Most founders budget for an SDR by looking at base salary. That number is usually less than half of what the role actually costs. Here is the full picture, and how a remote rep compares.
What a US-based SDR really costs
Salary is the headline, but the real figure includes:
- Base salary and commission. Entry-level SDR packages in the US typically run well into five figures before any bonus.
- Payroll taxes and benefits. Health cover, employer taxes and insurance commonly add 20 to 30 per cent on top of base.
- Tools. CRM seat, dialler, email sequencer and a data provider. Budget a few hundred dollars per rep per month.
- Recruiting. Either an agency fee, often 20 to 30 per cent of first-year salary, or weeks of your own time.
- Ramp time. Most SDRs take two to three months before they are booking meetings consistently. You pay full cost throughout.
Add those together and the first year of an in-house SDR is far more expensive than the salary line suggests, and that assumes the hire works out.
What a remote SDR costs
Offshore and nearshore SDRs placed through an agency generally cost between $1,500 and $3,500 per month in 2026, depending on experience, hours and the market they sell into. That fee usually covers recruitment, contracts and payroll, so there is no separate agency commission.
The saving is real, but it is not the whole story. A cheap rep who cannot hold a conversation with your buyer costs more than an expensive one who books meetings.
The cost nobody budgets for: a bad hire
The expensive outcome is not the salary. It is three months of paying someone who never books a meeting, then starting the search again. That risk is why how a rep is vetted matters more than where they sit.
Ask any provider three questions:
- How many applicants do you accept? A specific number tells you whether there is a filter at all.
- Can I hear them sell before I commit? A resume tells you nothing about what a prospect hears on the phone.
- What happens if it does not work out? A replacement policy with a short window puts the risk back on you.
How to compare properly
Put both options into the same calculation for twelve months: total cash out, weeks until the first booked meeting, and what happens if the rep leaves in month four. Compared that way, the gap between a US hire and a managed remote rep is usually larger than the monthly fee suggests, because the remote option carries less of the hiring risk.
Where Groect sits
We place pre-vetted remote SDRs with US businesses. Only 2 in 100 applicants make our bench, every shortlisted rep records a mock call pitching your offer so you hear them sell before you decide, and we handle HR, payroll and performance after the hire. You pay nothing until you hire, replacements are free with no time limit, and there is no lock-in.
See what a remote SDR does or book a call for a quote built around your role and hours.