The AI SDR: What It Is, What It Costs and the Best Tools
An AI SDR is software that does the work of a sales development rep: it finds prospects, researches them, writes outreach by email, LinkedIn or phone, handles replies and books meetings. Prices run from free or pay-per-prospect to enterprise quotes. Most vendors we list do not publish a price, so compare total cost with your own list size.
Last checked: against our verified listings (dates on each tool page). Not affiliated with the companies listed. Based on public information — not tested by us. How we check.
How an AI SDR works
- Find prospects: from a data source or a list you give it, matching the audience you describe.
- Research each one: company and person details used to personalize the message.
- Reach out: email, LinkedIn and sometimes phone sequences, depending on the tool.
- Handle replies: sort interested, not interested and out-of-office; some tools draft or send answers.
- Book meetings: hand the interested prospect to a person or calendar.
This is not the same as the broader AI sales agent category, which also covers CRM assistants and inbound follow-up. Here we focus on outbound prospecting and meeting booking.
Three ways to get one
Done-for-you agents
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Easy-Start | Pricing summary (vendor) | Our label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AiSDR | B2B companies and agencies that want outbound prospecting and meeting booking without hiring a full-time SDR. | No | 6/10 | Pay as you go: $1.50 per person prospected, charged daily, stop anytime (campaigns from a few dollars). Teams (1,000+ contacts/month): price based on volume, quarterly contracts, via sales. Add-ons: warmed-up mailbox $33; managed service $149/campaign or $2,500/month. Sign up without a credit card. | Based on public information — not tested |
| 11x | B2B sales teams that want to automate prospecting and inbound lead response. | No | 2/10 | Pricing not published; book a demo | Based on public information — not tested |
| Artisan | B2B sales teams that want to automate outbound prospecting and meeting booking. | No | 2/10 | Pricing not published; Team, Scale and Enterprise plans 'scoped on your plan' via Talk to sales | Based on public information — not tested |
AiSDR: Pay-as-you-go is charged per person prospected; Teams pricing is not published (quarterly contracts, via sales). Warmed-up mailboxes cost extra ($33 each) and mailbox/domain choices can't be changed after ordering. A campaign only launches after you pick a paid plan and pay. Setup time and 'first meeting in 1–2 weeks' are vendor claims. 11x: Pricing not published; requires a sales demo to get a quote. Artisan: No published prices, free plan or trial; requires a sales call.
Tools your own reps or you use
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Easy-Start | Pricing summary (vendor) | Our label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo.io | Sales teams and founders doing outbound prospecting who want data and outreach in one tool. | Yes | 8/10 | Free plan; Basic and Professional paid plans (per user; annual billing costs less than monthly) — prices not shown on the vendor's pricing page as checked 2026-11-01, see vendor site; Custom via sales | Based on public information — not tested |
| Regie.ai | B2B sales reps and SDR teams running outbound prospecting. | Yes | 10/10 | Free plan (250 one-time credits, no credit card); Pro $41/mo billed annually ($49 monthly); Team $125/seat/mo billed annually ($150 monthly), 2-seat minimum; Enterprise custom | Based on public information — not tested |
| Instantly | Agencies and sales teams running cold email at volume. | No | 8/10 | Outreach plans: Growth $47/mo, Hypergrowth $97/mo, Light Speed $358/mo (monthly; about 20% less billed yearly, e.g. Growth $37.6/mo); bundles from $94/mo monthly or $85/mo yearly; Enterprise custom; 14-day free trial, no card | Based on public information — not tested |
| Smartlead | Agencies and sales teams running cold email campaigns at volume. | No | 8/10 | Base $39/mo, Pro $94/mo, Unlimited Smart $174/mo, Unlimited Prime $379/mo billed monthly (yearly: $32, $78, $144, $315/mo); 14-day free trial, no credit card required | Based on public information — not tested |
Apollo.io: Prices are not shown on the main pricing page (taken from Apollo's own plan-details article); free plans can only connect Gmail for email campaigns. Instantly: No permanent free plan listed; leads, credits and outreach are priced as separate products.
Self-hosted and free software
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Easy-Start | Pricing summary (vendor) | Our label |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AgentSDR | Technical founders, agencies and small sales teams that want an AI SDR with no seat fees and are comfortable running it on their own server. | Yes | 8/10 | Free and open source (MIT) — no seats, tiers or per-contact fees. You pay for your own server, the connected accounts (e.g. Unipile, Google Workspace, Cloudflare R2) and your AI usage on OpenRouter. | Based on public information — not tested |
AgentSDR: Self-hosted only: no hosted service, so you run the server (Docker), keep it updated and secure it. Email works with Google Workspace only ('other providers aren't supported yet'). WhatsApp calls rely on WhatsApp Web's English interface and a Chrome extension. Needs several outside accounts (Google Workspace, Unipile, OpenRouter, Cloudflare R2 for call recordings), each with its own costs.
