London SDR and AE salaries 2026: the hire that costs £50k less.
Fewer than half of UK account executives hit quota in the last 12 months. RepVue's October 2026 data puts it at 42.3%. So when a London AE asks for £120k OTE, the only part you are sure to pay is the base. For a mid-market AE, that is £65-80k.
That is one reason founders keep asking for "an SDR with AE skills". What they usually mean is a senior SDR who is ready to be promoted. This guide gives you current London pay for both roles, checked against five sources, and the maths on which one to hire first.
What London tech companies pay SDRs and AEs in 2026
| Base | OTE | |
|---|---|---|
| Junior SDR (0-1 year) | £30k to £36k | £42k to £55k |
| SDR (1-2 years) | £38k to £45k | £55k to £65k |
| Senior SDR, ready to promote | £45k to £55k | £65k to £80k |
| SMB AE | £50k to £60k | £85k to £110k |
| Mid-market AE | £65k to £80k | £115k to £135k |
| Enterprise AE | £90k to £115k | £170k to £200k |
Source: RepVue (UK, Oct 2026), Robert Walters Salary Survey 2026, Glassdoor and Indeed London (Oct 2026), ITJobsWatch. Ranges are meritt's read across all five.
| Role | Base | OTE | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior SDR (0-1 year) | £30-36k | £42-55k | Books meetings from a playbook. Needs daily coaching. |
| SDR (1-2 years) | £38-45k | £55-65k | Books meetings on their own. Can run a first call. |
| Senior SDR, ready to promote | £45-55k | £65-80k | Runs discovery calls. May have closed small deals. |
| SMB AE | £50-60k | £85-110k | Closes small deals with short sales cycles. |
| Mid-market AE | £65-80k | £115-135k | Owns the full sale with several buyers. |
| Enterprise AE | £90-115k | £170-200k | Long cycles, big deals, senior buyers. |
Source: RepVue (UK, Oct 2026), Robert Walters Salary Survey 2026, Glassdoor and Indeed London (Oct 2026), ITJobsWatch.
These ranges are our read across RepVue's UK pay data, the Robert Walters 2026 Salary Survey, Glassdoor and Indeed London figures, and London job ads tracked by ITJobsWatch. Where the sources disagreed, we trusted the ones that report base and OTE separately. The full list is at the end.
Three things the numbers tell a founder
The OTE jump is much bigger than the base jump. From senior SDR to mid-market AE, base rises by about 45% and OTE by about 70%. SDR pay runs about two thirds base and one third commission. AE pay is closer to 55:45, and most AE roles on our own jobs board advertise OTE at double the base.
Most reps don't reach OTE. Budget for the base plus a realistic share of the commission.
London costs more at the junior end. Glassdoor and Indeed put London SDR and AE pay between 7% and 25% above the UK average. For enterprise AEs the gap is close to zero.
The case for a promote-ready SDR
A founder who says "I need an AE" often needs someone to run first calls, write proposals and close small deals, while the founder still leads the big ones. A senior SDR who is ready to step up can do most of that.
| Promote-ready senior SDR | Mid-market AE | |
|---|---|---|
| Base | £45-55k | £65-80k |
| OTE | £65-80k | £115-135k |
| Closing record | Small deals, or discovery calls they led | A record against quota you can check |
| Coaching needed | Weekly, from you | Light |
| Best fit | Smaller deals, short cycles, founder still leads big deals | Bigger deals, longer cycles, several buyers |
Source: Pay ranges as in the table above.
At target, that is about £50k a year less in OTE. If neither person hits target, you still save about £20k a year on base.
There is plenty of supply, too. Promotions now make up 16% of SDR departures, half the 34% of 2020 (The Bridge Group, 2025, mostly North American firms). Unify tracked about 180,000 US reps: the median SDR waits 12 months for an AE seat, and 22% of the group have made the move so far. Many strong SDRs are waiting for a seat their current company does not have.
How to hire one well
Test for closing ability first. Three ways to do it in one interview:
- Ask for their closing numbers. Small deals, renewals, upsells, or discovery calls they led from start to finish. A promote-ready SDR can give you figures.
- Run a 10-minute discovery role-play. You play the buyer. Watch whether they ask a second, deeper question before they pitch. That curiosity is what turns an SDR into a closer.
