Overview
The Market Compensation section in Kamsa is your one-stop shop for salary ranges and market data. This section provides the tools to view, adjust, and compare compensation ranges specific to your company, as well as access Kamsa’s full global market database.
You’ll find five key areas in this section of Kamsa:
Global Market Data – Access to Kamsa’s full proprietary database.
Company Ranges – Your company’s tailored salary and total cash ranges.
Open Jobs – Compensation ranges for your active requisitions.
Compare – Side-by-side views of jobs across locations and percentiles.
Adjustments tab – View and manage all custom adjustments in your workspace.
Looking for information on Equity Data? 📖 View the Equity Data guide.
Global Market Data
Overview
Kamsa’s Global Market Data is the foundation of the platform, giving you the benchmarks needed to guide compensation reviews, equity planning, and pay decisions.
The Global Market Data page provides access to Kamsa’s complete compensation database:
60+ countries and 2,000+ roles.
Filter by:
Market Percentiles (e.g., 50th, 65th, 75th)
Market Data Cuts (locations and revenue bands)
Department > Job Family > Job Level
Unlike traditional surveys, Kamsa’s data is built from anonymized employee records submitted by HR and People teams, reflecting how companies actually pay today. Every benchmark goes through a rigorous validation process that includes confirming the appropriate job family and job level.
📖 Visit common FAQs and Definitions.
Using Global Market Data in Kamsa
In the Global Market Data tab, you can:
Select market percentiles (e.g., 50th, 65th, 75th)
Choose from 60+ Market Data Cuts, listed by region
Drill down by Department > Job Family > Job Level
View benchmarks in local currency (default) or convert to USD using rolling six-month median exchange rates (updated daily)
Currency Conversion
Default display is local currency for each data cut
Switch to USD at any time
Exchange rates are based on a 6-month rolling median, updated daily, to smooth out fluctuations
Why Kamsa’s Global Market Data is Different
Defensible Benchmarks
Built from actual employee compensation data, rather than crowdsourced salaries.
Structured through Kamsa’s job architecture for market aligned and consistent job and level matching.
Reviewed and validated by compensation experts.
Data Validation
Job leveling with each company to ensure accuracy and alignment
Machine learning QA to surface outliers and inconsistencies
Human review from Kamsa’s comp experts
Update Frequency
Refreshed quarterly for cash compensation
Refreshed annually for equity benchmarks
👉 For more on tailoring Global Market Data to your company, see Company Ranges and Adjustments below.
Company Ranges
The Company Ranges page displays salary and total cash ranges that reflect:
Market percentiles selected in your Company Profile
Relevant Market Data Cuts (e.g., location, revenue size)
View the Internal Average for employees mapped to each role and corresponding Market Data Cut
Any custom adjustments you’ve made
Open Jobs added by your team
Viewing Company Ranges
Expand a Department to see Job Families and levels where your company has matched employees.
Each job shows minimum, midpoint, and maximum (calculated at 85% and 115% of midpoint).
Jobs matched to Employee Data display an Internal Average (in blue).
For non-US data cuts, the currency defaults to local currency; you can always convert to any other currency using the drop-down.
Note: Revenue-based cuts are available and recommended only for U.S.-based executives.
Adjustments
You can tailor Kamsa’s market data to reflect your company’s unique needs.
Types of Adjustments
Add a premium % (e.g., for roles with larger scope than market).
Apply a discount % (e.g., for more routine roles than market).
Enter a custom midpoint for salary and/or total cash.
If adjusted:
The new minimum and maximum auto-calculate (85% and 115% of midpoint).
An icon appears: % for percentage changes, $$$ for custom midpoint values.
Managing Adjustments
All adjustments will be listed in the Adjustments tab, organized by Department and Job Family. Here, you can compare the adjusted range (in the column labeled with your company name) with Kamsa’s original range (in the Market Data column).
Edit or reset (clear out) adjustments directly from either the Company Ranges page or the Adjustments page.
Open Jobs
Use the Open Jobs page to manage compensation ranges for active requisitions. These jobs also appear in your Company Ranges view.
Adding Open Jobs
Click Add Open Job.
Enter details:
Company Department
Business Title (a consistent, market-friendly title)
Kamsa Job Match (aligned to responsibilities)
Market Data Cut(s) (multiple cuts can be selected; for VP and above US roles, also select a revenue cut)
Bulk Upload Option
If you’re adding many Open Jobs at once, you can follow the steps below to bulk upload:
Download the Open Jobs template, available when you click Add Open Job → Import Open Jobs.
Fill out the template with information about all your open positions.
Then, click on the Upload File button to upload the completed file.
