Side-by-side distribution
Sales Engineer
$162,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 45.4%
- Live roles
- 907
SDR
$70,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 33.7%
- Live roles
- 1,764
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Sales Engineer - Data & AI Security
Senior Sales Engineer - Data & AI Security
Senior Sales Engineer - Data & AI Security
Senior Sales Systems Engineer, VDC M365
Sr. Sales Systems Engineer - TX
Sales Engineer, Enterprise
Senior Solutions Engineer - Pre Sales (SF)
Senior Solutions Engineer - Pre Sales (NYC)
Sales Engineer (Bay Area)
Senior Pre-Sales Systems Engineer, SLED (Iowa / Kansas / Missouri / Nebraska)
Highest-paying jobs
Full Cycle Sales Development Representative
Enterprise SDR Northern Europe
🥥 Sales Development Representative - Job Code: 1781800659993
Sales Development Representative
Sales Development Representative
Sales Development Representative
Sales Development Representative
Sales Development Representative
Sales Development Representative
Technical Sales Development Representative (SDR)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
CaptiveAire
|
$85,000 | 30 |
Zscaler
|
$188,063 | 29 |
Samsara
|
$128,800 | 23 |
Ambient Enterprises
|
$77,500 | 16 |
| RL Rithum LinkedIn Board | $104,000 | 15 |
Datadog
|
$164,500 | 10 |
|
Veeam Software
|
$288,550 | 9 |
| CO Commvault | $138,175 | 9 |
Remote
Okta
ZoomInfo Technologies LLC
Airwallex
Compass
Sitemate
Snowflake
Sales Engineer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $197,500 | 51 |
| New York | $180,000 | 53 |
| Atlanta | $171,750 | 8 |
| Seattle | $171,600 | 5 |
| Los Angeles | $169,500 | 9 |
| Denver | $150,348 | 14 |
| Chicago | $150,000 | 8 |
| Austin | $144,350 | 7 |
| London | $134,425 | 6 |
| Toronto | $130,000 | 4 |
SDR salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $91,250 | 66 |
| New York | $81,000 | 98 |
| Los Angeles | $80,000 | 3 |
| Austin | $80,000 | 32 |
| Dublin | $73,710 | 7 |
| London | $72,764 | 27 |
| Berlin | $71,878 | 13 |
| Amsterdam | $71,878 | 13 |
| Chicago | $67,400 | 17 |
| Seattle | $65,000 | 5 |
Sales Engineer vs SDR: which pays more?
The median for Sales Engineer is $162,500 per year (typically $120,348–$200,000), versus $70,000 for SDR ($55,000–$90,000). That puts Sales Engineer about 132% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Sales Engineer and SDR are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.