SDR vs AI BDR Cost 2027 Comparison Calculator
Compare the fully loaded cost of a human SDR (sales development rep) against AI BDR tools like 11x, Artisan, Regie.ai, AiSDR, and Outreach Skills. Includes salary, commission, tooling, ramp time, and attrition for SDRs versus subscription, token, and integration costs for AI BDRs.
Human SDR Fully Loaded Cost
The true cost of an SDR is much higher than OTE. Per RepVue and Bridge Group 2025 data: US SDR base USD 55-75K, OTE USD 75-100K, plus benefits (30 percent), tooling (Outreach, ZoomInfo, Salesloft = USD 12-20K/year), manager allocation (1 SDR manager per 8 SDRs at USD 150K = USD 19K per SDR), and 33 percent annual attrition forcing 4-6 months of ramp every cycle. Fully loaded: USD 145-200K per ramped SDR per year.
Comparison Math
SDR Annual Cost = (Base + Bonus) × 1.3 + Tooling + Mgmt Allocation + Ramp Loss
AI BDR Annual Cost = Subscription × 12 + Token Cost + Integration Cost
AI BDR Tool Pricing as of 2026
11x Alice: USD 4K-7K/month per AI rep equivalent. Artisan Ava: USD 1K-3K/month per AI rep. Regie.ai: USD 6K/year base plus per-message cost. AiSDR: USD 1K/month for 1000 personalized emails. Reply.io AI: USD 99-549/month. Most B2B teams running serious AI BDR programs land USD 30K-80K/year per AI rep equivalent — about 20-40 percent of human SDR fully loaded cost.
Output Comparison
A solid human SDR generates 60-100 qualified meetings per quarter (RepVue 2025 median). AI BDRs in production today (11x, Artisan production data 2025) generate 15-50 qualified meetings per quarter at much higher email volume and lower reply rate. AI wins on raw volume and cost per touch; humans still win on per-meeting conversion. Best-in-class teams pair AI for top-of-funnel volume with human SDRs for qualification calls.
The Real Decision
AI BDRs are not "replace SDRs" — they are "augment SDRs to handle 5x volume." Most production deployments retain human SDRs but cut headcount 30-50 percent while doubling output per remaining SDR. Pure AI-only outbound has not yet shown sustained pipeline at quota for B2B SaaS in 2025-2026 — early adopters report 40-60 percent below human-team benchmarks. Plan a hybrid model and re-evaluate annually as AI BDR quality improves.
Sources: Bridge Group SDR Metrics Report 2025, RepVue Sales Compensation Benchmarks 2025, 11x and Artisan customer case studies 2025, Gartner Sales Tech Magic Quadrant 2025. Last updated: April 2026.