--- title: "Sales Salaries and OTE in 2026: SDR, AE, SE, RevOps, CRO" url: "https://goremy.ai/blog/articles/sales-salaries-and-ote-in-2026-sdr-ae-se-revops-and-leadership" author: Luis Chavez-Mattos editor: Luis Chavez-Mattos editor_title: Director, Product published: "2026-11-13T17:20:14.028Z" updated: "2026-11-13T17:20:16.581Z" topic: Salary Guides description: "What sales roles pay in 2026: SDR, AE, solutions engineer, strategic account manager, RevOps, VP of Sales and CRO, with OTE splits." --- # Sales Salaries and OTE in 2026: SDR, AE, SE, RevOps, CRO > What sales roles pay in 2026: SDR, AE, solutions engineer, strategic account manager, RevOps, VP of Sales and CRO, with OTE splits. Edited by Luis Chavez-Mattos, Director, Product ยท Published 2026-11-13 ## What do sales roles pay in 2026? Sales pay is quoted as OTE (on-target earnings): base salary plus the variable pay you earn if you hit 100% of quota. In the US, typical OTE runs from roughly $60,000 to $90,000 for SDRs and BDRs, $100,000 to $300,000 or more for account executives depending on segment, $140,000 to $230,000 for solutions engineers, and $250,000 to $600,000 or more for a VP of Sales or CRO, with equity on top at the senior end. These are rounded ranges. Your company, city and deal size will move them. These figures are general market ranges, not a single survey. I have not pinned them to one dataset, because published numbers differ by year, company stage and who responded. Treat them as a sanity check, then confirm against current job postings with posted pay ranges, your company's own bands, and recent salary surveys from compensation firms and sales associations. ## TL;DR - **OTE is a target, not a guarantee.** Your real pay depends on quota attainment, the plan's accelerators, and whether the quota is realistic. - **The base-to-variable split tells you the role's risk.** SDRs often sit near 50/50 to 70/30 base to variable, AEs near 50/50, solutions engineers closer to 70/30 to 80/20, and sales leaders between 50/50 and 70/30. - **Enterprise AEs earn the most per head among individual contributors,** but they also carry the biggest quotas and the longest sales cycles. - **Solutions engineers and RevOps are the best-paid roles with the least variable risk.** Both are often negotiable on base. - **At the leadership level, equity is a large part of the offer.** A VP of Sales or CRO cash number alone understates the package. - **AI is changing entry-level and operations work first.** Expect fewer pure outbound SDR seats and more weight on judgment, deal strategy and systems. - **Always get the comp plan in writing before accepting.** Quota, territory, ramp, clawbacks and payout timing matter as much as the headline number. ## How does OTE work, and what is a normal split? OTE has two parts. Base is paid every pay period no matter what. Variable (commission, bonus or both) is paid when you hit targets. If the OTE is $200,000 with a 50/50 split, the base is $100,000 and you earn the other $100,000 only by reaching 100% of quota. Three terms decide whether the OTE is real: - **Quota.** The number you must sell (or the activity or pipeline target for roles like SDRs). A common rule of thumb for AEs is a quota of about 4x to 6x OTE, so a $200,000 OTE might carry a $800,000 to $1.2 million annual quota. Software companies vary widely. - **Attainment.** Most companies see a minority of reps at or above 100% in a given year. Ask what share of the team hit quota last year. That number tells you more than the OTE does. - **Accelerators and caps.** Many plans pay a higher rate above 100% of quota. Some cap earnings. Ask which applies. Typical splits by role, as a starting point: | Role | Common base/variable split | |---|---| | SDR / BDR | 50/50 to 70/30 | | Account executive (SMB to enterprise) | 50/50, sometimes 60/40 | | Strategic / named account manager | 60/40 to 80/20 | | Solutions engineer | 70/30 to 80/20 | | RevOps | Mostly base, with a 10% to 20% bonus | | Sales manager / director | 60/40 to 70/30 | | VP of Sales / CRO | 50/50 to 70/30, plus equity | ## What are the ranges by role at a glance? Approximate US ranges. Rounded, and meant for orientation only. | Role | Typical base | Typical OTE or total cash | |---|---|---| | SDR / BDR | $45,000 to $65,000 | $60,000 to $90,000 | | Account executive, SMB / commercial | $60,000 to $90,000 | $110,000 to $170,000 | | Account executive, mid-market | $80,000 to $120,000 | $150,000 to $240,000 | | Enterprise account executive | $110,000 to $160,000 | $220,000 to $320,000+ | | Strategic account manager | $100,000 to $160,000 | $140,000 to $240,000 | | Solutions engineer | $110,000 to $170,000 | $140,000 to $230,000 | | RevOps manager to director | $110,000 to $210,000 | $125,000 to $250,000 | | Sales director | $150,000 to $220,000 | $250,000 to $350,000 | | VP of Sales | $200,000 to $280,000 | $300,000 to $500,000 | | CRO | $250,000 to $400,000 | $400,000 to $700,000+ | Software and tech sales usually pay more than the same role in manufacturing, staffing or services. Major metros, venture-backed companies and public tech companies sit at the top of these ranges. Smaller markets and slower-growth companies sit at the bottom. ## What is an SDR or BDR salary? SDR (sales development rep) and BDR (business development rep) are mostly the same job under two names. You find prospects, reach out, and book meetings for account executives. Some companies use SDR for inbound leads and BDR for outbound prospecting, but pay does not differ much between the two. In the US, base is commonly in the $45,000 to $65,000 range, and OTE in the $60,000 to $90,000 range. The variable part usually pays on meetings booked or accepted, and sometimes on pipeline created. Because the targets are activity-based, attainment tends to be more predictable than for AEs. Things that move the number: - **Outbound vs. inbound.