Career
Fresher Salary in India IT Companies 2026: TCS, Infosys, Amazon, Startups
Complete fresher salary guide for Indian IT companies 2026 — TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Amazon, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and startups. Base pay, bonuses, benefits, and negotiation tips.
How much do Indian IT companies pay freshers in 2026? Here's the complete salary breakdown — service companies, product companies, fintech, and startups — with benefits and negotiation tips.
Service company fresher salaries (2026)
TCS Ninja: ₹3.36 LPA (₹3,36,000/year). CTC includes variable pay. In-hand: ~₹24,000/month. TCS Digital: ₹7 LPA. TCS Prime: ₹9-12 LPA.
Infosys Ninja (System Engineer): ₹3.6 LPA. In-hand: ~₹25,000/month. Infosys DSE: ₹6.5 LPA. Infosys SP: ₹8-9 LPA.
Wipro Elite NLTH: ₹3.5-6.5 LPA depending on role. Standard Wipro fresher: ₹3.3 LPA. In-hand: ~₹23,000/month.
Cognizant GenC: ₹4 LPA. GenC Next: ₹6.5 LPA. GenC Pro: ₹8 LPA. In-hand varies by role.
Accenture ASE: ₹4.5-6.5 LPA depending on location and role. In-hand: ~₹32,000-45,000/month.
Capgemini Graduate Trainee: ₹3.8-4.5 LPA. In-hand: ~₹27,000/month.
HCL Tech Bee: ₹3-4 LPA. In-hand: ~₹23,000/month.
Product company fresher salaries (2026)
Amazon SDE-1: ₹15-30 LPA. Base + signing bonus + RSUs (restricted stock units). In-hand: ~₹1-2 lakh/month. Internship stipend: ₹40,000-60,000/month.
Microsoft SDE-1: ₹16-35 LPA. Similar structure to Amazon. Internship stipend: ₹40,000-50,000/month.
Google SWE-1 (L3): ₹18-40 LPA. Highest among product companies for freshers. Internship: ₹50,000+/month.
Adobe SDE-1: ₹12-25 LPA. MTS-1 role. In-hand: ~₹90,000-1.8 lakh/month.
Flipkart SDE-1: ₹12-22 LPA. In-hand: ~₹85,000-1.5 lakh/month.
Swiggy / Zomato SDE-1: ₹10-20 LPA. Variable based on ESOPs.
PhonePe / Razorpay SDE-1: ₹12-24 LPA. ESOPs add significant long-term value.
Atlassian / Salesforce: ₹15-30 LPA. Top-tier pay for top-tier talent.
Fintech and consulting fresher salaries
Goldman Sachs Technology Analyst: ₹12-20 LPA. In-hand: ~₹85,000-1.4 lakh/month. Bonus can be 20-30% of base.
JP Morgan Technology Analyst: ₹10-18 LPA. Similar to Goldman Sachs.
Morgan Stanley Technology Analyst: ₹10-18 LPA. Strong bonus culture.
Deloitte Analyst: ₹6-10 LPA. Consulting roles pay more than pure tech.
BNY / Barclays / UBS: ₹8-15 LPA. International banks with India operations.
Startup fresher salaries (2026)
Series A startups: ₹8-15 LPA base + ESOPs. In-hand: ~₹55,000-1 lakh/month. ESOPs can be worth ₹2-10 lakh if the company exits.
Seed-stage startups: ₹6-12 LPA. More ESOPs, higher risk, faster growth.
YC-backed startups: ₹8-18 LPA. Often remote-first.
Wellfound / Cutshort startups: ₹6-15 LPA depending on funding stage.
Startups typically offer lower base than product companies but higher learning velocity and ESOPs upside.
What's included in CTC (Cost to Company)
Base salary: Fixed monthly pay. This is what you actually get in your bank account (after tax).
Variable pay: Performance-linked bonus. Usually 10-20% of base. Paid annually or quarterly.
Signing bonus: One-time payment at joining. Common in product companies (₹1-5 lakh).
RSUs / ESOPs: Stock options. Vested over 4 years. Product companies offer RSUs (Amazon, Microsoft), startups offer ESOPs.
Benefits: Health insurance, PF, gratuity, transport, food, internet reimbursement. These are part of CTC but not in-hand.
Rule of thumb: In-hand salary is approximately 70-80% of CTC (after tax + PF + deductions).
Service vs product company — which pays better
Service companies: Lower starting salary (₹3-4 LPA) but stable, mass hiring, and good for learning fundamentals. Salary growth: 10-20% per year. After 3 years: ₹5-8 LPA.
Product companies: Higher starting salary (₹12-30 LPA) but harder to crack. Salary growth: 20-40% per year with promotions. After 3 years: ₹20-50 LPA.
The gap widens over time. A TCS fresher at ₹3.6 LPA might reach ₹8 LPA in 5 years. An Amazon fresher at ₹18 LPA might reach ₹40-60 LPA in 5 years.
But service companies offer job security and mass hiring — product companies are selective and layoff-prone.
Can freshers negotiate salary
For campus placements: No. Companies have fixed fresher packages. The offer is take-it-or-leave-it.
For off-campus product company roles: Sometimes. If you have competing offers, you can negotiate. "I have an offer from [company] for ₹X LPA. I'd prefer to join [your company] — is there room to match or improve?"
For startup roles: Often. Startups have more flexibility. You can negotiate base, ESOPs, joining bonus, or remote work.
Never negotiate without a competing offer. And never negotiate on the first call — wait until you have the written offer.
Tax on fresher salary in India
Income up to ₹3 lakh: No tax (old regime) / up to ₹7 lakh (new regime with rebate).
Income ₹3-7 lakh: 5% tax (new regime). Most service company freshers fall here.
Income ₹7-12 lakh: 15-20% tax. DSE/SP roles and startup freshers.
Income ₹12+ lakh: 30% tax (new regime slab). Product company freshers.
Standard deduction: ₹50,000. Use this to reduce taxable income.