Managing Open Jobs
Hover over the Business Title to edit, delete, or add notes/documents (e.g., job description)
Apply adjustments using the adjustment icon
Once an Open Job is filled, you can:
Add the hired employee’s info so it flows into the Employee Data page
Close it out, or leave it open if you’re still hiring for the same role
Compare
The Compare page allows you to analyze pay ranges side by side.
Adding Jobs to Compare
From Company Ranges or Global Market Data, click the “Add to Compare” icon next to a job.
Add jobs by location, percentile, or both (e.g., compare New York vs. San Francisco ranges).
Compare Page Features
Displays pay ranges, Market Data Cut, market percentile, source (Company vs. Market Data), and Internal Average (if applicable).
Holds up to 25 jobs at a time.
Export data in your preferred format.
Each user’s compare list is unique to them.
FAQs
How are Kamsa's salary ranges established?
Kamsa’s salary ranges are built by job family, job level, and location, using validated market data as the foundation. Each range follows a consistent structure:
The midpoint is anchored directly to validated market data and market percentile(s) a company chooses.
The minimum is set at 85% of the midpoint.
The maximum is set at 115% of the midpoint.
This consistent structure makes it easier to compare roles and explain where employees fall within a salary range:
85% (Minimum): Developing in the role or relatively new to the level
100% (Midpoint): Fully proficient and consistently meeting expectations
115% (Maximum): Highly experienced, brings specialized skills, and/or consistently exceeds expectations
This framework supports more consistent pay decisions and internal equity while allowing flexibility for factors such as experience and performance.
In Kamsa, for each employee, you’ll see where their salary falls within their range using their compa-ratio. A compa-ratio of 100% means the employee is paid exactly at the midpoint of the salary range for their role and location.
Do all compensation ranges have the same width?
Yes, all Kamsa ranges are 85% to 115% of the midpoint.
Can I customize the minimum and maximum of compensation ranges in Kamsa?
Kamsa's compensation ranges are established using 85% of the midpoint (to calculate the Minimum) and 115% of the midpoint (to calculate the Maximum) and are not adjustable.
We find this range works best for the majority of our clients - i.e., it’s wide enough to allow for flexibility needed based on an employee's performance and experience, but narrow enough to reduce potential unconscious bias.
Can I use broader compensation ranges?
Broader ranges can be created manually. Widening ranges could reduce consistency in pay decisions and make it more challenging to manage internal equity and long-term pay progression.
However, should you decide to move forward with broader ranges, here's how to do it manually:
Recalculate ranges outside of Kamsa. You can use a Full Data Export from Kamsa’s Employee Data page and manually adjust the Minimum and Maximum fields to reflect broader ranges.
How and When should I use the Salary Range?
Common uses for salary range information include:
Making an offer to a candidate
Determining a salary increase, internal transfer, or promotion for an existing employee
Does Kamsa provide 90th percentile market data?
Kamsa does not provide benchmarks at the 90th percentile, since most companies don’t need to pay this far above market to attract and retain talent — and it can be difficult to step back once pay is anchored that high.
If you need a higher reference point, you can reference the Maximum of the 75th percentile range.
In Kamsa, compensation ranges are built from a midpoint (targeting the 50th, 65th, or 75th percentile). Each range automatically includes:
Minimum = 85% of midpoint
Maximum = 115% of midpoint
Need 90th percentile data? If your company has a specific business case for targeting the 90th percentile, contact [email protected].
Does Kamsa provide 25th percentile market data?
Kamsa does not provide benchmarks at the 25th percentile, since targeting this level would place pay significantly below market — which is not recommended for attracting or retaining talent.
If you need a lower reference point, you can reference the Minimum of the 50th percentile range.
In Kamsa, compensation ranges are built from a midpoint (targeting the 50th, 65th, or 75th percentile). Each range automatically includes:
Minimum = 85% of midpoint
Maximum = 115% of midpoint
Need 25th percentile data? If your company has a specific business case for targeting the 25th percentile, contact [email protected].
Where does Kamsa’s market data come from and how often is it updated?
Kamsa’s market compensation data is built from actual employee records submitted by 1,000+ clients, covering 2,000+ jobs across 60+ countries. The data is anonymized and validated by Kamsa’s compensation experts before benchmarks are released.
What’s offered:
Base salary
Target variable pay (bonus, commission)
Equity compensation (available to those with Equity Model access)
How often the data is updated:
Cash compensation: Updated quarterly (February, May, August, November)
Equity compensation: Updated annually
How the data is validated:
Every data point goes through a 3-step process to ensure accuracy and consistency:
Job architecture alignment – roles are structured into Kamsa’s market-aligned job families and levels.
Machine learning quality checks – data is reviewed for outliers and internal consistency (e.g., IC3 data is never higher than IC4 for a given job family and market data cut).
