Every VP Sales who's gotten a recruiter ping from both a Series A startup and a Fortune 500 has run the same mental math. Lower base at the startup, but equity. Higher base at the enterprise company, but RSUs that vest on a known schedule. Both pitches sound right in a 30-minute call. Neither holds up without real numbers.
I've been tracking executive sales job postings weekly since 2025. The dataset covers 1,349 postings, 704 with salary disclosed (54.8% disclosure rate). Of those, 636 are VP-level roles. That's a large enough pool to compare comp across six company stages, five metros, and both work models.
The headline finding: Seed/Series A VP Sales roles average $193K-$260K in base. Enterprise/Public roles average $168K-$266K. The gap at the high end is only $6K. On base salary alone, startups and enterprise companies are far closer than most people assume. The divergence happens in equity, variable comp structure, and liquidity, where the two paths look nothing alike.
Data source: Based on analysis of 1,349 executive sales postings tracked weekly by The CRO Report, with 704 roles (54.8%) disclosing compensation. VP-level data reflects 636 roles with disclosed salary ranges. This is posting data, not self-reported survey data. Survey-based reports typically skew 10-15% higher. Companies post what they'll actually pay.
VP Sales Base Salary by Company Stage
Company stage is the single biggest variable in VP Sales comp. Here's the full breakdown from our dataset.
The CRO Report's data reveals that startup VP Sales roles (Seed-Series B) offer $150K-$220K base versus $200K-$350K at enterprise companies, but startup equity grants can represent 5-10x the delta at exit.
| Company Stage | VP Avg Base Low | VP Avg Base High | VP Roles (n) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed / Series A | $193,000 | $260,000 | 12 |
| Series A / B | $142,000 | $178,000 | 36 |
| Series B / C | $159,000 | $221,000 | 28 |
| Series C / D | $221,000 | $317,000 | 71 |
| Late Stage | $215,000 | $302,000 | 23 |
| Enterprise / Public | $168,000 | $266,000 | 170 |
A few things stand out immediately.
Series C/D pays the highest VP Sales base at $221K-$317K across 71 roles. These companies have product-market fit, real revenue, and they're hiring experienced operators to scale what's working. They're competing for talent against both startups (which offer more equity) and public companies (which offer RSU liquidity). The primary lever where a Series C/D company can beat both is base salary, and they use it.
Series A/B is the floor at $142K-$178K across 36 roles. Companies in that awkward growth phase between initial traction and real scale are stretching budgets. They've raised enough to hire a VP Sales but not enough to pay market rate for one.
Enterprise/Public sits at $168K-$266K across 170 roles, the largest pool in the dataset. The low end of $168K is the lowest floor of any stage except Series A/B. Public companies don't need to lead on base because they have other levers: RSUs with a known stock price, annual refresh grants, 401k matches, and stability. They compete on total package, not the base number.
The Seed/Series A Anomaly
Seed/Series A VP roles pay $193K-$260K in base. That's higher than Series A/B and higher than the Enterprise floor. With 12 data points, treat this with appropriate caution. But the pattern makes sense. These companies are usually well-funded, founder-led, and posting a VP Sales role as a signal that they're serious about go-to-market. They know they're asking someone to take a risk, so they pay up on base to get the hire across the line.
The 12 Seed/Series A companies posting VP Sales roles at $193K+ base aren't pre-revenue startups running on a friends-and-family round. They've raised real money and they're making a strategic bet on sales leadership.
The Series A/B Dip
The most consistent pattern in the data is a base salary dip at Series A/B, followed by a steady climb. Here's the progression of high-end averages across stages:
- Seed/Series A: $260K (12 roles)
- Series A/B: $178K (36 roles), a 32% drop
- Series B/C: $221K (28 roles), recovering
- Series C/D: $317K (71 roles), the peak
- Late Stage: $302K (23 roles)
- Enterprise/Public: $266K (170 roles)
If you're evaluating a Series A/B VP Sales opportunity, the base offer will likely be 20-30% below what you'd get at a later-stage company. The equity grant has to cover that gap and then some, or the math doesn't work.
