Best AI Agents for SDR
Software for outbound and prospecting. An autonomous SDR and a contact database with sequences are different products. Both are listed, with the score showing which is which.
8 products. Prices and descriptions last checked 5 October 2026.
Best AI Agents for SDR compared
Pricing is the vendor's published starting figure. A free plan or trial is listed only when the pricing page says so. User comments appear only when we could link a short quote. Otherwise the cell says there are no sourced comments.
| Product | Pricing | Free plan / trial | Key features | Integrations | Best for | What users say |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11x Alice #1 | Custom | Not listed | An AI SDR sold to run outbound. | Salesforce, HubSpot | An autonomous SDR on email and LinkedIn | No sourced comments. |
| Apollo #2 | Free, then $49/user/mo | Free plan | A contact database with sequences and an AI assist. | Salesforce, HubSpot, Gmail, Slack | A database plus sequences a human still runs | No sourced comments. |
| Artisan Ava #3 | Custom | Not listed | An AI BDR for outbound email and LinkedIn. | Salesforce, HubSpot | An AI BDR when you can buy through sales | No sourced comments. |
| lemlist #4 | From $55/mo | Trial | Outbound email, with LinkedIn and calling on the higher plan. | HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay | Email plus LinkedIn in one sequence | No sourced comments. |
| Clay #5 | From $185/mo | Free plan | A research agent that fills a go-to-market table. | Salesforce, HubSpot, Instantly, Outreach | Building the list the SDR will work | No sourced comments. |
| Reply.io #6 | From $49/user/mo billed annually | Trial | Cold email volume, with a multichannel plan and an AI SDR add-on. | Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Close | Email volume with an AI SDR you can turn on | No sourced comments. |
| Instantly #7 | From $47/mo | Not listed | Cold email infrastructure with an AI reply layer. | Clay, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier | Cold email sending and warmup at volume | No sourced comments. |
| Smartlead #8 | From $39/mo | Trial | Cold email across many mailboxes, with a free trial. | API, Webhooks, CRM | Mailbox volume after the list exists | No sourced comments. |
Best SDR software
Ranked on fit for this job, autonomy, controls, integrations, access, and how public the product is. Open a score to see the six parts.
| # | Agent | Best for | Pricing from | Free tier | Autonomy | Integrations | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11x Alice | An autonomous SDR on email and LinkedIn | Custom | No | Autonomous | Salesforce, HubSpot | Score breakdown82
|
| 2 | Apollo | A database plus sequences a human still runs | Free, then $49/user/mo | Yes | Semi-autonomous | Salesforce, HubSpot, Gmail +2 | Score breakdown81
|
| 3 | Artisan Ava | An AI BDR when you can buy through sales | Custom | No | Autonomous | Salesforce, HubSpot | Score breakdown79
|
| 4 | lemlist | Email plus LinkedIn in one sequence | From $55/mo | Trial | Semi-autonomous | HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive +3 | Score breakdown79
|
| 5 | Clay | Building the list the SDR will work | From $185/mo | Yes | Semi-autonomous | Salesforce, HubSpot, Instantly +2 | Score breakdown79
|
| 6 | Reply.io | Email volume with an AI SDR you can turn on | From $49/user/mo billed annually | Trial | Semi-autonomous | Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive +2 | Score breakdown78
|
| 7 | Instantly | Cold email sending and warmup at volume | From $47/mo | No | Semi-autonomous | Clay, HubSpot, Salesforce +1 | Score breakdown74
|
| 8 | Smartlead | Mailbox volume after the list exists | From $39/mo | Trial | Semi-autonomous | API, Webhooks, CRM | Score breakdown72
|
Rank 1
11x Alice82
An autonomous SDR on email and LinkedIn
- Pricing from
- Custom
- Free tier
- No
- Autonomy
- Autonomous
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot
Score breakdown82
- Fit for the job29/30
- Autonomy19/20
- Controls12/15
- Integrations12/15
- Access2/10
- Evidence8/10
Rank 2
Apollo81
A database plus sequences a human still runs
- Pricing from
- Free, then $49/user/mo
- Free tier
- Yes
- Autonomy
- Semi-autonomous
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Gmail
Score breakdown81
- Fit for the job23/30
- Autonomy12/20
- Controls13/15
- Integrations15/15
- Access9/10
- Evidence9/10
Rank 3
Artisan Ava79
An AI BDR when you can buy through sales
- Pricing from
- Custom
- Free tier
- No
- Autonomy
- Autonomous
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot
Score breakdown79
- Fit for the job28/30
- Autonomy18/20
- Controls12/15
- Integrations11/15
- Access2/10
- Evidence8/10
Rank 4
lemlist79
Email plus LinkedIn in one sequence
- Pricing from
- From $55/mo
