Best AI SDR Tools for Startups (2026)
- If you want to see a price before you talk to anyone and run outbound from a chat box: 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 already have a list and want cheap, high-volume sending: lemlist starts at $69 a month and Smartlead at $39, both on monthly billing, and Instantly at $47 to $76.50 a month depending on the plan set shown to you. Each one includes tools that protect your sender reputation. That is the trust that email providers, such as Gmail, place in your sending domain (the part of your address after the @).
- If you need the list first: Clay has a free plan, then $185 a month. Apollo has a free plan, then $65 a seat on monthly billing.
- If you want a team behind the agent: Amplemarket's Startup plan is $600 a month on a yearly term. Artisan has a free plan, then $280 a month ($250 on yearly billing). 11x's Alice plan starts at $3,750 a month on yearly billing; expect to book a demo.
- Quote only: Outreach, ZoomInfo and Artisan's business plans.
By Appscribed. Updated October 2026. About our criteria.
An AI SDR is a piece of software that does the first-contact work a sales development rep (SDR) does. That work covers a few jobs: find the right people, write a message that fits each one, send it, and in some products, handle the replies and book the meeting.
This page is for founders and first sales hires at startups who are buying the software. It compares 16 tools on what they cost, what they automate and who they fit. It covers sales software only, not sales job advice.
Which agentic sales tools fit early-stage startups?
An "agentic" sales tool is software that takes steps toward a goal on its own, such as building a list, researching each person and starting a sequence of emails. For a startup with one to three sellers, these three have a clear price and let you start without a sales call. Several others on this page do too.
| Tool | What it does | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| Unify | You describe who you want in a chat box. It builds the list, researches each person, writes the messages and runs the sequence. | Free plan; paid from $20 per seat a month, billed monthly |
| AiSDR | It builds a campaign, finds people, writes researched messages and handles replies. | $1.50 per person prospected, pay as you go |
| Clay | A spreadsheet-style tool that pulls data from many providers and researches each row. | Free plan; paid from $185 a month, billed monthly |
Unify and AiSDR do the outreach. Clay builds the list, so pair it with a sender.
How are the 16 AI SDR tools grouped?
The 16 tools fall into four groups, because they do different jobs.
- AI SDR agents do the outreach for you: finding people, writing and sending. Salesforge (Agent Frank), Artisan, Unify, AiSDR, Regie.ai, Amplemarket and 11x.
- Cold email and outreach platforms send your emails and protect your sender reputation. You usually bring the list. Instantly, lemlist, Smartlead and Outreach.
- Lead data and enrichment tools find people and fill in missing details. Enrichment means adding facts such as an email address, phone number, job title and company size. Apollo, Clay and ZoomInfo.
- ABM and account agents watch and research target companies. ABM (account-based marketing) means you pick a short list of companies and focus on them. Rox and Landbase.
A startup usually needs one tool from the data group and one from the sending or AI SDR group.
On each card, longer bars mean a stronger fit on that point. The Fits line tells you who each tool suits. 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. Warm-up means slowly raising your sending volume so email providers learn to trust a new mailbox.
How much does each AI SDR tool cost?
