Where the budget sits
A salary,or a meeting
A hire is a fixed cost that starts before the first meeting. A pay-per-meeting invoice starts at the first one that is held.
No retainer · No minimum · No credits
What the published figures say
Read Nov 11, 2026. Published estimates vary by source and most come from vendors, so treat them as ranges.
- 01One published 2026 estimate puts the fully loaded annual cost of one in-house SDR in the US at $115,000-$165,000, covering salary, benefits, tech stack, onboarding and ramp losses1
- 02A July 2026 guide puts a single fully loaded in-house SDR at $9,000-$14,000 a month, covering salary, benefits, tools, management overhead and recruiting2
- 03The same estimate says an SDR books 12-18 qualified meetings a month at quota, and puts the cost per qualified meeting at $528-$1,125 in mid-market1
- 04A May 2026 guide puts a fully loaded in-house SDR at $11,500 a month, which at 10 to 14 meetings a month is $821-$1,150 per qualified meeting3
- 05One 2026 comparison says AI-booked meetings show at 60-70% and human-booked meetings at 75-85%4
Ten meetings a month, priced
| Tier | 10 held meetings a month | Held meetings the same money buys |
|---|---|---|
| Founder, $300 | $3,000 | 31 to 45 |
| Mid-market, $450 | $4,500 | 21 to 30 |
| Enterprise, $750 | $7,500 | 12 to 18 |
Ten meetings is an example, not a forecast. After the pilot you opt in. You get one invoice a month for the meetings that became billable, never more than the monthly cap you set (10 by default, from 1 to 100). A held meeting is billed only when it passes six published checks; an SDR's booked meetings carry no such check, and an SDR also does work Outlevo does not, such as phone calls.
Side by side
| Outlevo | A human SDR | |
|---|---|---|
| When you pay | Per held meeting. No retainer, no minimum, no credits. | Salary, benefits, tools and ramp time, whether or not meetings are held |
| What you pay for a meeting | Founder $300, Mid-market $450, Enterprise $750 per held meeting | Salary and costs divided by the meetings actually booked |
| Proof of what was said | A receipt for every email, with the source behind each personal claim | Whatever the rep chooses to record |
| Before the first meeting | Nothing is billed until a meeting is held | The salary is paid from the first day |
When a human SDR is the better choice
A human SDR may suit you better if
You sell complex deals that need calls, relationships and judgment from the first touch, you want someone to own phone work, or you already run a team that can manage and coach a rep. Outlevo works by email and LinkedIn and does not make phone calls.
Questions
Is this a like-for-like comparison?
Where do the SDR figures come from?
Sources
Checked Nov 11, 2026. Each fact about a human SDR above links to the page it was read on.
- Stealth Agents, cost of hiring an SDR (2026) · stealthagents.com/research/cost-of-hiring-an-sdr-2026/ · Checked Nov 11, 2026
- Activated Scale, SDR cost per month (July 2026) · www.activatedscale.com/feeds/blog/sdr-cost-month · Checked Nov 11, 2026
- GigRadar, outsourcing sales (May 2026) · gigradar.io/blog/outsource-sales · Checked Nov 11, 2026
- Rhino Agents, AI SDR vs human SDR (2026) · www.rhinoagents.com/blog/ai-sdr-vs-human-sdr-the-honest-numbers-on-reply-rates-conversions-and-cost-per-meeting/ · Checked Nov 11, 2026
Price your own case
The Fit Check gives your tier and a suggested cap.