In 2026, early-stage SaaS AEs in the US typically earn $80K–$120K base with $160K–$240K OTE. VP Sales ranges from $140K–$220K base depending on stage. Here's the full breakdown, and where you actually have room to negotiate.
| Role | Base | OTE | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Executive | $80K–$120K | $160K–$240K | 0.05%–0.25% |
| VP Sales (Series A) | $160K–$190K | $280K–$360K | 0.25%–0.75% |
| VP Sales (Series B) | $180K–$220K | $320K–$420K | 0.1%–0.4% |
These ranges reflect early-stage US SaaS companies. Enterprise-motion roles with larger deal sizes and longer cycles often run higher on base; high-velocity SMB motions often run lower on base with steeper accelerators.
| Company Size | Base | OTE | Book of Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5–25 employees | $60K–$75K | $80K–$100K | $500K–$1M ARR |
| 25–1,000 employees | $75K–$95K | $100K–$130K | $1M–$3M ARR |
CSM variable comp should be tied to renewal rate and net revenue retention, not new-logo bookings, that's a different role's target. For the full breakdown across all 8 GTM roles including SDR, Account Manager, CRO, GTM Engineer, and Marketing, see our 2026 GTM Salary Benchmark Report.
The ranges above are Beacon's own view of early-stage SaaS offers. For an outside reference point, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), and the table below uses the May 2025 release. Two cautions before you read it. These are all-industry figures, so they blend software companies with manufacturers, distributors and banks, and they are not SaaS-only. They are also not on-target earnings (OTE): the survey reports wages employers say they paid, not the plan targets written into an offer letter. The occupations are the closest BLS categories, not exact matches. Sales managers are not VP Sales, and technical and scientific products sales representatives are not SaaS Account Executives.
| Area | Sales managers employed | Sales managers, 25th–75th percentile | Sales managers, median | Technical sales reps, median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 637,080 | $100,360–$207,340 | $148,270 | $104,920 |
| New York metro | 44,870 | $160,200–$310,750 | $215,150 | $133,690 |
| New York (state) | 38,510 | $163,090–$316,030 | $217,640 | $129,410 |
| Boston metro | 11,540 | $153,940–$253,490 | $206,610 | $122,550 |
| Massachusetts (state) | 15,010 | $141,040–$235,420 | $191,200 | $118,980 |
| Seattle metro | 6,620 | $143,240–$254,290 | $184,320 | $129,550 |
| Denver metro | 5,930 | $141,940–$237,990 | $181,580 | $136,100 |
| Washington DC metro | 8,780 | $121,380–$232,760 | $175,820 | $120,140 |
| San Francisco area | 17,770 | $114,990–$258,330 | $170,810 | $130,710 |
| Atlanta metro | 12,080 | $120,370–$214,910 | $166,920 | $126,330 |
| Chicago metro | 25,390 | $110,000–$212,000 | $158,690 | $112,150 |
| Austin metro | 9,880 | $101,540–$205,460 | $151,760 | $83,170 |
| Texas (state) | 76,010 | not retained | $136,020 | $99,080 |
| California (state) | 112,440 | not retained | $134,910 | $124,220 |
| Los Angeles metro | 37,790 | $92,540–$197,620 | $132,330 | $107,020 |
| Miami metro | 13,930 | $94,420–$181,200 | $130,180 | $106,970 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, all industries, bls.gov/oes. The 15 areas are 11 metro areas and 4 states. For the California and Texas statewide rows we hold medians only, so their percentile band reads "not retained".
Work one example through. A Series A VP Sales base range of $160K–$190K has a midpoint of $175K. The national sales manager median is $148,270, so that midpoint is 18% above it. In the New York metro, where the median is $215,150, the same $175K is 19% below it. In Austin ($151,760) it is 15% above, and in Boston ($206,610) it is 15% below. The same offer can be generous in one market and light in another, and the posted range alone will not tell you which.
Do the same for an Account Executive. A base of $100K, the midpoint of the $80K–$120K range, is about 5% below the national technical sales rep median of $104,920. Against Austin's $83,170 it is 20% above, and against Denver's $136,100 it is 27% below. The AE OTE midpoint is $200K, which sits almost exactly on the national 90th percentile for technical sales reps ($200,440). Beacon's view is that this gap is normal, because OTE describes what a plan pays at full attainment while BLS describes what people were paid across every attainment level.
Three decision rules follow. First, use the 25th–75th band for your metro as context for how wide the market is, not as a target. Second, if a base lands below your local median and the company cannot explain why through a higher OTE split, treat that as a negotiating point under the base-first rule above. Third, do not quote BLS figures as if they were SaaS pay. A hiring manager will correctly point out they are not, and you lose credibility. Use the SaaS ranges in this guide and in the 2026 GTM comp benchmarks, and use BLS to sanity-check geography.
One gap to know about: BLS has no occupation for Customer Success Manager. The nearest listed job, customer service representative, has a national median of $44,770 and is a different role, so we do not use it for the CSM ranges above.
Negotiate base first, not OTE. OTE assumes 100% quota attainment, which is never guaranteed, especially in your first year in a new motion. A below-market base is the real risk, and it's also a signal: a company that lowballs base either doesn't know the market or isn't taking the hire seriously.
Equity is the second lever, especially at Series A when the range is widest. Ask what the company's last two comparable hires actually received, not just what the posted range says.
Don't cheap out on base when you're negotiating. If a company won't move on it, that tells you something about how they'll treat comp conversations after you've already started.
Knowing the range is the first step. These guides help you negotiate it and plan around it.
| Guide | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Negotiating Comp as a GTM Candidate | Base/OTE split negotiation, equity questions, countering without losing the offer |
| Red Flags When Evaluating a Sales Job Offer | OTE structure traps and ramp-quota mismatches to catch before you sign |
| VP Sales Career Path Guide | What comp looks like at each stage on the way up |
| GTM Career Growth Guide | The full SDR to VP Sales map this comp data sits inside |
Early-stage SaaS AEs in the US typically earn $80K–$120K base with $160K–$240K OTE, depending on market and ACV.
Series A VP Sales roles typically run $160K–$190K base with $280K–$360K OTE and 0.25%–0.75% equity. Series B roles run $180K–$220K base with $320K–$420K OTE and 0.1%–0.4% equity.
Base first. OTE assumes 100% quota attainment, which isn't guaranteed. A below-market base is the bigger risk, and it also signals whether the company actually knows the market or is guessing.
CSMs at companies under 25 employees typically run $60K–$75K base with $80K–$100K OTE. At 25-1,000 employees that moves to $75K–$95K base with $100K–$130K OTE, with variable tied to renewal rate and net revenue retention rather than new-logo bookings.
Rarely, and not predictably. Equity value depends on an exit that may be years away or may not happen at all. Treat a strong base and OTE as the reliable part of the offer, and equity as upside on top of it, not a substitute for it.
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