In the winter salary survey in December 2025, we asked IT specialists in detail about the benefits package and perks their employer currently provides.
In this article we look at which companies offer what, what specialists actually want to receive, and whether a lower salary is offset by a better benefits package. To do this, we analyze the responses of 10,644 IT specialists who currently live in Ukraine or plan to return from abroad. Separately, we show the responses of 2,160 Ukrainian specialists who currently live abroad, regardless of their plans to return to Ukraine.
In the survey comments, IT specialists wrote that employers sometimes position draft deferral («bronia») as part of the benefits package. So in the winter wave we added a question about draft deferral specifically to this block. At the same time, we did not include the draft-deferral results in the benefits-package overview, since we devoted a separate article to this topic.
One in two IT specialists has employer-provided health insurance (49%) — the most common perk in this category. Specialists also fairly often report having a gym / gym membership reimbursement from their employer (27%) and mental health programs (22%). All other benefits in this category are uncommon.
The larger the company, the more often it provides employees with health insurance: at companies with up to 10 people it is rare (11%), while at companies with more than 1,000 employees most IT specialists have this perk (78%). Startups, government institutions, and other organizations (NGOs, agencies, educational institutions, etc.) provide health insurance least often, whereas service, product, and outstaffing companies do so most often.
IT specialists based in Ukraine somewhat more often have health insurance (50%) compared with colleagues currently abroad (43%).
The three most common benefits in this category are corporate parties and team building (42%), gifts / holiday gift cards (38%), and fruit / snacks in the office (34%). This trio of benefits is most common at companies of up to 200 and up to 1,000 employees, whereas at the smallest companies — up to 50 employees — and the largest — over 1,000 employees — such perks are used less often. Government companies and startups also support their specialists this way less often than others, while product companies, on the contrary, use these benefits more often than others.
IT specialists in Ukraine and abroad equally often report that their company offers corporate parties and team building as a benefit (42%). Gifts / holiday gift cards and fruit / snacks in the office, however, are reported more often by specialists currently based in Ukraine.
Most often, employers offer specialists English language courses (39%), internal training / mentoring (33%), and access to external courses (29%).
At the smallest companies — up to 50 specialists — such benefits are offered less often, and they are most often available at the largest companies — up to and over 1,000 employees.
IT specialists in Ukraine more often note that employer-provided English courses are available to them, whereas their colleagues abroad more often report access to external courses.
This category has an undisputed leader — the option to work fully remotely: 69% of respondents noted that this is available at their company. Another 36% of IT specialists reported that their company allows a hybrid work format (office + remote), and almost as many (35%) noted a flexible schedule with no fixed hours.
Full remote is available at companies of all sizes: from the smallest — up to 10 people, where 76% of specialists reported that this option is available to them — to the largest, over 1,000 employees, where 69% reported such a practice.
As for company types, government employers stand out: full remote is available there significantly less often than at other companies (33%). Outstaffing (78%) and service (75%) companies lead on this metric.
40% of respondents reported that their employer offers no benefits of this type at all. 28% of IT specialists said their company reimburses equipment, and 24% have referral bonuses. Relatively often reported as well are bonuses for personal occasions (15%), periodic bonuses (13%), and performance bonuses (11%).
In general, various financial compensations are more common at larger companies. Government institutions more often pay periodic bonuses (23%) and a thirteenth salary (22%). Periodic bonuses are also often used at non-IT companies.
Service, product, and outstaffing companies have a similar system of financial incentives: they most often offer referral bonuses and equipment reimbursement. Startups offer specialists stock options / phantom shares more often than others: 12% of IT specialists from such companies reported this. This type of incentive is also noticeable at product companies (6%), whereas at all others it is rare. Stock options / phantom shares are also reported somewhat more often by IT specialists living abroad than by those currently in Ukraine.
Two-thirds of IT specialists (63%) reported having 20+ days of employer-paid vacation per year, and another 20% are paid for fewer than 20 vacation days per year. About 3% said they have unlimited paid vacation.
Not all companies keep days off on public holidays: only a little more than half of specialists (57%) said their company provides this benefit.
Fewer than half of IT specialists (43%) have limited paid sick leave, but 16% said their company offers unlimited paid sick leave.
23% of IT specialists reported that their company offers maternity leave, and another 12% — paternity leave.
As we observed for other types of benefits, the larger the company, the more often it offers a basic set of perks for employees. In this benefits block, larger companies somewhat more often offer 20+ days of paid vacation and days off on public holidays.
IT specialists living in Ukraine can somewhat more often count on a limited number of paid sick days than those living abroad. Paternity leave is offered more often abroad.