Startup VP Sales Equity: Running the Numbers
Base salary is the piece companies disclose in postings. Equity almost never shows up in the listing. But equity is where the startup vs. enterprise comparison either closes or blows wide open.
Early-Stage Equity (Seed through Series B)
A VP Sales at Seed/Series A should expect 0.25% to 1%+ in equity, depending on whether you're the first sales hire or joining an existing team. At Series A/B, expect 0.1% to 0.5%. At Series B/C, that drops to 0.05% to 0.25%. The grants shrink as the company matures, and the base salary is also lower at Series A/B, so equity has to compensate for a real cash gap.
Let's run a specific scenario. A VP Sales takes a Series A/B role at $160K base (midpoint of the $142K-$178K range) instead of an Enterprise/Public role at $217K base (midpoint of the $168K-$266K range). That's $57K per year in foregone base, or $228K over a four-year vest.
| Exit Valuation | 0.25% Grant Value | 0.50% Grant Value | Covers the $228K Gap? |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50M | $125,000 | $250,000 | No / Barely |
| $100M | $250,000 | $500,000 | Barely / Yes |
| $250M | $625,000 | $1,250,000 | Yes / Yes |
| $500M | $1,250,000 | $2,500,000 | Yes / Yes |
These numbers are pre-dilution and pre-tax. Dilution from subsequent funding rounds typically cuts ownership by 20-40%. Taxes take another 30-50% depending on state and exercise strategy. A 0.25% grant at a $100M exit nets roughly $100K-$150K after dilution and taxes. That doesn't cover the $228K base gap.
The equity bet only pays off at meaningful valuations or with larger grant sizes. At 0.5% and a $250M+ exit, the math is clearly in your favor. Below that, you've subsidized the company's growth with your own paycheck.
Growth-Stage Equity (Series C/D)
Series C/D occupies an interesting middle ground. Base salary is already the highest of any stage at $221K-$317K. Equity grants run 0.05% to 0.25% in options or RSUs. Smaller percentages, but the company's typically valued at $500M-$2B+, so even a small grant can have substantial dollar value.
A 0.1% grant at a company valued at $1B is $1M in paper value. With a reasonable path to IPO, that's real money. And you're not taking the base salary haircut that Series A/B requires. Series C/D VP Sales roles offer both competitive base and meaningful equity upside, which explains why 71 roles sit at this stage in our data, the most of any growth-stage category.
Enterprise/Public RSUs
Public company VP Sales equity comes as RSUs with a known stock price. No guessing game, no illiquidity discount, no exit dependency. Annual RSU grants for a VP Sales at a mid-to-large public company typically run $75K-$250K per year in stock value, with refresh grants based on performance.
Add $150K in annual RSUs to the $168K-$266K base range, and enterprise VP Sales total comp starts to look like $318K-$416K before variable. Layer in a 40% bonus target on base, and estimated total comp reaches $385K-$523K. That competes with or exceeds Series C/D total comp in many scenarios, and you don't need an exit event to realize the value.
Equity traps to watch: Four-year vesting with a one-year cliff is standard. But details matter. What's the post-termination exercise window? A 90-day window with a high strike price means your options are effectively worthless if you leave or get fired unless you can come up with six figures in cash. Some companies now offer extended exercise windows of 5-10 years. That's a meaningful benefit. Ask about it early in the process.
VP Sales Salary by Metro
Location still moves comp, even with 43% of roles in our dataset posted as remote-eligible. Here's how the top metros compare across all VP-level roles.
| Metro | Avg Base Low | Avg Base High |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $244,000 | $347,000 |
| Seattle | $201,000 | $297,000 |
| Boston | $201,000 | $283,000 |
| New York | $181,000 | $250,000 |
| Remote | $152,000 | $217,000 |
San Francisco commands a $347K ceiling, $130K above remote and $97K above New York at the high end. The SF premium holds regardless of company stage.
