SDR hire cost calculator: cost per accepted opportunity.
Compare hiring an SDR, using an SDR agency, and Audienti's managed plan on the number that matters: what each accepted opportunity costs you.
Quick answer
The real cost of an SDR is the fully loaded monthly cost (salary plus benefits and overhead, tools, and manager time) plus the cost of ramp and turnover, divided by the opportunities your sales team actually accepts. Salary alone understates it, because a new rep produces little during ramp and every departure restarts the ramp. Compare a hire, an agency, and a managed service on cost per accepted opportunity, not cost per rep or per booked meeting.
Compare hire, agency, and Audienti
Enter your own numbers. Results update as you type.
Every hire and agency number below is a starting assumption, not a claim about what an SDR or agency costs. Replace each one with your own figures. The calculator runs in your browser; nothing is stored or sent.
| Over 12 months | Hire | Agency | Audienti |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully loaded monthly cost | – | – | – |
| Annual cost | – | – | – |
| Accepted opportunities per year | – | – | – |
| Cost per accepted opportunity | – | – | – |
| Difference vs lowest | – | – | – |
Hire: annual cost = loaded monthly cost × 12 + recruiting cost × turnover rate. Productive months = 12 − ramp months × (1 − ramp productivity) × (1 + turnover rate). Agency: (retainer + your time) × 12, with one ramp. Audienti: (plan price + your time) × 12. A planning tool, not a quote or a guarantee.
What counts as an accepted opportunity
An accepted opportunity is a deal your sales team reviews in the CRM and explicitly accepts as worth working. It is not a booked meeting. Meetings get booked that never happen, and meetings happen with people who will never buy. If you pay per meeting, or judge a rep on meetings, you pay for calendar invites your sellers will not work.
Use the same definition for all three columns. Ask an agency for accepted opportunities from a current client, and use your own CRM history for a hire.
Why salary is not the cost of an SDR
Load. Benefits, payroll tax, equipment, tools, data, and a share of a manager's time sit on top of salary. Put your finance team's loaded rate in the overhead field.
Ramp. Ramp cost is the share of salary you pay while the rep is not yet producing. If a rep takes three months to ramp and produces about half of target in that time, roughly one and a half months of fully loaded cost buys no pipeline.
Turnover. When a rep leaves, you pay to recruit a replacement and the ramp starts again. The calculator spreads recruiting cost and extra ramp across the year using your turnover rate.
Agencies ramp too. An agency needs time to learn your market, and you still spend time managing it. Check whether the proposal bills every four weeks (13 invoices a year). Published ranges are on how SDR agencies price their services.
Using this in a headcount business case
Bring the three cost-per-opportunity numbers to the planning meeting and argue about the inputs, not the conclusion. The inputs that move the answer most are usually accepted opportunities per month and ramp. If finance disputes one, change it here and show how sensitive the result is.
To see the LinkedIn workload behind an Audienti opportunity estimate, use the performance model. Plan details are on pricing. For the wider trade-offs, read hire an SDR, use an agency, or try an AI SDR and AI SDR or a junior SDR first.
Common questions
How much does an SDR really cost?
More than the salary. The real cost is the fully loaded monthly cost (salary plus benefits and overhead, tools, and manager time) plus the cost of ramp and replacement, divided by the opportunities your sales team actually accepts. Use your own salary, ramp, and turnover numbers in the calculator above; we do not publish a single figure because it varies by market, role, and region.
How long does it take an SDR to ramp?
It depends on your product, market, and onboarding, so use your own history. The calculator treats ramp as months at reduced productivity: three months at 50% productivity means about one and a half months of fully loaded cost that buys no pipeline. Each time turnover refills the seat, that ramp repeats.
Why compare on cost per accepted opportunity instead of cost per meeting?
Booked meetings overstate output. Some never happen, and some are not qualified. An accepted opportunity is one your sales team reviews in the CRM and agrees to work. Dividing total cost by accepted opportunities compares a hire, an agency, and a managed service on the outcome you actually pay for.
What does Audienti's managed plan cost?
The standard plan is $7,500 per month for up to 3 people on your team, with a 90-day initial term. A single-person plan is $2,500 per month. Audienti does not guarantee a number of meetings or opportunities; judge it on accepted opportunities in your CRM.
Are the calculator's default SDR and agency numbers market data?
No. They are starting assumptions so the calculator shows a result on load. Replace every hire and agency input with your own offer letter, payroll data, and agency proposal. The only fixed numbers are Audienti's published plan prices.
Check the math with us. Bring your own numbers.
Start with a free signal audit: about 10 named accounts showing buying signals for your offer this week. Want the hire-vs-agency math too? We can run it on the call.