--- title: "SDR & GTM Engineer Cost Calculator (2026) | OneGTM" description: "Year-one fully loaded cost of hiring BDRs or a GTM engineer. Sourced defaults for salary, benefits, ramp, attrition, and cost per meeting." url: https://getaob.com/calculator --- Free tool. Runs in your browser. # What outbound actually costs you in year one i built this because every SDR cost number i see stops at salary. Year one also carries benefits, a slice of a manager, tools, ramp, and backfills when 40% of reps leave. Enter your headcount and comp. You'll get year-one cost, cost per held meeting, break-even, time to first meeting, and year two. Nothing leaves your browser. Built by [Garrett Wolfe](https://garrettawolfe.com/). Updated October 21, 2026. ## How to use it 1. Pick what you're costing: a BDR team, a GTM engineer, or both. 2. Change any default. Each one shows its source, or says it's my assumption. 3. Read year-one cost, cost per held meeting, meetings to break even, months to first meeting, and year two. ## Run your numbers ### In-house BDRs Number of BDRsMy assumption Base salary ($)Bridge Group 2025 Variable at target ($)Bridge Group 2025 Benefits load (% of wages)BLS ECEC June 2026, sales Ramp (months)Bridge Group 2025 Output during ramp (%)My assumption Annual attrition (%)Bridge Group 2025 Held meetings / BDR / monthBridge Group 2025 quota Manager OTE ($)Bridge Group 2025 BDRs per managerBridge Group 2025 Tools + data / BDR / month ($)My assumption. Enter your stack. Recruiting cost (% of base)My assumption. Agency fee convention. Use real attainment (60% of reps at quota, Bridge Group 2025). Off means you model 100% of quota. ### In-house GTM engineer Number of GTM engineersMy assumption Total comp ($)GTME Pulse 2026, US median Benefits load (% of wages)BLS ECEC June 2026, management and professional Ramp (months)My assumption Tools + data / month ($)My assumption. Enter your stack. Recruiting cost (% of comp)My assumption Meetings / month the system addsMy assumption. A GTM engineer builds systems. Enter yours. ### Your deals Average deal size ($)Bridge Group 2025 median ASP Held meeting to closed-won (%)My assumption Break-even meetings are year-one cost divided by deal size times this win rate. Change both to your funnel. In year one, 2 BDRs cost you $315,870 fully loaded, about $1,595 per held meeting. Year two is $293,870. | Result | Your hire | | --- | --- | | Year-one cost | $315,870 | | Held meetings, year one | 198 | | Cost per held meeting | $1,595 | | Meetings to break even | 63 | | Months to first meeting | 1 | | Year-two cost | $293,870 | - Salary**$160,000**51% - Benefits**$52,480**17% - Management**$60,590**19% - Tools + data**$12,000**4% - Recruiting + backfills**$30,800**10% Months to full output: 3. Reps produce meetings during ramp when ramp output is above zero, so the first held meetings land in month 1. Break-even uses $50,000 average deal size and a 10% win rate from held meeting to closed-won ($5,000 per held meeting). ## Why the numbers look like this Bridge Group's 2025 study puts median SDR OTE at $80K with a 3 month ramp and 40% annual attrition. BLS says benefits add about a third on top of wages for sales roles. Those three facts are most of the gap between the offer letter and the real bill. Tools sit on top of that. If cold email is part of the motion, mailbox and domain spend belongs in the tools field. The setup i use is on the [cold email infrastructure](https://getaob.com/cold-email-infrastructure) page. The GTM engineer default is the US median total comp from the [GTME Pulse 2026 survey](https://gtmepulse.com/insights/state-of-gtme-2026/). For a band by region and seniority, use the [GTM engineer salary calculator](https://getaob.com/gtm-engineer-salary). The role itself is written up in [what a GTM engineer is](https://getaob.com/gtm-engineer). ## When hiring in-house is the right call If your motion is proven, you'll run 3 or more reps, and you have a manager with time to coach, year two is the number to plan around. Ramp and the first recruiting bill sit mostly in year one. i'd