How much do appointment setters make per month? AU and US

Appointment setters in Australia and the US usually make somewhere between about AU$3,800 and AU$7,100 a month, or about US$2,300 to US$3,900 a month in the US, before tax, based on published annual pay ranges. Those monthly figures are public annual ranges divided by 12: SEEK (AU$65,000 to AU$85,000 advertised), Payscale Australia (AU$46,000 to AU$61,000 total pay) and Payscale US (US$28,000 to US$47,000 total pay). Part-time, commission-only and brand-new setters often earn well below that range, especially in months 1 to 3.

How much do appointment setters make per month in Australia and the US?

Here is the monthly version of the public data, checked in October 2026. The method is simple: take the published annual figure and divide by 12, or take the median hourly rate and multiply by weekly hours, then by 52, then divide by 12. Every number is gross (before tax) and varies by employer, hours and pay structure.

Market and source	Published figure	Monthly equivalent (our maths)	What it is based on
Australia, SEEK	AU$65,000 to AU$85,000 a year	About AU$5,417 to AU$7,083	Full-time salaries disclosed in SEEK job ads; some include super
Australia, Payscale	AU$46,000 to AU$61,000 total pay a year	About AU$3,833 to AU$5,083	Only 8 self-reported profiles, updated March 2026
Australia, Payscale, part-time	AU$25.58 median an hour	About AU$2,217 at 20 hours a week	25.58 x 20 x 52 / 12
US, Payscale	US$28,000 to US$47,000 total pay a year	About US$2,333 to US$3,917	76 self-reported profiles, updated July 2026; includes a commission range of US$9,000 to US$15,000 a year
US, Payscale, part-time	US$16.08 median an hour	About US$1,394 at 20 hours a week	16.08 x 20 x 52 / 12

SEEK sits highest because it only counts full-time salaried ads. Commission-only contractor roles barely show up in any of these datasets. For the full annual and hourly picture, including how each site collects its data, see our guide to how much appointment setters make.

An appointment setter’s monthly pay depends less on the job title and more on four things: hours, base pay, show rate and the price of what is being sold.

What She Sells does if you want a setter role

Setting is often the first seat in remote sales, because you are booking conversations rather than asking for the sale. At She Sells, “She Launches” is the foundation program (live coaching, role play and frameworks, without direct placement). “She Soars” is the career program through the She Sells “Cert III in Remote Sales” certificate: once you’re certified, our recruitment team works with you to land a role within 90 days, or your money back. Both are on the programs page. For honesty’s sake: when I moved into remote sales in 2020, I made $440 in my first month. That is one person’s result and not typical, but it shows how slow month one can be.

Worked example: one setter’s first four months, four ways

These inputs are made up to show the mechanics. They are illustrative, not typical, not data and not a prediction of what you will earn. Swap in the real numbers from any offer you are looking at.

• Hours: part-time is 80 hours in the month (20 a week, four-week month for simple maths); full-time is 160 hours.
• Base plus commission: $20 an hour base, plus 5% of a $3,000 offer ($150) for each sale from a call you booked.
• Commission-only: no base, 10% of the same $3,000 offer ($300) per sale.
• Funnel: 60% of booked calls show up, and the closer wins 1 in 4 of the calls that show. Sales are rounded down.
• Ramp: a settled part-time setter books 40 calls in the month, but a new one books 15, then 25, then 35 while learning the scripts and the offer. Full-time doubles each figure.

Month (illustration only)	Part-time, base + commission	Part-time, commission-only	Full-time, base + commission	Full-time, commission-only
Month 1 (PT 15 booked, 2 sales; FT 30 booked, 4 sales)	$1,900	$600	$3,800	$1,200
Month 2 (PT 25 booked, 3 sales; FT 50 booked, 7 sales)	$2,050	$900	$4,250	$2,100
Month 3 (PT 35 booked, 5 sales; FT 70 booked, 10 sales)	$2,350	$1,500	$4,700	$3,000
Month 4, settled (PT 40 booked, 6 sales; FT 80 booked, 12 sales)	$2,500	$1,800	$5,000	$3,600

How the first cell works: 80 hours x $20 = $1,600 base. 15 booked calls x 60% = 9 shows. 9 shows / 4 = 2 sales (rounded down). 2 x $150 = $300 commission. Total $1,900 gross for the month.

With these inputs, commission-only pays less than base plus commission in every month. Double the offer price to $6,000 and the picture changes: the settled part-time commission-only setter earns 6 x $600 = $3,600, ahead of the base role. That is why the offer price you are booking for matters so much.

