Software advice
Best AI SDR Software in 2026
AI SDR software is a sales tool that finds prospects, writes outreach, sends email or LinkedIn messages, handles replies and books meetings with little manual work, replacing part of what a sales development rep does. Some products run the whole loop on their own, and others only supply data or sending infrastructure. It is not a plain email sequencer or a contact database.
Quick answer
Unify ranks first because it publishes seat prices and has a free tier. AiSDR fits teams that want a pay-per-contact price and no sales call. Artisan and 11x fit larger teams that accept quote-only pricing and a managed rollout.
Buying an AI SDR means deciding how much of the rep's job you let a model do unsupervised, and how you pay for it. Vendors bill per seat, per credit, per contact reached, or by quote, and the same list price can mean very different monthly totals. This ranking favors products where price, credit rules and data terms can be read before a sales call, and where a person can approve messages before they send. It also weighs who owns the sending domains and contact data if you leave. Prices and policies come from vendor pages read in October 2026. No reply-rate or meetings-booked figure was tested here, so vendor results are treated as marketing claims.
The 10 best AI SDR software in 2026, ranked
The order is the verdict, there is no score. No vendor paid for position. How we rank.
| # | Tool | Best for | Free plan | Entry price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unify | Reps and small teams starting AI outbound on a card, with prices they can read first | Trial | $20 per seat per month (Base), billed monthly; free tier available |
| 2 | AiSDR | Founders and small sales teams who want an AI agent for email and LinkedIn billed per contact reached | No | $1.50 per person prospected (pay as you go) |
| 3 | Artisan | Sales leaders replacing outbound headcount with an AI business development rep and human customer success support | No | Quoted |
| 4 | Amplemarket | Mid-size outbound teams that want data, sequencing and AI drafting in one workspace with a dedicated success manager | Trial | $600 per month on an annual term (Startup, 2 users) |
| 5 | 11x | Revenue teams that want digital workers across outbound, inbound and expansion, voice included | No | Quoted |
| 6 | Clay | Revenue operations staff who build their own enrichment and outreach workflows from many data providers | Yes | $167 per month (Launch); free plan with 500 actions per month |
| 7 | Apollo.io | Individual sellers and small teams who want a large contact database with sequencing in one tool | Yes | Quoted |
| 8 | Instantly | Agencies and high-volume senders who care most about inboxes, warmup and cheap send capacity | No | $47 per month (Growth outreach plan) |
| 9 | Smartlead | Cold email agencies managing many client workspaces, mailboxes and sending domains | Trial | $39 per month (Base), or $32 billed annually |
| 10 | Warmly | Companies with steady website traffic that want to engage visitors the moment they show buying intent | No | From $10,000 per year (AI Web-Deanonymization), or $4,875 per quarter |
- 1
Unify
Unify ranks first because the plan page answers what a buyer needs before a call: a free tier for up to three seats, $20 and $60 seat prices, credits per seat, and a hard cap that pauses actions instead of billing overage. Data comes from named third-party providers, and language-model cost is passed through in credits. Read-write CRM sync waits for the custom tier.
Strong on
- Free tier plus two self-serve paid tiers, with a 14-day trial of Pro, no card needed
- Hard credit cap pauses credit-consuming actions instead of charging overage
- Pricing page states SOC 2 Type II and SSO
Weak on
- HubSpot and Salesforce sync is read-only on Pro, and read-write needs the annual Business plan
- Credit use varies by action, so heavy research agents can drain a seat pool early
Skip it if: Teams that want a fully managed agent with a done-for-you rollout, or that need CRM write-back without a custom contract. Credits are included per seat: 800 on Base, 2,400 on Pro at $60. Business is custom and billed annually.
- 2
AiSDR
AiSDR sits second because the price is a single sentence: $1.50 for each person reached, with no sales call to start. Its agent, Ami, handles email and LinkedIn sequences, replies in minutes or in a co-pilot mode that waits for review, and syncs with HubSpot. Certifications and training terms are not stated on the pages read, which holds the rank below Unify.
Strong on
- Pay-as-you-go plan needs no sales call and no minimum contract
- Replies can run automatically in 5 to 10 minutes or wait in co-pilot mode
- Waterfall enrichment across 20 data providers is included in the contact price
Weak on
- Cost grows linearly with contacts, so large lists get expensive before volume discounts apply
- Trust center page could not be opened, so certifications and model-training terms were not verified
Skip it if: Teams sending tens of thousands of contacts a month on a fixed budget, or that need documented security reviews up front. Charged daily, cancelable at any time. Research, lists and writing are free. Team plans are quoted by volume.