40% of IT specialists reported that their companies practice donations or initiatives in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. One in four specialists (25%) indicated that their company keeps the job open for a mobilized specialist. Another 18% reported that such specialists continue to receive payments from the company, and 9% — that mobilized IT specialists at their company are provided with all necessary equipment and gear.
Large companies — sized 200–1,000 specialists and over 1,000 specialists — significantly more often keep the job open for a mobilized specialist and continue payments. Smaller companies do this far less often.
All benefits related to social and military support are significantly more often available to specialists currently living in Ukraine compared with IT specialists based abroad.
The chart shows the average number of benefits from each benefits block that specialists receive at different types of companies and with different contract types. This illustrates where the broadest benefits package is offered in particular areas.
The broadest package of healthcare and wellness benefits is held by IT specialists at large companies — with staff of 200–1,000 and over 1,000 specialists — as well as those whose cooperation is formalized through a Ukrainian company.
The most corporate benefits are at companies of 200–1,000 specialists and at product companies.
The broadest education-and-development package is also at large companies, service companies, and among those whose cooperation is formalized through a Ukrainian company.
The most options related to flexibility of working conditions are held by those who work for a foreign employer without an established team in Ukraine or who have a direct contract with a foreign company.
The broadest financial compensation is at companies of 200–1,000 specialists.
The most benefits from the vacation-and-sick-leave block are held by specialists at large companies — with staff of 200–1,000 and over 1,000 specialists — as well as those whose cooperation is formalized through a Ukrainian company, specialists at product companies, and those with an open-ended contract.
The broadest social and military support is also received by specialists working for large employers — with staff of 1,000 and 200–1,000 IT specialists. In addition, social and military support is better represented at non-IT companies (banks, telecom, retail, etc.), service companies, and among those whose cooperation is formalized through a Ukrainian company.
Overall, half of IT specialists are satisfied with their benefits package — 49%.
Specialists at large companies are more often satisfied: among those working at companies of 200–1,000 and over 1,000 specialists, this is about 60%. Those whose cooperation is formalized through a Ukrainian company (54%) and specialists at product companies (53%) are also more often satisfied.
Among the least satisfied are specialists at government institutions (26%) and at companies with up to 10 specialists (29%).
IT specialists most often name flexibility of schedule and work location as the most valuable components of the benefits package — 60% — as well as vacation and sick leave — 57%.
In third place are cash bonuses, chosen by 49% of respondents. They are more valuable to specialists with a below-average median salary — in particular, to those working at other types of organizations (NGOs, agencies, educational institutions, etc.), government institutions, and non-IT companies (banks, telecom, retail, etc.).
Next in importance: healthcare / sports / mental health (37%), equipment and working conditions (35%), and education and development (32%).
Draft deferral is important overall to 28% of IT specialists. Among men in Ukraine this figure reaches 40%; and among those who currently have employer-provided draft deferral, it is the most valuable component of the benefits package — 82%.
Only 7% noted that none of this matters to them, and salary is the main thing. This option was most often chosen by those who work for a foreign employer without a team in Ukraine or who have a direct contract with a foreign company, specialists at companies with up to 10 specialists, and startups.
Most IT specialists, when choosing between salary and a benefits package, prefer salary. 44% would choose «+30% to salary, but no benefits package», and another 25% — «+15–20% to salary, with a minimal benefits package».
The current salary-to-benefits ratio suits 12% of respondents, and another 10% would choose their current salary but with an improved benefits package. Options involving a salary cut in exchange for an expanded benefits package or a more flexible schedule are generally chosen very rarely by IT specialists.
The «+30% to salary, but no benefits package» option is chosen more often than average by IT specialists abroad, specialists at outstaffing companies, small companies with up to 10 specialists, and those with a direct contract with a foreign employer.
Specialists at Ukrainian companies, as well as at service companies and other types of organizations (NGO, agency, educational institution, etc.), would somewhat more often choose a higher salary — «+15–20% to salary, with a minimal benefits package».
The current salary-to-benefits ratio more often suits specialists at product companies and companies of 200–1,000 specialists.
Those who work for a foreign employer without an established team in Ukraine would, more often than others, choose their current salary but with an improved benefits package.
To understand how attitudes toward the benefits package relate to the current salary level, we looked at the median salaries of IT specialists who chose different answer options.
The most popular answer is «+30% to salary, but no benefits package». The median salary in this group is $3,000, i.e. higher than among IT specialists overall ($2,700).
The second most common choice is «+15–20% to salary, with a minimal benefits package». In this group the median salary is noticeably lower — $2,200. This may indicate that for specialists with lower compensation, even a moderate salary increase is more important than a benefits package.
