research Institute’s (ERI) Assessor Platform. It offers free access to salary data for over 35,500 job titles across 1,100 and 10,500 locations.
You can look up different roles to see average annual pay, hourly rates, bonuses, and salaries. Unlike Glassdoor, you can also compare entry-level vs senior-level earnings to get a more accurate number for salary negotiations. Its personalized salary calculator goes a step further by factoring in details such as your education level, skills, and years of experience.
Main features
- Salary benchmarks by job title and location
- Annual, monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly wage calculations
- Bonus and experience-based salary breakdowns
- Personalized salary reports
- International salary comparisons
- Cost-of-living calculator
- Relocation cost comparisons between cities and countries
Team Blind
Team Blind is our final Glassdoor alternative for checking recent salary data. You can browse compensation benchmarks by role, company, or location, using anonymous submissions from professionals.
The cool thing is that Team Blind gives you more context than a headline number. Apart from the base wage, you also get data on annual equity and bonuses. To boot, you can check how pay changes based on experience level, specialization, location, or work setup (e.g., remote vs hybrid vs on-site roles).
The professional community adds another layer of context. You can join the chat about recent offers and negotiation tactics. Or get some insider scoops on company culture, interviewing processes, and layoff rumours.
Main features
- Salary benchmarks by role, company, and location
- Total compensation breakdowns
- Median pay and percentile ranges
- Recent anonymous salary submissions
- Filters for experience, level, and specialization
- Related discussions about offers and negotiations
- Company reviews, jobs, and layoff updates
Got Your Number? Don’t Be Afraid to Negotiate
Salary research gives you a useful benchmark, though the first offer may land below the range you expected. But that’s not a dead end.
Most companies have room for negotiation. So a reasonable counteroffer is a normal part of the hiring process. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll get a polite no or a slightly lower number.
Ready to make your case? Check out our salary negotiation guide for tips on asking for what you deserve with confidence.
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