i'm a 2025 grad who just finished the chime new grad SWE loop. didn't get the offer but i got to the final stage and they shared numbers at the offer stage for someone in my cohort who did get it (with their permission, they messaged me when they saw my post asking for intel).
new grad SWE offer, 2026: base: $155k equity: $120k total RSUs over 4 years, 1-year cliff bonus: 8% target sign-on: $10k
year 1 total comp works out to around $195k if you include equity at grant value and the sign-on. again, the equity caveat from other posts applies: chime is private, so that $120k isn't liquid on vest.
for context, new grad SWE at big tech is running $175k-$215k base + significant equity packages. chime's base is below that range but within striking distance for a late-stage startup. the honest comparison is: google/meta new grad will pay $50-80k more in year-1 TC, but you'll also be one of many thousands of new grads at a big company vs potentially meaningful early-tenure scope at chime.
the actual loop for new grads was lighter than i expected: one coding screen (two mediums, 60 min), then an onsite with 3 rounds: two more coding rounds and one behavioral. no system design. that's different from the senior loop described in other posts here. they're not expecting junior engineers to design distributed systems, which felt fair.
the behavioral questions at the new grad level were softer: tell me about a group project that went badly, tell me about a time you learned something difficult quickly. not complex behavioral scenarios. they're looking for self-awareness and learning agility at this stage.
my rejection came via recruiter call, which i respected. they told me i was strong technically but that a senior candidate also in the pipeline ended up taking the role they had budgeted for new grad or senior. kind of annoying but honest at least.
if you're a new grad evaluating chime vs other offers, the real question is whether you want to learn in a smaller-team environment. the comp is competitive but not top-of-market.