Belitsoft sees a rise in full-stack developer hiring in 2025 (UK, USA, Canada)

Belitsoft is a nearshore partner UK organisations trust when they need to save on custom software development spend.

The need for full-stack software developers is booming this year (2025) in big tech hubs such as the UK, the US, and Canada. Startups and large tech firms alike want engineers who can handle both the user-facing side of an app (front end) and the behind-the-scenes side (back end). This report looks at which companies are driving the rush for talent, how salaries are climbing, the abilities employers want most right now, and how full-stack jobs compare to front-end, back-end, and data-focused positions.

Full-Stack Developers are in High Demand

Full-stack development is one of the hottest career tracks in 2025. LinkedIn ranks full-stack developers among its top ten most-wanted jobs, and Indeed lists thousands of U.S. openings. Canada shows the same demand, with tech unemployment at just 3.3% in May 2025 – proof that software talent is hard to find.

Full-stack engineers remain high on hiring wish lists. A global survey shows recruiters plan to hire as many full-stack developers in 2025 as back-end specialists. Year after year, full-stack and back-end roles lead the list of most-wanted tech jobs. European job boards confirm this: ads for a “full-stack developer” far outnumber those for “front-end” or “back-end” only. Teams value developers who can work across every layer of an application because it keeps them agile.

Drivers of Demand

Why the surge in full-stack hiring? Businesses have learned that having developers who can work across the entire stack accelerates development cycles and reduces the need for multiple hires.

Full-stack developers can take a feature from concept to deployment without handing off work between separate front-end and back-end teams. This matters even more for companies that adopt new tech like cloud services and AI while running with smaller teams. In addition, many traditional industries (finance, healthcare, retail, etc.) are undergoing digital transformation and hiring software talent internally, not just tech firms. These organizations often prefer full-stack generalists who can build end-to-end solutions and manage a variety of projects.

Long-Term Outlook

The long-term employment outlook for full-stack and related development roles is very strong. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects growth in web developer jobs and growth for software developers – both far above the average for all occupations. Similarly, Tech Nation reports robust expansion of the UK tech sector (12.5%+ annual growth), ensuring continued high demand for well-rounded software engineers.

Competitive Salaries and Upward Trend

Salaries for full-stack developers continue to climb in 2025.

After a period of rapid increases in 2021–2022, tech salaries plateaued slightly in 2023 but remain high.

In the U.S., while growth was moderate industry-wide, many employers are now budgeting for new raises to attract and retain top developers. In fact, many technology managers report increasing starting salaries in 2025 for hard-to-fill roles and plan to add perks or bonuses to sweeten offers. This includes offers for full-stack engineers, which are often considered “hard to staff” given the broad skill set required.

Full-Stack vs. Other Roles – Salary Benchmarks

Full-stack developers command salaries on par with, or in some cases higher than, their single-specialty counterparts.

Full-stack pay is comparable to back-end developers in many cases and often higher than front-end roles at the same level.

Average full-stack salaries are lower in the UK than in the US but have been rising quickly. In tech hubs like London, experienced full-stack engineers can earn six-figure packages. These figures put full-stack developers in a similar bracket as other high-demand specialists (for example, AI engineers or data scientists).

In Canada, full-stack developer salaries are also robust. These levels are buoyed by Canada’s tech talent shortage – even with a lower cost of living, Canadian firms must offer competitive pay to attract and keep developers. Unemployment in tech is extremely low, so many Canadian employers are willing to match US-level salaries for top talent.

Salary Growth Factors

A combination of factors is driving salary growth for full-stack developers in 2025. Foremost is the supply-demand imbalance – there are more open roles than qualified candidates in many regions. Additionally, full-stack developers bring multifaceted value, doing work that might otherwise require two separate hires, which justifies premium compensation. Many organizations also saved on hiring during the 2023 slowdown and now have the budget to invest in key engineering hires.

Inflation and cost of living increases have pressured employers to raise pay as well. Notably, salary growth is not uniform: some regions and industries see bigger jumps. For example, regions like Florida in the US saw double-digit tech salary growth due to emerging tech hubs, while traditional centers like Silicon Valley saw slight declines that year as they normalized from very high levels. Overall, the trajectory for 2025 is upward. Tech salary guides (Robert Half’s 2025 report) indicate most companies plan for steady increases in developer pay to hire and keep critical skill sets.

In-Demand Skills for Full-Stack Developers

Full-stack developers are valued for their broad skill set, and 2025 job postings reflect a “jack-of-all-trades” expectation.

On the front end, full-stack roles typically require proficiency with HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, plus modern front-end frameworks or libraries like React, Angular, or Vue.js for building responsive UIs.

For the back end, employers look for experience with at least one server-side programming language such as Node.js (JavaScript/TypeScript runtime), Python, Java, C#/.NET, or Ruby. Full-stack developers are expected to know how to design RESTful APIs, implement application logic, and integrate with databases.

