UK Marketers Among the Worst Paid in Europe as Living Costs Slash Real Wages to Just £19K

UK marketers are among the worst paid in Europe once the cost of living is taken into account, according to new research by GEO Agency Reboot Online.

The analysis of more than 120,000 marketing job listings across 18 European countries found that while the average UK marketing salary stands at £42,135, high living costs reduce that to a real take-home pay of just £19,853 — ranking the UK fifth from the bottom in Europe.

Across the continent, the gulf between what marketing professionals earn on paper and what they actually keep after expenses is striking. In Poland, where living costs are much lower, marketers earn the equivalent of £46,363 and keep £31,871 after housing, food, and utilities — an £18,000 difference, or 46% more than their British counterparts.

Romania follows close behind, with professionals there taking home £31,023 after expenses, while Hungary, Sweden, and Finland also outperform the UK on real-terms pay.

At the other end of the scale, Ireland ranks as the toughest place in Europe for marketers to make ends meet. Despite an average salary of £40,809 (€46,785), the country's steep living costs slash disposable income to just £13,830 (€15,852) — the lowest in Europe.

Rising Living Cost Reshapes What It Means To Be Well Paid

Zoe Blogg, managing director of Reboot Online, said the findings highlight how rising living expenses are reshaping what it means to be 'well paid' in marketing.

'As marketing continues to evolve with AI and automation, pay gaps are emerging not just by job role but by geography', Blogg said. 'Smaller agencies and emerging European markets are often leading the way in rewarding talent more fairly.'

The study also uncovered a surprising link between company size and pay. Smaller firms — those employing fewer than ten people — tend to offer the highest average salaries, around £47,000, while large corporations with more than 5,000 employees pay closer to £40,000.

Within the UK, PPC specialists lead the earnings table with average salaries of £52,993, followed by content executives, marketing directors, and SEO managers, who all hover in the mid-£40,000 range. At the lower end, marketing assistants and creative directors earn between £33,000 and £36,000, underscoring the wide disparities within the field itself.

Salary transparency remains another pressing issue. Just 15.6% of UK marketing job listings disclose pay — the lowest level in Europe. In contrast, Denmark leads with nearly 28% of employers being upfront about salary ranges. This lack of transparency, the report suggests, may hinder fair pay negotiations and perpetuate inequalities in the industry.

Poland is Remote-Friendly When It Comes to Marketing Roles

Remote work opportunities vary just as sharply. Nearly half of all marketing roles in Poland are remote-friendly, compared with only one in five (21.7%) in the UK. Germany and Romania also rank highly for remote positions, suggesting that flexibility is more accessible in regions where living costs are lower and digital work cultures are growing faster.

Reboot Online's research is based on job data scraped from Indeed between June and September 2025. Salary information was extracted using AI-assisted analysis and adjusted against cost-of-living data from Numbeo, focusing on a single renter in a city centre apartment.

While the UK's marketing industry remains one of Europe's most dynamic, the findings reveal how rising living costs are eroding its competitiveness. As Blogg notes, 'It's not just about what you earn anymore — it's about what's left when the bills are paid. And for many UK marketers, that number is shrinking.'

For more information and the full dataset, visit Reboot Online GEO Agency.