tell you that on a call too. A worked example of the output, not the payroll, is [Coastal Recruiting](https://getaob.com/coastal-recruiting-case-study): accepted intros went from 72 a month to 340, a 4.7x change. The rest of the work is on [case studies](https://getaob.com/case-studies). ## Sources and assumptions - [The Bridge Group, SDR Models, Motions and Metrics 2025](https://www.bridgegroupinc.com/research/2025-sdr-models-metrics-report-the-bridge-group). Median OTE $80K on a 68:32 split ($55K base, $25K variable), ramp 3.0 months, attrition 40%, held Stage 0 quota 10 a month, 60% of reps at quota, manager OTE $146K, 6.4 BDRs per manager, sample median ASP $50K. - [BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, Table 4, June 2026](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t04.htm). Sales and related: benefits are 24.7% of total comp and wages 75.3%, so benefits are 32.8% of wages. Management and professional: benefits 31.5% of total comp and wages 68.5%, so benefits are 46.0% of wages. - [GTME Pulse, State of GTM Engineering 2026](https://gtmepulse.com/insights/state-of-gtme-2026/) (n=228). US median total comp $132K. [Glassdoor](https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/gtm-engineer-salary-SRCH_KO0,12.htm) lists a higher $192K median total pay. - Fields marked "My assumption" are mine: headcount, ramp output, tools, recruiting percent, GTM engineer ramp, meetings a GTM engineer adds, and the held-meeting win rate. Change them to yours. ## SDR and GTM engineer cost FAQ ### How much does an SDR cost in year one? Base plus variable at target ($80K median OTE per Bridge Group 2025), plus about 33% benefits (BLS), a share of a manager, tools, recruiting, and lost output during a 3 month ramp. Use the calculator for your numbers. ### How long does a new SDR take to ramp? 3.0 months on average in Bridge Group's 2025 study, the lowest since 2010. ### What is SDR attrition? Median 40% a year (Bridge Group 2025), split into 13% involuntary, 11% voluntary, and 16% promotions. ### How many meetings should one SDR book? The 2025 global median quota is 10 held Stage 0 meetings a month, and 60% of reps hit quota. ### What does a GTM engineer cost? US median total comp was $132K in the GTME Pulse 2026 survey. Glassdoor lists a higher $192K median total pay. Add benefits and tools on top of that. ### Is a GTM engineer a replacement for SDRs? Not one for one. A GTM engineer builds the data, signals, and sequencing that make each rep, or an automated motion, produce more. ### Does this calculator include an agency fee? No. It prices an in-house BDR team, an in-house GTM engineer, or both: wages, benefits, a share of a manager, tools, and recruiting. No outside fee is included. ### Is my data stored? No. The math runs in your browser. ## Related - [GTM engineer salary calculator](https://getaob.com/gtm-engineer-salary): Estimate GTM engineer pay by region, company size, and coding depth, from 228 survey responses. - [What is a GTM engineer?](https://getaob.com/gtm-engineer): The role, salary ranges, skills, and tools, from the State of GTME report. - [OneGTM case studies](https://getaob.com/case-studies): Customer results from GTM engineering engagements, and how each one was measured. - [Best cold email infrastructure](https://getaob.com/cold-email-infrastructure): Mailbox and domain providers for cold email compared, with what OneGTM uses and what each costs. - [Signal-based outbound agency](https://getaob.com/outbound-agency): Cold email and LinkedIn systems triggered by real buying signals. - [Clay pricing explained](https://getaob.com/clay-pricing): Plans, Actions, Data Credits, and how to cut your Clay bill. - [Free email deliverability checker](https://getaob.com/email-deliverability-checker): Test SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX for any domain and scan cold email copy for spam triggers. ## Want a second set of eyes on the hire? Bring your headcount and the numbers this page produced. The call is 20 minutes, with me. [Book 20 minutes with me](https://getaob.com/#contact)