| Tool | Group | Fits | Starts at | Free plan or trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforge (Agent Frank) | AI SDR agents | Teams that want cold email now and an agent later | $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 |
| Artisan | AI SDR agents | Teams that want an agent the company runs for you, one that books meetings | Free (300 credits a month); Intern $280 a month and Employee $660 a month on monthly billing ($250 and $600 on yearly billing). Business plans: quote only | Free plan; 30-day trial of 10,000 credits, no card |
| Unify | AI SDR agents | Solo founders and small teams | Free; paid from $20 per seat a month, monthly billing | Free plan; 14-day Pro trial, no card |
| AiSDR | AI SDR agents | Teams that want to pay per person reached | $1.50 per person prospected | No sales call; sign up without a card, build and test a campaign, and pay when you launch |
| Regie.ai (RegieGO) | AI SDR agents | Solo founders who want a free start | Free; Pro $49 a month, monthly billing | Free plan, no card |
| Amplemarket | AI SDR agents | Teams with a demo process and a yearly budget | $600 a month on a yearly term (Startup plan) | Free trial on all plans |
| 11x | AI SDR agents | Teams that will book a demo | Alice from $3,750 a month on yearly billing. Julian from $2,417 a month for chat and $5,333 for voice. Pro and Enterprise are by quote | Demo |
| Instantly | Cold email and outreach | Senders who want volume across many mailboxes | $76.50 a month (Starter) on yearly billing; some accounts still see Growth at $47 | 14-day free trial |
| lemlist | Cold email and outreach | Teams that want email plus LinkedIn, calls and WhatsApp | $69 a month (Email plan), monthly billing | 14-day free trial (Email and Multichannel) |
| Smartlead | Cold email and outreach | Senders who want control of mailboxes and sending | $39 a month (Base), monthly billing | Free trial, no card |
| Outreach | Cold email and outreach | Larger sales-led teams | Quote only | Demo |
| Apollo | Lead data and enrichment | Founders who want data and sending in one app | Free; Basic $65 per seat a month, monthly billing | Free plan; 14-day trial |
| Clay | Lead data and enrichment | People who will build their own lead lists | Free; Launch $185 a month, monthly billing | Free plan; 14-day trial on paid plans |
| ZoomInfo | Lead data and enrichment | Larger teams that will talk to sales | Quote only | Free trial available |
| Rox | ABM and account agents | Teams that keep deals in a CRM | Free start; Individual $100 a month (10,000 actions) | Free start; ask what the limits are |
| Landbase | ABM and account agents | Teams that want account lists from a plain description | $499 a month (15,000 credits) | 1,000 free credits, no card |
Prices are in US dollars as of 19 October 2026. Credits are the units a tool uses up when it works. A CRM is the app where you keep customers and deals, such as HubSpot or Salesforce.
What does each AI SDR tool do?
| Tool | Sends the messages itself | Handles replies | Books meetings | Human approval before sending | Deliverability tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforge (Agent Frank) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (co-pilot mode asks for your review before sending) | Yes |
| Artisan | Yes | Yes (startup plans from Intern; business plans) | Yes (same plans) | Yes (a per-campaign setting; autonomous by default) | Yes (monitoring from Intern; warm-up and rotation too) |
| Unify | Yes | 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) | Yes (managed mailboxes and warm-up on Business; every plan has send limits and email checks before sending) |
| AiSDR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (a first campaign can stay behind an approval step; the managed service approves before anything sends) | Yes |
| Regie.ai (RegieGO) | Yes | 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) | Yes (contacts are verified, sending is throttled, unsubscribes are handled and mailbox rotation with domain warming is included) |
| Amplemarket | Yes | Partly (Duo Inbox drafts replies; included on Elite, add-on on Growth, not on Startup) | Partly (follow-ups with calendar links in Duo Inbox) | Yes (reps review, edit and send Duo suggestions and reply drafts) | Yes (the spam checker and mailbox recommendation start on Growth) |
| 11x | Yes | Yes (Smart Replies) | Yes | Yes (review every message, set a sign-off step for a named person, or run on autopilot) | Yes |
| Instantly | Yes | Yes (shared inbox and an AI Reply Agent) | Yes (the AI Reply Agent books the meeting; ask which plan includes it) | Partly (the AI Reply Agent can hold each reply for your approval; Autopilot, which sends without approval, is on higher plans) | Yes |
| lemlist | Yes | Yes (shared inbox) | Partly (a lemcal booking link goes in your signature or an email step) | Ask the company | Yes |
| Smartlead | Yes | Yes (unified inbox with sentiment tags; the Reply Agent drafts replies) | Partly (the inbox can route leads into booking calendars) | Partly (Reply Agent drafts replies for you to review, edit and send) | Yes |
| Outreach | Yes | Partly (AI reply features and out-of-office detection) | Yes (a meeting scheduler) | Yes (a setting chooses full automation or review by a person) | Partly (daily and weekly send limits for each mailbox) |
| Apollo | Yes | Yes (unified inbox) | Yes (meeting scheduler) | Partly (a manual email step makes a task you edit and send) | Yes (reputation and bounce protection on every plan; warm-up from Basic) |
| Clay | Yes (from the Launch plan) | Partly (a reply inbox inside Clay) | Not listed | Partly (reply drafts go to Slack for a rep to approve or edit) | Partly (mailboxes bought inside Clay are warmed for you; buying mailboxes starts on Growth, and on Launch you connect mailboxes you already own) |
| ZoomInfo | Yes (cadences with a phone dialer and an email tool) | Ask the company | Ask the company | Partly (Copilot email drafts can be edited before sending) | Partly (contact emails are verified) |
| Rox | Yes | Ask the company | Yes (its agents book meetings) | Ask the company | Ask the company |
| Landbase | Yes (email, LinkedIn and dialer campaigns) | Partly (its agents handle replies inside campaigns) | Partly (campaigns run from signal to booked meeting) | Ask the company | Yes (sending domains are warmed and monitored; contacts pass four layers of verification) |
"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.
