Sales compensation benchmarks are the reference data leaders use to validate that their pay plans are competitive, fair, and aligned with industry norms. The right benchmark depends on the role, the segment, the industry, and the geography. This guide consolidates current 2025 and 2026 sales compensation benchmarks across the most common roles in B2B sales, with sourced numbers from RepVue, Bridge Group, Talentfoot, WorldatWork, and Pavilion. For the broader strategic context on how to use these numbers in plan design, see our pillar guide on how to design a sales compensation plan.
Where Sales Compensation Benchmarks Come From
Different sources serve different purposes, and understanding the methodology matters more than treating any single number as authoritative. Crowdsourced platforms like RepVue aggregate self-reported compensation data from large rep populations, which produces stable medians at the role level but skews toward tech and SaaS where the platform is most used. Industry research firms like Bridge Group run annual surveys of compensation leaders at B2B SaaS companies; their data is the gold standard for SaaS AE comp specifically. Executive search firms like Talentfoot publish data drawn from their candidate and client pools, which skews toward senior leadership. Community and membership organizations like Pavilion publish compensation data drawn from member networks, often surfacing senior-leader and growth-stage data at higher resolution than other sources. Compensation associations like WorldatWork survey across industries and provide baseline data on attainment, accelerator usage, and pay practices. The most defensible benchmarks triangulate across multiple sources rather than relying on any single one.
OTE Benchmarks by Role
The table below summarizes current 2025 and 2026 sales compensation benchmarks across the most common B2B sales roles. Numbers reflect U.S. medians; ranges vary significantly by company stage, industry, and geography.
| Role | OTE (USD) | Pay Mix | Quota |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDR / BDR | Median ~$85K | 70 / 30 | Activity-based |
| Account Executive (SaaS, general) | Median ~$195K | ~50 / 50 | ~$800K (4.2x OTE) |
| Account Executive (Mid-Market) | $160K – $220K | 50 / 50 | $700K – $1.2M |
| Account Executive (Enterprise) | $230K – $270K+ | 50 / 50 | $1M – $3M+ |
| Sales Engineer | Median ~$200K | 70 / 30 | Team-based |
| Customer Success Manager | Median ~$138K | 80 / 20 | Retention / NRR |
| Sales Manager (first-line) | $200K – $280K | 60 / 40 | Team rollup |
| Senior leaders (executive search sample) | Median OTE ~$275K | ~50 / 50 | Company-level |
Sources: SDR/BDR data from RepVue (2025); SaaS, mid-market, enterprise AE, sales engineer, customer success, and sales manager data from RepVue (2026); SaaS AE quota benchmark from Bridge Group (2024); senior leaders from Talentfoot (2026). See Sources and Further Reading at the end of this post for full citations and links.
Sales development representatives sit at the lowest OTE tier of any closing-adjacent role, typically $75,000 to $100,000 with a 70/30 pay mix tied to meetings booked or qualified opportunities. Account executives in SaaS span a wide range depending on segment: SMB roles at $110,000 to $160,000 OTE, mid-market at $160,000 to $220,000, enterprise at $230,000 to $270,000 or more, with top SaaS markets exceeding the high end. The OTE salary calculation guide walks through how each composes.
Adjacent roles follow their own patterns. Sales engineers typically see heavier bases (70/30 mix) reflecting the technical and supporting nature of the work. Customer success managers carrying retention quotas operate at 80/20 mixes. First-line sales managers earn $200,000 to $280,000 through team-based quotas and overrides. Senior leaders, including VPs and CROs, sit substantially higher per Talentfoot’s 2026 study, which reports median OTE near $275,000 in their executive-search sample. Pavilion’s 2025 GTM Compensation Benchmarks, drawing on 1,200 go-to-market leaders, adds more specific data: VPs of Sales at growth-stage companies typically see $350,000 to $450,000 OTE, while CROs reach $600,000 to $800,000 OTE plus equity. Equity benchmarks for senior leaders are notably wider than OTE ranges and significantly more variable. Senior comp packages are best evaluated as a total package (cash plus equity plus benefits) rather than headline OTE alone, because equity often dominates the senior-leader compensation picture.
