BenchmarkSeries B engineersare underpaidby 18%.
Here's the data.
Benchmark surfaces verified equity splits, cash bands, and bonus structures from 4,200+ startup offers — so you stop losing senior hires to guesswork.
The numbers that close — or cost — your next hire
offers benchmarked this quarter
Across 18 role categories, 6 funding stages, and 14 US metro markets. Every data point is verified against offer letters, not self-reported surveys.
Median CTO equity at Series A
Range spans 0.6% at the 25th percentile to 2.4% at the 90th. Late-stage hires see dramatic compression — median Series C CTO equity sits at 0.18%.
of Series B engineering offers include a sign-on bonus
Average sign-on at Series B is $28,400 — used most aggressively to bridge unvested equity from a candidate's prior employer. FAANG candidates see 2.1× higher sign-ons.
median total comp gap between Series A and Series B VP Product roles
The jump from Seed to Series A is smaller than most founders expect ($31k). The real inflection is at Series B, where structured bonus plans and refreshes push total comp sharply higher.
Real numbers, by role and stage
Every row is built from verified offer letters. P25–P75 cash bands, actual equity grants, and bonus structures — not survey estimates.
Find your number in 60 seconds
Select a role, stage, and geography. We'll show you exactly where your comp offer lands — and what the market will beat it with.
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Download the 2025 Startup Comp Report →The comp decisions that moved the needle
"We lost three senior engineers to FAANG counteroffers in six months. After pulling Benchmark data for our Series B equity refresh, we closed our next four engineering offers without a single negotiation breakdown. The equity percentile view alone was worth it."
"As a CFO modeling our Series C option pool, I needed to know what the market expects at VP level — not survey averages, actual offer data. Benchmark gave me verified P25–P75 bands by role and stage. I used it directly in our board comp discussion."
"We were writing our first comp philosophy at 80 people with no HR infrastructure. Benchmark gave us a framework in a day — role bands, equity refresh logic, bonus structures. We had a complete philosophy document in a week that our investors actually praised."
2025 Startup Comp Report
147 pages. Every major role, every stage, every major US market. The reference document your board wishes you had before your last raise.
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Stop losing hires
to guesswork.
The data exists. Your next offer should be built on it — not assembled from LinkedIn posts and gut feel.
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