The 16 AI SDR tools in detail, by group
Each card shows who the tool fits, what it costs and what it automates. Prices are in US dollars as of 19 October 2026.
AI SDR agents
Salesforge (Agent Frank)
- Pro covers 1,000 active contacts and 5,000 emails a month.
- Growth covers 10,000 contacts and 50,000 emails.
Artisan
- Cost runs on credits, about 20 per person in a full campaign.
- Mailboxes and phone numbers are billed separately.
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.
Cold email and outreach
Instantly
- The lead finder and the CRM are priced separately from the sending plans.
- The plans include reputation protection, bounce detection and a global block list.
lemlist
- Lead data is an add-on that you buy in credits.
- The Email and Multichannel plans start with a 14-day free trial.
Smartlead
- Mailboxes and domains are add-ons.
- Private sending servers come with Prime and cost extra on Pro and Smart.
Outreach
- Outreach is sold through a sales team, and you get a quote.
Lead data and enrichment
Apollo
- The Organization plan is yearly only and needs at least 3 seats.
- Basic and Professional have a 14-day trial.
Clay
- There are two meters: actions and data credits.
- All plans have unlimited seats and tables.
ZoomInfo
- Sales plans are Professional, Copilot Advanced and Copilot Enterprise.
ABM and account agents
Rox
- Usage is counted in "agent actions".
- Self-serve plans start at $100 a month.
Landbase
- One verified email costs 1 credit and one phone number costs 10 credits.
- Searching for leads is free.
Which AI SDR tool fits your stage and budget?
This section shows what sits in each price range. Prices are monthly billing unless noted, in US dollars. Per-seat prices are per person, so multiply by the number of people who will use the tool.
If you are a solo founder spending under $100 a month
These tools have a price in this range:
- Unify Free ($0), Base ($20 per seat) or Pro ($60 per seat).
- Regie.ai Free ($0) or Pro ($49).
- Apollo Free, or Basic ($65 per seat).
- Clay Free (500 actions a month).
- Artisan Free (300 credits a month).
- Rox, which offers a free start.
- Salesforge Pro ($40 on yearly billing, $48 monthly) or Growth ($80 on yearly billing, $96 monthly).
- Smartlead Base ($39).
- Instantly Starter ($76.50 on yearly billing; some accounts still see Growth at $47).
- lemlist Email ($69).
Choose one data tool and one sender. If you pick an all-in-one such as Unify, you may need only one.
If you have a small team of one to three sellers and spend $100 to $600 a month
- AiSDR pay as you go ($1.50 per person).
- Clay Launch ($185).
- lemlist Multichannel ($109 per user).
- Rox Individual ($100) or Teams ($255).
- Artisan Intern ($280 a month on monthly billing, $250 on yearly billing).
If you have funding and can spend about $500 or more a month
- Amplemarket Startup ($600 a month on a yearly term).
- Artisan Employee ($660 a month on monthly billing, $600 on yearly billing).