Human validation – Kamsa’s compensation experts review all job matches before benchmark data is consolidated and released.
What’s not included:
Benefits (e.g., health, retirement)
One-time or supplementary allowances (unless legally required in-country)
Non-payroll costs
Because Kamsa’s dataset is refreshed regularly and rigorously validated, it reflects current market trends so there’s no need to “age” the data.
Are the salaries in Kamsa’s Market Compensation gross or net?
All salary benchmarks in Kamsa are shown as gross compensation (before taxes or deductions).
Does Kamsa’s market data include local employees only?
Yes. Kamsa’s market data is designed to reflect employees living and working in the country represented by the Market Data Cut. For example, our Netherlands market data is based on the actual salaries of employees located in the Netherlands.
Does Kamsa’s market data include allowances?
Kamsa’s Base Salary market midpoint data includes any mandatory or legally required allowances in a given country. For example, it reflects gross salary with required recurring payroll contributions.
It does not include:
Supplementary or optional allowances
One-time or annual payments
Non-payroll costs
Kamsa's Total Cash represents an employee’s base salary plus any target variable pay (such as bonuses or commissions).
Example:
If an Account Executive has a base salary of $100,000 and a target commission of $100,000, their Total Cash would be $200,000.
It does not include:
Health or retirement benefits
One-time payments
Non-mandatory allowances or supplementary contributions
Can I filter Kamsa's market data by company size or Series stage?
Kamsa’s market data is intentionally designed to balance reliability with recruiting relevance. Rather than slicing too narrowly (e.g., by employee size, Series stage, or sub-industry), we focus on the Market Data Cuts available in the drop-down menu. This ensures sample sizes are large enough to provide accurate, stable benchmarks.
Most companies also prefer this broader view because it better reflects the actual talent pool they hire from. For example, if you’re hiring a Software Engineer, you wouldn’t want to benchmark only against Series B startups — you want a view across companies that look like your broader recruiting pool.
The majority of companies in Kamsa’s market database are similar in size, stage, and industry to our clients, giving you a market view that’s both relevant and representative of where you actually recruit talent.
Note: For U.S.-based executives, Revenue Cuts are available (e.g., <$50M, $50M–$199.9M).
Are there Market Data Cuts available by city?
The full list of Market Data Cuts available in Kamsa can be seen in the Global Market Data tab under Market Data Cuts. A list can also be found in Column G of the Census Data Template here.
When local market data is occasionally unavailable, we offer geographic differentials which are based on real local market compensation data (i.e., cost of living and cost of labor) and updated annually.
How is currency conversion calculated in Kamsa?
Kamsa uses a rolling six month median exchange rate, updated daily, to convert between local currency and USD. Using a rolling median helps reduce the impact of short term currency fluctuations.
What Market Data Cut should I use for executive compensation?
Because executive talent markets are often broader than a single geographic area, we recommend using the applicable Revenue Cut for U.S.-based executives. For executives outside the U.S., use the applicable local Market Data Cut (e.g., for executives based in London, use the UK - Inner London Market Data Cut).
Does Kamsa’s market salary data account for cost of living or inflation?
Kamsa’s market data reflects actual compensation paid in each market. As market pay changes in response to factors such as labor supply, demand, inflation, and local economic conditions, those changes are reflected in Kamsa’s quarterly data updates.
Below are talking points you can use when explaining to leaders and employees how Kamsa's market compensation data factors into pay decisions:
When making pay decisions, managers/leaders factor in various data points, including market compensation data, performance, employees’ experience/skill set, and budget.
The market compensation data that we leverage:
Reflects actual employee data aggregated across companies similar to us (i.e., in growth and size); it matches the pool of talent in which we’d recruit from.
The data organically factors in not only market trends, but things like cost of labor, cost of living, inflation, as well as what other similar companies are paying employees.
Can I freeze or lock the market data?
Yes. You can lock your Market Compensation data to a specific quarterly release. To request this, contact [email protected] and specify the quarter you'd like to use.
Most clients allow their market data to update quarterly so their ranges continue to reflect current market conditions.
Can I upload other market survey data into Kamsa?
Kamsa does not support uploading external market survey data. However, you can use other survey sources as a reference and make custom adjustments to your Kamsa ranges as needed.
For example, let’s say Kamsa’s default market data for a given role and Market Data Cut (e.g., country) is $100K, while another survey source you use shows $90K. You could apply a 10% discount to Kamsa’s data.
Just be mindful of how that adjustment affects the levels above and below. You’ll want to make sure the differences between level midpoints don’t become too narrow or too wide. Kamsa’s market data already accounts for this by smoothing progression across levels so the ranges remain consistent and practical to use.
Below are instructions on how to make custom adjustments to your Company Ranges in Kamsa if you’d like to factor in any additional market inputs.
