Part of that is because employer contributions (tax + social security) are quite high on wages. Total cost to the company is probably double, i.e. €6.5-8k. In a

Part of that is because employer contributions (tax + social security) are quite high on wages. Total cost to the company is probably double, i.e. €6.5-8k. In addition, income tax is also very high, so employees are left with <2-2.5k after tax on average. There are ways to reduce the tax rate a bit to an acceptable level, but this depends on the goodwill of your employer. Most just don't care, even though it could mean an extra €1,000 - €1,500 in after tax salary for their employees, without increasing cost to the company. You can even ask the tax authority for a free tax ruling, meaning they approve this and can't challenge it later on. I know what I'd do if I wanted to hire great local developers.. starting by offering a salary that is 1/3rd higher of most other local companies probably isn't a bad starting point.