** Outbound usually pays a bit more for the harder work. - **Enterprise vs. SMB targets.** Enterprise SDRs often earn at the top of the range. - **Promotion timeline.** Most SDRs move to AE in 12 to 24 months. A company with a clear path and a history of promoting is worth more than a few thousand dollars of OTE. ## What is an account executive OTE? Account executives close deals. OTE depends mostly on deal size and sales-cycle length, which is why companies label AEs by segment. - **SMB or commercial AE.** Short cycles, many deals, smaller contracts. Typical OTE is about $110,000 to $170,000. - **Mid-market AE.** A mix of volume and complexity. Typical OTE is about $150,000 to $240,000. - **Enterprise AE.** Large, slow, multi-stakeholder deals. Typical OTE is about $220,000 to $320,000 or more, and top-tier software companies can pay well above that. ### What is an enterprise account executive OTE? Enterprise AE OTE is commonly a 50/50 split, so a $280,000 OTE might be $140,000 base and $140,000 variable. The quota is large, often in the high six figures to several million dollars of annual new business, and a single deal can decide your year. When you evaluate an enterprise offer, ask: 1. How many deals did reps close last year, and what was the average size? 2. Is the quota annual or split by half or quarter? 3. Is there a draw or guarantee during ramp? (A draw is a payment against future commission.) 4. How are multi-year deals, renewals and expansions credited? 5. Is the territory or account list assigned, and who owned it before? Territory quality matters as much as OTE. A $250,000 OTE on a strong, assigned territory can pay more than a $300,000 OTE on a thin one. ## What is a strategic account manager salary? A strategic account manager (also called key account manager or named account manager) owns a small set of large existing customers. The job is retention, expansion and relationship depth. It is less about new logos and more about growing accounts that already buy. Base tends to run higher relative to variable than for new-business AEs, often $100,000 to $160,000, with total cash around $140,000 to $240,000. Splits of 60/40 to 80/20 are common. The variable is usually tied to renewal rate, expansion revenue, or both. Titles are loose here. At one company "strategic account manager" is a senior customer-success role with a bonus. At another it is a quota-carrying seller handling Fortune 500 accounts, paid like an enterprise AE. Read the plan, not the title. ## What is a solutions engineer salary? Solutions engineers (also called sales engineers or pre-sales engineers) partner with AEs. They run technical demos, answer security and integration questions, scope proofs of concept and often fill out the technical parts of RFPs. Base is commonly $110,000 to $170,000, with OTE around $140,000 to $230,000. The split is typically 70/30 to 80/20, and variable is usually tied to the team's or the paired AE's bookings. Senior, principal and specialist SEs at large software firms can exceed these ranges. This role pays well for the risk. You get a stable base, a variable that follows deals you help win, and a skill set that travels between companies. It also leads to product, customer success, and sales leadership paths. ## What does a RevOps salary look like? Revenue operations owns the sales system: CRM setup, forecasting, territory and quota design, comp plan administration, reporting and tooling. Pay follows seniority, and variable is a modest bonus rather than commission. - **Analyst or specialist.** Roughly $70,000 to $100,000. - **Manager.** Roughly $110,000 to $160,000. - **Director.** Roughly $160,000 to $230,000. - **VP or head of RevOps.** Often $220,000 to $350,000 or more, with equity at growth companies. RevOps is one of the steadier paths in sales because the work does not depend on a single quarter. It also reports closely to the CRO, so strong operators often end up with a seat in leadership conversations. ## What is a VP of Sales salary? A VP of Sales runs the sales organization, usually reporting to a CRO, a COO or the CEO. In the US, total target cash is often $300,000 to $500,000, with a base of roughly $200,000 to $280,000. Variable is tied to company or team bookings, and equity can be a large share of the value at startups and growth-stage firms. Company size changes the picture a lot. A VP at a 50-person startup may take a lower base and more equity. A VP at a large public company may earn more cash and receive restricted stock. Compare the whole package: base, variable, equity grant, vesting schedule, and what happens to unvested equity if you are let go. ## What is a CRO salary? A chief revenue officer owns the whole revenue engine: sales, and often marketing, customer success and sometimes RevOps. The role is an executive one, so the package is built like an executive package. Total target cash at private companies is often $400,000 to $700,000 or more. Large public companies can pay much more once stock is counted. The cash split is commonly 50/50 to 70/30 base to variable, and variable ties to company revenue or bookings targets. Equity is usually a major part of the offer, sometimes the largest. Before you accept a CRO offer, check: - **Equity terms.** Grant size as a percentage, strike price or share value, vesting and acceleration on a change of control. - **Targets.** Who set the revenue plan, and is it achievable given the pipeline you are inheriting? - **Severance.** Average CRO tenure is short at many companies, so severance and notice terms matter. - **Scope.** Whether marketing and customer success report to you changes the job. ## How is AI changing sales pay and roles? AI is hitting repetitive, high-volume work first, and the effects on pay differ by role. - **SDRs and BDRs.