- Landbase credit bundles (from $499).
- Salesforge Agent Frank ($499 a month on yearly billing; $0.25 per contact from 2,000 contacts a month).
- Artisan business plans, priced after a demo.
- 11x Alice ($3,750 a month on yearly billing, which is $36,000 a year).
What costs extra on top of the plan price?
The plan price is rarely the whole bill. Look for these extra costs.
- Mailboxes and domains. Smartlead sells Google mailboxes from $4.50 per mailbox a month. Unify's managed mailboxes are $25 each a month on Business. An AiSDR warmed-up mailbox is $33. Artisan bills mailboxes and phone numbers separately; ask for the prices.
- Data credits and actions. Clay has two meters, actions and data credits. Landbase charges in credits. Rox counts agent actions. Artisan runs on credits too, about 20 per person in a full campaign.
- Lead data. lemlist's data add-on is $20 a month for 2,000 credits. Instantly sells its lead finder in separate credits.
- Setup help. AiSDR sells a managed service at $149 per campaign or $2,500 a month.
What should you check before you pay for an AI SDR?
Ask these six questions of any tool you are considering.
- Who owns the sending domain and mailboxes? If the company sets them up, ask what happens to them if you leave.
- What happens when the monthly credits run out? Some tools stop. Others charge more. Unify, Artisan, Clay and Landbase all count credits or actions.
- Can a person approve every message before it goes out? Artisan has approve-before-sending. With AiSDR, a first campaign can stay behind an approval step. Salesforge's Agent Frank has a co-pilot mode that asks for your review before sending. Instantly's AI Reply Agent can run with approval of each reply. Unify holds drafts from a chat-built sequence until you approve them. Regie.ai queues drafts for your sign-off. 11x lets you review every message.
- Is there a contract, and can you leave early? Amplemarket's Startup plan is on a yearly term. AiSDR team plans are billed monthly with quarterly contracts. Unify Business is billed yearly.
- Where does the contact data come from? Ask how the company checks emails before sending.
- What is the tool's policy on spam complaints? lemlist has a sending policy and an anti-abuse policy.
What are the rules for cold email?
- Google asks senders to keep their spam rate below 0.10% and to avoid ever reaching 0.30% or higher. You can see your spam rate in Google Postmaster Tools.
- Google's rules cover mail sent to personal Gmail accounts. Every sender needs SPF or DKIM. If you send 5,000 or more messages a day, you need SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and your marketing messages need one-click unsubscribe.
- In the US, the CAN-SPAM law covers business email too. Each violating email can bring a penalty of up to $53,088 (the FTC's figure, adjusted each January). You must honor an opt-out within 10 business days.
- Rules differ by country. Check the rules for every country you email. This is not legal advice.
Which other sales tools are not compared here?
Other names you will meet while shopping are Cognism, Lusha, Salesloft and Warmly. They are not compared on this page. Qualified is an inbound tool, so it sits with AI customer service software. Our reviews of other sales tools are Reply.io, Outplay, Snov.io, Conversica, Aomni AI, Hunter and LeadIQ. Related: DayOneLead, B2B Rocket and Salesforce Agentforce.
Guides & comparisons
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI SDR?
An AI SDR is software that does the work of a sales development rep (SDR). It finds prospects, writes a first message and sends it. In some products it also handles replies and books the meeting.
How does an AI SDR work?
It builds a list of people who match your description, fills in their contact details, researches each one and writes a message that fits. It then sends the message from your mailbox. Some products also handle replies and book meetings. Tools differ on how many of these steps they cover, and the feature table shows which.
Do AI SDRs actually work?
It can, but results depend on your list, your offer and your sending setup, so run a small test before you commit. The main risk is a message that says something false (the tool "hallucinating"), so keep a person approving messages during the test.
Can I keep a person in the loop with an AI SDR?
