AI SDR Comparison 2026

The only autonomous AI SDR under $500/mo

11x costs $5,000/mo. Artisan costs $2,000–5,000/mo. Apollo and Instantly aren't autonomous at all. Nexova gives you a fully autonomous AI SDR for $250/mo—no contracts, no setup fees.

Start Free Trial → See Pricing
💡
The key insight: Autonomous AI SDRs exist at two price points — $5,000+/mo (11x, Artisan) or $250/mo (Nexova). The rest are just email tools that still require a human SDR.
Pricing Comparison

How much does each tool actually cost?

Nexova ✦ 11x (Alice) Artisan (Ava) Apollo Instantly Smartlead
Starting Price $250/mo $5,000/mo ~$2,000/mo $79/user/mo $37/mo $29/mo
Pricing Transparency ✅ Fixed flat fee ❌ Custom/quote ❌ Quote-only ⚠️ Hidden credits ⚠️ Add-ons escalate ✅ Transparent
Contracts Required ✅ None — cancel anytime ❌ Annual contract ❌ Annual + auto-renew ✅ Monthly available ✅ Monthly available ✅ Monthly available
Leads Included 50/mo (Growth) · 150/mo (Scale) ~3,000/mo Custom Credit-based (expires) 5,000–7,500 credits Bring your own
Annual Cost (est.) $3,000 $60,000–120,000 $24,000–60,000 $948–1,428/user $444–720 $348–2,088
Feature Comparison

Who is actually autonomous?

Feature Nexova 11x Artisan Apollo Instantly Smartlead
Truly Autonomous (no manual work) ✓ ✓ ✓* ✗ ✗ ✗
SMB / Founder Accessible ✓ ✗ ✗ ⚠ Per-seat ✓ ✓
Transparent / Flat Pricing ✓ ✗ ✗ ⚠ Hidden fees ⚠ Add-ons ✓
Multi-Channel (Email + LinkedIn + Phone) ✓ ✓ ✓ ⚠ Email + phone ⚠ Email only ✗
Fast Onboarding (under 15 min) ✓ ✓ ✗ ⚠ Medium ⚠ Medium ✓
No Annual Contract ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
Self-Serve (no sales call required) ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
Autonomous + Under $500/mo ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

*Artisan requires 2–3 weeks of onboarding and "training" before autonomy works reliably — per user reviews.

Head-to-Head

Nexova vs. each competitor

Nexova vs. 11x (Alice)

11x pricing: $5,000–10,000/mo · Annual contract required
  • ✗11x costs 20× more. Entry point is ~$5K/mo for SMB campaigns. Annual commitment means $60K minimum exposure.
  • ✗11x is built for enterprises with 10,000+ prospect TAMs. If you're a founder or small team, you're not their customer.
  • ✗Pricing is custom/opaque. You need to book a sales call before seeing a number.
  • ✓Both are genuinely autonomous — 11x handles multi-channel outreach without manual work.
Bottom line: If you're a founder or SMB, 11x isn't an option. Nexova is the same autonomy at 1/20th the cost.

Nexova vs. Artisan (Ava)

Artisan pricing: ~$2,000–5,000/mo · Annual contract · Quote-only
  • ✗Artisan hides their pricing entirely. No number on the website. You need a demo call and negotiation.
  • ✗Requires 2–3 weeks of setup and "AI training" before it works. Not self-serve — you need an account manager.
  • ✗Users report unqualified meetings — Artisan optimizes for booking volume, not lead quality.
  • ✗Annual contracts with auto-renewal. Cancellation requires advance notice.
Bottom line: Artisan is Nexova with 10× the price, 10× the friction, and worse lead quality. Hard pass for SMBs.

Nexova vs. Apollo.io

Apollo pricing: $79–119/user/mo + credit overages
  • ✗Apollo is a tool, not an agent. You still need a human to write sequences, manage replies, and qualify leads.
  • ✗Credit system is unpredictable. Mobile/export credits expire monthly; overages at $0.20/credit.
  • ✗Per-seat pricing means costs scale quickly with team size.
  • ⚠Apollo has a massive contact database (210M+) and CRM integrations — useful if you need prospecting data.
Bottom line: Apollo requires an SDR to run it. Nexova replaces the SDR. Different category entirely.

Nexova vs. Instantly + Smartlead

Instantly: $37–60/mo · Smartlead: $29–174/mo
  • ✗Neither is autonomous. Both are email-sending platforms that require manual campaign setup, copy writing, and reply management.
  • ✗Smartlead is email-only. No LinkedIn or phone automation.
  • ✗Instantly locks A/B testing and unified inbox on higher tiers; pricing escalates fast with add-ons.
  • ⚠Both are genuinely affordable and good at email deliverability — if you already have an SDR to run them.
Bottom line: Instantly and Smartlead are power tools. Nexova is the person running the tools — and the strategy behind them.

The only autonomous AI SDR your startup can actually afford

Start your first campaign in under 15 minutes. No contracts. No sales call. No handholding.

Start Free Trial → See Pricing