If you are trying to put a number on outbound, the honest answer is that the market quotes three different units: a monthly fee, a price per meeting, and a loaded salary. They are hard to compare until you convert them to the same thing, which is the cost of one qualified meeting that actually happens.
This guide lays the three pricing models side by side, shows where the in-house hire fits, and works through one hypothetical example so you can see how the arithmetic changes when the number of meetings changes. We read the vendor pages cited below on 3 October 2026, and we say which number came from where.
Quantum also runs outbound for B2B teams, so we have a view on how to buy it. That is covered near the end, after the numbers.
Want to skip ahead and test your own numbers? Book a strategy call and bring your target meetings per month.
An outsourced SDR program costs roughly $3,000 to $14,000 a month in 2026, depending on the channel mix and where the team sits, according to Leadium's 2026 cost guide. If you pay per meeting instead, SalesHive's 2026 pricing guide puts a normal price for a qualified, held meeting at $300 to $600.
Leadium's guide breaks the monthly range down further. Cold-calling-only programs sit at the low end, and Leadium lists its own at $3,500 a month. Multi-channel programs that combine email, phone and LinkedIn typically run $4,000 to $8,000. Premium dedicated-team engagements start higher: Leadium reports SalesRoads at $9,950 per four weeks.
These are the asking prices of companies that sell the service. They are useful as anchors, and they are not an independent survey. Treat the low end as what a narrow, single-channel program looks like and the high end as a team built around your account.
Most outsourced SDR quotes fall into one of three models. The table adds the in-house hire as a fourth row so you can compare like with like. Each figure names its source.
| Model | How it is priced | Published 2026 range | Best when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | A fixed monthly fee for a defined team, channel mix and activity level | Cold calling only from $3,500 (Leadium's own price). Multi-channel $4,000 to $8,000. Premium dedicated team from $9,950 per four weeks (SalesRoads, as reported by Leadium). | You want steady volume and a say in the message | Paying for activity that never becomes held meetings |
| Pay per meeting | A fee for each qualified meeting that is held | $300 to $600 is typical (SalesHive). By quality bar: loosely qualified $150 to $300, ICP-matched $300 to $500, verified executive $800 to $1,500 (Leadium). | You are piloting a new target market or want to cap fixed cost | A vague meeting definition, which turns cheap meetings into wasted rep time |
| Hybrid | A smaller base fee plus a lower per-meeting fee | For example a $2,500 base plus $150 to $300 per qualified meeting (SalesHive) | Risk is shared after a pilot has shown the target market works | A base fee that keeps running when volume is low |
| In-house SDR | Salary, benefits, tools, data and management time | $125,000 to $150,000 per year fully loaded (Leads at Scale) | You need steady, high volume and long-term ownership of the playbook | Ramp time and turnover, which fall on you |
The table has the detail. These two charts show how far apart the options sit. Read the bars as published asking prices from the sources named on each row.
Monthly cost, drawn to scalePrice per meeting moves with who you want to reach. SalesHive gives examples of about $350 for a director-level meeting at a company of 50 to 500 employees, about $500 for a VP-level meeting at a company of 500 to 5,000, and $750 or more for C-level meetings at large enterprises.
Leads at Scale puts the fully loaded cost of an in-house SDR at $125,000 to $150,000 per year once benefits, tools, management and turnover are added to salary.
Against that, it prices its own outsourced program at $2,500 to $9,300 depending on call volume, billed monthly, and says a full year of outbound then costs roughly a third to half as much as one hire. That is a vendor making its own case, so read it as the argument for outsourcing, not proof.
SalesHive cites an analysis that puts a productive SDR at $9,800 to $14,200 per month once base and variable pay, employer taxes and benefits, tools, data and management overhead are included. The useful step is to divide your own monthly loaded cost by the number of qualified meetings the rep actually holds. That gives you an internal cost per meeting you can set against any quote.
Two things the sticker price hides on the in-house side: the months it takes a new rep to ramp, and the cost of replacing the rep if they leave. Outsourcing moves part of that risk to the vendor, and it adds a different one, which is that the vendor does not know your market the way your own team does.
This example is illustrative and hypothetical. The inputs are chosen to show the arithmetic. They are not a quote from any vendor and not a Quantum price.