- 3
Artisan
Artisan lands third as the clearest single-product answer to the question of replacing outbound headcount. Ava finds leads, writes, sends, handles replies and books meetings, with approval controls and a dedicated customer success contact on every plan. The price is entirely quote-based and sized by monthly leads contacted, so a buyer cannot model cost before a demo, and no self-serve trial was found.
Strong on
- Approve-before-sending, locked tone and banned-phrase controls for what Ava writes
- Privacy policy states connected data is not used to train models
- SOC 2 Type II, SSO and SAML, and audit logs are listed
Weak on
- Every plan is quote-only, with sizing tied to leads contacted per month
- AI dialer is an add-on per seat, so call costs sit outside the base plan
Skip it if: Teams that want to compare published prices, trial the tool alone, or run a small test under a few hundred dollars. No public price. Plans are scoped on lead volume, mailboxes and dialer seats, then quoted by sales.
- 4
Amplemarket
Amplemarket ranks fourth as a full outbound suite whose AI features, Duo Copilot, Copywriter and Inbox, sit on top of its own contact database. Seat counts and credits are published for the entry tier. The annual term and a $600 starting point put it out of reach for solo founders, and agent-style autonomy trails Artisan and AiSDR.
Strong on
- Pricing page says every plan includes a free trial before any commitment
- Per-user email and phone credits are listed for every tier
- Security page states SOC 2 Type II, plus encryption at rest and in transit
Weak on
- Entry price is an annual commitment, with Growth and Elite quoted by sales
- Phone credits per user are low on Startup, at 600 a year
Skip it if: Solo founders and very small teams, or buyers who want month-to-month billing and a low entry price. Startup includes 27,000 contacts. Growth and Elite are custom-priced with 4 and 10 users included.
- 5
11x
11x is fifth because the product is broad, with an outbound agent, a phone agent and inbound qualification, but nothing about cost is public. The security page states SOC 2 Type II, CASA Tier 3 and a DPA for EU customers, which is more than most rivals publish. Buyers still need a demo and a quote to learn the price, and customer quotes on the site are vendor-selected.
Strong on
- Security page lists SOC 2 Type II, CASA Tier 3 and GDPR data processing agreements
- Covers email, voice, chat, social and SMS channels, plus an AI phone agent
- Multi-lingual outreach and mailbox health tools are listed
Weak on
- No pricing page and no self-serve trial found on the vendor's site
- Results on the site are customer testimonials, not independent measurement
Skip it if: Teams that need to know a monthly cost before a call, or that want to test with a small contained budget. No public price. The pricing URL returns a not-found page and the site routes buyers to a demo.
- 6
Clay
Clay is sixth because it is closer to a workbench than an autonomous rep. Waterfall enrichment across more than 150 providers and the Claygent research agent let a skilled operator build precise lists and messages, and a native sequencer sends them. Setup effort and credit math are heavier than at the agent products ranked above it.
Strong on
- Free plan, then Launch and Growth tiers with a 14-day trial
- Waterfall enrichment runs several data providers in sequence per record
- Enterprise adds SSO, SCIM, IP allowlists and a custom DPA
Weak on
- Actions and data credits are two separate meters, which complicates cost forecasting
- Free plan limits tables to 200 rows and excludes phone-number enrichment
Skip it if: Teams that want an agent to run outbound unattended, or that have nobody who enjoys building workflows. Launch starts at 15,000 actions a month and Growth at $446 for 40,000. Annual billing saves 10%.
- 7
Apollo.io
Apollo.io sits seventh as the broadest low-friction starting point: a free plan that never expires, a 240M-contact database, sequencing on every account and an AI assistant. Its AI is closer to a rep's helper than an autonomous SDR, and credits that expire each billing cycle punish uneven months. Dollar prices could not be read here, which also holds the rank down.
Strong on
- Free plan has no time limit, and email campaigns come with every account
- Admins can set per-user credit caps from team settings
- Privacy policy states ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification
Weak on
- All seats must share one plan level, so a mixed team pays for the top tier
- Unused credits expire each cycle and do not roll over
Skip it if: Teams wanting an agent that books meetings without a rep supervising, or buyers needing price certainty from the page alone. Tiers are Free, Basic, Professional and Custom. Dollar prices did not load in the page text read.
- 8
Instantly
Instantly ranks eighth because its strength is sending, not selling: unlimited email accounts with warmup, a private infrastructure option at the top tier and a 450M-contact lead database sold by credit. The AI Sales Agent and reply agent are newer layers bundled on higher plans. Pricing splits across three product lines, which makes the real bill hard to read.
