Key takeaways
- The median SDR earns a $55,000 base and $80,000 at target, but the fully loaded cost is far higher once benefits, a manager's time, recruiting and tools are added.
- A new SDR typically takes about 1.5 months to hire and 3 months to ramp, so the first year delivers well under 12 months of output.
- With 1.9-year average tenure, you re-hire and re-ramp about every two years — a cost most budgets leave out.
- Compare options on cost per meeting, not salary versus fee.
Calculate your SDR cost
Defaults come from The Bridge Group's 2025 SDR benchmark, BLS compensation data and SHRM's recruiting benchmarks. Change any number to match your team.
In-house SDRs
Add an outsourced quote above to compare cost per meeting on the same basis.
Estimates only. The model assumes output is half of full speed during ramp, and that each departure brings a vacancy and a new ramp. It doesn't include severance, office space or the account executive time spent training new reps.
The hidden costs of an in-house SDR
- Benefits and payroll taxes. For private-industry sales workers, benefits make up 24.7% of total compensation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — about a third on top of wages.
- The empty seat. SHRM's 2025 benchmark puts the median time to fill a non-executive role at about 45 days. No meetings are booked while the seat is open.
- Ramp. The Bridge Group's 2025 research finds SDRs take 3.0 months to reach full productivity.
- Turnover. Average SDR tenure is 1.9 years, and median annual attrition was 40% in 2024 — including promotions out of the role. Each exit restarts hiring and ramp.
- Management. First-line SDR managers oversee about 6.4 reps and earn a median $146,000 at target, so every rep carries a share of that cost.
- Quota attainment. Only 60% of SDRs hit quota in the 2025 benchmark — the lowest share in the study's history.
How the math works
- First 12 months: the seat is empty while you hire, then the rep ramps at half speed, then produces at full speed. You pay recruiting, salary and benefits from the start date, tools and a share of the manager.
- Each year after: average tenure sets how often the seat turns over. Each turnover adds a recruiting cost, a vacancy and another ramp.
- Cost per meeting: total annual cost divided by meetings delivered. This is the number to compare with an outsourced quote, a marketing program or an events budget.
In-house vs. outsourced SDRs
An in-house team makes sense when you have steady, long-term demand, a manager with time to coach and a playbook that already works. An outsourced team makes sense when you need pipeline faster than you can hire, want to test a new market, or don't want to rebuild after every departure.
For public-sector and utility markets there's one more factor: knowledge. A new hire has to learn how agencies budget, who signs and when they buy before they can hold a credible conversation. KSG's embedded SDR teams start with that knowledge and have booked more than 10,000 qualified meetings for clients since 2016. See how buyers differ in our market guides, or size your market with the B2G market size calculator.
Sources
- The Bridge Group, SDR Models, Motions & Metrics (10th edition, February 2025)
- The Bridge Group, SDR tenure and ramp time
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released September 9, 2026)
- SHRM, 2025 Recruiting Benchmarking Report
- RepVue, Sales Development Representative salaries (U.S., 2025)