Having sat on both sides of the recruiting table I can tell you that most companies will pay the market rate to get the right person. Trying to save a few dolla

Having sat on both sides of the recruiting table I can tell you that most companies will pay the market rate to get the right person. Trying to save a few dollars to get someone 'cheap' is usually disastrously expensive. On the other hand, often the correlation between what someone gets paid and how good a fit they are for a job is quite loose. If this company thinks enough of you to offer you a job then unless they are mad they are prepared to pay market rates to get you on board. You have established that they're prepared to pay ~50% more to get your friend, and there's no obvious discrepancy in your attributes, so there must be room to negotiate. Having said that (like others have said), whether you get more depends on whether you are prepared to walk away from the job. If they know you're desperate they probably won't offer you more.