Why months 1 to 3 usually pay less

The first three months of an appointment setting role usually pay less because almost every income driver starts low at once. You are learning the offer, the scripts and the CRM, so you book fewer calls. Your qualifying is looser, so fewer calls show up. And commission is often paid only after the sale (sometimes after a refund period), so month two’s best week may land in month three.

The ramp hurts commission-only pay far more than base pay. In the worked example, the part-time base role pays 76% of its settled amount in month one ($1,900 of $2,500). The commission-only role pays 33% ($600 of $1,800). If a role is commission-only, plan your household budget around months 1 to 3, not month 4. Our guide on how long it takes to earn money in remote sales covers the timeline in more detail.

What moves an appointment setter’s monthly pay

Driver	What changes it	Effect in the worked example (illustrative)
Show rate	Tight qualifying, reminders, booking close to the enquiry	At a 40% show rate, the settled part-time setter gets 16 shows and 4 sales: $2,200 with base, $1,200 commission-only
Offer price	What the business sells: a $3,000 program vs a $6,000 one	Doubles commission per sale; commission-only month 4 goes from $1,800 to $3,600
Hours	Part-time vs full-time, school hours, evening shifts	Roughly doubles both base and bookings
Base	Hourly or salary floor vs none	Sets your worst month; $1,600 of part-time pay arrives even if nothing sells

Show rate is the driver most setters can control directly, which is why we wrote a whole guide on appointment setter show rates.

The costs people forget when they work out monthly pay

A setter’s monthly take-home is gross pay minus tax, unpaid time and tools. Contractors feel all three.

Tax set-aside if you are a contractor

• US: the IRS says the self-employment tax rate is 15.3% (Social Security plus Medicare), on top of income tax, and that people generally have to make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe $1,000 or more when they file. More in our guide to 1099 taxes for remote closers.
• Australia: contractors usually have no tax taken out of each payment. The ATO explains that PAYG instalments are regular prepayments of the expected tax on business income, generally due 28 days after the end of each quarter. If an AU offer is a salary, ask whether super is included or on top.

Unpaid admin time

Team meetings, training, CRM notes and chasing no-shows still take hours. On hourly pay those hours are usually paid. On commission-only they are not, so they quietly drag your real hourly rate down.

Software and set-up

Phone, internet, a headset and sometimes a dialler or CRM seat. Ask whether the business provides tools, and list anything you pay for yourself.

Worked through on the settled part-time commission-only month (illustrative, not typical, and not tax advice): $1,800 gross, minus a 25% tax set-aside chosen for the example ($450), minus $60 of tools, leaves $1,290. Spread over 80 paid hours plus 10 unpaid admin hours, that is about $14.33 an hour. Ask a registered tax agent (AU) or a CPA or enrolled agent (US) what your own set-aside should be.

The 3-month floor rule: when each pay structure makes sense

Our rule of thumb at She Sells: only take a commission-only setter role if you could cover three months of essential bills without it. Here is how that plays out.

If this is you	Lean towards	Why
You need a fixed amount every month for rent, childcare or bills	Hourly or base plus commission	The base covers the slow ramp months
Other household income or savings cover 3 months of essentials	Commission-only can work	You can survive months 1 to 3 while your bookings grow
The offer price is low (your commission per sale is small)	Base plus commission	Commission-only rarely catches up, as the worked example shows
Your show rate is still under half after 2 months	Fix qualifying before adding hours	More bookings at a low show rate mostly adds unpaid time
Anyone asks you to pay to get the job or promises fast income	Walk away	A job that charges you to start is not a job offer

Frequently asked questions

How much will I make per month as a part-time appointment setter?

Using Payscale’s median hourly rates at 20 hours a week, that works out to about AU$2,217 a month in Australia (Payscale median) or about US$1,394 a month in the US (Payscale median), before tax. Commission-only part-time roles can pay much less than that in the first few months, or more if the offer price and show rate are high.

Is commission-only appointment setting worth it?

It can be when the offer price is high, the show rate is strong and you can cover about three months of bills while you ramp up. When the commission per sale is small, a base plus commission role usually pays more each month, especially early on.

How much tax should a contractor setter put aside each month?

There is no single figure because it depends on your total income and deductions. In the US, the IRS says self-employed people generally make estimated tax payments if they expect to owe $1,000 or more, and in Australia business income may put you into PAYG instalments. A registered tax agent or CPA can give you a set-aside figure for your situation.

Why was my first month as a setter so low?

Month one is usually your lowest because you are learning the offer and scripts, booking fewer calls and often waiting for commission to be paid out. In the worked example above, a commission-only setter earns a third of their settled pay in month one.

Results vary. Nothing here is a promise of income. See our earnings disclaimer.

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