Seattle and Boston cluster in a second tier, both around $201K-$297K. Seattle edges ahead at the top end by $14K. Both beat New York, which sits at $181K-$250K. The NYC number feels low for the cost of living, but that metro has a broader industry mix that includes media, finance, and services companies paying below SaaS market rates.
Remote VP Sales roles come in at $152K-$217K. That's 13% below New York and 37% below San Francisco at the high end. The remote premium that briefly existed during 2021-2022 has fully reverted. Remote comp and in-person comp haven't converged. Not even close.
Geography compounds the stage effect. A Seed/Series A VP Sales in San Francisco could see $250K-$280K in base. An Enterprise VP in New York likely lands $200K-$250K. The SF startup VP can out-earn the NYC enterprise VP on base alone, before equity enters the picture.
Remote vs. On-Site: The Comp Split
Across the full dataset, here's how remote and on-site VP Sales roles compare.
| Work Model | Avg Base Low | Avg Base High | Roles (n) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remote | $176,000 | $259,000 | 311 |
| On-Site | $169,000 | $250,000 | 393 |
Remote roles show slightly higher averages than on-site: $176K vs. $169K on the low end, $259K vs. $250K on the high end. That runs counter to the conventional remote-discount narrative.
The likely explanation is selection bias. Remote VP Sales roles in our dataset skew toward later-stage companies and well-funded startups competing nationally for talent. On-site roles include a broader mix of regional companies and smaller firms that require in-office presence and pay accordingly.
When you control for metro (as in the table above), the remote discount reappears. A remote VP Sales at $217K on the high end trails every named metro. The aggregate numbers are misleading. Use the metro-specific comparison when evaluating a remote offer against a location-based one.
The Full Picture: Startup vs. Enterprise Total Comp
Here's a side-by-side comparison using midpoints from our data and standard assumptions for variable and equity.
| Comp Component | Series A/B Startup | Series C/D Growth | Enterprise/Public |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $160,000 | $269,000 | $217,000 |
| Variable (40% of base) | $64,000 | $107,600 | $86,800 |
| Estimated OTE | $224,000 | $376,600 | $303,800 |
| Equity (Annual Value) | $50K-$200K (paper) | $100K-$400K (paper) | $75K-$250K (RSUs) |
| Estimated Total Comp | $274K-$424K | $477K-$777K | $379K-$554K |
| Liquidity Risk | High | Medium | Low |
Series C/D wins on total comp ceiling, offering the highest base, meaningful equity with a clearer path to liquidity, and aggressive variable targets. These roles are also the most competitive to land.
Enterprise/Public wins on certainty. The RSUs are liquid, the bonus targets are achievable because the sales motion is established, and you're not building from scratch. The ceiling is lower, but the floor is much higher.
Series A/B is the high-variance position. Lowest base, highest equity uncertainty, and you're likely building a sales org with process gaps everywhere. The payoff can be enormous, but the median outcome for early-stage startup equity is zero. That's the base rate, not pessimism.
The probability filter: If 1 in 10 startups reaches a $500M+ exit, the expected value of a 0.25% grant is $125K total (10% probability times $1.25M), not $1.25M. Divide by four years and the expected annual equity value is $31K, before dilution and taxes. Enterprise RSUs have a roughly 95%+ probability of being worth their grant value. Probability-adjusted, enterprise almost always wins unless you've got high conviction in a specific company.
What Posting Data Doesn't Capture
The dataset shows what companies offer. Several things that affect the real comparison don't show up in postings.
- Negotiated comp. VP-level candidates routinely negotiate 10-20% above posted ranges. The numbers here are starting points, not endpoints.
- Signing bonuses. Startups and growth companies use $25K-$75K signing bonuses to bridge the gap for candidates leaving higher-base roles. These don't appear in salary range data.
- Benefits value. Enterprise companies offer 401k matches, premium healthcare, and perks worth $20K-$40K annually. Startups offer flexibility, speed, and usually inferior benefits packages.
- Severance and acceleration. Double-trigger acceleration, severance packages, and change-of-control provisions vary widely at the VP level. These can add hundreds of thousands in downside protection and don't appear in postings.