Some tools let you. Artisan has approve-before-sending. With AiSDR, a first campaign can stay behind an approval step. Salesforge's Agent Frank has a co-pilot mode that asks for your review before sending. Instantly's AI Reply Agent can run with approval of each reply. Amplemarket's higher plans draft replies for a person to send. 11x lets you review every message, set a sign-off step for a named person, or run on autopilot. Unify holds drafts from a chat-built sequence until you approve them. Regie.ai queues drafts for your sign-off. Smartlead's Reply Agent drafts replies for you to review and send. Clay sends reply drafts to Slack for approval. Outreach has a setting that chooses full automation or review by a person. The feature table shows which tools do.
How much does an AI SDR cost?
It runs from free to several thousand dollars a month. Unify, Regie.ai, Apollo, Clay and Artisan have free plans. Paid plans on those start at $20 to $280 a month on monthly billing. AiSDR charges $1.50 per person prospected. Amplemarket's Startup plan is $600 a month on a yearly term. Artisan's business plans, Outreach and ZoomInfo are quote only. 11x starts at $3,750 a month on yearly billing.
Should a startup hire a human SDR or buy an AI SDR?
Use an AI SDR for the repeat steps: building lists, research and first messages. Keep the calls and the relationship with your team. Several tools let a person approve messages before they go out (see question 4).
Which AI SDR tools suit startups?
Start with the tools that have a clear price and let you begin without a sales call. Those are Unify, AiSDR, Salesforge (Agent Frank starts with a demo), Regie.ai, Artisan, lemlist, Instantly, Smartlead, Clay, Apollo, Rox and Landbase. Amplemarket has a set price for its Startup plan only. Artisan's business plans, Outreach and ZoomInfo need a conversation first. 11x has a starting price, $3,750 a month on yearly billing, and you buy through a demo.
Is there a free AI SDR tool?
Yes, with limits. Unify has a free plan with limited credits and up to 3 seats. Regie.ai Free has 250 one-time credits. Apollo has a free plan with 75 credits a month (900 a year). Clay Free has 500 actions and 100 data credits a month. Artisan's Free plan has 300 credits a month, with no card. Rox offers a free start; ask what the limits are. Landbase gives 1,000 free credits with no card.
Can an AI SDR send cold email without hurting my domain?
It can, but no tool can promise it. Google asks senders to keep their spam rate under 0.10% and never reach 0.30%. It also asks senders of 5,000 or more messages a day to personal Gmail accounts to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Instantly, Smartlead, lemlist, Salesforge, AiSDR, Amplemarket, Artisan, 11x, Regie.ai, Apollo and Landbase have warm-up or deliverability tools. Start with low volume and watch your spam rate.
What is the difference between an AI SDR and a cold email tool?
An AI SDR finds people, decides what to say and writes the message. A cold email tool delivers the email and protects your sender reputation. Some products do both. You can use an AI SDR or data tool for the first part and a cold email tool for the second.
How much do Instantly, Smartlead and lemlist cost?
Prices as of 19 October 2026 (Instantly as of 20 October 2026), with Smartlead and lemlist on monthly billing:
- Instantly: Starter $76.50 a month on yearly billing, Scale $238 and Agency $695, each with a 14-day free trial; some accounts still see Growth at $47 a month. Confirm the plan set shown to you before you buy.
- Smartlead: Base $39 a month; next plans Pro $94, Smart $174, Prime $379.
- lemlist: Email $69 a month; next plans Multichannel $109 per user.
Is there a free version of Clay? Who else does a similar job?
Yes. Clay's free plan gives 500 actions and 100 data credits a month. Paid plans start at $185 a month on monthly billing. Similar tools here are Apollo (a contact database with sending), ZoomInfo (a large database sold by quote) and Landbase (finds accounts from a plain description).
The short version
Here is the short version again.
- If you want to see a price before you talk to anyone and run outbound from a chat box, look at Unify.
- If you want to pay only for the people you reach, look at AiSDR.
- If you already have a list and want cheap, high-volume sending, look at lemlist, Instantly or Smartlead.
- If you need the list first, look at Clay or Apollo.
- If you want a team behind the agent, look at Amplemarket, Artisan or 11x.
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.
Prices are as of 19 October 2026 and can change.
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