What is the difference between an SDR and a BDR?
An SDR (sales development representative) and a BDR (business development representative) do the same core job: find and contact potential customers, qualify interest and book meetings for an account executive (AE) who closes. Where a company splits the titles, the usual pattern is SDRs on inbound leads and BDRs on outbound prospecting, but real job postings show that pattern breaks often, so read the duties, not the acronym. Our SDR definition covers the day-to-day tasks; this post looks at what employers actually write, what the roles pay and which one a small team should hire.
GitLab follows the textbook split. Its SDR posting sits in the Revenue Marketing team, lists managing inbound lead flow first, and offers eligibility for promotion into an outbound role after 12 months as a successful SDR. Its BDR posting sits in the Sales team, asks for outbound prospecting in an assigned territory, and notes that many of its BDRs have worked in closing roles before. Both GitLab postings say they are future opportunities that may not be immediately available.
Okta, posting both titles for the same Washington, DC office, flips it. The Okta BDR role starts with engaging inbound leads, while the Okta SDR role covers inbound leads and outbound outreach and asks for 6 to 12 months of prior business experience (preferred). MongoDB skips the question: one Dublin opening is titled Account Development Representative (SDR/BDR). Even the main benchmark study pools them: The Bridge Group surveys companies with sales development groups it lists as ADR, BDR and SDR.
What do real SDR and BDR job postings say?
Seven US postings checked on 5 November 2026, summarised from each employer's posting. Pay is shown as the posting labels it: base salary, or OTE (on-target earnings, base plus commission or bonus at 100% of target).
| Posting | Lead source in the duties | Experience asked | US pay as posted |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitLab SDR, remote, North America | Inbound lead flow first; outbound role after 12 months | Tech, sales development, marketing or sales experience is a plus | Base $53,000 to $75,000, plus incentive pay targeted at up to 100% of base |
| GitLab BDR, remote, North America | Outbound in an assigned territory, new logos and existing customers | Tech, sales development, marketing or sales experience is a plus; many BDRs have worked in closing roles | Base $59,000 to $84,000, same incentive terms |
| Okta SDR, Washington, DC | Inbound and outbound | 6 to 12 months of business experience preferred | OTE $82,011 (one figure, for candidates in CA excluding the Bay Area, CO, IL, NY and WA) |
| Okta BDR, Washington, DC | Inbound leads, plus outreach by phone, email and social | Bachelor's degree or relevant work experience | OTE $71,997 (same states) |
| Braze BDR, Chicago | Outbound to companies with up to 1,000 employees | 6+ months in outbound prospecting or high-activity roles | Base $45,000 to $54,000; OTE $75,000 to $90,000 |
| Elastic SDR, New York | Both: responding to interested users and finding new opportunities | 1 year of SaaS sales | Base $46,200 to $73,000; OTE $65,900 to $104,200 (70/30 base to variable) |
| Datadog SDR, Summer 2027 graduates, Boston | Outbound cold calls and email | New graduates | Salary $50,000; may include variable pay |
Three things stand out. The same title means opposite things at GitLab and Okta. Base salary and OTE are different numbers, so compare like with like. And at GitLab and Okta the BDR and SDR pay differs in opposite directions, so title alone predicts neither duties nor pay.
How much does an SDR or BDR earn?
A typical SDR or BDR earns about $80,000 a year at target in B2B software, mostly in North America. The Bridge Group's 2025 SDR report puts median SDR OTE at $80K, split 68:32 into $55K base and $25K variable, and unchanged since 2022. It surveyed 351 B2B companies in 2024 and 2025; 78% are based in North America, 83% are B2B SaaS, and the median company has $47M in revenue and a $50K average selling price. The report says the sample skews toward companies with engaged sales development leadership, so treat it as a software benchmark, not the whole market.
Federal data doesn't help much. The BLS occupation list we checked on 5 November 2026 has no SDR or BDR title, and searching O*NET for sales development representative returns Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel (41-3091) first. Its median wage was $69,990 in 2025, but that group of about 1.27 million jobs includes reps who close deals, not only prospectors.
The step up is the AE. In the Bridge Group's 2026 AE report (158 B2B companies, surveyed in the first half of 2026), median AE OTE is $200K and companies asked for 3.7 years of experience at hire. Its 2025 SDR report splits the 40% median annual attrition into 13% involuntary, 11% voluntary and 16% promotions, and says promotions have halved since 2020 (34%), so the path to AE is real but narrower than it was.
Is SDR an entry-level position?
Often, yes: some SDR and ADR postings are written for new graduates. Datadog's Boston opening is aimed at summer 2027 graduates, and Samsara's new-grad ADR posting in Atlanta requires applicants to be enrolled in a four-year bachelor's programme or within a year of graduating. Others want a little experience: 6 to 12 months preferred at Okta, 6+ months at Braze, a year of SaaS sales at Elastic.
The Bridge Group's 2025 figures show what the job looks like once you're in it:
- Ramp: 3.0 months on average to full productivity, the lowest since 2010.
- Tenure: 1.9 years on average; median annual attrition was 40% in 2024.
- Quota: a global median quota of 10 Stage 0 (first) meetings held a month; 60% of SDRs hit quota, the lowest in the study's history.
