What is the true cost of an in-house SDR?

An SDR costs far more than base salary. Add roughly 25–35% for benefits and overhead, sales tools and data (often $150–$400 per rep per month), recruiting costs, and 2–4 months of reduced productivity during ramp. The fully-loaded figure is typically 1.4–1.6x the base salary in year one.

Is outsourcing SDR work cheaper than hiring?

Usually yes for top-of-funnel prospecting. Outsourcing removes salary, tooling, recruiting and ramp risk, and converts a large fixed cost into a flexible monthly one — you pay for output, not headcount.

How long does an SDR take to ramp?

Most SDRs take 2–4 months to reach full productivity, during which they cost full salary while producing partial results. That ramp cost is easy to forget and is included in this calculator.

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SDR Cost Calculator

Base salary is only the start. See the true fully-loaded cost of an in-house SDR team — then compare it to outsourcing your top-of-funnel.

SDR base salary (annual, per rep)

Number of SDRs

Tools & data per rep (monthly)

Recruiting cost per hire (one-time)

Ramp time to full productivity (months)

Uses a 30% benefits/overhead load and counts ramp months at ~50% lost productivity. Enter plain numbers in any currency. Runs in your browser.

Why an SDR costs far more than the salary

When teams budget for a Sales Development Rep, they usually think of the base salary. The real, fully-loaded cost is much higher — and it's what makes outsourcing your top-of-funnel so competitive:

Benefits & overhead — typically 25–35% on top of base for taxes, benefits, equipment and management time.
Sales tools & data — Sales Navigator, an outreach tool, a data provider and a dialer add up fast per rep.
Recruiting — sourcing, interviewing and onboarding each hire is a real one-time cost.
Ramp — 2–4 months at full salary for partial output, plus the risk they don't work out.

This is exactly why we built LinkedIn sales outsourcing and partnership models — you get a running top-of-funnel without the fixed cost, tooling or ramp risk.

FAQ

SDR cost questions

Add ~25–35% for benefits/overhead, sales tools and data ($150–$400/rep/mo), recruiting, and 2–4 months of ramp at partial productivity. Fully-loaded is usually 1.4–1.6× the base salary in year one.

Usually, for top-of-funnel prospecting — you remove salary, tooling, recruiting and ramp risk and pay for output instead of headcount.

Most take 2–4 months to full productivity, costing full salary for partial results — a cost this calculator includes.

Skip the salary, tools and ramp risk

Get a running top-of-funnel for a fraction of a fixed SDR cost. Book a free scoping call.

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