Why Hiring an SDR Costs More Than You Think

The Real Cost of an In-House SDR¶

When most founders budget for an SDR, they think salary. In Canada, that's roughly $55,000-$65,000 base. Add OTE and you're at $75,000-$90,000. But that number is a fantasy — it doesn't include the infrastructure that makes an SDR functional.

Add the tech stack: sequencing tool ($100-300/mo), data provider ($150-800/mo), email warmup ($50-150/mo), phone system ($50/mo), CRM seat ($50-150/mo). That's $4,800-$17,400 per year in tooling alone — before you've dialed a single number.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About¶

Recruiting costs $8,000-$15,000 per hire through agencies. Ramp time is 3-4 months before a new SDR books a single qualified meeting. And with average SDR tenure at 16 months and annual turnover running at 35%, you'll be repeating the process within 18 months.

The fully loaded cost of one in-house SDR in 2026 is $120,000-$150,000 per year. For that same budget, an outsourced SDR service delivers pipeline from week three with zero management overhead.

When In-House Still Makes Sense¶

If your ACV is above $100K, your sales cycle is 9+ months, and your product requires deep technical discovery, an internal team that lives and breathes your product is hard to replicate externally. For everyone else — especially companies with deal sizes between $5K and $50K — outsourcing the top of funnel is almost always more capital-efficient.