Location-Based Pay: Which Remote Salary Applies to You?

Remote describes where work happens, not how pay is calculated. For a candidate outside the United States, the useful question is not simply whether an employer pays by location. It is: what gross base range applies to this role when I work from my actual location?

Keep three places separate: the benchmark location used to price a role, your work location, and the location or band used to calculate your pay. A San Francisco benchmark does not necessarily mean San Francisco pay for every applicant. Nor does a country appearing in a calculator, a compatible time zone or location-independent pay establish that the employer can engage you there.

Read the policy behind the label

The employer examples below reflect published pages read on October 13, 2026. They illustrate different approaches, not an employer ranking, a promise of current openings or verified individual offers.

PostHog: cost of hiring

PostHog's compensation handbook says its role benchmarks use San Francisco market rates, while geographic factors reflect the cost of hiring in a location. That means the labor-market cost of recruiting someone there, not the amount they personally spend on rent, groceries or transport. Role, level and step also matter.

Its published factor floors are 0.85 in the US and 0.6 elsewhere. A floor is a lower bound, not the factor assigned to every location. You cannot take the non-US floor and use it to calculate your offer.

A missing country in PostHog's calculator means it has not hired there before and needs to assemble data. That is not an automatic rejection or approval: the handbook also says some countries are excluded from employment. Ask separately about hiring eligibility and the applicable factor. It says pay is normally in local currency unless there is a good reason otherwise, so a USD benchmark is not a promise of USD payroll.

Buffer: two cost-of-living bands

Buffer's salary page lists Global at 90% and High at 100%. Its January 25, 2024 salary-system explanation says this cost-of-living band multiplies the role-and-level Buffer Benchmark.

Cost of living concerns the expense of living in a place. It is different from the cost of hiring, even when both policies produce geographic pay differences. Ask which measure the employer actually uses rather than treating every adjustment as a living-cost calculation.

Buffer describes fully location-independent salaries as a future goal. That aspiration is not the published two-band system. A third-party guide from Kickresume characterizes Buffer as an advocate of job-based pay, but Buffer's own sources are the better basis for interpreting its formula. Its salary page also retains an example mentioning an Intermediate band; the explicit Global/High statement and detailed explanation support the two-band reading. For an application, obtain your actual band from Buffer rather than choosing one from an inconsistent example.

RevenueCat: a location-independent philosophy

RevenueCat's hiring explanation states equal pay for equal work regardless of geographic location, with salary bands benchmarked against similar-stage San Francisco companies and salaries disclosed in job descriptions. This is its published philosophy, not independently verified current payroll practice. The explanation was published August 16, 2023 and displays an April 28, 2025 update.

For a particular role, you still need the applicable level and band, payroll currency and confirmation that the employer can engage you in your country. A location-independent base-pay policy answers one compensation question, not every employment question.

Trace the number to your location

Start with the listing, then follow its compensation link or calculator. Record the settings before using the number in your comparison.

For example, the PostHog Product Engineer vacancy read on October 13, 2026 said salary varies by location and experience. Its extracted default calculator showed a San Francisco benchmark of USD $285,000 and a salary range of USD $270,750–$296,400, plus equity. That is a San Francisco default, not a range established for an applicant working elsewhere. The exact level or step selected in that default was not identified.

The vacancy also specified GMT +2 to GMT −8. Meeting that time-zone requirement would not, by itself, establish country eligibility or which salary applies.

Use a short comparison note for each role. Here is how the PostHog example starts, including the gaps that still need an employer answer:

Only calculate when the employer has established both the inputs and what the displayed number represents. If the range is already country-specific, do not apply a location factor again. If the listing does not say, ask. An unknown adjustment is not a reason to guess.

A worked multiplier example

To illustrate Buffer's published formula, suppose the benchmark for a fixed role and level were USD $100,000 annually. This is a fictional benchmark, not a Buffer vacancy or personal offer:

• Global band: $100,000 × 90% = $90,000.
• High band: $100,000 × 100% = $100,000.

Role and level stay the same; only the location band changes. If a listing already displayed $90,000 for the Global band, multiplying it by 90% again would produce $81,000 and apply the adjustment twice. Buffer's explanation also says its legacy $10,000 salary choice is not offered to new team members, so a new applicant should not add it to this calculation.