Strong on
- Unlimited email accounts and warmup on every outreach plan
- Light Speed tier adds a shared server and IP rotation system for deliverability
- Bundles combine outreach, lead credits and the AI Sales Agent from $94 a month
Weak on
- Outreach, credits and bundles are separate price lists, so comparing totals takes effort
- Security and training terms were not found on the pages read
Skip it if: Teams wanting autonomous qualification and meeting booking, or buyers who need certifications confirmed before they start. Outreach, lead credits and bundles are priced separately. Growth covers 5,000 emails and 1,000 uploaded contacts.
- 9
Smartlead
Smartlead is ninth because it is a deliverability and multi-client sending platform with AI added around the edges. Plans scale by sends and verified emails, mailboxes are bought as add-ons, and an API and webhooks are listed. Buyers who want an agent that researches and replies will find less automation here than in the products above.
Strong on
- Plans range from $39 to $379 per month, with sends up to 500,000
- SmartServices offers a done-for-you outbound option at 50,000 or 100,000 emails monthly
- Client and workspace features suit agencies running separate accounts
Weak on
- Mailbox, deliverability and verification add-ons are priced separately from the plan
- Security, certification and training terms were not found on the pages read
Skip it if: Buyers who want reply handling and meeting booking done by an agent, not a sending and warmup engine. Base covers 2,000 contacts and 6,000 sends. Pro is $94 for 90,000 sends. Mailboxes cost extra.
- 10
Warmly
Warmly ranks last because its job is different: it identifies website visitors, chats with them and routes the warm ones, with outbound as a secondary agent. Pricing is published but starts at $10,000 a year, so it asks for the biggest commitment in this list. It rewards sites with real traffic, and it adds little for a team starting from a cold list.
Strong on
- Published annual and quarterly prices for each of three product tiers
- Real-time Slack alerts, lead routing and CRM sync are included
- Add-ons such as a GTM Signals Package are priced openly at $10,000 per year
Weak on
- Entry cost is far above every other tool here, with no free or self-serve tier
- Security and training terms were not found on the pages read
Skip it if: Early-stage teams with little site traffic, or anyone who wants a low-cost outbound agent working cold lists. Inbound Chat starts at $20,000 per year and Inbound Autopilot at $30,000. Each includes from 10,000 credits a month.
How these AI SDR software were judged
Can an AI SDR write outreach that does not read like automation?
Not reliably out of the box, and every vendor claims otherwise. Compare the controls you get. Artisan lets you approve before sending, lock tone and calls to action, and set banned phrases. AiSDR offers a co-pilot mode that holds replies for review, with fast autonomous replies as the default. Amplemarket separates copywriting, inbox drafts and voice messages into named features. Judge by sending 50 messages to a list you know, then reading each as the recipient. Check which signals feed the writing: job changes, hiring, funding, or only a profile scrape. Keep a human on reply handling during the first month.
How much does an AI SDR cost per month in 2026?
The spread is wide. Unify lists a free tier, $20 per seat for Base and $60 per seat for Pro, billed monthly, with credits per seat. AiSDR charges $1.50 per person prospected, so 1,000 contacts cost $1,500, as of October 2026. Instantly's outreach plans start at $47 and Smartlead's at $39 monthly. Amplemarket's Startup plan is $600 per month on an annual term. Warmly starts at $10,000 per year. Artisan and 11x publish no price. Add mailboxes, data credits and any managed-service fee before comparing.
Where does my prospect data go, and is it used to train AI models?
Check three things: who holds the contact list, whether your messages train models, and which certifications are stated. Artisan's privacy policy says it does not train models on connected ad-account or Google API data and lists SOC 2 Type II. 11x says SOC 2 Type II, CASA Tier 3, AWS hosting and a DPA for EU customers. Unify, Clay and Amplemarket state SOC 2 Type II, and Apollo's policy names ISO 27001 and SOC 2. For Instantly, Smartlead, Warmly and AiSDR, the vendor's policy was not checked for training terms or certifications, so ask in writing.
What do I lose if I switch AI SDR vendors?
The sending infrastructure is the hard part. Instantly's terms say it provisions and owns the domains and mailboxes of its managed email infrastructure, so ask what happens to warmed sender reputation if you leave. Smartlead sells mailboxes per month as add-ons, and AiSDR sells warmed-up mailboxes at $33. Credits are the other trap: Apollo credits reset every cycle and do not roll over, while Unify top-ups carry over for up to 12 months. Prefer tools that sync read-write with Salesforce or HubSpot, and export your lists and sequences monthly.
Which AI SDR fits a startup, a lean sales team or a large revenue org?