** Writing first-draft outreach, researching accounts and logging activity are now partly automated. Companies are hiring fewer pure outbound SDRs and expecting more from each one: better targeting, more personalization, and handling more complex conversations. Entry-level headcount is under the most pressure. Pay for strong SDRs who move quickly into AE roles has not collapsed, but the number of seats has tightened at some firms. - **Account executives.** AI helps with call summaries, follow-up emails, account research and mutual action plans. The core of the job (reading a buying committee, building trust, negotiating) is not automated. Reps who use AI to spend more time with buyers can carry larger territories. - **Solutions engineers.** AI speeds up RFP responses, demo environments and technical documentation. The SE who can design a solution and explain tradeoffs to a skeptical buyer stays in demand. - **RevOps.** Demand is rising for people who can connect data, automate workflows and judge whether an AI-generated forecast is believable. - **Leaders.** CROs and VPs are being asked to show productivity per rep and to decide where AI replaces headcount and where it does not. Where not to trust AI: pay data. A chatbot will give confident salary numbers that may be stale, US-centric or invented. Use it to structure your thinking, then check every number against real postings and surveys. ## How do I check whether my offer or pay is fair? Gather three inputs before you ask AI anything: your offer or current pay (base, variable, equity), the plan details (quota, split, accelerators, caps, ramp), and 5 to 10 current job postings for similar roles in your area that list pay ranges. Many US states and cities now require pay ranges in postings, which makes this easier than it used to be. Paste this prompt into the AI assistant you use at work or at home. Remove names and anything confidential first. ``` I am evaluating a sales compensation offer. Help me think it through. Do not give me market salary numbers from memory. Instead, work only from the data I provide and tell me what is missing. Role and level: [e.g., enterprise account executive, mid-career] Location and remote policy: [city or remote] Company type and stage: [e.g., public software, Series C, services firm] Offer: base $[x], variable $[y] at 100% quota, equity [describe or none] Quota: $[z] annual, [new business / renewals / mixed] Accelerators and caps: [describe or "unknown"] Ramp and draw: [describe or "unknown"] Pay ranges from comparable job postings I found: [paste 5 to 10] Please: 1. Calculate the base/variable split and the quota-to-OTE multiple. 2. Compare my offer to the posted ranges and say where it falls. 3. List the questions I should ask about quota attainment, territory, crediting and clawbacks. 4. Flag anything in the plan that could make real earnings lower than OTE. 5. Suggest three specific, reasonable things to negotiate, ranked by likely impact. ``` What to check in the answer: - **The arithmetic.** Recompute the split and the quota multiple yourself. Models make math errors. - **Any salary figure it adds on its own.** If it quotes a market number you did not provide, ignore it or verify it. - **The questions it lists.** Take the ones that apply and ask them directly. The recruiter's answers matter more than the model's. ## Can I build my own comp and quota tracker? Most sellers and managers track earnings in a spreadsheet: quota, closed deals, accelerator tiers, a forecast of what the quarter will pay. It works until the plan changes or you need to show a team the same numbers. One way around that is to build a small app that does the calculation for you. If you want to own that tool instead of renting another subscription, [Remy](https://goremy.ai) can build it from a plain-English description. For example: "A commission calculator where reps log deals, the app applies our tiers and accelerators, managers see attainment by rep, and sign-in controls who sees what." Remy writes a spec, builds the full-stack app with a database and authentication, and deploys it to a live URL. Typical token costs for a project run $100 to $500 on top of the platform fee. Check your company's policy on tools that touch compensation data first. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is a good OTE for an account executive? It depends on segment. As a rough guide, SMB AEs see about $110,000 to $170,000, mid-market about $150,000 to $240,000, and enterprise $220,000 to $320,000 or more. A good OTE is one you can plausibly hit, so check last year's attainment, the quota multiple and the territory before judging the number. ### Is OTE the same as salary? No. Salary is your base pay. OTE is base plus variable pay at 100% of quota. If you miss quota you earn less than OTE, and if you exceed it with accelerators you can earn more. ### Do SDRs and BDRs earn the same? Usually close. The titles are used interchangeably at many companies, and where they differ, BDRs doing outbound to larger accounts may earn somewhat more. Compare the plan, targets and territory rather than the title. ### Do CROs and VPs of Sales get equity? Often, yes, especially at startups and growth-stage companies, where equity can be a major share of total value. Public companies tend to use restricted stock. Look at the grant size, vesting schedule and what happens on a change of control, not only the cash number. ### Which sales role has the best pay for the risk? Solutions engineers and senior RevOps leaders usually combine strong base pay with limited variable risk. Enterprise AEs and sales leaders have the highest upside, but their pay depends heavily on quota, territory and company performance.