Sales Commission Calculator
Free sales commission calculator: enter OTE, base and variable split, quota attainment, and accelerator to see base pay, variable earned, and total comp.
Total annual pay at exactly 100% of quota.
Share of OTE paid as guaranteed base. The rest is variable.
Sales target for the year. Used to show the effective commission rate.
Actual sales as a percentage of quota.
Multiplier on the commission rate for sales beyond quota. 1 = no accelerator.
Results
Base salary
$72,000
60% of OTE
- Variable target (at 100%)An effective 4.8% commission rate on quota.
- $48,000
- Variable earned at 120%Includes 1.5× accelerator on the 20% above quota.
- $62,400
- Total compensation
- $134,400
At 120% attainment, the rep earns $62,400 in variable pay (the 1.5× accelerator adds $4,800 versus a flat rate) - $134,400 total against a $120,000 OTE.
Free and instant - nothing is stored or sent. Estimates for planning purposes, not accounting, tax, or investment advice.
A sales compensation plan is four numbers pretending to be complicated: on-target earnings (OTE), the base/variable split, the quota, and what happens above 100% of it. This calculator models all four so reps can sanity-check an offer and finance can cost a plan before signing it.
Set attainment above 100% to see accelerator math in action - the multiplier applied to overperformance is where plans get expensive fast, and where the best reps make their year.
OTE, splits, and the commission rate
OTE is total expected pay at exactly 100% of quota. The base/variable split divides it: a $120,000 OTE at a 60/40 split is $72,000 of guaranteed base and $48,000 of variable target. A 50/50 split is commonly cited for closing roles; less risky roles (account management, SDRs) typically carry higher base splits.
The implied commission rate is variable target ÷ quota - here, $48,000 ÷ $1,000,000 = 4.8% of every dollar sold. That single rate lets you cost any deal: a $50,000 contract pays this rep $2,400.
How accelerator math works
Up to 100% of quota, variable pay accrues at the standard rate: attainment % × variable target. Beyond 100%, each dollar pays at the accelerated rate - the standard rate times the accelerator multiple.
With the defaults at 120% attainment: the first 100% earns the full $48,000 target, and the 20% overage earns 20% × $48,000 × 1.5 = $14,400 instead of $9,600. Total variable is $62,400 and total compensation is $134,400 against a $120,000 OTE.
Accelerators exist because the marginal deals are the profitable ones - quota was set to cover the rep’s cost, so overage revenue carries little incremental cost of sale. Uncapped accelerated plans are commonly cited as best practice for closing roles; capping commissions saves pennies and reliably stalls Q4 pipeline.
How to interpret the result - for reps and for finance
For a rep evaluating an offer: model 70%, 100%, and 130% attainment. The 70% case is the realistic downside - if you cannot live on it, the base split is too aggressive for your situation. Ask what percentage of the team actually hit quota last year.
For finance: total compensation at high attainment is a feature, not a bug - but model the plan cost at the team level across the attainment distribution, and remember commissions are typically a cost of obtaining a contract under ASC 340-40, capitalized and amortized rather than expensed immediately. The related guide covers the accounting.
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical base/variable split for sales reps?
A 50/50 split is commonly cited for quota-carrying closing roles (account executives). Roles with less direct deal control typically carry higher base - 60/40 or 70/30 for account managers and customer success, and SDR plans often around 60/40 or 70/30 with activity-based variable.
What is a commission accelerator?
A higher commission rate applied to sales above 100% of quota. If the standard rate is 4.8% and the accelerator is 1.5×, every dollar beyond quota pays 7.2%. Accelerators reward overperformance where it is most profitable and are standard in SaaS compensation plans.
How do I calculate the commission rate from OTE and quota?
Commission rate = variable portion of OTE ÷ annual quota. A $120,000 OTE with 40% variable ($48,000) against a $1,000,000 quota implies a 4.8% rate. Sanity-check the quota-to-OTE ratio too: quotas of roughly 4–6× OTE are commonly cited for SaaS closing roles.
Should commissions be capped?
Most practitioners advise against caps for closing roles: the marginal revenue above quota is the cheapest revenue the company earns, and caps reliably cause reps to push deals into the next period. If cost control is the concern, decelerators on windfall mega-deals or tiered accelerators are less damaging than hard caps.
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