Where does our data come from?
PayCheck aggregates salary data from two of the UK's largest job boards in real time. Unlike tools that rely on self-reported surveys, every data point originates from a live active job listing — reflecting what employers are actually offering right now.
- Adzuna: We query the Adzuna Jobs API for active UK listings matching your job role and city. Each listing provides a minimum and maximum advertised salary.
- Reed: We query Reed's job search API in parallel, fetching up to 100 listings per search. Reed requires both a minimum and maximum salary to be present for a listing to be included.
- Minimum sample size: We require at least 5 valid listings per source to compute a range. If fewer than 5 listings are found, that source returns no data and the other source is used alone.
- No self-reported data: We do not use anonymous user submissions, surveys, or glassdoor-style crowdsourcing. Every data point is from a verifiable job posting.
How we calculate the bands
The Market Range Logic
For each listing, we compute a midpoint salary: (min + max) / 2. We then sort all midpoints and derive the band using index-based percentile slicing. When both Adzuna and Reed return data, the two bands are averaged to form the final merged range.
The entry point for this role. Offers below this are statistically below market.
The midpoint between p25 and p75 — the most common salary for experienced professionals.
The upper bound of typical market pay. Offers above this are above market.
When both sources are available, their p25 and p75 values are averaged: merged_p25 = (adzuna_p25 + reed_p25) / 2. This merged band is what drives the verdict. Both source ranges are shown separately in the results for full transparency.
The Verdict Engine
"Below Market"
The offer falls below the 25th percentile of the merged market range. We recommend negotiating — this offer is statistically lower than most similar roles in your city.
"Market-Aligned"
The offer sits between the 25th and 75th percentile. This is a fair, standard offer for the current UK market.
"Above Market"
The offer exceeds the 75th percentile. These typically come from high-growth companies, specialised roles, or highly competitive hiring markets.
How often is data updated?
Labour markets move fast. To balance freshness with API rate limits, PayCheck uses a 24-hour in-memory cache per role and city combination. The first lookup for any role/city pair hits the live APIs; subsequent lookups within 24 hours return the cached result.
Live API Calls
Each unique role + city combination queries both Adzuna and Reed simultaneously on first request, ensuring data reflects current listings.
24-Hour Cache
Results are cached for 24 hours. This keeps the app fast while ensuring stale data is never served for more than one day.
Guidance Disclaimer
The data provided by PayCheck is intended for informational and guidance purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, individual compensation can vary based on factors our algorithm cannot account for — including specialist skills, internal pay equity, benefits packages, equity components, and company size. PayCheck is not a financial adviser or legal recruitment consultant.
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