Databases and Cloud

Knowledge of data storage and cloud infrastructure is a must-have in full-stack positions. Common requirements include proficiency in SQL databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL) and NoSQL stores (MongoDB, Redis), as well as the ability to write efficient queries and optimize database performance.

In 2025, many companies also prefer candidates familiar with cloud platforms and DevOps tools. Skills in setting up CI/CD pipelines, using containers like Docker or orchestration tools like Kubernetes, and deploying applications on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud are often listed as “bonus” or required skills. This reflects how DevOps practices have blended into full-stack development – today’s full-stack engineer often manages code deployment and environment management in addition to writing code.

Popular Technologies

According to hiring surveys, the most in-demand languages and frameworks in 2025 include JavaScript/TypeScript and Python at the top, followed by Java. In one survey of recruiters and hiring managers, Python and JavaScript were reported as the most widely needed programming languages, aligning with their popularity among developers.

On the framework side, Node.js (for back end) and React.js (for front end) are both extremely hot skills — they are among the best-known and most requested frameworks in job postings.

The classic “MERN stack” (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js) continues to be a common combination for web development projects, and many full-stack roles specifically mention this stack or variants of it.

Additionally, API development (building and consuming RESTful or GraphQL APIs) is a core part of full-stack work, and experience integrating third-party services (payments, OAuth, cloud services) is valuable.

Emerging Skills

With the rise of AI and data-driven applications, some full-stack roles are also touching on adjacent areas like basic machine learning integration or at least collaborating closely with data specialists.

While not every full-stack developer is expected to build AI models, familiarity with calling AI APIs or handling data pipelines can be a plus.

Full-stack developers must follow security best practices. They should prevent SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other common attacks, and they must set up reliable authentication and ensure scalability.

Employers also look for soft skills. They need developers who can communicate clearly and work well with designers, back-end engineers, and business teams. Companies value problem-solving ability and a habit of learning new tools.

An ideal full-stack developer in 2025 understands the full web or mobile stack, knows deployment processes, and collaborates effectively with others.

Full-Stack vs. Front-End, Back-End, and Data Roles

How does the resurgence of full-stack hiring compare to other tech roles?

In 2025, software development hiring has a distinct preference for versatility, but specialized roles still play important parts. Here is a comparison in terms of demand and salary:

Front-End Developers

Front-end specialists (focused purely on the client side/UI) remain in demand, especially to create rich user experiences. However, the number of job openings for dedicated front-end developers is significantly lower than those asking for full-stack skills. Many companies that might have once hired separate front-end engineers are now opting for full-stack developers who can cover front-end needs along with back-end work. This is reflected in the hiring stats.

In terms of salaries, front-end developers often earn slightly less than back-end or full-stack developers at the same level. Data from European markets shows front-end roles can cap a bit lower in certain regions. The smaller supply of pure front-end jobs has some front-end specialists considering upskilling to full-stack to expand their opportunities.

Back-End Developers

Back-end engineers (server-side specialists) continue to be highly sought due to their role in building the core application logic, databases, and APIs.

In fact, by a slight margin, back-end developer was the #1 most-hired role in many surveys. Many large-scale systems and enterprise applications still require dedicated back-end expertise (performance, architecture, cloud infrastructure, etc.).

Back-end roles also had about three times the number of listings compared to front-end roles on some European job boards, indicating strong demand (possibly also a relative shortage of back-end talent).

Salaries for back-end developers reflect the complexity of backend systems. Reports show backend developers earning a bit more on average than frontend – this gap can be a few percentage points. In practice, a senior back-end engineer in the US or UK might command as much or more than a full-stack engineer, especially if working on critical systems or specializing in high-demand backend frameworks.

Nonetheless, the lines are blurring: many “back-end” job descriptions now also value front-end know-how, and vice versa, which again boosts the appeal of true full-stack capability.

Data Professionals (Data Scientists/Analysts/Engineers)

Data-focused roles are another key category to compare. Roles like data scientist, data analyst, and data engineer are extremely hot as organizations race to become data-driven. In 2025, demand for data professionals remains robust but is not as large in volume as software developer roles.

Tech recruiters plan to hire data scientists in 2025, but the demand is below full-stack or backend developers. Data roles often require advanced, specialized skills in statistics, machine learning, or big data infrastructure, which limits the talent pool. Consequently, salaries for experienced data scientists and ML engineers can be quite high – often rivaling or exceeding software engineer salaries.

A notable 2025 trend is the surge in demand for AI/ML specialists: for the first time, an AI/machine learning specialist was among the top three tech positions companies sought to fill. This nearly matches the full-stack demand percentage. However, these AI and data roles are reported as the hardest to fill due to a limited supply of qualified experts. Full-stack developers, by contrast, though highly demanded, are not seen as quite as scarce a skill as niche AI talent. In summary, data roles are critical and command high pay, but in terms of sheer hiring numbers, full-stack generalists are the workhorses of many tech teams in 2025, with companies often choosing them over separate front- or back-end hires.

