SDR salary in the UK (2026): base, OTE and the London premium
If you are hiring SDRs in the UK, the salary you advertise decides who applies. Pitch it too low and the strongest candidates never click. Pitch the OTE too high and you hire people who leave. They leave once they see what a normal month pays. This guide pulls together the latest public UK figures. It explains why they disagree. Then it turns them into a pay band you can defend.
SDR (sales development representative) and BDR (business development representative) are the same job at most companies. The figures below cover both titles.
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UK SDR salary benchmarks for 2026
| Source and date | Base | OTE | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Recruit UK, 2026 salary guide | £33K average (UK SaaS) | £49K | Mean of regional mid-points across seven UK regions, SaaS sector |
| Sales Recruit UK, 2026 | £22K to £48K | Not given | Full entry band across B2B sectors |
| Citrus Connect, June 2026 | £28K to £45K | £40K to £70K | Recruiter range for UK SDR/BDR roles |
| RepVue, UK data October 2026 | About £41K median | About £62K median | Self-reported by reps, mostly tech companies |
| Glassdoor, cited by Citrus Connect, June 2026 | About £39,700 average | Not given | Self-reported, all sectors |
The ranges are wide. Recruiter guides cover every kind of B2B seller, from transactional outbound to software. RepVue skews towards venture-backed tech companies, which pay more. Pick the source closest to the companies you compete with for candidates.
The London premium
Both recruiter guides agree that London pays more, by a similar amount:
- Sales Recruit UK (2026): London base is about 19% above the rest of the UK.
- Citrus Connect (June 2026): London adds 15% to 20% on base. It puts London SDR averages at roughly £42K to £48K, depending on the source.
None of the sources above publishes a reliable city-by-city table for SDRs. That includes Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Edinburgh. Outside London, start from the UK-wide figures. Then check live adverts in your city.
Sector changes the number
The same job title pays differently by industry. Sales Recruit UK's 2026 guide gives a mid-point SDR base of £33K for SaaS. In engineering, construction and industrial sales it is £29K to £32K. The same guide puts the typical SDR OTE multiplier at 1.4x to 1.6x of base. So a £33K base usually comes with an OTE of about £46K to £53K.
What SDR managers earn in the UK
For comparison, the median UK sales development manager earns about £80K base and £131K OTE. That is RepVue's self-reported UK data for October 2026. We cover how to structure the manager's plan in a separate guide on SDR manager compensation.
Some reps move from SDR into cloud sales. The AWS Account Executive interview guide shows what that loop tests.
See inside
How to set a pay band you can defend
- Pick your competitor set. List five companies you lose candidates to. Use the source that best matches them.
- Set base first. Base is what candidates compare, and what pays rent while they ramp. Anchor it to the mid-point for your sector and city.
- Set OTE with a multiplier. Use 1.4x to 1.6x of base, the typical range in Sales Recruit UK's 2026 guide.
- Check what a typical rep really earns. The Bridge Group's 2025 SDR report found only 60% of SDRs at quota. Your band should still be attractive at 70% to 80% attainment.
- Write it down as a range. A range of about £4K on base lets you pay for experience. You will not need to renegotiate the band for every hire.
Worked example: Leeds or London?
Ashgrove Health Software is an invented company. It is hiring two SDRs: one in Leeds and one in London.
| Item | Leeds | London |
|---|---|---|
| Base | £32,000 | £37,500 (about 17% higher, within the 15% to 20% premium) |
| OTE multiplier | 1.5x | 1.5x |
| OTE | £48,000 | £56,250 |
| Annual variable at 100% | £16,000 | £18,750 |
Ashgrove pays variable on accepted opportunities. Accelerators pay 1.0x up to 100% of quota and 1.5x from 100% to 150%. Above 150% they pay 2.0x. For the Leeds rep, a year at different levels of attainment pays:
| Annual attainment | Variable paid | Total pay |
|---|---|---|
| 70% | £11,200 | £43,200 |
| 80% | £12,800 | £44,800 |
| 100% | £16,000 | £48,000 |
| 130% | £23,200 | £55,200 |
At 130%, the first 100% pays £16,000. The extra 30% pays at 1.5x: 30% of £16,000 times 1.5 is £7,200.
Put the realistic range in the job advert as well as the OTE. For example: "£32,000 base, £48,000 OTE, most of the team earns between £43,000 and £55,000". Candidates then know what they are signing up for. Model your own band in our free SDR comp plan calculator.
Mistakes that cost you candidates
- Advertising "uncapped OTE" without a number. It can read as "low base".
- Benchmarking against last year's offers. Pay moves, so check at least once a year.
- Ignoring the base. Two adverts with the same OTE differ if one has a £5K higher base.
- Paying London rates for remote roles without a policy. Decide once whether pay follows the person or the office, and apply it to everyone.
Once the band is set, hire against a consistent scorecard. Then you pay for the skills you need. Our SDR interview questions and scorecard covers that step. Our SDR and BDR compensation plan guide covers how to structure the variable.
The SDR Programme Playbook (£29 + VAT) is one Notion workspace. It keeps the pay bands, comp plan and hiring scorecard together.
Next steps: test a pay band in the SDR comp plan calculator. The ramp quota calculator sets a fair quota for a new hire's first months.
Sources
- Sales Recruit UK, SDR and BDR salary UK 2026 (2026 UK Sales Salary Guide)
- Citrus Connect, UK Sales Salary Guide 2026 (25 June 2026)
- RepVue, Sales Development Representative salary in the UK, data as of October 2026
- RepVue, Sales Development Manager salaries in the UK, data as of October 2026
- The Bridge Group, SDR Models, Motions and Metrics, 2025 edition
Questions
What is the average SDR salary in the UK?
It depends on the source. Sales Recruit UK's 2026 guide puts the UK SaaS average at £33K base and £49K OTE. RepVue's self-reported data for October 2026 is higher, at about £41K base and £62K OTE. It skews towards tech companies.
How much do SDRs earn in London?
Citrus Connect (June 2026) puts the London premium at about 15% to 20% on base. Sales Recruit UK puts it at about 19%. Citrus Connect puts London SDR averages at roughly £42K to £48K base, depending on the source.
What is a normal OTE for an SDR in the UK?
Citrus Connect's June 2026 guide gives a range of £40K to £70K. Sales Recruit UK's 2026 guide puts the usual OTE at 1.4x to 1.6x of base.
Is SDR pay the same as BDR pay?
Usually, yes. At most companies the titles describe the same job. Where they differ, BDRs often focus on outbound and SDRs on inbound. The public salary data does not separate the two titles reliably.
How often should I review SDR pay bands?
At least once a year. Also review them whenever you lose two or more candidates in a row on pay. Recheck against the same sources each time so the comparison is fair.
Also: account executive salary in the UK, how to become an SDR in the UK, SDR CV example, SDR vs BDR.
Related guides
SDR and BDR comp plans
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SDR comp plan calculator
Model payouts with accelerators before you launch the plan.
SDR and BDR interview questions
18 questions by competency, a role-play and a weighted scorecard.
SDR vs BDR
What the titles mean, where companies differ and which to use.
Turn this into a programme you can run
14 Notion modules and 6 working trackers for SDR leaders. KPI library, comp calculator, cadence builder, interview scorecard, tool scorecard and a 90-day roadmap. £29, one payment, plus VAT for UK and EU buyers.
Treat benchmarks as starting points. Tune them to your market, deal size and sales cycle. Every figure shows its source and year.