Director of Customer Success SaaS Salary (2026)

Director of Customer Success Salary Overview

$69,593

Bottom 25% Average

Early-stage startups

$115,128

Middle 50% Average

Growth companies

$157,877

Top 25% Average

Late-stage/public companies

Directors of Customer Success at SaaS companies lead the CS organization, owning retention, expansion, and customer health across the portfolio. They manage teams of Customer Success Managers and Implementation Specialists, report to the Head of Customer Success or VP of Customer Success, and partner with Directors of Sales on expansion revenue strategy.

Director of Customer Success compensation reflects the role's direct impact on net revenue retention — the metric most correlated with SaaS company valuation. The career path leads to Head of Customer Success or VP-level roles. View all SaaS salary benchmarks.

Detailed Director of Customer Success Compensation Breakdown

Percentile Band	Average Base Salary	# of salaries
Top 25%	$157,877	44 salaries
Middle 50%	$115,128	95 salaries
Bottom 25%	$69,593	37 salaries

What Drives Higher Director of Customer Success Pay?

Portfolio ARR managed — $10M+ portfolios command top-tier compensation
NRR and churn improvement track record
Team size — managing 10–25+ CSMs reflects greater organizational scope
Enterprise vs. SMB focus (enterprise CS commands a significant premium)

Director of Customer Success Compensation Structure

Base salary is the primary component (70–80% of total comp)
Variable pay tied to NRR, gross retention, and churn targets
Equity grants standard at growth-stage companies (0.05–0.25%)
Expansion revenue bonuses for upsell and cross-sell performance

Frequently Asked Questions

The median SaaS Director of Customer Success base salary is $120,000, with a typical range of $90,000–$142,000. The average base is $116,243 across 176 verified salaries. Total compensation including variable pay and equity can push 25–40% above base at growth-stage companies.

Directors of Customer Success typically earn 15–25% less in total compensation than Heads of Customer Success. The Head role carries broader organizational ownership, often managing multiple directors and owning the entire post-sale customer journey. Head-level equity grants are also substantially larger.

The most common next steps are VP of Customer Success (owning CS strategy company-wide) or CRO (broader revenue ownership including sales and CS). Some Directors transition into Head of Customer Success roles at larger organizations as an intermediate step.

Yes, significantly. Our data shows a $90,000–$142,000 typical range across 176 salaries. Late-stage companies (Series C+) with established customer bases pay the highest base salaries, while earlier-stage startups compensate with equity and the opportunity to build the CS function from scratch.

Directors who own both retention and expansion revenue typically earn 10–20% more in total compensation than those focused solely on retention. Expansion-focused Directors often have variable pay structures similar to sales leaders, with accelerators tied to upsell and cross-sell targets that can significantly increase total earnings.

Related Salary Benchmarks

Customer Success Manager$65K - $90K Senior Customer Success Manager$67K - $100K Customer Success Associate$45K - $65K Customer Success Specialist$40K - $58K Customer Support Specialist$52K - $65K Customer Support Associate

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