Machine Learning Engineer Salary in India: Sources (2026)

Last updated: 21 September 2026 · By the Asuraa Team

What is the machine learning engineer salary in India?

The sources we could open range from about Rs 9 lakh to Rs 12 lakh a year, so there is no single figure to trust. Indeed, Payscale and Glassdoor each publish a machine learning engineer salary for India, built from different data.

This guide puts them side by side with their samples and dates, shows what freshers can read from them, and explains how to judge an offer. It quotes only figures we read on the pages themselves.

What do Indeed, Payscale and Glassdoor show for machine learning engineers?

Their averages differ by about Rs 2.9 lakh. The table lists what each page reported for India as a whole.

Payscale's range is far wider than the other two, which likely reflects a few very low and very high profiles. The largest sample here is Payscale's 232 profiles, so it deserves a little more weight than the 55 or 50 entries elsewhere.

We could not open AmbitionBox's machine learning engineer page because it timed out, and we did not read any Naukri salary page. We therefore do not quote them.

What do sources show for fresher machine learning engineers?

Only Payscale gave a usable entry-level figure. It puts a fresher well below the all-level averages.

Payscale's early-career figure is about Rs 2.4 lakh above its entry-level one, so pay moves quickly in the first years. Its definitions of entry level and early career are not shown in what we read.

Read the numbers alongside live fresher postings, and see what a machine learning engineer does for the skills employers ask about.

Why is the machine learning engineer pay range so wide?

Because employer, level and a few extreme entries all stretch it. Glassdoor's page shows the spread clearly.

The same page's recent submissions include one at Rs 60 lakh to Rs 70 lakh and one at about Rs 4 lakh, both for 1 to 3 years of experience, in Bengaluru and Mumbai respectively. A single outlier like that can move a small-sample average.

Glassdoor also lists ranges of Rs 14 lakh to Rs 18 lakh for senior machine learning engineers and Rs 32 lakh to Rs 34 lakh for machine learning engineer managers. Those bands rest on few entries, so use them as a loose sense of direction.

Does city change machine learning engineer pay?

Indeed lists five cities, and one stands far ahead. The page rests on 55 salaries, so a few postings can move a city.

Noida shows more than double Bengaluru, which is more likely a sign of thin data than a real gap of that size. Read current openings in your city before drawing a conclusion.

How does machine learning engineer pay compare with data scientist pay?

Payscale shows almost no gap between the two at entry level. Its machine learning engineer page shows Rs 5,96,082 at entry level and Rs 10,22,861 on average, while its data scientist page shows Rs 5,95,255 and Rs 10,17,652.

That closeness is on one source only. The roles overlap in many postings, so compare the work in each, using our guide to data scientist vs machine learning engineer.

For the other side, see our posts on data scientist salary in India and AI engineer salary in India.

How do you judge a machine learning engineer offer with these numbers?

Match your level, check the sample, and get the breakup. Follow these steps.

1. Ask for a written breakup. None of the pages we read says whether its figure is CTC or in-hand, so ask for fixed, variable and monthly in-hand pay.
2. Match your level. Use the entry-level or early-career rows, not the all-level average.
3. Match the employer type. Glassdoor's medians show a large gap between services firms and product or research employers.
4. Check the sample. Give more weight to figures built on hundreds of profiles than on dozens.
5. Look for overlap. Where two sources agree, you have a firmer anchor than one page alone.
6. Check the work. Some roles titled machine learning engineer are mainly deployment or data pipeline work, which can be priced differently.

Our guide to how to research salary in India gives the wider method.

What does a worked example look like?

This is an illustration with an invented offer, not real data. Nisha is a fresher and receives an offer of Rs 7,50,000 a year as a machine learning engineer.

She compares it with Payscale's entry-level total compensation of Rs 5,96,082 and early-career figure of Rs 8,40,657. The offer sits between the two and below every all-level average shown above.

She reads that as a reasonable fresher offer for the sources we have, not as a bargain or a shortfall. She then asks who the employer is, how much is fixed, and what monthly in-hand pay will be.

What do most guides on machine learning engineer salary get wrong?

Most give a smooth ladder from fresher to lead. These gaps cause the most confusion.

• They quote a figure with no sample. A number based on 39 salaries and one based on 232 profiles look the same on a chart.
• They hide the disagreement. Sources differ by lakhs, and averaging them would create a number no page reported.
• They use all-level averages for freshers. A first offer sits in a lower band than the overall average.
• They ignore employer and outliers. A single Rs 60 lakh entry or a Google median says little about a typical first job.

FAQ

What is the average machine learning engineer salary in India?

Sources disagree. Indeed (updated 16 August 2026) shows Rs 11,89,225 a year, Payscale (updated 11 July 2026) shows Rs 10,22,861 in average base salary, and Glassdoor shows Rs 9,00,000 in total pay. Methods and samples differ, so treat each as one input.

How much does a fresher machine learning engineer earn in India?

Payscale shows an average total compensation of Rs 5,96,082 at entry level, based on 39 salaries, and Rs 8,40,657 for early career, based on 156. Indeed and Glassdoor show no fresher figure that we could read, so compare live postings for your city.

Do machine learning engineers earn more than data scientists in India?

Not clearly. Payscale shows Rs 10,22,861 for machine learning engineers and Rs 10,17,652 for data scientists, with near-identical entry-level averages, while Indeed shows Rs 11,89,225 for machine learning engineers. Skills and employer likely matter more than the title.

Which city pays machine learning engineers the most in India?

Indeed lists Noida first at Rs 24,06,646 a year, then Hyderabad at Rs 15,78,552 and Chennai at Rs 14,42,260. Its page rests on 55 salaries from job postings, so a few listings can move a city. Treat the order as a hint.

Why is the machine learning engineer salary range so wide?

Employer, level and small samples all stretch it. Glassdoor's page shows TCS at a median of Rs 6 lakh and Google at Rs 18 lakh, and its submissions run from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 60 lakh to Rs 70 lakh within 1 to 3 years.

Is a machine learning engineer salary quoted as CTC or in-hand pay?

The pages we read do not say clearly. Payscale shows base, bonus and profit sharing separately, and Glassdoor shows base and additional pay separately. Ask an employer for a written breakup of fixed pay, variable pay and monthly in-hand pay before comparing offers.

Final thoughts

A machine learning engineer salary is best read as a band matched to your level and employer, with each figure carrying its date and sample. Payscale's fresher figures and Glassdoor's employer spread are the most useful parts of what we found.

To see how your resume reads against a machine learning job description, try the AI resume reviewer on asuraa.in. The figures here were read on 21 September 2026 and will change as the sources update.