Base/Variable Split Norms
Pay mix is the split between base salary and variable pay. Per Talentfoot’s 2026 Sales Compensation Study, most plans cluster around 50/50, with individual contributors trending more variable and senior leaders more base-heavy. Sales development reps usually run 70/30. Customer success and sales engineering tend toward 80/20 or 70/30 because outcomes are less directly attributable to the rep. The right mix depends on territory predictability, sales motion, and how much income volatility candidates in the role tolerate. The pillar guide on on target earnings walks through how the mix changes the rep’s actual take-home at different attainment scenarios.
Commission Rate Benchmarks
Bridge Group’s 2024 SaaS AE Compensation Report places the median commission rate at 11.5 percent of bookings at full attainment, with typical rates falling between 11 and 14 percent. The report also reports a median quota-to-OTE ratio of 4.2x, meaning a $200,000 OTE typically corresponds to a quota near $840,000. Per WorldatWork, accelerators typically pay 1.5x to 2x the standard rate above quota, and most enterprise sales plans include them. The 8 sales commission structures guide breaks down how these rates flow through different plan archetypes.
Industry-Specific Benchmarks
Industry shapes compensation more than most candidates expect. The same job title can carry a 30 to 40 percent OTE variance depending on sector.
SaaS and B2B technology set the high end of compensation for closing roles, particularly in cybersecurity, data infrastructure, and AI platforms where deal sizes have expanded rapidly. Mid-market SaaS AEs cluster around $190,000 OTE; enterprise SaaS AEs reach $270,000 or higher.
Pharmaceutical sales and medical device sales can pay above or in line with software at the senior specialty level. Specialty surgical devices often pay enterprise-software-level OTEs to reps managing long, technical sales cycles inside hospital systems. Generic pharma sales typically sit lower.
Industrial, manufacturing, and logistics sales tend to compress the variable component, with higher bases and lower upside reflecting longer cycles and relationship-driven sales. Advertising and media sales remain commission-heavy, often with quarterly resets and aggressive accelerators. Real estate and insurance brokerage commonly use straight commission structures with no base. Inside sales roles in lower-ACV markets sit below SaaS averages on both base and total OTE.
Geography
Geography shapes compensation in ways that have evolved alongside remote work. Major metropolitan markets (San Francisco, New York, Boston, Seattle) have historically commanded a 10 to 20 percent base salary premium to offset cost of living, with OTE upside more uniform across regions. After widespread remote work, geographic differentiation has become more nuanced. Some companies pay national bands regardless of location; others adjust by zip code or metro tier; some have eliminated geo-differentiation entirely. The right approach depends on talent strategy and competitive positioning, not just cost control.
Quota Attainment Benchmarks
OTE assumes 100 percent attainment, but reality is sobering. WorldatWork’s late-2024 sales compensation data placed average quota attainment near 43 percent across surveyed teams. These benchmarks matter for compensation design: setting quotas where the median rep cannot hit 100 percent breaks the motivational loop the plan is meant to create.
How the Market Has Shifted (2022 to 2026)
Sales compensation benchmarks did not move in a straight line over the past four years. From the 2021-2022 peak (when tech labor markets favored candidates and OTEs inflated rapidly), the market corrected meaningfully through 2023-2024 as efficient-growth pressure shifted leverage back to employers. By 2026, OTEs in many tech segments sit below their 2022 peaks.
Pavilion’s 2025 GTM Compensation Benchmarks reported median executive OTE down roughly 13 percent year-over-year, with cash-down-equity-up shifts in some senior comp packages. AE-level OTEs have corrected less dramatically but generally trend below their 2022 highs in tech segments.
