Pay grades
O-3: captain and lieutenant
Company commander in the Army, lieutenant in the Navy. Why the same word means two grades, the insignia and the 2026 pay.
O-3: rank in each service, insignia and 2026 pay
Army, O-3 · Commissioned officer
Captain (CPT)
Company grade officer
| Marine Corps | Captain (Capt) |
| Navy | Lieutenant (LT) |
| Air Force | Captain (Capt) |
| Space Force | Captain (Capt) |
| Coast Guard | Lieutenant (LT) |
| 2026 basic pay, over 4 years | $7,382.70 a month |
Same pay grade means the same basic pay in every service. Basic pay only: housing, food and special pays are not included.
Everything about O-3O-3 is the third commissioned officer pay grade, the last of the company grade officers in the Army, the Air Force and the Marine Corps. It is captain in the Army (CPT), the Marine Corps, the Air Force and the Space Force (Capt), and lieutenant (LT) in the Navy and the Coast Guard. The Army describes its captains as commanders of company-sized units of 60 to 200 Soldiers, "together with a principal NCO assistant", the first sergeant. The insignia is two silver bars. Basic pay at O-3 in 2026 starts at $5,534.10 a month and rises to $9,004.20 over fourteen years. The title is a trap across services: an Army captain is O-3, a Navy captain is O-6, three grades higher.
What is a promotion worth in basic pay?
O-3 to O-4, over 4 years
+$498.30 / mo
| O-3 | $7,382.70 |
| O-4 | $7,881.00 |
| Over a year | +$5,980 |
Same years of service in both grades, 2026 DFAS table.
Ranks and pay tables read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Two captains, two grades
"Captain" is O-3 in four services and O-6 in the Navy and the Coast Guard, where it sits just below the admirals. A Navy lieutenant is the equivalent of an Army captain. The equivalents table lines up both naming systems, which title 37 of the US Code also sets out: one column for the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, one for the Navy and Coast Guard.
What is this rank called in another service?
Navy Lieutenant (LT) in the Army
Captain
| Pay grade | O-3 |
| Group | Company grade officer |
| Abbreviation | CPT |
Equivalence follows the pay grade, the rule the services use between them.
Company command
An Army company is three to five platoons. Captains also teach at service schools and serve as battalion staff officers, according to army.mil. Over six years of service, an O-3 draws $7,737.00 a month in 2026; at that point the gap with an E-7 of the same years is $2,893.20.
O-3 in the six services
| Service | Rank | Abbreviation | Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Captain | CPT | |
| Marine Corps | Captain | Capt |  |
| Navy | Lieutenant | LT |  |
| Air Force | Captain | Capt |  |
| Space Force | Captain | Capt | |
| Coast Guard | Lieutenant | LT |  |
O-3 basic pay in 2026, by years of service
| Years of service | Monthly basic pay | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| 2 or less | $5,534.10 | $66,409 |
| Over 2 | $6,273.90 | $75,287 |
| Over 3 | $6,770.40 | $81,245 |
| Over 4 | $7,382.70 | $88,592 |
| Over 6 | $7,737.00 | $92,844 |
| Over 8 | $8,125.50 | $97,506 |
| Over 10 | $8,375.70 | $100,508 |
| Over 12 | $8,788.20 | $105,458 |
| Over 14 | $9,004.20 | $108,050 |