- Coach them halfway through. Give one piece of feedback and run it again. If the second go is better, they are coachable. If they argue, they are not ready yet.
Then make an offer that keeps them:
- Pay at the top of the senior SDR band. £50-55k base and £75-80k OTE beats what most SDRs earn today and still sits well under AE base.
- Write the promotion down. Name the targets and the review date. A review at six to nine months beats the typical 12-month wait, and gives them a reason to move.
- Show them the AE band now. When they can see what the AE seat pays, the path feels real, and they are less likely to leave to find it elsewhere.
One warning. If your deals are large, your buyers are senior and you have no time to coach, hire the AE. A senior SDR with no coach is the most expensive version of this plan.
What we see on the meritt jobs board
We looked at the 25 London sales roles on the meritt jobs board that show pay, as of 20 October 2026:
- SDR and BDR roles (9): median base £42.5k, median OTE £66k.
- Mid-market AE roles (5): median base £60k, median OTE £120k.
- SDR roles that promise a path to AE: £30-45k base.
It is a small sample, and the AE roles sit at the low end of the market ranges above. If your AE budget looks like that, it will buy a top senior SDR more easily than a strong AE.
Common questions
How much does an SDR earn in London in 2026?
A London tech SDR earns £30-55k base and £42-80k OTE in 2026, depending on experience. Junior SDRs with under a year in the role sit at £30-36k base and £42-55k OTE. SDRs with one to two years earn £38-45k base and £55-65k OTE. Senior SDRs who are ready for promotion earn £45-55k base and £65-80k OTE. RepVue's UK-wide median is £40,677 base and £61,585 OTE (October 2026). London pays more than the UK average at this level, by 7-20% depending on the source. SDR pay is usually about two thirds base and one third commission, and only about half of UK SDRs hit quota, so most earn less than their full OTE.
How much does an account executive earn in London?
It depends on the size of deal they sell. In London tech in 2026, SMB AEs earn £50-60k base and £85-110k OTE. Mid-market AEs earn £65-80k base and £115-135k OTE. Enterprise AEs earn £90-115k base and £170-200k OTE. The Robert Walters 2026 Salary Survey puts London enterprise AE base at £90,500 in firms with 50-250 staff and £114,500 in larger firms. AE pay is usually close to 55:45 base to commission, and many London roles advertise OTE at double the base. Only 42% of UK AEs hit quota in the last 12 months (RepVue, October 2026), so treat OTE as the pay for hitting target, which fewer than half of AEs do.
What is a normal OTE split for SDRs and AEs in the UK?
SDRs are usually paid about two thirds base and one third commission. RepVue's UK medians of £40,677 base and £61,585 OTE work out at 66:34. AEs are paid closer to an even split. RepVue's UK data puts AEs at about 55:45, and most AE roles on the meritt jobs board advertise OTE at double the base, which is 50:50. For a founder, the split matters for cash flow. Base is paid in every month, good or bad, so a higher base means a higher fixed cost while the rep ramps up. Set the split before you write the job ad, and put both the base and the OTE in the ad.
Should my first sales hire be an SDR or an AE?
If you are still closing deals yourself and can coach every week, a senior SDR who is ready for promotion is often the better first hire. They cost £45-55k base against £65-80k for a mid-market AE, and they can run first calls and close small deals while you lead the big ones. If your deals are large, your buyers are senior, or you have no time to coach, hire an experienced AE and pay the market rate. A junior SDR is rarely the right first hire, because they need a playbook and daily coaching that most early teams cannot give yet. Whichever you choose, write down what success looks like at 90 days and at six months before you start interviewing.
Sources
- RepVue UK pay data, October 2026: SDRs, SMB AEs, mid-market AEs, enterprise AEs. Self-reported, UK-wide.
- Robert Walters UK Salary Survey 2026, London sales and revenue tables. Base pay only.
- Glassdoor London, October 2026: SDR, senior SDR, account executive.
- Indeed London, October 2026: business development representative, account executive.
- ITJobsWatch, London account executive job ads, six months to October 2026.
- The Bridge Group, SDR tenure and ramp time, February 2025. 351 B2B companies, 78% in North America.
- Unify, The path to AE, updated August 2026. About 180,000 US reps.
- meritt jobs board: 25 London sales roles with published pay, 20 October 2026.
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