TL;DR / Key Takeaways
- AI SDR tools split into autonomous agents (AiSDR, 11x, Artisan) and outreach platforms with AI agents (Amplemarket, Instantly, Reply.io).
- Only AiSDR publishes an autonomous-SDR price: $1.50 per person prospected, no monthly fee.
- 11x and Artisan quote on request; 11x credits are non-refundable and payments non-cancelable.
- 1,000 prospects a month: about $1,500 on AiSDR pay as you go, versus $600 a month for Amplemarket Startup (annual) where your team runs the campaigns.
- Start with human approval on and separate sending domains, whatever tool you choose.
Short answer: an AI SDR is an AI sales agent that finds prospects, writes the outreach and handles replies. The tools split into two kinds. Autonomous AI SDRs (AiSDR, 11x, Artisan) do the prospecting and writing for you; of these, only AiSDR publishes a price: $1.50 per person prospected, no monthly fee. Outreach platforms with AI agents (Amplemarket, Instantly, Reply.io, Apollo) cost less per contact but you run the campaigns. For a founder testing outbound, pay-as-you-go is the lowest-risk start; for a team with salespeople, a platform is usually better value. Updated October 29, 2026.
How we checked: prices, plan limits and contract terms come from each vendor's own pricing, product or legal page, read October 29, 2026. Reply.io's pages block automated access, so we do not quote its prices. We did not run a campaign in each tool, so this guide says nothing about reply rates. Where a vendor does not publish a price, we say so instead of repeating figures from other sites.
The AI SDR tools at a glance
| Tool | Kind | Published price | Commitment | Human approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AiSDR | Autonomous AI SDR | $1.50 per person prospected, pay as you go; team plans by quote | None on pay as you go; team plans on quarterly contracts | Co-pilot mode instead of automatic replies |
| 11x (Alice) | Autonomous AI SDR | Not published (demo only) | Order form; credits non-refundable, payments non-cancelable | Not stated on its site |
| Artisan (Ava) | Autonomous AI SDR | Not published (talk to sales) | Not stated | Approve before sending, lock tone and CTAs; autonomous by default |
| Amplemarket | Platform with AI copilot (Duo) | Startup $600/month on an annual term, 2 users; larger plans custom | Annual | You run the sequences; Duo assists |
| Instantly | Cold-email platform with AI agents | Outreach from $47/month; bundle with AI Sales Agent from $94/month | Monthly or annual | You run the campaigns |
| Reply.io (Jason AI) | Platform with an AI SDR | Could not verify (site blocks automated access) | Could not verify | Could not verify |
| Lindy | Build your own agent | $49.99/month per active user for 5,000 credits; free trial credits | Monthly | Review step before a campaign starts |
What 1,000 prospects a month costs
- AiSDR, pay as you go: 1,000 people at $1.50 is $1,500 a month, with research, lists and writing included. Team plans are "up to 40% lower" per contact above 1,000 a month, on quarterly contracts, at a price AiSDR quotes.
- Amplemarket Startup: $600 a month billed annually for 2 users and 27,000 contacts, with Duo Copilot, multichannel sequences and intent signals. Cheaper per contact, but your team runs the campaigns.
- Instantly: from $94 a month for the Starter bundle that includes its AI Sales Agent (monthly; $85 a month billed annually). The cheapest way to send volume, and the most hands-on.
- Lindy: $49.99 a month per active user for 5,000 credits, plus a sending tool: its SDR template hands openers to SmartLead and updates HubSpot. Cheapest if you are happy to assemble it.
- 11x and Artisan: no public prices. Artisan sizes its Team plan at about 2,500 leads a month and Scale at about 6,000.
AiSDR
AiSDR is the only autonomous AI SDR here that lets you start without a contract: you pay $1.50 per person prospected, charged daily, and can cancel any time. It works across email (Gmail or Outlook), LinkedIn connection requests, InMails and messages, voice notes, AI calls through Aircall and AI video. Data comes from its own 300M+ lead database plus enrichment that tries 20 providers in turn. Native two-way integrations cover HubSpot, Salesforce, Gmail, Outlook, Aircall and Calendly.
- Deliverability: triple bounce checks, lookalike sending domains, continuous warm-up, domain health monitoring and inbox rotation.
- Control: co-pilot mode instead of automatic replies, and a pause button. Warmed-up mailboxes and managed campaigns cost extra.
- Setup: under one business day, or about three days when many domains and mailboxes are needed. No credit card to build a first campaign.
11x and Artisan
Both sell a fully autonomous AI rep through sales calls rather than a price page. 11x splits its product into Alice (outbound email and social) and Julian (inbound voice and chat that qualifies leads quickly). Artisan's Ava runs every campaign type, books meetings, sends from your own domains under your reps' names, and includes 250M+ verified B2B contacts, Salesforce and HubSpot sync and onboarding with a success manager; its AI dialer costs extra per seat. Artisan lists SOC 2 Type II and SSO. Choose these when you want a vendor to own the whole motion and can commit to a contract.
Amplemarket, Instantly, Reply.io and Apollo
These are outreach platforms that added AI agents, so they suit teams that already have someone running outbound. Amplemarket bundles data, multichannel sequences and its Duo copilot, with a free trial on all plans; Duo Voice arrives on the custom Growth plan. Instantly is built for email volume: unlimited mailboxes and warm-up on its outreach plans, and an AI Sales Agent and AI Reply Agent in its bundles. Reply.io sells Jason AI as an AI SDR inside its outreach platform. Apollo's pricing page mentions AI features only on its Professional plan and lists no AI SDR plan.
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Build your own with Lindy
Lindy is a general AI agent builder with a sales development template: it builds and scores a prospect list, writes personalised openers, pushes them to SmartLead and updates HubSpot, with a step where you review the openers before anything starts. It does not describe LinkedIn outreach. It suits a technical founder who wants control and a low monthly bill.
Which AI SDR to choose
- A founder testing whether outbound works at all: AiSDR pay as you go. No contract, and you stop paying when you stop prospecting.
- A team with one or more salespeople: Amplemarket or Instantly, depending on whether you need data and multichannel (Amplemarket) or cheap email volume (Instantly).
- A company that wants a vendor to run outbound end to end: 11x or Artisan, after reading the contract terms.
- A technical founder who wants to assemble it: Lindy plus a sending tool.
Whatever you pick, protect your main domain: send from separate warmed-up domains, start with human approval on, and watch replies for a few weeks before you let any agent answer on its own. For voice-based agents rather than email, see our AI voice agent platforms comparison.
Frequently asked questions
What is an AI SDR?
An AI SDR (AI sales development representative) is an AI sales agent that finds prospects, researches them, writes personalised outreach by email or LinkedIn, and handles replies and meeting booking. Some run autonomously; most also offer a mode where a person approves messages first.
How much does an AI SDR cost?
Of the autonomous AI SDRs, only AiSDR publishes a price: $1.50 per person prospected, with no monthly fee. 11x and Artisan quote on request. Outreach platforms with AI agents start lower: Instantly's bundle with its AI Sales Agent is $94 a month and Amplemarket's Startup plan is $600 a month billed annually.
Is there an AI SDR without a contract?
Yes. AiSDR's pay-as-you-go plan has no monthly fee and can be cancelled any time. Instantly and Lindy also bill monthly. 11x sells through an order form with non-refundable credits.
Can an AI SDR send messages without my approval?
Yes, but you can usually stop it. AiSDR offers a co-pilot mode instead of automatic replies, Artisan lets you approve before sending, and Lindy's sales template has a review step before a campaign starts.