- Historical attainment. OTE targets are meaningless without knowing what percentage of the team hits quota. A $350K OTE at a company with 90% attainment is worth more than a $400K OTE at a company with 60% attainment.
Use the posting data as a calibration tool. Then negotiate from there based on the specifics of your situation and the company's appetite to close you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a VP Sales make at a startup vs enterprise company?
Based on 636 VP-level sales roles tracked by The CRO Report, startup VP Sales base salary at Seed/Series A averages $193K-$260K across 12 roles, while Enterprise/Public companies average $168K-$266K across 170 roles. The gap at the high end is only $6K in base. Total comp diverges once equity enters the picture: startups offer 0.25-1%+ in options, while enterprise companies provide RSU packages worth $75K-$250K+ annually with known liquidity.
Is startup VP Sales equity worth the lower base salary?
The math depends on exit valuation. A Series A/B VP Sales taking $160K base (vs. $217K at enterprise) gives up $57K per year, or $228K over four years. At 0.25% equity and a $500M exit, pre-dilution value is $1.25M, netting roughly $450K-$550K after dilution and taxes. That covers the gap. At a $100M exit, the same 0.25% nets roughly $100K-$150K, well below the $228K foregone. For 0.25% equity to match a $200K annual RSU package, the company needs to exit at roughly $750M-$900M.
What's the average VP Sales OTE at a Series B startup?
Series B/C VP Sales roles in our dataset average $159K-$221K in base salary across 28 roles. With standard variable comp of 40-50% of base, estimated OTE falls in the $223K-$332K range. Actual OTE depends on quota structure, accelerators, and whether the VP carries a personal number or manages to a team target. Ask for historical attainment data to evaluate whether the OTE target is realistic.
Do enterprise VP Sales roles pay more than startup VP Sales?
On base salary alone, enterprise and startup VP Sales overlap more than expected. Enterprise/Public averages $168K-$266K across 170 roles. Seed/Series A averages $193K-$260K across 12 roles. Series C/D actually pays the highest base at $221K-$317K. Enterprise wins on total comp when RSUs ($75K-$250K annually), predictable bonus payouts, and benefits are included. Probability-adjusted total comp almost always favors enterprise unless the startup achieves an exit above $750M.
How does remote work affect VP Sales startup salary?
Remote VP Sales roles average $152K-$217K in base across 311 roles. On-site roles average $169K-$250K across 393 roles. By metro, San Francisco VP Sales roles reach $244K-$347K, while remote roles sit $130K lower at the top end. The remote discount is roughly 37% below San Francisco and 13% below New York. Many startup VP Sales roles default to remote, which partially explains compressed early-stage base numbers.
What company stage pays VP Sales the most?
Series C/D pays the highest VP Sales base at $221K-$317K across 71 roles. Late Stage follows at $215K-$302K across 23 roles. Seed/Series A ($193K-$260K) and Enterprise/Public ($168K-$266K) overlap more than expected. Series A/B pays the least at $142K-$178K across 36 roles. On total comp including equity, enterprise often matches or exceeds growth-stage companies, though Series C/D offers both competitive base and meaningful equity upside.
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Subscribe FreeMethodology & Disclosure: All compensation data comes from publicly posted job listings tracked weekly by The CRO Report since 2025. The dataset covers 1,349 executive sales postings, with 704 roles (54.8%) disclosing salary ranges. VP-level data reflects 636 roles with disclosed compensation across six company stages. Variable comp and OTE estimates use standard 40-50% variable assumptions and may not reflect specific company structures. Equity ranges are based on industry norms and published benchmarks, not posting data, as most listings don't disclose equity. Probability-weighted equity calculations use generalized startup outcome distributions and should not be applied to specific companies without additional analysis. This data reflects posted ranges and may differ from final negotiated offers. Updated January 31, 2026.
The CRO Report is run by Rome Thorndike, VP Revenue at Firmograph.ai. 15+ years in B2B sales leadership including Salesforce, Microsoft, Snapdocs, and Datajoy (acquired by Databricks). MBA from UC Berkeley Haas.