- Free tier
- Trial
- Autonomy
- Semi-autonomous
- Integrations
- HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive
Score breakdown79
- Fit for the job24/30
- Autonomy14/20
- Controls12/15
- Integrations12/15
- Access8/10
- Evidence9/10
Rank 5
Clay79
Building the list the SDR will work
- Pricing from
- From $185/mo
- Free tier
- Yes
- Autonomy
- Semi-autonomous
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Instantly
Score breakdown79
- Fit for the job20/30
- Autonomy15/20
- Controls14/15
- Integrations14/15
- Access8/10
- Evidence8/10
Rank 6
Reply.io78
Email volume with an AI SDR you can turn on
- Pricing from
- From $49/user/mo billed annually
- Free tier
- Trial
- Autonomy
- Semi-autonomous
- Integrations
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive
Score breakdown78
- Fit for the job23/30
- Autonomy14/20
- Controls12/15
- Integrations12/15
- Access8/10
- Evidence9/10
Rank 7
Instantly74
Cold email sending and warmup at volume
- Pricing from
- From $47/mo
- Free tier
- No
- Autonomy
- Semi-autonomous
- Integrations
- Clay, HubSpot, Salesforce
Score breakdown74
- Fit for the job21/30
- Autonomy14/20
- Controls12/15
- Integrations13/15
- Access6/10
- Evidence8/10
Rank 8
Smartlead72
Mailbox volume after the list exists
- Pricing from
- From $39/mo
- Free tier
- Trial
- Autonomy
- Semi-autonomous
- Integrations
- API, Webhooks, CRM
Score breakdown72
- Fit for the job22/30
- Autonomy13/20
- Controls12/15
- Integrations8/15
- Access8/10
- Evidence9/10
Pricing, features, and summaries
1
11x Alice
An autonomous SDR on email and LinkedIn
Alice is the clearest 'AI SDR agent' on this list: the product is the rep, not a feature inside a database. Access is a 2 because there is no public price and no free plan. If you cannot buy through sales, the rank is theoretical.
- Pricing
- Custom
- No public self-serve price as of 5 October 2026. Budget for a sales conversation, not a card form.
- Key features
- Salesforce, HubSpot. Sold as an agent that operates outbound. Keep a human on approvals until you have watched a week of what it sends.
2
Apollo
A database plus sequences a human still runs
Apollo is not an autonomous SDR, and the autonomy score says so. It ranks second because a team can start free, the integrations are broad, and the controls are ordinary sequence controls you already understand. Buy it as the system the SDR uses, human or not.
- Pricing
- Free, then $49/user/mo
- Free plan includes limited credits and sequences. Basic starts at $49 per user/month billed annually ($59 month-to-month). Professional and Organization sit above that. Figures checked against widely published Apollo plan cards; confirm on apollo.io before you buy.
- Key features
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Gmail, Slack, Outreach. Sequences send on a schedule you set. AI drafts and suggests. A person still builds the list logic and the offer.
3
Artisan Ava
An AI BDR when you can buy through sales
Ava matches Alice's job more closely than Apollo does. It sits third because the access score is the same problem: custom pricing, nothing to click through today. Compare Ava and Alice on a demo, not from this table alone.
- Pricing
- Custom
- No public self-serve price as of 5 October 2026.
- Key features
- Salesforce, HubSpot. Positioned as an autonomous BDR. Treat the first weeks as supervised sending.
4
lemlist
Email plus LinkedIn in one sequence
lemlist publishes an email plan from $55/mo on the card we read, and a 14-day trial. The multichannel plan is the one that adds LinkedIn. Read which number is the annual discount before you budget.
- Pricing
- From $55/mo
- lemlist.com/pricing shows the email plan at $69/mo struck through to $55/mo, and labels it From $55/mo. Multichannel is shown at $109 struck through to $87. Enterprise is custom. The trial FAQ says 14 days of Multichannel features except in-app calls, plus 200 credits. Last checked 5 October 2026.
- Key features
- HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay, Gmail, LinkedIn. Campaigns send on a schedule. The agents draft and enrich. A person still owns the offer.
5
Clay
Building the list the SDR will work
Clay is the research seat next to an SDR agent. Job fit is capped because it does not send the outbound. Teams that already have a sender use Clay to stop the SDR working garbage rows.
- Pricing
- From $185/mo
- Free plan includes Claygent, 100 data credits, and 500 actions a month, with a 200-row cap. Launch starts at $185/mo ($167/mo billed annually). Growth starts at $495/mo. Checked against Clay's public pricing page on 5 October 2026.
- Key features
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Instantly, Outreach, Slack. Claygent can research a row without a person clicking through sources. A person still decides what gets pushed into outbound.
