2026 SDR Performance Benchmarks

47 metrics from 500+ B2B SaaS companies. Sortable, filterable, free to cite.

Compiled by Scott Goodman, Chief Revenue Architect at Alba Talent. Sources: Bridge Group 2024, Gartner, Salesforce State of Sales 2024, RepVue 2024, Bravado 2024. Last updated June 2026.

Full benchmark database

Use the filters below to narrow by category, or click any column header to sort. All figures represent the median unless labelled otherwise.

UK vs US SDR comparison

The table below compares UK-based SDRs (sourced and placed by Alba Talent into US B2B SaaS companies) against US-domestic SDR benchmarks from Bridge Group 2024. UK data is from Alba's placement cohort (n=400+). Interpret as directional, not a controlled study.

Activity benchmarks in depth

Activity metrics measure how much an SDR is doing. They are leading indicators of pipeline output. Bridge Group 2024 surveyed 486 B2B SaaS companies. Figures below are medians unless labelled.

Phone activity

• Dials per day (median): 46. Top quartile: 67. Bottom quartile: 29. (Source: Bridge Group 2024)
• Dials per day with parallel dialer: 80 to 120. Adoption of parallel/power dialers grew from 18% to 41% of SaaS companies between 2022 and 2024. (Source: Bridge Group 2024, Salesforce State of Sales 2024)
• Connect rate (calls answered per dial): 6.1% median. Top quartile: 8.9%. Connect rate deteriorates above 80 dials per day without a quality list. (Source: Bridge Group 2024)
• Conversation rate (substantive conversation per connect): 31% median. (Source: Bridge Group 2024)
• Best time to call: 10:00 to 11:00 AM and 4:00 to 5:00 PM prospect local time. Connect rates 22% above average in these windows. (Source: Gong Labs 2024)
• Voicemail rate: 71% of outbound dials reach voicemail. SDRs who leave a voicemail paired with a same-day email see 6x higher callback rate. (Source: Bridge Group 2024)

Email activity

• Emails sent per day (median): 33.8. Top quartile: 54. (Source: Bridge Group 2024)
• Email open rate (cold outbound): 24% median. Personalised first lines improve open rate to 33%. (Source: Salesforce State of Sales 2024)
• Reply rate (cold outbound email): 3.1% median. Personalised emails at 5.7%. (Source: Salesforce State of Sales 2024)
• Sequence touches to first reply: 8.4 touches median. Top performers use 10 to 14 touch sequences. (Source: Bridge Group 2024)
• LinkedIn touches per sequence: 2.1 median. LinkedIn open rates are 6x higher than email. (Source: Salesforce State of Sales 2024)

Conversion benchmarks

Conversion metrics measure how efficiently activity becomes revenue. These are the ratios boards and VPs of Sales cite most often. Source: Bridge Group 2024 unless noted.

• Meeting set rate (connects to meeting): 23% median. Top quartile: 34%. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Meetings set per month (median): 14.6. Top quartile: 20 to 24. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Meeting show rate: 72% median. Companies using pre-meeting reminders (text and email 24h and 1h before) achieve 81% show rate. (Salesforce State of Sales 2024)
• Meeting to qualified opportunity (SQL) rate: 47% median. (Bridge Group 2024)
• SQL to closed-won rate: 22% median for inbound-assisted pipeline. 14% for pure cold-outbound. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Opportunities sourced per SDR per quarter: 8.2 SQLs at median. Top quartile: 14. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Pipeline sourced per SDR per year: $1.4M at median ACV of $25K. (Bridge Group 2024 derived)
• SDR-sourced pipeline as percentage of total ARR: 47% at growth-stage SaaS (Series A to C). 29% at scale-stage. (Gartner 2024)
• Inbound vs outbound mix: 58% of SaaS SDR teams handle a blend of inbound and outbound. Pure outbound SDRs set 18% fewer meetings but at 6% higher ACV. (Bridge Group 2024)

Cost benchmarks

Cost metrics help CFOs and RevOps leaders model the true investment behind pipeline generation. All US figures are in USD. UK figures are in GBP unless converted.