The highest median salary is among those who are satisfied with the current salary-to-benefits ratio — $3,200. These are likely specialists who already have a salary-and-benefits combination that is comfortable for them.
Overall, these data show that for most IT specialists, salary remains a higher priority than an expanded benefits package.
How we calculated it. The overall benefits package index is an indicator that reflects how full a specialist's benefits package is. It is calculated as the total number of benefits the respondent marked among the available options across the various benefits blocks: healthcare and wellness, corporate benefits, education and development, flexibility and working conditions, financial compensation, vacation and sick leave, and social and military support. Only meaningful benefit options are included in the index (for example, the «Work exclusively from the office» option is not included in the index).
The index is on a scale from 0 to 59 (0 means the specialist has none of the benefits from the proposed list, and 59 means the maximum possible number of benefits was marked). A higher value means a broader, fuller benefits package.
The overall benefits package index is 10.5 — that is, on average IT specialists have about 10.5 benefits out of 59 possible. Only 1.4% have none of the benefits — their index value equals 0. About a third of respondents have between 1 and 6 benefits. Around 10% of IT specialists have 21 or more benefits.
We decided to explore whether there is a link between how full the benefits package is and the salary level, and whether a lower salary is offset by a better benefits package. To do this, we show how specialists' median salary changes as the total number of benefits grows.
Overall, a link between how full the benefits package is and the salary level does exist, but it is not very strong. The more benefits a specialist has, the higher their median salary usually is, and vice versa.
Among IT specialists with the least full benefits package — up to two benefits — the median is $2,278. In the group with 3–4 benefits it rises to $2,400, and with 5–6 benefits — to $2,500. So, in general, a lower salary is not offset by a better benefits package.
The highest salaries are among specialists with the fullest benefits package: in the group with 17–20 benefits the median salary is $3,000, and among those with 21 or more benefits — $3,100.
At the same time, this does not imply a direct effect of the benefits package on salary: a broader benefits package is likely offered more often by companies with a higher overall compensation level.
The best combination of benefits package and median salary is offered by outstaffing and product companies. The overall benefits package index is 9.9 at outstaffing companies and 10.9 at product companies. At the same time, the median salary at these company types is the highest among all groups — $3,000. Service companies have the highest benefits package index — 11.3 — but their median salary is somewhat below average: $2,500 versus $2,700 among IT specialists overall.
By company size, there is a noticeable link between how full the benefits package is and salary: the larger the company, the broader the benefits package and the higher the salary it usually offers.
Large companies have the best combination of benefits package and salary. The highest benefits package index is precisely at them: at companies of 200–1,000 specialists it is 13.3, and at companies with over 1,000 specialists — 13.2. These groups also have a higher median salary: $2,950 and $2,890 respectively.
However, there are exceptions — specialists who work for a foreign employer with no established team in Ukraine (over 80% of them have a direct contract with a foreign company). They have the highest median salary — $4,450 — but one of the lowest benefits package indexes — 5.7. In this case it seems that a limited benefits package is offset by a higher salary.
As for contract types, the best combination of benefits package and salary is typical of open-ended contracts and of cooperation formalized through a Ukrainian company. With a direct contract with a foreign company, the benefits package is somewhat worse, but the salary level is higher.
If we look at median salaries in IT and the benefits package by gender, the general rule does not hold here: the more benefits a specialist has, the higher their median salary, and vice versa.
Women have a significantly lower median salary than men ($1,900 versus $3,100), but at the same time a somewhat higher overall benefits package index — 11.3 versus 10.1 benefits out of 59 possible. That is, women's lower salary is partly offset by a broader benefits package.
Within the benefits package, women more often than men receive education-and-development benefits, as well as vacation and sick leave.
At the same time, women are somewhat less satisfied with their benefits package: 47% versus 50% among men.
Women more often than men value most components of the benefits package — vacation and sick leave, healthcare / sports / mental health, and education and development.
For men, as for women, flexibility of schedule and work location is among the top priorities. Men significantly more often single out draft deferral (4th in importance among men). Men also somewhat more often answer that none of this matters, and salary is the main thing.
Men, when choosing between a higher salary and a benefits package, more often prefer salary: 49% of them would choose «+30% to salary, but no benefits package» versus 34% among women.
Women more often than men would choose «+15–20% to salary, with a minimal benefits package» — 31% versus 22% among men — or their current salary but with an improved benefits package — 13% versus 9%.
Analysis: Daria Perekosova
Translated from Ukrainian for reference. Original article:
https://dou.ua/lenta/articles/benefits-package-2026/.
Charts are DOU's live interactive diagrams (click the category/sort buttons); labels are translated to English on the fly.