Sign up to the Cyber Samurai mailing list to get a
newsletter straight to your inbox
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Sign up to the Cyber Samurai mailing list to get a
newsletter straight to your inbox
How much does a DBA cost? What are the 3 main DBA job titles?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit lobortis arcu enim urna adipiscing praesent velit viverra sit semper lorem eu cursus vel hendrerit elementum morbi curabitur etiam nibh justo, lorem aliquet donec sed sit mi dignissim at ante massa mattis.
Vitae congue eu consequat ac felis placerat vestibulum lectus mauris ultrices cursus sit amet dictum sit amet justo donec enim diam porttitor lacus luctus accumsan tortor posuere praesent tristique magna sit amet purus gravida quis blandit turpis.
At risus viverra adipiscing at in tellus integer feugiat nisl pretium fusce id velit ut tortor sagittis orci a scelerisque purus semper eget at lectus urna duis convallis. porta nibh venenatis cras sed felis eget neque laoreet suspendisse interdum consectetur libero id faucibus nisl donec pretium vulputate sapien nec sagittis aliquam nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus purus in.
Nisi quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae aliquet bibendum enim facilisis gravida neque. Velit euismod in pellentesque massa placerat volutpat lacus laoreet non curabitur gravida odio aenean sed adipiscing diam donec adipiscing tristique risus. amet est placerat.
“Nisi quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae aliquet bibendum enim facilisis gravida neque velit euismod in pellentesque massa placerat.”
Eget lorem dolor sed viverra ipsum nunc aliquet bibendum felis donec et odio pellentesque diam volutpat commodo sed egestas aliquam sem fringilla ut morbi tincidunt augue interdum velit euismod eu tincidunt tortor aliquam nulla facilisi aenean sed adipiscing diam donec adipiscing ut lectus arcu bibendum at varius vel pharetra nibh venenatis cras sed felis eget.
If your business relies on databases, understanding the true cost of a Database Administrator (DBA) is critical. From salary and recruitment expenses to downtime risks and managed service alternatives, the real cost of a DBA goes far beyond a simple annual wage.
In this guide, we break down the cost of hiring a DBA, compare it to managed DBA services (DBAaaS), and help you determine the most cost-effective approach for your organisation.
There are typically three roles for database administrators. The entry level starts with the role of the Junior DBA. These roles are not very common and we mostly see them advertised in London. The main DBA role is your standard Database Administrator. The final role is that of the Senior DBA which is the highest level of database administrator. Some places may have a Database Manager role to manage DBA's but only very large SQL Server estates need a team lead role. There is some variety to the job titles. Sometimes you may find a role called a Production DBA, the duties can differ slightly but its basically a standard DBA role but may be more focused on performance tuning and governance of system resources.
The average salary of a mid-level DBA in the UK typically ranges between £40,000 and £75,000 per year. Senior or specialist DBAs can command £80,000 to £100,000+ depending on experience, sector, and technical complexity. It is worth mentioning that a DBA contractor is another way of getting a DBA. Day rates would vary depending on skill but a good range would be from £400 to £600 per day. Contractors are however usually used for short term access to those skills but would remove the following costs below.
For a permanent employee, salary is only part of the cost equation.
When hiring internally, businesses must also consider:
When these factors are included, the real cost of employing a DBA can exceed £90,000–£120,000 annually.
A Database Administrator is responsible for ensuring your databases are secure, performant, available, and backed up. Their responsibilities often include:
Some organisations delay hiring a DBA to reduce overhead. However, the cost of downtime, data loss, security breaches, or performance bottlenecks can be significantly higher.
A single major outage can cost thousands per hour in lost revenue and productivity. Regulatory breaches can result in fines and reputational damage.
Database Administration as a Service (DBAaaS) provides access to experienced DBAs without the full-time salary commitment.
With a managed DBA service, businesses typically pay a predictable monthly fee based on database size, complexity, and support requirements.
Benefits often include:
If you operate a large enterprise with complex in-house systems, a full-time DBA may be appropriate. However, many small and mid-sized businesses find that managed database services provide greater flexibility, expertise, and cost control.
The right choice depends on your database footprint, risk tolerance, regulatory obligations, and growth plans.
When evaluating how much a DBA costs, consider the full picture, not just salary. Downtime risk, compliance exposure, scalability, and operational resilience all factor into the decision.
For many organisations, a structured, proactive database management approach, whether in-house or managed, is essential for protecting business-critical data and enabling long-term growth.
Started programming in VB 6 at the age of 15. Got into databases for AS and A levels and didn't know that database administration was a job so I went to study Software Engineering at UWE. I just thought database management would be considered 'IT'. I have been a full time DBA since 2010. Love everything data, software development and just tech in general.