A founder doing outbound alone should look at Unify's free tier, AiSDR's pay-as-you-go plan or Apollo's free plan, since all three can start without a sales call. A lean team with a RevOps person fits Clay, which rewards someone who builds workflows. Agencies sending large volumes fit Instantly or Smartlead. A larger revenue organization wanting a managed rollout, SSO and audit logs should speak to Artisan, 11x and Amplemarket. Teams with heavy website traffic and deal sizes that justify five-figure contracts should test Warmly.
How to choose an AI SDR platform in three steps
- Choose the cost unit you can forecast. Write down how many contacts you will reach each month, then price each shortlisted product three ways: per seat, per credit, and per contact reached. At 800 contacts a month, AiSDR's $1.50 rate is $1,200, while Unify Pro at $60 per seat comes with 2,400 credits and a cap that pauses credit use rather than overspending. Ask what counts as a billable contact and whether bounced addresses are charged. Ask whether mailboxes, enrichment and phone numbers sit inside the quote or on top of it. Set a spend cap before the pilot starts.
- Run a supervised pilot on one segment. Pick one narrow segment of 200 to 300 accounts you already know well and run the tool in approval mode for four weeks. Count sent messages, bounces, replies a human would call positive, and meetings that reached an account executive. Read every reply the agent drafted. Test the handoff, because a meeting booked for the wrong person is worse than none. Keep a control group handled by a human so you compare against your own baseline, not a vendor's average.
- Get mailbox, data and exit terms in writing. Before signing, ask five questions. Who owns the sending domains and mailboxes? Is the contact data licensed or exportable, and in what format? Is any customer content used to train models? Which certifications can you see a report for, and under what NDA? Can the contract end after a quarter? Artisan and 11x say a SOC 2 report is available on request, which is the document to ask for. Add a data processing agreement for EU contacts, since cold outreach to Europe carries consent and opt-out duties.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best AI SDR software in 2026?
Unify ranks first in this comparison because its seat prices, credit rules and free tier are published, and SOC 2 Type II is stated on its pricing page. AiSDR ranks second for pay-per-contact pricing without a sales call. Artisan and 11x follow for larger teams. The right pick depends on volume and who runs the tool.
How much does AiSDR cost?
AiSDR lists a pay-as-you-go plan at $1.50 per person prospected, charged daily and cancelable at any time, as of October 2026. Research, lists and writing cost nothing extra. Team plans for 1,000 or more contacts a month are quoted and the vendor says they cut the per-contact price by up to 40%. A warmed-up mailbox costs $33.
Does Artisan publish its pricing?
No. Artisan's pricing page shows three plans, Team, Scale and Enterprise, sized by about 2,500 and 6,000 leads contacted per month, but each one says pricing is scoped on your plan and routes you to sales. The page says every plan includes the full platform, and an AI dialer is an add-on per seat.
Is Clay an AI SDR or a data tool?
Clay is mainly a data enrichment and workflow tool with an AI research agent called Claygent and a native email sequencer. It lacks the autonomous reply handling of Artisan or AiSDR. Clay lists a free plan with 500 actions a month, Launch from $167 per month and Growth from $446 per month as of October 2026.
Do AI SDR tools replace human SDRs?
Vendors say they replace repetitive work, not the whole role. Artisan describes its agent as handling finding leads, writing outreach and replies while reps take live conversations, with approvals and escalation rules you control. Plan to keep a person on replies, objections and meeting preparation, at least until the agent has run a quarter on your segment.
Which AI SDR tools state SOC 2 compliance?
Artisan, 11x, Unify, Clay and Amplemarket each state SOC 2 Type II on their own pages, and Apollo's privacy policy states SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Clay also lists ISO 27001 and ISO 42001. For Instantly, Smartlead, Warmly and AiSDR, no certification was verified for this ranking, so request the report directly.
Can I use an AI SDR for outreach to European contacts?
Yes, but the vendor does not carry your legal duties. 11x says it holds data processing agreements for EU-based customers and aligns with GDPR retention. Apollo's privacy policy has a notice for people in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland. You still need a lawful basis, an opt-out in every message and suppression lists. Ask each vendor about EU data hosting, since few state it.
Is Instantly or Smartlead better for cold email volume?
Both sell high send volumes with mailbox warmup. Instantly's Growth plan is $47 per month for 5,000 emails and its Light Speed plan is $358 for 500,000 emails. Smartlead's Pro plan is $94 per month for 90,000 sends, and its Prime plan is $379 for 500,000 sends. Smartlead sells mailboxes as separate add-ons. Test inbox placement on your own domains.