A market median from a salary report is not the employer's role benchmark. Multiplying that median by PostHog's factor or Buffer's band would mix two different systems, not establish your likely salary.

Ask before a long interview process

You may want to show enthusiasm before discussing money. But if the role would only work for you at the displayed US range, clarifying its meaning early helps both sides decide whether to continue.

Here is an editable message, not a quotation from an employer:

I'm interested in the [role] position and would work from [city/region, country]. For [proposed level, if known], which gross base salary range and pay period would apply to me? Does that range already include the geographic adjustment? Which currency would be contractually payable, and can you engage me in this location? Please separate base pay from equity, bonus or commission. If my level has not been determined, could you share the relevant location-specific ranges?

This is clarification, not necessarily negotiation. Buffer says individual negotiation does not change salary numbers, although feedback may lead to system-wide improvements. RevenueCat's cited explanation also says it does not negotiate offers. PostHog invites candidates to flag problems with its salary model. These are different processes; demanding a US band from every employer does not resolve which policy applies.

Keep the cash comparison separate from equity, bonuses and commission. Then consider benefits and the employment arrangement on their own terms. The same gross base amount under two arrangements does not establish the same package or take-home pay. Personal tax questions need a separate answer.

If the employer cannot yet provide a range for your location, mark it unknown. You can decide whether continuing is worth that uncertainty, but do not treat a public calculator or an attractive maximum as a written offer. Questions about legal rights, tax outcomes or contested contract terms require qualified advice in the relevant jurisdiction; this guide does not determine whether a pay change is lawful.

Settle the move before you budget for it

Once you receive an offer, ask for the approved work location, role or level, applicable gross base amount, pay period and contractual currency to be recorded in the offer documents. Preserve the policy explanation that connects those terms. This gives you something concrete to compare if your circumstances change.

Before relocating or spending an extended period elsewhere, ask:

• Can I work from the destination, and what approval is needed before I go?
• Which location, band or factor would determine my pay there? Could base pay increase or decrease?
• What amount and currency would apply, and when would any change take effect?
• Would payroll arrangements or benefits change?
• How does the policy treat temporary stays, multiple locations or a later return?

These are practical questions, not prescribed legal clauses. Ask for the answers in writing before relying on them.

PostHog's handbook shows why timing matters. It says relocation may adjust salary up or down at the next compensation review. Increases require advance approval and are not guaranteed. For nomading, it uses the location where a person expects to spend the most time over the next six months. Regular reviews occur two or three times a year; changes take effect on the first of the following month and are not backdated.

Under that published policy, moving to a higher-paying location would not automatically mean higher pay from moving day. Do not budget around an unapproved increase. The compensation rule also does not grant permission to work in a new country.

Do not apply PostHog's relocation rules to Buffer or RevenueCat. Their cited compensation statements do not settle the terms of your particular move. Even if your employer keeps base salary location-independent, that does not settle travel permission, local deductions, currency effects or every benefit. An unchanged base amount is not a guarantee of unchanged take-home pay.

Recheck the answer when your residence, role, level or the employer's compensation policy changes, not only when you first join.

Compare advertised pay, then confirm the offer

Use Remoote's salary explorer for advertised-pay context, including country-specific insights. Keep that market comparison separate from an employer's formula: it does not establish your individual geographic multiplier or final salary.

In Remoote's jobs search, look for roles relevant to your skills and hiring location. You can narrow to listings with salary information, then inspect each promising employer's location and compensation terms. A search match still needs an eligibility check; it is not confirmation that you can be hired there or receive the posted maximum.

If currencies or pay periods differ, the salary converter provides comparison equivalents using fixed assumptions: 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year and 12 months per year. Its published method annualizes hourly pay as hourly × 40 × 52 and monthly pay as monthly × 12, then divides to obtain the other periods. Currency conversion applies the exchange rate once.

Keep your actual hours and contractual currency beside those equivalents. The converter's exchange rates are informational and may differ from bank or payroll rates; gross equivalents are not take-home calculations or guaranteed compensation. For the next promising vacancy, fill in the comparison note and send the location-specific question before treating its advertised range as part of your budget.