• US SDR base salary (median, mid-level): $75,000. Range: $58,000 junior to $98,000 senior. (RepVue 2024)
• US SDR OTE: $100,000 median (base + commission at 100% quota). (RepVue 2024)
• US SDR OTE attainment: 76% of SDRs reach between 75% and 100% of OTE. (Bravado 2024)
• US employer tax and benefits burden: 28% of base salary on average. Includes FICA (7.65%), federal and state unemployment (1.5%), health insurance employer contribution ($10,500 average), 401k match (3% to 6%). (BLS ECEC 2024)
• SDR tool stack cost per rep per year: $8,500 median. Includes Salesforce or HubSpot (CRM), Outreach or Salesloft (SEP), Gong (call intelligence), LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and ZoomInfo or Apollo (data). (Salesforce State of Sales 2024)
• US SDR fully loaded annual cost (median): $134,000. Breakdown: base $75K + OTE $25K + taxes and benefits $21K + tools $8.5K + onboarding and training $4.5K. (Derived: RepVue + BLS + Salesforce)
• Cost per meeting booked (US): $766. Based on $134,000 annual cost and 175 meetings per year (14.6 per month). (Derived)
• Cost per qualified opportunity (US): $1,630. Based on $766 per meeting and 47% meeting-to-SQL conversion. (Derived)
• Cost per closed-won deal (SDR-sourced, US): $11,640. Based on $1,630 per SQL and 14% SQL-to-close rate for outbound. (Derived)
• UK SDR base salary (median, mid-level): GBP 36,000. (RepVue UK 2024)
• UK SDR OTE: GBP 48,000 median. (RepVue UK 2024)
• UK employer cost burden: 16.8%. Employer NI at 13.8% plus auto-enrolment pension at 3%. (HMRC 2024)
• UK SDR fully loaded annual cost: GBP 62,000 median. Equivalent to approximately $78,000 at GBP/USD 1.25. (Derived: RepVue UK + HMRC)
• Cost per meeting booked (UK): $446 at equivalent output. (Derived)
• UK vs US annual saving per SDR: $56,000 (42% of US cost). (Derived)

Ramp time benchmarks

Ramp time is the single metric most correlated with SDR economics. Faster ramp means earlier pipeline contribution and lower cost per deal. Source: Bridge Group 2024 unless noted.

• Median ramp time to 80% quota: 3.9 months. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Ramp time range: 2.5 months (bottom of market, strong inbound assist) to 6.2 months (complex enterprise, 100% outbound). (Bridge Group 2024)
• Ramp time by ACV: Under $10K ACV averages 2.8 months. $25K to $100K ACV averages 4.4 months. Over $100K ACV averages 5.8 months. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Impact of structured onboarding: SDRs at companies with a formal onboarding programme (documented scripts, shadowing schedule, call coaching cadence) ramp 0.8 months faster. (Gartner 2024)
• Impact of manager tenure: SDRs reporting to a manager with 2+ years in the role ramp 0.6 months faster and attain quota at 68% vs 55% at 12 months. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Activities completed in ramp month 1: 28 dials per day median in month 1, growing to 41 by month 2 and 46 by month 3. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Cost of ramp period: At $134,000 annual US SDR cost, a 3.9-month ramp period costs $43,550 in salary before full productivity. Faster ramp is the highest-ROI SDR investment. (Derived)
• Ramp cost with formal onboarding: Cutting ramp from 4.7 months to 3.9 months saves $8,933 per SDR hire at US salary levels. (Derived)

Tenure and attrition benchmarks

Attrition is the silent killer of SDR programme economics. High attrition means perpetual ramp cost and compressed productivity windows. Source: Bridge Group 2024 unless noted.