What it costs, as vendors list it
| Tool | Pricing (vendor) | Free option |
|---|---|---|
| AiSDR | Pay as you go: $1.50 per person prospected, charged daily, stop anytime (campaigns from a few dollars). Teams (1,000+ contacts/month): price based on volume, quarterly contracts, via sales. Add-ons: warmed-up mailbox $33; managed service $149/campaign or $2,500/month. Sign up without a credit card. | No free plan listed |
| 11x | Pricing not published; book a demo | No free plan listed |
| Artisan | Pricing not published; Team, Scale and Enterprise plans 'scoped on your plan' via Talk to sales | No free plan listed |
| Apollo.io | Free plan; Basic and Professional paid plans (per user; annual billing costs less than monthly) — prices not shown on the vendor's pricing page as checked 2026-11-01, see vendor site; Custom via sales | Yes, see vendor |
| Regie.ai | Free plan (250 one-time credits, no credit card); Pro $41/mo billed annually ($49 monthly); Team $125/seat/mo billed annually ($150 monthly), 2-seat minimum; Enterprise custom | Yes, see vendor |
| Instantly | Outreach plans: Growth $47/mo, Hypergrowth $97/mo, Light Speed $358/mo (monthly; about 20% less billed yearly, e.g. Growth $37.6/mo); bundles from $94/mo monthly or $85/mo yearly; Enterprise custom; 14-day free trial, no card | No free plan listed |
| Smartlead | Base $39/mo, Pro $94/mo, Unlimited Smart $174/mo, Unlimited Prime $379/mo billed monthly (yearly: $32, $78, $144, $315/mo); 14-day free trial, no credit card required | No free plan listed |
| AgentSDR | Free and open source (MIT) — no seats, tiers or per-contact fees. You pay for your own server, the connected accounts (e.g. Unipile, Google Workspace, Cloudflare R2) and your AI usage on OpenRouter. | Yes, see vendor |
Prices are as each vendor listed them when we verified the page; they change. Confirm on the vendor's site before you buy.
Honest limits
- Results are vendor claims. AiSDR's own listing says its setup time and "first meeting in 1–2 weeks" are vendor claims. We do not repeat unsourced results statistics.
- Your list decides the outcome. Wrong contacts mean wasted sends, whatever the tool.
- Email rules apply to you. See the cold email question below.
- Someone still owns the offer. Choosing the audience and the message, and reviewing replies, stays with you.
Small business or enterprise?
Tools with a published self-serve price, such as AiSDR, Apollo.io, Instantly and Smartlead, are easier for a small team to try. Tools where you "book a demo" or "talk to sales", such as 11x and Artisan, are aimed at B2B sales teams with a budget. AgentSDR suits a technical founder who can run a server. See also sales outreach tools.
Frequently asked questions
How does an AI SDR work?
Vendors describe the same loop: find prospects, research each one, write personalized outreach by email, LinkedIn or phone, handle replies and book meetings. AiSDR describes it as: aI sales development agent that finds prospects, researches each one, writes personalized email, LinkedIn and phone outreach, handles replies and books meetings. Quality depends on the contact data and your own offer.
How much does an AI SDR cost?
It ranges widely. AiSDR lists pay as you go at $1.50 per person prospected; Apollo.io lists a free plan and paid plans from $49 per user a month; Instantly lists outreach plans from $47 a month; Smartlead lists plans from $39 a month. 11x and Artisan do not publish prices. AgentSDR is free and open source but you pay for the server, accounts and AI usage.
Will AI take over SDR jobs?
We cannot predict that. What vendors' pages show is software that does prospecting, research, outreach and meeting booking, and that setting it up still takes someone to choose the audience, write the offer and review replies. We have not tested these tools, so we do not judge how well they replace a person.
What is the best AI for salespeople?
There is no single best. It depends on whether you want a done-for-you agent, tools your own reps use, or a self-hosted option, and on your budget and list quality. We do not rank one as best and have not tested these tools. Use the groups below to match the tool to your setup.
Are AI SDRs legal for cold email?
We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. In the US, the CAN-SPAM rules cover commercial email, including a working opt-out and a valid postal address, and other countries have stricter rules. Whoever sends the emails is responsible for following them, so check the rules for the places you sell into before you send.
Sources: the vendor pages listed on each tool's page (AiSDR, 11x, Artisan, Apollo.io, Regie.ai, Instantly, Smartlead, AgentSDR). Get the weekly newsletter for new tools.