6
Reply.io
Email volume with an AI SDR you can turn on
Reply's Email Volume plan starts at $49 per user a month on annual billing, and the FAQ offers a 14-day trial. Jason, the AI SDR, is a separate line from $500 a month. Use it when sending is the job and a full database is not.
- Pricing
- From $49/user/mo billed annually
- Reply's pricing file lists Email Volume from $49 per user/month billed annually for 1,000 active contacts, or $59 per user/month on monthly billing. Higher contact tiers go up the slider, and the largest tiers are contact-sales. Multichannel starts at $89 per user/month billed annually, or $99 monthly. Jason, the AI SDR, starts at $500/month. LinkedIn automation is a $69 per account add-on and calls and SMS are $29 per account. The pricing FAQ offers a 14-day trial. Last checked 5 October 2026.
- Key features
- Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Close, Zapier. Sequences send on a schedule. Jason has a copilot mode and an autopilot mode. A person still owns the offer.
7
Instantly
Cold email sending and warmup at volume
Instantly is the mailbox layer. It belongs on an SDR page because outbound dies when the domain is burned, and it does not belong at the top because it will not decide who to contact. Pair it with Apollo or Clay.
- Pricing
- From $47/mo
- Growth starts at $47/mo on the public pricing page (lower if you pay annually). Higher plans raise sending and lead limits. Confirm the live meters on instantly.ai/pricing; the page is revised often.
- Key features
- Clay, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier. Campaigns send on their own once you load leads and copy. A person still owns the offer, the list, and the mailbox health.
8
Smartlead
Mailbox volume after the list exists
Smartlead's FAQ puts Base at $39/mo and says the trial needs no card. It rotates sending across mailboxes. It does not replace Apollo or Clay for finding people.
- Pricing
- From $39/mo
- The smartlead.ai/pricing FAQ lists Base at $39/month, Pro at $94/month, Unlimited Smart at $174/month, and Unlimited Prime at $379/month. Annual billing saves 17%. The same FAQ says all plans include a free trial and no credit card is required to start. The plan cards on that page also show lower annual equivalents. Last checked 5 October 2026.
- Key features
- API, Webhooks, CRM. Sequences send on the schedule you set. A person still writes the offer and the list.
What is an AI SDR?
An AI SDR is sold to run outbound: find accounts and work email or LinkedIn. AI SDR software in this list also includes the seats a human rep already uses, because buyers compare them in the same search. A database with sequences is a different product from an agent that is supposed to be the rep.
A person, or the agent, still has to own the offer and the list. The first weeks should be supervised sending.
How AI SDR tools work
11x Alice and Artisan Ava are sold as the worker: they prospect and write outbound, and neither publishes a price. Apollo is a database plus sequences, with a free plan. Clay researches custom fields. Instantly, Smartlead, lemlist, and Reply.io send the email once a list exists.
The split matters. A prospecting agent that has no public price is a sales conversation. A mailbox tool with a trial is something a team can open this week and watch.
Features of AI SDR software
AI prospecting agents and sending tools get mixed together in roundups. Separate them before you buy.
- A clear line between finding people and sending messages
- Approvals before the first messages go out
- CRM connections so replies land on the record
Benefits of an AI SDR agent
The practical benefit is coverage on the first touch, with a human still owning the offer.
- Cover outbound without hiring a full desk on day one
- Keep list research separate from the mailbox
- Start on a free database plan if you are not ready for a custom contract
Who uses an AI SDR
Outbound teams comparing an autonomous SDR with the seat a human rep already uses. Agencies that only need mailbox volume should start with Instantly or Smartlead, not with 11x.
Cold calling and appointment setting overlap this job. This page is the email and LinkedIn motion. A dedicated dialer is a different product, and we did not add one without a pricing page we had read.
AI SDR pricing
11x Alice and Artisan Ava have no public price. Apollo has a free plan, then Basic at $49 per user/month billed annually. Instantly Growth starts at $47/mo. Clay Launch starts at $185/mo. Smartlead's FAQ lists Base at $39/mo. lemlist shows an email plan from $55/mo. Reply Email Volume starts at $49 per user/month billed annually.
Reply's AI SDR, Jason, is a separate line from $500 a month. The $49 figure is the email plan, not the agent. Last checked 5 October 2026.
How to choose AI SDR tools
If you can buy through sales and want the product to be the rep, demo 11x and Artisan. If you need to start this week, use Apollo or Clay for the list and Instantly, Smartlead, lemlist, or Reply when sending is the problem.
Read which lemlist number is the annual discount before you budget. The card we read shows $69 struck through to $55 on the email plan.
Related categories
Nearby jobs have their own lists. Open one when this page is only part of the work.
FAQ
Scoring method
Last verified 5 October 2026
Every product is scored out of 100 on the same six parts. Rank follows the total, then job fit, then name. The parts are shown on each row. Read the full method.