Compensation benchmarking is one of the most requested deliverables from RevOps teams - and one of the hardest to get right. Pay too far below market and you lose talent. Pay too far above and your unit economics suffer. This guide presents 2026 variable pay benchmarks across four core sales roles and three company stages, drawn from industry surveys, compensation platforms, and peer networking data across the SaaS landscape.
How to Read These Benchmarks¶
All figures represent total on-target earnings (OTE) - base salary plus variable pay at 100% quota attainment. Ranges reflect the 25th to 75th percentile for US-based SaaS companies. Adjust downward 10-20% for non-coastal markets and upward 10-15% for San Francisco, New York, and Seattle.
Account Executive (AE) Benchmarks¶
| Metric | Early Stage (<$20M ARR) | Growth Stage ($20M-$100M ARR) | Enterprise Stage ($100M+ ARR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTE | $130K - $180K | $170K - $240K | $220K - $320K |
| Base/Variable Split | 50/50 | 50/50 | 55/45 or 50/50 |
| Quota | $500K - $900K | $750K - $1.2M | $1M - $2M |
| Quota-to-OTE Ratio | 4x - 5x | 4.5x - 5.5x | 5x - 6x |
Notes: Enterprise AEs selling deals with $200K+ ACV often see higher OTE but also higher quotas. Strategic/Named Account AEs at enterprise companies can earn $350K-$450K OTE with quotas of $2M-$3M.
Sales Development Rep (SDR/BDR) Benchmarks¶
| Metric | Early Stage | Growth Stage | Enterprise Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTE | $65K - $85K | $75K - $100K | $85K - $110K |
| Base/Variable Split | 65/35 | 65/35 or 70/30 | 70/30 |
| Monthly Quota | 12-15 qualified meetings | 10-14 qualified meetings | 8-12 qualified meetings |
| Variable Pay Per Meeting | $150 - $250 | $200 - $350 | $300 - $500 |
Notes: Outbound-focused SDRs typically earn 10-15% higher OTE than inbound SDRs at the same company stage. Some companies are shifting SDR variable pay from meetings booked to qualified pipeline dollars generated, with typical quotas of $150K-$300K in monthly pipeline.
Account Manager (AM) Benchmarks¶
| Metric | Early Stage | Growth Stage | Enterprise Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTE | $110K - $150K | $140K - $200K | $180K - $260K |
| Base/Variable Split | 60/40 | 65/35 | 65/35 or 70/30 |
| Quota (Net Retention + Expansion) | $600K - $1M | $900K - $1.5M | $1.2M - $2.5M |
| Quota-to-OTE Ratio | 5x - 7x | 6x - 8x | 7x - 10x |
Notes: AM quotas increasingly include a net retention component (typically weighted 30-40%) alongside expansion revenue (60-70%). Companies with strong product-led growth often set higher quota-to-OTE ratios for AMs because expansion revenue has lower cost of sale.
Solutions Engineer (SE) Benchmarks¶
| Metric | Early Stage | Growth Stage | Enterprise Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTE | $140K - $180K | $170K - $230K | $210K - $290K |
| Base/Variable Split | 75/25 | 75/25 or 80/20 | 80/20 |
| Quota Type | Team or overlay | Overlay pool | Overlay pool |
| Variable Tied To | AE deal close | Supported AE bookings | Supported AE bookings + win rate |
Notes: SE compensation is shifting. In 2026, roughly 40% of SaaS companies tie some portion of SE variable pay to technical win rate or POC conversion in addition to bookings. This aligns SEs with deal quality, not just volume.
Trends to Watch in 2026¶
- Quota compression: Average quotas increased 8-12% from 2025 while OTEs rose only 3-5%, squeezing quota-to-OTE ratios. Monitor attainment rates closely.
- Expansion-heavy plans: More companies are shifting 20-40% of AE variable pay to expansion and cross-sell, reflecting the importance of net revenue retention.
- AI-influenced productivity expectations: Companies deploying AI-assisted prospecting tools are beginning to raise SDR quotas by 15-20%, though OTEs have not adjusted proportionally.
- Pay transparency laws: With salary transparency laws now active in 15+ US states, published OTE ranges are becoming a competitive advantage in recruiting.
Key Takeaways¶
- Mid-market AE OTE in 2026 sits at $170K-$240K with a 50/50 split and 4.5x-5.5x quota ratio
- SDR OTE ranges from $65K-$110K depending on stage, with a trend toward pipeline-dollar quotas
- AM plans are increasingly blending net retention (30-40%) with expansion revenue (60-70%)
- Benchmark against your company stage, not just role title - a Series A AE and a public-company AE are fundamentally different jobs