Historically, the appeal of leaving your corporate career behind in favour of a startup was the potential equity. Early employees at fintechs like Revolut received company stock that became worth tens of millions once their firms took off. If you join an early stage fintech today, it’s a different story.
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Accounting infrastructure firm Carta recently released a report that broke down the hiring and pay trends of startups using its platform. Unfortunately, the data only covers a period up to Q2’25, but it found that the average initial equity grant for employees joining a US-based startup in the month of June 2025 is 50% smaller than it was in April 2022. The average value of equity offers dropped starkly between November 2022 and September 2023, and have remained stagnant ever since. In that same time, salaries have increased but only marginally.
This is despite the fact that hiring for engineers, who typically earn higher equity packages, has increased. They made up 29.7% of new hires in H1 2025, up from ~25% in 2022. Operations staff made up just 5.2% of hires in 2025.
AI and machine learning engineers at startups are making more than ever. For the year ending June 2025, the average equity package for those technologists was up at least 19% across all seniorities. Senior directors received a 52% increase in equity pay alongside a 12.8% increase in salaries.
Hiring is stagnant across most industries, but fintech is ever-so-slightly growing. Total headcount in fintech grew by ~10% in 2025; by contrast headcount in gaming startups fell by 20% while education tech headcount fell by 40%
Fintech may be faring better outside the US. A recent report from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley found that fintech was the fastest growing sector in the UK’s finance sector, with sales roles up 47% year-on-year in 2025 and engineering roles up 71%. US fintechs have increasingly hired in London in recent years, as you can pay up to 50% less for early/mid-level engineers.
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