• Median SDR tenure: 17.6 months. (Bridge Group 2024)
• 12-month voluntary attrition rate (US): 28%. (Bridge Group 2024)
• 12-month voluntary attrition rate (UK, Alba cohort): 19%. (Alba Talent placement data)
• Primary attrition reasons: 41% promoted to AE, 31% left for competitor or higher OTE, 18% burnout and performance exit, 10% life events. (Bravado 2024)
• Impact of promotion timeline on retention: Companies that promote SDRs within 18 months retain them 22% longer. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Quota attainment at 12 months (US): 61%. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Quota attainment at 18 months (US): 67%. Ramp is still completing at 12 months for some hires. (Bridge Group 2024)
• Quota attainment at top-quartile companies: 73% at 12 months. Primary differentiators: call coaching frequency, CRM hygiene standards, manager tenure. (Bridge Group 2024)
• SDR to AE promotion rate: 43% of SDRs are promoted to AE within 24 months. (Bravado 2024)
• SDR to AE transition time: 18.4 months median. (Bravado 2024)
• AE performance from SDR background: SDRs promoted internally close deals 18% faster in their first 6 months as AEs compared to lateral AE hires. (Gartner 2024)
• Impact of SDR attrition on pipeline: Each SDR departure costs approximately $47,000 in combined ramp cost, lost productivity, and recruiting spend at median US company. (Derived: Bridge Group + RepVue)

Frequently asked questions

How many dials per day should an SDR make in 2026?

Bridge Group 2024 benchmarks 46 dials per day as the median for B2B SaaS SDRs. High-performing teams (top quartile) average 67 dials per day. Teams using parallel dialers report 80 to 120 dials per day. Connect rate drops significantly above 80 dials without a quality list. Pure activity metrics are less important than activity-to-meeting conversion rates.

What is a good SDR connect rate in 2026?

The industry median connect rate (calls answered per dial) is 6.1% per Bridge Group 2024. Top quartile teams achieve 8.9%. Connect rates vary significantly by list quality, time of day, and industry. Technology and SaaS buyers answer at lower rates (4.5 to 5.5%) than manufacturing or professional services buyers (7 to 9%). Calling between 10:00 and 11:00 AM or 4:00 and 5:00 PM prospect local time improves connect rate by 22%.

How many meetings per month should an SDR book?

Bridge Group 2024 benchmarks 14.6 meetings set per SDR per month at the median. Top quartile SDRs average 20 to 24 per month. The more meaningful metric is meetings that convert to qualified opportunities (SQLs), where the benchmark is 47% of set meetings. Tracking both gives you output quantity and pipeline quality in one view.

What percentage of SDRs hit quota in 2026?

Per Bridge Group 2024, 61% of SDRs hit quota at the 12-month mark. Attainment improves to 67% by month 18 as ramp completes. Top-performing organisations (top quartile by revenue growth) report 73% attainment. Quota attainment correlates most strongly with manager tenure (2+ years in role) and coaching frequency (3+ calls reviewed per week).

What is the fully loaded cost of a US SDR in 2026?

Approximately $134,000 fully loaded for a mid-level hire in a major US city. Breakdown: base salary $75,000, OTE commission at full attainment $25,000, employer taxes and benefits $21,000 (including health insurance), tools stack $8,500, and onboarding and training $4,500. The Glassdoor or Indeed base salary figure understates true cost by approximately 78%. Source: RepVue 2024, BLS OES 2024, BLS ECEC 2024.

How does UK SDR performance compare to US SDR performance?

Based on Alba Talent's placement cohort of 400+ UK SDRs into US B2B SaaS companies (2022 to 2025): UK SDRs hit quota at 63% at 12 months vs 61% US domestic (Bridge Group). Ramp is 4.2 months vs 4.6 months US domestic. 12-month attrition is 19% vs 28% US domestic. Fully loaded cost is approximately $78,000 vs $134,000 US, a 42% saving. This is observational cohort data, not a controlled study.

What drives SDR attrition most in 2026?

Bravado 2024 data shows 41% of voluntary SDR departures are promotion-related (moving to AE). The remaining 59% leave for higher OTE at a competitor (31%), burnout (18%), or life events (10%). The most effective retention levers are: clear AE promotion timeline communicated at hire, realistic quota setting (top quartile companies set quota such that 70%+ of SDRs can attain it), and call coaching frequency above 3 sessions per week.

Goodman, S. (2026). 2026 SDR Performance Benchmarks: 47 Metrics from 500+ B2B SaaS Companies. Alba Talent. https://albatalent.io/tools/sdr-benchmarks-2026

Primary sources: Bridge Group SDR Metrics and Compensation Report 2024; Salesforce State of Sales 2024; Gartner Sales Research 2024; RepVue 2024; Bravado State of Sales Compensation 2024; Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 (code 41-9031); BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Q3 2024.