Job Market Dynamics

It is worth noting how these roles complement each other. Many teams adopt a hybrid approach – for example, a core back-end team working on architecture, a few front-end/UI specialists for polish, and full-stack developers bridging the two and rapidly delivering features.

Also, the rise of full-stack does not mean front-end or back-end expertise is not valued. Rather, having a focus in one area plus knowledge of the other is a winning combination. This is why even front-end postings increasingly ask for some back-end familiarity (such as the ability to integrate APIs), and back-end postings might prefer candidates who understand UI/UX impacts.

Who Is Hiring Full-Stack Developers? (Startups, Enterprises, Remote Firms) Startups

Startups have been a major driver of the full-stack trend. Small companies and fast-growing scale-ups often prefer generalist developers who can wear multiple hats.

Hiring one full-stack developer instead of separate front-end and back-end developers is both efficient and cost-effective for startups operating on limited budgets. Early-stage companies need to iterate quickly on products; having a single engineer build a feature end-to-end (from database to UI) avoids inter-team handoffs and speeds up development cycles.

For these reasons, startups in 2025 are almost universally looking for full-stack talent. In fact, anecdotal evidence from job seekers indicates that a vast majority of startup job postings in web development now expect full-stack skills (one developer noted “around 90%” of listings they saw required both front- and back-end knowledge). The versatility of full-stack developers also aids startups in seeing the big picture – these developers can sometimes make better architectural decisions since they understand how all parts of the system connect. Thus, if you browse postings at startup job boards or incubator listings, you’ll find titles like “full-stack engineer” often.

Large Enterprises

Enterprises and large tech companies are also embracing full-stack developers in their teams. While big companies traditionally had more specialized roles, many now value the agility and cross-functional insight that full-stack engineers bring.

Enterprises running agile squads or product feature teams often staff them with a mix of specialists and full-stack engineers. A full-stack developer in a big organization might serve as a bridge between front-end and back-end teams, helping to implement features that require changes across the stack. They can also move between projects as needs evolve, giving management more flexibility in resource allocation. Some large companies even use the title “software engineer” without specifying front or back, implicitly expecting engineers to work across the stack as needed.

In 2025, many Fortune 500 firms and tech giants are recruiting full-stack developers, especially for roles where an end-to-end perspective is beneficial (such as developing a new web application or a customer-facing platform). These enterprises are willing to pay top dollar for experienced full-stack talent, knowing that their broad skill set can drive projects from conception to deployment. For example, top tech companies often list full-stack roles for product engineering teams, and banks or consultancies seeking “full-stack web developers” to modernize legacy systems have also become common.

Remote-First Companies and Global Hiring

The rise of remote work has further fueled the hiring of full-stack developers. Remote-first companies (those with primarily distributed teams) often seek full-stack engineers who can take ownership of a feature with minimal handoffs, which suits the asynchronous nature of remote collaboration.

Remote work has become mainstream, and many full-stack roles are advertised as remote-friendly or fully remote. In fact, the majority of full-stack developer jobs no longer require coming into an office every day. This has “leveled the playing field” geographically — a company in San Francisco might hire a full-stack developer in Eastern Europe who can cover both front- and back-end needs, instead of hiring two separate local specialists.

Employers benefit by accessing a global talent pool, sometimes at lower cost.

We also see emerging markets providing full-stack talent. Eastern Europe, for example, has many remote full-stack developers – client demand comes from the UK, from Canada, and the bulk from the US, reflecting how companies worldwide tap into global developers.

Remote hiring has also pushed companies to offer competitive salaries regardless of location. Firms will pay “London-level” or “Bay Area-level” salaries to attract top full-stack developers even if they live elsewhere.

Industries and Examples

Beyond tech-sector employers (software firms, SaaS companies, etc.), a range of industries are actively hiring full-stack developers.

Finance and fintech companies, for instance, have been hiring full-stack developers to build customer portals and mobile apps (financial services account for approximately 10% of software developer employment in the US).

Healthcare and edtech startups need full-stack developers to build their digital products.

Retail and e-commerce companies are hiring full-stack engineers to develop online platforms and manage both the consumer-facing site and the backend inventory systems.

Even the public sector and government IT departments seek full-stack developers for modernizing services. In Canada, full-stack and software developers are among the top in-demand roles across industries, according to an analysis of job postings. And given the shortage of talent, many employers are also open to contract full-stack developers to fill gaps – over half of Canadian tech managers said they plan to bring in contract talent in late 2025 to meet project needs.

In summary, the hiring of full-stack developers is a broad-based trend. Startups love them for efficiency, large enterprises leverage them for versatility, and remote or distributed companies rely on them to drive projects independently. From London to Silicon Valley to Toronto, the full-stack developer is a key player in tech hiring in 2025.