SDR Salary in 2026: Real Comp, Real Quotas, Real Ramp by Company Tier
SDR comp ranges from $55k base at a Series A to 30k OTE at a hypergrowth cyber shop. Here is the honest breakdown by company tier and vertical for 2026.
Salary and Comp · 2026-06-20 · 9 min read
SDR comp varies more than any other role in tech sales because the seat itself is the same and everything else (ramp, vertical, company stage, expansion vs new logo) drives the number. A great SDR at Wiz can clear
30k OTE with accelerators. The same human at a Series A startup might cap at $75k. Both are good first jobs. The trick is knowing what trade you are making.
By company stage
Series A SaaS (under $20M ARR): $55k to $70k base, $75k to $95k OTE, equity that may or may not be worth anything. Series B ($20M to $80M ARR): $60k to $80k base, $85k to
10k OTE, real equity. Series C and beyond: $65k to $90k base, 00k to 30k OTE. Public company (Salesforce, HubSpot, Datadog): $65k to $85k base, $90k to 15k OTE, predictable comp and slower path to AE. Hypergrowth cyber and fintech (Wiz, Ramp, CrowdStrike): top of the SDR market, $90k to 30k OTE.
By vertical
Cybersecurity pays the most for SDR seats, $90k to
30k at top shops. Fintech is second, $85k to 20k. AI infrastructure is third, $85k to 40k at OpenAI and Anthropic but with a much higher bar. Horizontal SaaS (productivity, marketing, sales tech) is the volume tier, $75k to 05k. Devtools and PLG companies sit slightly below ($70k to 00k) because pipeline is partly inbound and quotas reflect that. Healthtech and logistics tech run $65k to $90k with steadier seats.
Quota and ramp reality
Most SDR quotas are denominated in qualified meetings booked per month, ranging from 8 at high-ACV enterprise shops to 25 at mid-market product-led companies. Ramp is three to five months at most companies. A reasonable benchmark: month one is training, month two is half quota, month three is full quota. SDRs who miss quota two months in a row at hypergrowth shops are typically managed out within 90 days. Plan accordingly.
What actually moves comp
Two levers. First, accelerators above 100 percent attainment, often 1.5x or 2x on every dollar over quota. SDRs who consistently hit 130 percent can pull
5k to $30k more per year than the OTE number on the offer letter. Second, the path to AE. An internal AE promotion typically doubles your OTE in twelve to eighteen months, so the SDR seat that promotes faster is worth more than the SDR seat with 0k higher base. Optimize for promotion rate, not starting OTE.
Pick the seat where you are most likely to hit 130 percent and get promoted in eighteen months. That decision compounds into five-year career comp more than any starting offer ever will.