- Activity: a median of 112 activities a day (44 phone, 41 email, 19 LinkedIn, 8 text or other) for 4.1 quality conversations.
For a founder, the ramp and activity lines matter most: a new rep needs about a quarter before they are fully productive, and a lot of daily volume to produce a handful of conversations.
What does one SDR cost per meeting? A worked example
Divide what you pay by the meetings you get, then check the meetings can pay for the rep. Here is the arithmetic for one SDR on the Bridge Group medians, with two inputs that are our assumptions, not benchmarks: half quota during the 3-month ramp, and 1 in 5 held meetings becoming a customer.
- Meetings in year one: 3 months × 5 + 9 months × 10 = 105 held meetings.
- Cost per meeting: $80,000 OTE ÷ 105 = about $762, before payroll taxes, benefits, tools, data and your time managing them.
- A rep at 70% of quota: 3 × 3.5 + 9 × 7 = 73.5 meetings, so $80,000 ÷ 73.5 = about $1,088 each if pay stayed at the full $80,000 (it is lower if variable pay tracks quota).
| Your annual contract value | Customers from 105 meetings (1 in 5) | First-year revenue | Revenue ÷ $80,000 OTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | 21 | $42,000 | 0.5× |
| $6,000 | 21 | $126,000 | 1.6× |
| $20,000 | 21 | $420,000 | 5.3× |
At $2,000 a year the rep costs more than the revenue they bring in during year one, even at full quota. The benchmark companies sell at a $50K median average selling price, 25 times the $2,000 row. Swap in your own close rate from your last 20 first meetings; the sales commission calculator works out commission from sales, quota and rate, and total pay if you add a base.
Should a small team hire an SDR, a BDR or neither?
Hire for the lead source you have, and only once the pitch closes without you. Our suggestions, with the fact that decides each row:
| Your situation | Hire | Deciding fact |
|---|---|---|
| Demo requests and trial sign-ups wait more than a day for a reply | An inbound-focused SDR (whatever you call it) | Leads already exist; speed and qualification are the gap |
| Little inbound, and the founder has closed deals from cold outreach with one repeatable message | An outbound BDR | The message is proven; volume is the gap |
| Fewer than about ten customers, or the pitch still changes every call | Nobody yet: the founder keeps selling | A rep can't repeat what isn't written down |
| Contract value too low for the arithmetic above | Software for the prospecting work | An $80K OTE needs revenue per meeting to match |
| Large named accounts with several decision makers | A senior BDR, or an AE who prospects | Research per account matters more than daily volume |
In the third row, keep founder-led sales to 30 minutes a day until the pitch is written down. For the software row, Siela's Lead Finder (shown as AI SDR on our site) suggests who to reach from your website, scores each lead hot, warm or cold with a one-line reason, and contacts them on LinkedIn, X and email within the daily goals you set; with Find leads only, it saves leads to the CRM and sends nothing. Our comparison of what to hand an AI SDR and what to keep for a person splits the tasks.
If you can't fill in the lead source and the meeting definition, you aren't ready to hire either title. Map where the meeting sits in your B2B sales process stages first.
Frequently asked questions
What's a BDR in sales?
A BDR, or business development representative, opens new sales conversations, usually by contacting companies that haven't shown interest yet, and books qualified meetings for an account executive. Some employers also give BDRs inbound leads or existing customers to grow, so the posting's duties tell you more than the title does.
What does SDR stand for in tech?
In tech sales, SDR stands for sales development representative: the person who answers or creates first contact with potential customers and books meetings for the team that closes. Tech companies also post the same job as BDR or ADR (account development representative), so search all three titles when you look for roles or salary data.
How much does an SDR earn?
In B2B software, mostly in North America, a typical SDR earns around $80,000 a year at target, usually about two-thirds base salary and one-third commission or bonus. Posted ranges vary by city and company, from about $45,000 base at the low end to over $100,000 OTE at the top of some ranges.
Do SDRs and BDRs close deals?
Usually not. Their target is meetings or qualified opportunities, and an account executive takes the deal from there. At very small companies the same person may prospect and close, but then the job is closer to a full-cycle sales role, with pay and experience requirements to match.
Which is better to start with, SDR or BDR?
Pick the role whose daily work suits you rather than the title. Inbound-heavy roles mean fast replies to people who asked; outbound-heavy roles mean research and cold calls or emails with more rejection. Ask in the interview how many leads come in each week and what counts toward your target.
Sources
- The Bridge Group, SDR Models, Motions & Metrics: 2025 Research Report (published 6 Feb 2025) (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- The Bridge Group, SDR research report download page (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- The Bridge Group, AE Models, Motions & Metrics: 2026 Research Report (published 22 June 2026) (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- O*NET OnLine, Sales Representatives of Services, 41-3091.00 (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- GitLab, Sales Development Representative job posting (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- GitLab, Business Development Representative job posting (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Okta, Sales Development Representative, East (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Okta, Business Development Representative, East (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- MongoDB, Account Development Representative - English Speaking (SDR/BDR) (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Braze, Business Development Representative, Chicago (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Elastic, Sales Development Representative - New York (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Datadog, Sales Development Representative - Summer 2027 Graduates (Boston) (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Samsara, (New Grad) Account Development Representative II - Atlanta (checked 5 Nov 2026)