When should I use Market Total Cash vs. Market Base Salary?
The Market Total Cash includes the Market Base Salary plus target variable pay (i.e., any bonus and/or commission opportunity).
For employees in jobs at your company who are not eligible for any variable pay, focus on the Market Base Salary data.
For employees in jobs (like Sales reps) who are eligible for variable pay opportunities, factor in the Market Total Cash in addition to the Market Base Salary data.
For common Sales and Customer Success roles, here are recommended Pay Mix guidelines by role.
On the Market Compensation page, these suggested pay mixes are incorporated in the Market Total Cash data.
What is the recommended pay mix for common Sales and Customer Success roles?
The recommended pay mix for common Sales and Customer Success roles is provided below.
A 60/40 pay mix means 60% of On-Target Earnings (OTE, or Total Cash) is Base Salary and 40% is Target Incentive.
Examples:
A $100,000 OTE with a 50/50 pay mix equals $50,000 Base Salary + $50,000 Target Incentive.
A $100,000 OTE with a 60/40 pay mix equals $60,000 Base Salary + $40,000 Target Incentive.
The suggested pay mixes also incorporate Kamsa’s Total Cash Market Data.
Contact [email protected] if you don’t see a role listed above that you’re looking for the recommended pay mix.
Should I focus on Base Salary Compa-Ratio or Total Cash Compa-Ratio?
Most pre IPO companies focus primarily on Base Salary data and Base Salary Compa-Ratio because variable pay is not typically offered across the entire organization. As companies mature, bonus programs often become a more significant component of compensation, making Total Cash Compa-Ratio more relevant.
What’s the difference between Total Cash Compa-Ratio and Base Salary Compa-Ratio?
Base Salary Compa-Ratio = Annualized Base Salary ÷ Base Salary Range Midpoint
Total Cash Compa-Ratio = Total Cash ÷ Total Cash Range Midpoint
Total Cash includes base salary plus target bonus or commission opportunity. The applicable range’s midpoint reflects the market percentile(s) your Admin/Owner selected within the Company Profile page for your company.
How can I download or export Kamsa’s market data?
To protect our proprietary data, by design you cannot download all Kamsa market data.
As an alternative, if you have Owner or Admin access, you can download your employee data that contains the market data midpoint for each employee:
Step 1: Go to Employee Data page and click More
Step 2: Select Full Data Export
The Base Salary Market Midpoint will reflect the compensation philosophy chosen by your organization (i.e., the market percentile(s) chosen within your Company Profile).
The export also includes the salary range Minimum and Maximum. The Minimum is 85% of the midpoint, and the Maximum is 115% of the midpoint.
I don’t see a salary range for a certain job in Kamsa. Can you add it?
Contact [email protected] with the job you’re looking to market price. There may be a Kamsa Job Match we can recommend as the best match.
We review our job families and jobs each quarter as part of the market data refresh and consider client requests. If we see recurring demand for a job that is not currently available in Kamsa, we may consider adding it.
What jobs are considered technical jobs?
Technical jobs are typically resource constrained jobs in the market. Common job families within the Technical category include software engineers, product managers, and product designers.
Non-Technical jobs are typically non-resource constrained jobs in the market.
We commonly see organizations targeting a higher market percentile for technical positions since they require skill sets that are more difficult to find in the market.
To quickly see if a job family is Technical or Non-Technical while in the Market Compensation page, click on the job family name, and the slide-out includes the assigned job group.
This link also has a list of Kamsa's Job Families/Jobs that indicate whether they are Technical vs. Non-Technical.
What is the suggested job match for managers of Executive Assistants?
The Project/Program Management (Non-Technical) job family can be used for managers of Executive Assistants, since a heavy component of their responsibility is typically managing projects.
How do I add multiple Open Jobs?
If you’re adding many Open Jobs at once, you can follow the steps below to bulk upload:
Download the Open Jobs template, available when you click Add Open Job → Import Open Jobs.
Fill out the template with information about all your open positions.
Click Upload File to upload the completed template.
How should we implement a bonus plan?
Implementing a bonus program for all employees may not be right for your company.
It’s common for pre-IPO companies to not offer bonus or variable pay (except for executives, Sales, and Customer Success positions).
However, if a company does decide to implement a bonus program across the org, here are typical guidelines to use by job level.
Contact us at [email protected] if you’d like more info about how Kamsa can support you in modeling out the cost of rolling out a potential bonus program.
Does Kamsa provide sign-on bonus recommendations?
Kamsa does not collect sign-on bonus data. Because sign-on bonuses are highly situational and vary based on company practice and candidate circumstances, we do not provide standard sign-on bonus benchmarks.
Generally, we don't recommend offering sign-on bonuses.
For additional questions, contact [email protected].