Cost to Hire a Remote SDR in Europe (2026)

The cost to hire a remote SDR in Europe comes down to four things: pay (base plus commission, quoted as on-target earnings, or OTE), employer contributions if you employ rather than contract, an employer of record fee if you have no entity, and the search. Median SDR pay runs from about €34,000 base and €53,000 OTE in Spain to €44,000 base and €65,000 OTE in Germany, against $60,000 base and $85,000 OTE in the US. On a Spanish employee at median OTE, contributions add about €16,200, an employer of record adds $599 a month, and the search adds $299 to post the role yourself, a flat $6,500, or 20% of first-year pay through a contingency recruiter.

Below are the pay benchmarks with sources and dates, what the board shows for SDR roles open to Europe right now, the employer on-costs for four countries, and one worked first-year budget you can copy. How to run the hire itself is in the guide to hiring a remote SDR in Europe.

Key takeaways

• Median SDR base pay: about €34,000 in Spain, £39,000 in the UK, €44,000 in Germany, $60,000 in the US. OTE sits 42 to 54% above base across the four.
• Budget on OTE, not base. Commission is pay, it carries employer contributions in most of Europe, and a recruiter's fee is often calculated on it.
• Employer on-costs range from about 16% in Poland to 30.65% in Spain. A contractor has none, but the rate they quote has to cover their own.
• Worked example, Spain, median OTE, employed through an employer of record: about €69,000 in pay and contributions plus $7,188 a year in EOR fees, before the search.
• The search is the line with the widest range: $299 self-serve, $6,500 flat, or about €10,600 at 20% of the Spanish median OTE.

What do SDRs earn in Europe?

The figures are RepVue's published medians. RepVue builds them from salary reports that sales professionals submit themselves, so they lean toward software companies and are a benchmark, not a census. Each row links to its source and shows the date the data was last updated.

Two readings. The gap between Spain and Germany is about €10,000 of base and €12,000 of OTE, which is real money on one hire and close to nothing next to the cost of an SDR who cannot run a cold call in the prospect's language. And the European OTE premiums are slightly larger than the US one, so a European SDR's pay depends more on hitting quota; if you set an unreachable quota, you are not saving money, you are losing the SDR.

The Euro Remote Talent board confirms how rarely employers state a number. Of 148 SDR and BDR roles open to candidates in Europe posted on the sales and business development board between 15 August and 14 October 2026, three disclosed pay: €44,000 to €55,000 for a German-speaking BDR based in Ireland, €23,000 to €30,000 for a BDR in Spain, and €15 an hour for a French-speaking SDR in France. All three sit inside the RepVue ranges above. A post that states base and OTE as numbers stands out in that market by itself.

What does the employer pay on top?

If the SDR is an employee, directly or through an employer of record, the employer pays social contributions on gross pay, including commission. The rate follows the country where the SDR lives. The four rows below are from the official sources used in our country cost guides; rates change yearly, so confirm your own case with a local accountant or payroll provider before you make an offer.

If the SDR is a contractor, you pay the invoice and nothing else. The trade is the classification risk: an SDR who works your hours, uses your tools and follows your daily direction looks like an employee to most European labor authorities, and back contributions fall on you. That is why most companies hiring a full-time SDR in Europe use an employer of record or their own entity. The contractor or employer of record guide walks through the line.

An employer of record is listed at $599 per employee per month at both Remote and Deel, which is $7,188 a year. On a Spanish SDR at median OTE, that is about an eighth of the pay line. On a senior account executive it would be a much smaller share, which is why the EOR fee weighs most on junior hires.

What does the search cost?

Three routes, three very different numbers on the same hire:

• Post the role yourself. $299 on Euro Remote Talent, live for 60 days, reaching candidates already based in Europe. Your cost is the time: screens, interviews and a paid trial task, about 20 hours of a hiring manager's month.
• Flat-fee search. Hiring Done For You is $6,500 for a shortlist of three vetted candidates in 21 days, with a 12-month replacement guarantee and no percentage of pay.
• Contingency recruiter. Typically 20 to 25% of first-year pay, per SHRM. On the Spanish median, 20% is €10,567.60 if the agency calculates on OTE and €6,851.20 if on base. Which one applies is in the fee clause; the guide to recruitment agency fees lists the clauses to check.

The fee comparison on three example salaries is in flat fee vs contingency recruiting. For an SDR the short version is that a flat fee and a percentage cost about the same at the bottom of the range and diverge quickly as OTE rises.

A first-year budget you can copy

Spain, median SDR, employed through an employer of record, search done as a flat-fee shortlist. Every figure is from the tables above; currencies are kept separate because the EOR and the search are invoiced in dollars.

Change the inputs to your country and your own pay numbers and the shape holds. If you want the employee and contractor versions side by side for a salary you already have in mind, the salary calculator does that on one screen.

FAQ

How much does it cost to hire a remote SDR in Europe?

Pay is the biggest line: median OTE runs from about €53,000 in Spain to €65,000 in Germany, per RepVue. Add employer contributions of 16 to 31% if you employ, an employer of record at about $7,200 a year if you have no entity, and the search, which ranges from $299 to 20% of first-year pay.

Is an SDR in Europe cheaper than in the US?

On pay, yes: the US median is $60,000 base and $85,000 OTE against €34,000 to €44,000 base in Spain and Germany. Once contributions and an employer of record are added, the gap narrows. The bigger question is the market: an SDR calling European prospects in their language is worth more than a cheaper one who cannot.

Should I budget on base or OTE?

On OTE. Commission is pay, it carries employer contributions in most European countries, and a good SDR will earn it. Budgeting on base and hoping for a miss is budgeting for the wrong outcome.

Can I hire an SDR in Europe as a contractor?

For a short pilot, many companies do. For a full-time SDR who works your hours and follows your process daily, most European countries would treat the relationship as employment, and the reclassification risk sits with you. Confirm with a local lawyer before a contractor agreement runs past a few months.

Can you hire an SDR in Eastern Europe for less?

Poland, the one Eastern European country in the on-cost table, has the lowest employer on-costs at about 16%, but there is no RepVue pay median for Poland, so apply that rate to your own salary number. Let the market decide first: an SDR calling prospects in their own language is worth more than a cheaper one who cannot.

The short version

A remote SDR in Europe costs median OTE of about €53,000 in Spain to €65,000 in Germany, plus employer contributions of 16 to 31% if employed, plus about $7,200 a year for an employer of record, plus the search. Budget on OTE, keep the currencies separate, and decide the contract before the offer. If you want three vetted SDR candidates in 21 days for a flat $6,500, book a call. If you would rather run the search yourself, post the role for $299 and it is live for 60 days.