DevOps Engineer Salary in India (2026): Skills vs Pay
DevOps is not a tool.
It’s automation + infrastructure + reliability.
That’s why salaries vary massively.
Some DevOps engineers earn ₹6 LPA.
Some earn ₹40+ LPA.
The difference? Skill depth.
Let’s break it down honestly.
1️⃣ DevOps Engineer Salary in India – Fresher (0–2 Years)
Realistic Range:
₹4 LPA – ₹10 LPA
Most freshers land in ₹4–7 LPA.
Only strong automation-focused candidates reach ₹9–10 LPA early.
Salary by Company Type
| Company Type | Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Service Companies | ₹4 – ₹6 LPA |
| Mid-size IT Firms | ₹5 – ₹8 LPA |
| SaaS Startups | ₹7 – ₹12 LPA |
| Product Companies | ₹12 – ₹20 LPA (rare entry) |
Two Real Scenarios
Scenario 1:
Knows basic Linux + Jenkins pipeline → ₹5 LPA.
Scenario 2:
Knows Docker + CI/CD + AWS deployment → ₹9 LPA.
DevOps salary = automation capability.
2️⃣ DevOps Engineer Salary (2–5 Years)
Average Range:
₹8 LPA – ₹22 LPA
This is where DevOps starts paying serious money.
Skill vs Pay Table
| Skill Level | Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Basic CI/CD | ₹8 – ₹12 LPA |
| Cloud + Docker | ₹10 – ₹18 LPA |
| Terraform + Kubernetes | ₹15 – ₹25 LPA |
| Automation + Scaling | ₹18 – ₹30 LPA |
You are paid for reducing manual work and preventing outages.
Two Growth Examples
Example 1:
Stayed Jenkins-focused → ₹7 LPA → ₹9 LPA after 3 years.
Example 2:
Learned Terraform + Kubernetes → switched → ₹18 LPA in 3 years.
Tool stacking increases salary.
3️⃣ Senior DevOps Engineer Salary (5–10 Years)
Average Range:
₹20 LPA – ₹45 LPA
In high-growth SaaS companies, even more.
What Changes at Senior Level?
- Infrastructure architecture
- Cost optimization
- Monitoring & reliability
- Disaster recovery planning
- Team leadership
You’re paid to prevent downtime.
Downtime costs companies crores.
4️⃣ Salary by City (2026 Estimates)
| City | Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Bangalore | ₹8 – ₹40 LPA |
| Hyderabad | ₹7 – ₹28 LPA |
| Pune | ₹7 – ₹25 LPA |
| Chennai | ₹6 – ₹22 LPA |
| Remote | ₹10 – ₹35 LPA |
SaaS hubs pay highest.
5️⃣ Skills vs Pay Breakdown (Brutal Truth)
Let’s compare two DevOps engineers.
Engineer A (₹6 LPA)
- Basic Linux
- Jenkins setup
- Manual EC2 setup
- No Infrastructure as Code
Engineer B (₹18 LPA)
- Docker + Kubernetes
- Terraform
- GitHub Actions
- Cloud architecture
- Monitoring (Prometheus/Grafana)
Same title.
Completely different value.
6️⃣ What Actually Increases DevOps Salary?
Not certificates.
These matter:
- Linux depth
- Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)
- CI/CD pipelines
- Infrastructure as Code
- Container orchestration
- Monitoring & logging
Without automation skills, you’re a support engineer.