Quick answer
Artisan sells Ava, an AI "BDR" (business development rep) that finds leads, writes and sends the outreach, handles replies and books meetings for your reps. Here is what to use instead, matched to what you need.
Updated October 2026
- If you want to see a price and start without a sales call: Unify has a free plan, then $20 or $60 per seat a month (a seat is one user's license).
- If you want to pay only for the people you reach: AiSDR charges $1.50 per person prospected, with no sales call.
- If you want data, buying-signal alerts and sequences in one place and can commit to a year: Amplemarket's Startup plan is $600 a month on a yearly term.
- If you want a low-cost email sender now and an agent later: Salesforge Pro is $40 a month on yearly billing ($48 monthly), and the Agent Frank agent is $499 a month on yearly billing.
- If you are a solo founder who wants a flat low price: Regie.ai has a free plan, then Pro at $49 a month.
- If you are ready to book a demo: 11x starts at $3,750 a month for Alice on yearly billing; Pro and Enterprise are custom.
Artisan has a free plan with 300 credits a month and no card. Paid startup plans start at $280 a month on monthly billing ($250 on yearly billing), and business plans are quote only. Prices are in US dollars as of 19 October 2026. Confirm the price with the company before you buy.
Who is this page for?
This page is for founders and first sales hires who are buying software and weighing Artisan against other tools.
Artisan is one of 16 tools in our guide to the best AI SDR tools for startups. The six tools here do some or all of the same jobs: finding people, writing the first message, sending it and, in some products, handling replies and booking the meeting.
What does Artisan do, and what does it cost?
Artisan sells Ava, an AI "BDR" (business development rep). A lead is one person you contact. Ava finds leads, writes the messages, sends them in your reps' names from your own domains, handles replies and books the meeting. Startups can sign up on their own, and larger teams get a quote after a demo.
Want more detail? Read the full Artisan review.
Artisan pricing and plans
| Plan | Monthly billing | Yearly billing | Credits a month | Leads contacted a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 300 | None (no campaigns) |
| Intern | $280 | $250 | 10,000 | About 500 |
| Employee | $660 | $600 | 25,000 | About 1,250 |
| Team | Quote only | Quote only | Ask in the demo | About 2,500 |
| Scale | Quote only | Quote only | Ask in the demo | About 6,000 |
| Enterprise | Quote only | Quote only | Ask in the demo | Custom |
Credits are the units a tool uses up when it works. Intern is the first plan that sends. It adds campaigns, replies, meeting booking, and deliverability monitoring (health, spam rates and inbox placement). Employee adds advanced campaign types, webhooks (a way to feed data from another tool into Artisan) and priority support.
Each new account also gets a 30-day trial of 10,000 credits with all features and no card. The Free plan looks up leads and builds a starter list but does not run campaigns.
Good to know about Artisan:
- Cost runs on credits, about 20 per person in a full campaign.
- Mailboxes and phone numbers are billed separately.
Why do people look for an Artisan alternative?
Artisan does a lot. These are reasons a different tool can fit better.
- Business plans are priced after a demo. Team, Scale and Enterprise are quote only. Startup plans have set prices.
- Cost follows credits. A full campaign costs about 20 credits per person, so your bill follows how many people you contact. AiSDR charges $1.50 per person prospected instead.
- Sending starts on the second plan. The Free plan finds leads and builds a list. Intern is the first plan that runs campaigns, at $280 a month on monthly billing.
- Approval is a setting. Ava sends on its own unless you turn approval on. AiSDR keeps a first campaign behind an approval step, and Salesforge's Agent Frank has a co-pilot mode.
Which Artisan alternative fits your startup?
Prices are monthly billing unless noted. Per-seat prices are per person, so multiply by the number of people who will use the tool.
- Solo founder, under $100 a month: Unify Free, Base ($20 per seat) or Pro ($60 per seat), Regie.ai Free or Pro ($49), or Salesforge Pro ($48, or $40 on yearly billing) or Growth ($96, or $80 on yearly billing).
- One to three sellers, $100 to $700 a month: AiSDR pay as you go ($1.50 per person prospected). Artisan's own Intern ($280) and Employee ($660) sit in this band too. Unify Pro suits a few seats at $60 each, and Regie.ai Team is $150 per seat with a two-seat minimum.
- Funded team, about $500 or more a month, ready for a demo: Amplemarket Startup ($600 on a yearly term), Salesforge's Agent Frank ($499 on yearly billing), or 11x (Alice from $3,750 a month on yearly billing).
How do the Artisan alternatives compare on price?
