CTO Salary in Indonesia: Data by Year, Stage and Full Cost

The latest named benchmark for a CTO salary in Indonesia is IDR 200 million a month, from Michael Page's 2023 guide, or about USD 11,000 at the Bank Indonesia rate of 2 November 2026. No 2026 guide we could read has a CTO row, but Adecco's 2026 guide puts a CIO at IDR 150 to 250 million a month. Start-up CTOs earn less in cash and take equity instead.

What does a CTO earn in Indonesia?

A CTO at an established company in Indonesia was benchmarked at IDR 200 million a month in Michael Page's 2023 guide, as reported by JatimTimes. The same guide put tech C-suite roles at IDR 125 to 200 million a month, and CNBC Indonesia (February 2023) notes these were 2023 projections built from Michael Page's database and 2022 job adverts.

For 2026, the nearest rows come from Adecco Indonesia's 2026 guide, as reported by detikFinance, which gives gross monthly ranges of IDR 150 to 250 million for a CIO and IDR 150 to 280 million for a Director of Engineering. Neither is a CTO row, but both sit at the same level of a technology organisation.

In simple terms, a corporate CTO in Indonesia is priced at roughly IDR 150 to 250 million a month, but you should treat that as an estimate built from neighbouring roles, not a measured CTO figure for 2026.

Why do CTO salary figures disagree?

CTO figures disagree because each source measures a different year, a different kind of company, and sometimes a different pay basis. The table puts the readable named sources side by side, oldest last, so you can see which figures are stale.

The Michael Page 2026 list on its highest-paying jobs page labels its column as annual, but the text describes the same amounts as monthly, so we read them as monthly and flag the conflict. The 2020 Robert Walters range reported by CNBC Indonesia is six years old, and it predates the 2023 guide's note that start-ups were hiring only for critical or replacement positions.

Self-reported salary aggregators also rank for this search, but they rarely state the year or the sample. Put simply, use the named guides for pricing and use the aggregators, if at all, only as a rough check.

How does CTO pay change with a start-up's funding stage?

Start-up CTO base pay rises sharply with funding, while the equity share falls. The Glints and Monk's Hill Ventures 2020/2021 report, as summarised by Fortune Indonesia, gives these figures; the article does not state the pay period outright.

The rupiah values use the Bank Indonesia JISDOR rate of IDR 18,161 per US dollar on 2 November 2026, and they are shown for scale only. In practice, an early-stage CTO is paid mainly in ownership, and a late-stage CTO is paid close to corporate rates.

The Bahasa version of this guide, gaji CTO startup Indonesia, covers the same stage data for Indonesian-language readers.

Where does the CTO sit against other technology leaders?

The CTO sits at the top of the engineering ladder, above the VP and head of engineering. Michael Page's 2023 guide, as charted by Databoks, gives the steps below it, so you can price a CTO against the people who would report to the role.

The gap between a CTO and a VP Engineering in this guide is IDR 50 million a month. That gap is useful when you decide whether the role you need is a true CTO or a senior engineering head, and the pay difference follows that choice.

What does a CTO cost the employer?

The employer pays the salary plus a religious holiday allowance (THR) and social security contributions, but the contributions add only about 4.5% to 5.4% at these pay levels because several of them are capped. Employers pay 3.7% for old-age savings (JHT), 0.3% for death benefit (JKM) and from 0.24% for work-accident cover (JKK) on full wages, while the 2% pension (JP) contribution stops at a wage of IDR 10,547,400, according to BPJS Ketenagakerjaan. The 4% BPJS Kesehatan employer share stops at a wage of IDR 12 million under Perpres 64/2020 (DDTC copy).

THR equals one month's wages for staff with 12 months of service and must be paid at least seven days before the holiday (Setneg, March 2026). The table uses 12 months of salary plus one month of THR, the lowest JKK tier and no bonus or equity.

Income tax under PPh 21 is withheld from the CTO's pay rather than added to the employer's cost, unless you agree to cover it. The monthly effective rates (TER) do not change the year's total tax, because the year-end calculation still uses the Article 17 brackets, according to a DJP article. In simple terms, if you quote a net salary, convert it to gross before the offer goes out.

What changes for a foreign CTO?

A foreign CTO adds a monthly levy and a permit process to the cost. Employers of foreign workers pay the DKPTKA levy of USD 100 per position, per person, per month under Permenaker 8/2021, according to a Hukumonline summary. That is USD 1,200 a year, or about IDR 21.8 million at the 2 November 2026 rate.

Put simply, the levy is small next to a CTO's salary, so the levy alone is unlikely to decide between a local and a foreign hire.

How should you price a CTO offer?

Start from the scope of the role, then pick the benchmark that matches it. A CTO who owns architecture, security and a large engineering team matches the corporate CTO and CIO rows, while a CTO at an early start-up matches the stage table and is paid partly in equity.

1. Write down the team size and whether security, data and IT report to the role.
2. Choose the matching rows above and note each one's year.
3. Cost the package with THR and BPJS, plus DKPTKA for a foreign hire.
4. Decide the equity or bonus share in writing, since the guides above report base pay.

For a wider method on choosing and weighting salary sources, see how to use salary benchmark data in Indonesia. If the CTO will sit on a board alongside finance leadership, the CFO salary ranges in IDR and USD use the same cost method.

Hiring a CTO in Indonesia?

Jesson Global runs executive search for Director-level and C-suite roles in Indonesia and across Southeast Asia, including technology and fintech. Each search is led by a senior consultant, and a shortlist of 3 to 5 vetted profiles usually arrives within 4 to 6 weeks of kickoff.

FAQ

How much is a CTO paid in Indonesia?

Michael Page's 2023 guide put a CTO at IDR 200 million a month, about USD 11,000 at the 2 November 2026 Bank Indonesia rate. No 2026 guide we could read lists a CTO row, but Adecco's 2026 guide gives a CIO IDR 150 to 250 million and a Director of Engineering IDR 150 to 280 million a month gross.

How is a CTO salary in Indonesia calculated?

Employers usually set a gross monthly salary, pay 12 months plus one month of THR, and add social security contributions with capped wage bases for pension and health. Income tax is withheld monthly at TER rates and reconciled at year end with the Article 17 brackets. Bonus and equity sit on top of this and are set by company policy.

What is a start-up CTO's salary in Indonesia?

The Glints and Monk's Hill Ventures 2020/2021 report gave start-up CTOs base pay of USD 3,300 at under USD 5 million raised, USD 7,550 at USD 5 to 10 million, and USD 12,400 at USD 10 to 50 million. Equity ran from up to 33% at the earliest stage to 10% at USD 10 to 50 million. These figures are several years old.

Do CTOs in Indonesia receive equity?

Start-up CTOs often do, and the Glints and Monk's Hill report shows equity shares falling as funding rises, from up to 33% to about 10% to 13% at later stages. Salary guides for established companies report base pay only, so equity or long-term incentives in a corporate CTO offer depend on the company's own plan.