Does Starbucks pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Starbucks employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Starbucks. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Starbucks?

56% of Starbucks employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Starbucks 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.3 for culture and values and 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Starbucks?

Barista (44869) , Shift Supervisor (9776) , Cashier/Barista (4302) , Store Manager (3096) , Supervisor (1115) , Barista, Shift Supervisor (955) , Barista Trainer (841) , Starbucks-Barista (737) , Manager (652) , Shift Manager (586) , Cashier (458) , Assistant Manager (373) , Partner (331) , Assistant Store Manager (325) , Shift Lead (288)

What are the pros of working at Starbucks according to real employee reviews?

"The benefits are great and the fact that they offer them for all partners is amazing." ((in 11784 reviews)); "you get at least one free drink and food item each day you work which is nice and convenient" ((in 4310 reviews)); "pretty much always great coworkers and very pro lgbt enviroment (ive worked at 3 now)" ((in 3711 reviews)); "Free coffee tastes good and I like" ((in 3640 reviews)); "Met some great people there but the revolving door ratio is very high and not much people stay long" ((in 3558 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Starbucks according to real employee reviews?

"the pay is low and the way to climb is long and need to please a lot of people" ((in 4810 reviews)); "Poor management at my specific store (new people/supervisors were inexperienced or simply unwilling to help)" ((in 4466 reviews)); "Bad managers sometimes picked on me or withheld competition prizes from me after I won." ((in 2518 reviews)); "Little to no work life balance Unrealistic expectations around labor and metrics (do more with less mentality)" ((in 852 reviews)); "Poor upper management." ((in 772 reviews))

What are employees saying about Starbucks layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Starbucks layoffs and their outlook for job security at Starbucks in 2026.

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Starbucks

Starbucks reviews

3.5

56% would recommend to a friend

(85,257 total reviews)

Brian Niccol

31% approve of CEO

40% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.9

Diversity & inclusion

3.6

Compensation and benefits

3.3

Culture & values

3.3

Career opportunities

3.2

Work/Life balance

2.8

Senior management

Starbucks has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 85,257 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Starbucks employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restauration industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

85K reviews

4.0

Jul 17, 2014

Great benefits, realistic expectations, getting a bit too much like 'Fast Food'...

Shift supervisor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You can work as little as 20 hours per week and get full-time benefits. Discounts and free coffee. Customer interaction. Some stores are awesome and you get to see regular faces and connect and enjoy great coffee together. Store Management teams are ususally great and really mean well. For the most part, great environment.

Cons

The company is beginning to feel like a high priced McDonalds. Becoming very corporate fast food... People (customers and partners) are mattering less and less and more focus is being put on numbers, profits and bottom lines. Less training = less knowledgeable partners = terrible service and no kind of consistency. Higher up management is more often than not completely unexperienced and newer to the company than most of the partners ACTUALLY WORKING in the stores. They are not there to help, they are not team players, they only exist, form what I can tell, to criticize.

5.0

May 4, 2014

Great places to learn great skills

Shift supervisor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great pay, amazing benefits for 20 hr/week and up. Stock Options, 401k, health, dental, vision (all very affordable). Tips every week. Encouragement and support to advance. free coffee!!

Cons

It can be political at times, but ride it out and you will go places with the company. Great job for teens and early 20s as barista or shift, great resume booster

1.0

May 19, 2009

Don't work for this company.

Project manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Comments below are related to working for sbux "marketing" in their HQ. Ostensibly because it is a big brand and an opportunity to have a big impact on a large audience. There are some nice people there, but mistrust and backstabbing pervade.

Cons

Management is venal, dishonest, incompetent, and petty. Decision-making process (if you assume there is actual cognitive activity on the part of management) is opaque and seemingly random. Their marketing efforts, especially on the web, are pointless and are not seen as valuable by senior mgmt. The company is in dire financial straights and is cutting staff monthly. Howard Schultz is a con man, and a bad one at that.

Viewing 88 - 90 of 85,257 Reviews

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Jobs at Starbucks