| Tool | Starts at | Free plan or trial | Handles replies | Books meetings | Approval before sending |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artisan | Free; Intern $280 a month, monthly billing ($250 yearly) | Free plan; 30-day trial of 10,000 credits, no card | Yes (from Intern) | Yes (from Intern) | Yes (a setting; autonomous by default) |
| Salesforge (Agent Frank) | $40 a month on yearly billing ($48 monthly); Agent Frank $499 on yearly billing ($599 billed quarterly) | 14-day trial on Growth; none for Agent Frank, which starts with a demo | Yes | Yes | Yes (co-pilot mode asks for your review) |
| Unify | Free; paid from $20 per seat a month, monthly billing | Free plan; 14-day Pro trial, no card | Partly (replies are sorted by intent and sent to a rep's task queue; a person writes the answer) | Not listed | Yes (drafts from a chat-built sequence wait for your approval; approve in bulk or spot-check) |
| AiSDR | $1.50 per person prospected | No sales call; sign up without a card, build and test a campaign, and pay when you launch | Yes | Yes | Yes (a first campaign can stay behind an approval step) |
| Regie.ai (RegieGO) | Free; Pro $49 a month, monthly billing | Free plan, no card | Replies land in your own Gmail or Outlook inbox | Ask the company | Yes (you read each draft before it goes out; messages queue for your sign-off) |
| Amplemarket | $600 a month on a yearly term (Startup plan) | Free trial on all plans | Partly (Duo Inbox drafts replies; included on Elite and sold as an add-on, not on Startup) | Partly (follow-ups with calendar links in Duo Inbox) | Yes (reps review, edit and send Duo suggestions) |
| 11x | Alice from $3,750 a month on yearly billing; Pro and Enterprise custom | Demo | Yes (Smart Replies) | Yes | Yes (review every message, set a sign-off step for a named person, or run on autopilot) |
Prices are in US dollars as of 19 October 2026. "Not listed" means it is not a named feature of the tool. It does not mean the tool cannot do it. Ask the company before you buy.
What does each Artisan alternative offer?
Each card shows who the tool fits, what it costs and what it automates. Longer bars mean a stronger fit on that point. The five bars are Research, Deliverability, Automation, Setup and control, and Price clarity. Deliverability means whether your email reaches the inbox instead of the spam folder.
Salesforge (Agent Frank)
- Pro covers 1,000 active contacts and 5,000 emails a month.
- Growth covers 10,000 contacts and 50,000 emails.
Unify
- Each seat gets credits every month: 800 on Base and 2,400 on Pro.
- Two-way CRM sync starts on Business.
AiSDR
- Research, lists and writing cost nothing extra on pay as you go.
- A warmed-up mailbox and a managed service are paid add-ons.
Regie.ai (RegieGO)
- Free credits are a one-time 250.
- Pro gives 5,000 credits a month.
Amplemarket
- A dedicated manager and personalized onboarding start on Growth.
- The spam checker and the mailbox recommendation start on Growth.
11x
- Alice Growth includes 11x-managed Gmail mailboxes and two-way CRM sync.
- Domain setup, warm-up, inbox rotation and monitoring are included.
What should you check before you switch from Artisan?
- How does the new tool count its work? Artisan runs on credits, about 20 per person in a full campaign. AiSDR charges per person prospected, Unify and Regie.ai give credits, and Salesforge counts active contacts and emails a month.
- Who sets up the mailboxes? Artisan bills mailboxes and phone numbers separately. Unify's managed mailboxes are $25 each a month on Business, and an AiSDR warmed-up mailbox is $33. Salesforge's sister products create domains and mailboxes.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Artisan AI cost?
Artisan has a free plan with 300 credits a month and no card. Paid startup plans are Intern at $280 a month (10,000 credits) and Employee at $660 a month (25,000 credits), both on monthly billing. On yearly billing they are $250 and $600. Business plans are priced after a demo. Prices are in US dollars as of 19 October 2026.
What is Artisan AI?
Artisan sells Ava, an AI BDR (business development rep). Ava finds leads, writes and sends outreach, handles replies and books meetings for your sales reps. Startups can sign up on their own.
Does Artisan have a free plan or a free trial?
Yes, both. The Free plan gives 300 credits a month with no card, for finding leads and building a list. New accounts also get a 30-day trial of 10,000 credits with all features and no card.
What are Artisan AI alternatives?
Tools that do some or all of the same jobs include Unify, AiSDR, Amplemarket, Salesforge, Regie.ai and 11x. Unify has a free plan, then $20 or $60 per seat a month. AiSDR charges $1.50 per person prospected. Amplemarket's Startup plan is $600 a month on a yearly term. 11x starts at $3,750 a month on yearly billing, and you buy through a demo.
Can I approve Artisan's messages before they send?
Yes. You can approve messages before they send, and lock the tone and banned phrases. Ava is autonomous by default, so check which settings are on.
Is Artisan worth it for a startup?
Artisan is worth a look if you want an agent that finds leads, writes and sends the outreach, handles replies and books meetings for your reps. Startups can sign up on their own. The Free plan gives 300 credits a month with no card, and new accounts get a 30-day trial of 10,000 credits with all features. Intern is the first plan that sends, at $280 a month on monthly billing ($250 on yearly billing). Ava is autonomous by default, so approval before sending is a setting you turn on.
What is the cheapest Artisan alternative?
Unify has a free plan, then $20 or $60 per seat a month. Regie.ai has a free plan, then $49 a month. AiSDR is $1.50 per person prospected on pay as you go. Salesforge Pro is $48 a month on monthly billing.
Which Artisan alternative should you start with?
Here is the short version again.
- If you want to see a price and start without a sales call, look at Unify.
- If you want to pay only for the people you reach, look at AiSDR.
- If you want data, signals and sequences in one place and can commit to a year, look at Amplemarket.
- If you want a low-cost email sender now and an agent later, look at Salesforge.
- If you are a solo founder who wants a flat low price, look at Regie.ai.
- If you are ready to book a demo, look at 11x.
- If you want an agent the company runs for you that also books the meeting, Artisan may already fit, and its free plan and 30-day trial let you test it on your own list.
Prices change, so check the price with the company before you buy. Whatever you pick, start with a small test list and watch your spam rate (the share of people who mark your email as spam).
Prices are as of 19 October 2026 and can change.
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