How AI SDR pricing actually works
Every AI SDR is priced on some combination of three levers: seats (rare), sends (common), and outcomes (increasingly common). Vendors mix and match. The vendor's stated 'starting at' price is almost always the seat cost with the lowest send tier and no data.
| Vendor | Model | Starting price | Typical actual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11x | Custom / outcome-based | $30k/yr | $48k/yr |
| Artisan | Seat + send tier | $1.5k/mo | $32k/yr |
| AiSDR | Send-based | $750/mo | $14k/yr |
| Knock AI | Custom / capture-based | Custom | $36k/yr |
| Qualified | Seat + traffic tier | $3k/mo | $54k/yr |
| Warmly | Traffic tier | $700/mo | $18k/yr |
The hidden costs nobody prints on their site
Every quote we've seen adds four line items after the initial pricing page. Add all four to any 'starting at' number to get the truth.
- Data enrichment (Apollo/ZoomInfo passthrough): +$3–8k/yr if not included
- Additional mailboxes above the base allocation: +$40–120 per mailbox per month
- CRM integration seats or connector fees: +$2–6k/yr
- Professional services and onboarding: +$5–15k one-time
What you should actually pay at each stage
Seed / early-stage SaaS (under $2M ARR): $10–15k/yr, one AI SDR, no data upgrade, one mailbox. Anything more and you're over-tooling.
Series A / B ($2–20M ARR): $25–40k/yr, one to two agents, real data layer, three to five mailboxes. Add professional services if the vendor offers it — worth it at this stage.
Series C+ / enterprise ($20M+ ARR): $50–120k/yr, custom contract, dedicated CSM, SOC 2, procurement review. Anything under $50k is a sign you're not being sold to seriously.
How to negotiate the number down
AI SDR pricing has more give than most SaaS categories because vendors are still land-grabbing. Three tactics that work consistently: multi-year commit for 15–25% off, prepay for 5–10% off, and a documented competing quote for another 10–20%.
The one thing that never works: asking for a discount without a reason. Vendors track this and it hurts your renewal.
What's coming in 2027
Two shifts are happening. First, more vendors are moving to outcome-based pricing (per meeting booked or per qualified opportunity). Second, seat pricing is quietly dying — nobody buying an autonomous agent wants to price it like a human.
Our prediction: by end of 2027, half the market will be priced on meetings or pipeline delivered, not seats or sends. Buy contracts today with flexibility to renegotiate on this axis.