What you'll get
- 5 copy-ready blocks
- Spreadsheet-ready
- 7 min read
- Questions for every AI SDR vendor
- Header row (tab-separated, paste into row 1)
- Rows (tab-separated, paste from row 2)
- Cost per company worked (fill in the brackets)
- When does the cheaper option stop being cheaper?
How to use it
- Step 1: Send the questions in Part 1 to every AI SDR vendor you are considering, and write down your own costs for a human SDR.
- Step 2: Paste the sheet in Part 2 into Google Sheets or Excel. Column C is the AI SDR, column D the human SDR, column E an optional mix.
- Step 3: Fill each row from written quotes, payslips and invoices. Leave a cell empty rather than guess.
- Step 4: Work out cost per account worked with the formula in Part 3, then run the break-even check in Part 4.
- Step 5: If you want the arithmetic done for you, the SDR cost calculator runs the same comparison in your browser.
What to check beyond cost is covered in the AI SDR evaluation checklist. The side-by-side of the two models is on AI SDR vs human SDR. More guides sit under AI in B2B sales.
AI SDR cost looks low on a pricing page because the licence is only part of it. Data, mailboxes, set-up and the human hours that check what the software sends sit elsewhere, and a human SDR has its own hidden costs: ramp, management and tools. This sheet puts both on the same 30 rows, using only your own figures, and ends in one number you can compare: cost per account worked.
Part 1: What should you ask an AI SDR vendor to quote?
Pricing pages show the licence. Ask for everything else in writing.
Questions for every AI SDR vendor
1. Every fee: licence, seats, set-up, onboarding, data or contact credits,
enrichment, extra mailboxes or domains, and anything billed by usage.
2. Minimum term, notice period and what happens to fees if we stop early.
3. How many companies and how many people per company the software will
contact each month on the plan you are quoting.
4. Where the contact data comes from, and whether we can upload our own list.
5. Whose domains and mailboxes it sends from, and who keeps them if we stop.
6. Whether a person can approve each message before it is sent, and how long
that takes per message in your other clients' experience.
7. How replies are handled: by the software, by your team or by ours.
8. What the report shows: messages, replies, meetings or progress by company.
9. Two current clients who sell to the same kind of buyer as we do.Part 2: The cost sheet
Header row (tab-separated, paste into row 1)
Row Cost line AI SDR Human SDR Mix NotesRows (tab-separated, paste from row 2)
1 Software licence or seats (monthly)
2 Set-up or onboarding fee (one-off)
3 Data or contact credits (monthly)
4 Enrichment and verification tools (monthly)
5 Sending domains and mailboxes (monthly)
6 Warm-up and deliverability tools (monthly)
7 CRM or sequencing seats (monthly)
8 Salary (monthly)
9 Commission or bonus (monthly, expected)
10 Employer costs and benefits (monthly)
11 Recruiting cost (one-off)
12 Ramp months before full output
13 Laptop, phone and other equipment (one-off)
14 Manager hours a week
15 Hours a week writing or checking messages
16 Hours a week handling replies
17 Hours a week building and cleaning the list
18 Hourly cost of the people in rows 14 to 17
19 People time (monthly): rows 14 to 17 x row 18 x 4.3
20 Minimum term (months)
21 Notice period and early-exit cost
22 Total cost over 12 months (Part 3, step 1)
23 Companies worked per month
24 People contacted per company
25 Messages checked by a person before sending (yes/no)
26 Report shows progress by company (yes/no)
27 Domains and mailboxes kept if you stop (yes/no)
28 Cost per company worked (Part 3, step 2)
29 Cost per active conversation (Part 3, step 3)
30 Decision and reasonRows 15, 25 and 28 usually change the answer more than row 1 does.
Part 3: How do you turn both options into one comparable number?
Cost both over the same 12 months, then divide by the companies each will actually work.
Cost per company worked (fill in the brackets)
Step 1: total cost over 12 months
One-off costs (rows 2, 11 and 13) [O]
Monthly costs (rows 1, 3 to 10 and 19) x 12 [M] x 12
Total O + (M x 12) = [C]
Step 2: cost per company worked
Companies worked per month at full output (row 23) [W]
Months at full output: 12 minus ramp months (row 12) [F]
Companies worked over the year W x F = [A]
Cost per company worked C / A
Step 3: cost per active conversation
Two-way conversations about a real need, expected [V]
Cost per active conversation C / VFor the AI SDR, ramp is the weeks of set-up, testing and domain warm-up. For the human SDR, use the ramp you have seen in your own past hires. Use your own expectation for row V, then halve it and run step 3 again.
Part 4: Break-even check
When does the cheaper option stop being cheaper?
A AI SDR monthly cost, including people time (row 19) [ ]
B Human SDR monthly cost, including people time [ ]
C Companies the AI SDR works well each month [ ]
D Companies the human SDR works well each month [ ]
AI SDR cost per company: A / C
Human SDR cost per company: B / D
If A / C is lower, the AI SDR is cheaper per company. Now ask the second
question: on which tier of accounts is "worked well" true for each option?Many teams find the answer differs by tier: software on long lists of smaller accounts, people on the accounts that matter most. The AI SDR on Tier 3 accounts only hack shows that split.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Corvane Systems, a 45-person cloud consultancy, is choosing between an AI SDR plan and its first SDR hire. Its head of sales, Leena Thomas, fills rows 15 to 17 first. The AI SDR needs 10 hours a week of her team's time to check messages and handle replies, which the vendor's quote did not mention. The human SDR needs four hours a week of her time as manager and three months of ramp.
Once people time is in row 19, the gap between the two monthly totals is much smaller than the licence suggested. On her 60 Tier 1 and Tier 2 accounts, Leena chooses the human SDR and keeps the AI SDR quote for a later test on Tier 3. All names and hours are invented, and no prices are shown because the sheet uses your own.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Comparing the licence with a salary. Compare the 12-month totals, people time included.
- Leaving out checking time. Somebody reads what an AI SDR sends to senior buyers. Count their hours.
- Forgetting ramp. Both options have one. Use your own past figures.
- Counting emails sent. Compare companies worked and conversations started.
- One answer for every account. The cheaper option on Tier 3 may be the expensive one on Tier 1.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
How much does an AI SDR cost?
The licence is only one line. Add data or contact credits, domains and mailboxes, set-up, deliverability tools and the hours your team spends checking messages and handling replies. Ask every vendor for each fee in writing, then cost it over 12 months with the sheet.
Is an AI SDR cheaper than a human SDR?
Often per email, not always per account worked. Once people time and set-up are counted, the gap narrows, and on accounts where a poor message closes a door, the human option can cost less per account properly worked. Run Part 3 with your own figures.
What hidden costs does an AI SDR have?
Data credits, extra mailboxes and domains, warm-up and enrichment tools, set-up fees, minimum terms and the human hours spent checking messages, handling replies and cleaning lists. Rows 3 to 7 and 15 to 17 of the sheet catch most of them.
More from the Academy
AI SDR Evaluation Checklist: 20 Checks Before You Buy
For sales heads choosing between AI SDR tools.
You leave with 20 checks, four must-pass rules, a scoring sheet for three tools and five things to make the vendor show you live.
Where to Use an AI SDR: Tier 3 Only
For sales heads about to switch on an AI SDR.
You leave with a three-tier split of who does what, three guardrails, five vendor questions and a two-week test.
SDR Cost Calculator
Compare the cost of hiring an SDR in-house with an outsourced SDR and an AI SDR, on your own figures. Runs in your browser.
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