Quota attainment has trended in the same direction. Salesforce’s State of Sales reported much higher attainment rates pre-2024 than the 43 percent that WorldatWork’s late-2024 data shows. Benchmark consumers should treat current OTE numbers as a correction from elevated levels, not as stable medians, and should expect attainment to remain lower than the 2020-2022 era assumptions some plans were built around.
How to Use Sales Compensation Benchmark Data
Benchmarks are reference points, not targets. Three principles make benchmark data useful in actual plan design.
Triangulate before committing. No single source captures every segment, industry, or company stage. Pulling from RepVue, Bridge Group, Talentfoot, and at least one industry-specific source gives a defensible composite picture. Avoid anchoring on one number from one source.
Adjust for context. Benchmark medians reflect averages across thousands of companies, but no individual company is average. A high-growth Series B company should pay differently than a public mid-cap. Industry, geography, and segment matter, and benchmarks need to be calibrated to those factors before they’re used in offers or plan design.
Update annually. Compensation benchmarks shift faster than they used to, particularly in tech sectors with active talent markets. Data from 2022 should not anchor 2026 decisions. Build a calendar reminder to refresh benchmark inputs every twelve months.
Account for pay transparency. Salary range disclosure laws in New York, California, Colorado, Washington, Illinois, Maryland, and several other states have made benchmark data more visible to candidates and competitors. Companies that historically held compensation information close are now operating in a market where ranges are public. Plan design should assume that the published OTE will be visible to anyone who searches, which raises the cost of getting benchmark calibration wrong.
Sales Compensation Benchmark FAQs
What is the average OTE for a SaaS account executive?
Per RepVue’s 2025 to 2026 data, the median SaaS AE OTE is around $195,000. Mid-market SaaS AEs cluster between $160,000 and $220,000 OTE, while enterprise AEs reach $230,000 to $270,000 or higher. Senior leaders sit substantially above this range.
What is a typical pay mix for a sales rep?
Most B2B plans cluster around 50/50 base-to-variable. Sales development reps typically run 70/30. Customer success and sales engineering tend toward 80/20. Senior leaders skew higher base. The right mix depends on role, territory, and risk tolerance.
How is sales commission calculated?
Commission equals the relevant sale amount multiplied by the commission rate. The variables differ by structure (revenue, ACV, gross profit) and by method (flat, tiered, ramped). Bridge Group’s 2024 benchmark places the median at 11.5 percent of bookings at full attainment. The how to calculate sales commission guide walks through the math for each method.
How often should compensation benchmarks be reviewed?
At least annually. Compensation markets shift faster than they used to, particularly in technology sectors. Major events like talent market disruption, vertical reorganizations, or new product launches can warrant a mid-year refresh.
Sources and Further Reading
For your reference, here is the full list of sources we drew from for the benchmarks in this guide, in case you want to dive deeper into the data and best practices behind each:
RepVue Sales Salary Guide (2025 to 2026): crowdsourced compensation data from sales reps across thousands of companies, with role-specific median OTE figures updated continuously.
Bridge Group 2024 SaaS AE Metrics & Compensation Benchmark: the most recent industry-wide primary research on B2B SaaS account executive compensation, drawing from leaders at more than 170 SaaS companies.
Talentfoot 2026 Sales Compensation Study: anonymous survey data from sales professionals across the U.S. and Canada, drawn from a senior-leadership-skewed sample.
WorldatWork sales compensation research: data and analysis from the leading global association for compensation and total rewards professionals, including quota attainment and pay-for-performance trends.
Pavilion 2025 GTM Compensation Benchmarks: compensation data from more than 1,200 go-to-market leaders, including senior-leader OTE breakdowns by stage and function.
Sales compensation benchmarks are most useful when they’re current, sourced, and triangulated. The numbers in this guide reflect 2025 and 2026 data from the most credible primary research available. They are starting points for plan design, not finishing points. At Optymyze, compensation management provides the operational layer that turns benchmark data into plans that hold together at scale, with the flexibility to evolve as the market does.