The two formulas behind every comparisonOn these made-up inputs, pay per meeting is cheapest per meeting, the retainer sits in the middle and the hire costs the most. Now change one input. If the retainer program delivers 8 meetings instead of 12, the retainer becomes $6,000 divided by 8, or $750 per meeting, because the fee does not move with delivery. The pay-per-meeting cost stays at $450 per meeting. Set that against the ceiling from the second formula, $600 on these inputs: pay per meeting at $450 and the retainer at $500 both clear it, and the in-house hire at about $833 does not. So the model that looks cheapest depends less on the price than on how many meetings actually arrive, which is why the definition of a qualified meeting matters more than the headline rate.
Cost per meeting as delivery changes| Meetings held per month | 6 | 8 | 12 | 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retainer at $6,000 a month | $1,000 | $750 | $500 | $375 |
| Pay per meeting at $450 | $450 | $450 | $450 | $450 |
| In-house hire at $10,000 a month | $1,667 | $1,250 | $833 | $625 |
Use the table as a scoring sheet. For each row, mark which model your situation points to. If three or more rows point to the same model, choose it for a 90-day pilot. If they split, start with the hybrid.
| Criterion | If this is true | Choose |
|---|---|---|
| Deal value | First-year deal value is above about $25,000, the level SalesHive says is often cited for meeting-based pricing | Pay per meeting, because a few hundred dollars per meeting is small next to the deal |
| Volume | You need about 8 to 15 meetings a month. At 20 to 30 a month the picture changes (SalesHive). | Pay per meeting at the low volume. Retainer or hybrid at the higher volume. |
| Meeting definition | You can write the qualification down: target title, company size, no-show policy, monthly cap | Pay per meeting. If you cannot, choose a retainer with coaching until you can. |
| Control | You want a say in scripts, targeting and the data that lands in your CRM | Hybrid or a dedicated retainer |
| Existing reps | You already have strong reps with a proven playbook. SalesHive warns that adding a vendor can create channel conflict and inconsistent messaging. | Keep it in-house, or pilot the vendor on a separate target market |
Whichever model you pick, write down what a qualified meeting means before you sign. SalesHive's guidance on this is specific, and it works as a checklist:
Vague definitions are how a low per-meeting price turns into wasted time for your account executives. For more on the outbound side, see our notes on why AI SDR deployments churn and on cold email deliverability limits in 2026.
The monthly or per-meeting number is the part vendors publish. Ask about the rest before you compare two quotes:
Quantum sells Outbound Sales as a Service, built on three pillars: people, process and technology. The technology is ZoomInfo for targeting and enrichment, ConnectAndSell for live conversations instead of voicemail, and HubSpot to record every touchpoint. Our ZoomInfo as a Service offer covers the data side, and our RevOps services cover the CRM side.
The outbound program follows The proven 90-day outbound process, in five steps: Assess & Target, System Setup, Scripts & Training, Live Conversation Blitzes and Optimize & Scale. Our Sales Blitz Playbook sets out the method behind the blitzes, including The Rev Efficiency Model and the 6 C's of Sales.
We do not publish a price on this page, because the right number depends on your target market and the meetings you need. The practical way to compare us with any vendor is to ask each one for a quote on the same basis as the worked example above: the same number of qualified, held meetings a month, the same definition of qualified, and the same review point.
Book a strategy call and we will run your numbers through the same comparison, whichever model you end up choosing.
Published 2026 pricing runs from about $3,000 to $14,000 a month, according to Leadium. Cold-calling-only programs sit at the low end, and multi-channel programs typically run $4,000 to $8,000. Premium dedicated teams cost more.
SalesHive puts a normal price for a qualified, held meeting at $300 to $600. Leadium shows a wider spread by quality bar, from $150 to $300 for loosely qualified appointments up to $800 to $1,500 for verified executive meetings.
It can be, but it depends on how many qualified meetings each option actually delivers. Leads at Scale argues that outsourcing costs a third to half as much as one hire over a year, and it is a vendor making that case. Work out your own cost per meeting for each option, as in the worked example above, before you decide.
A hybrid model combines a smaller monthly base fee with a lower per-meeting fee. SalesHive's example is a $2,500 base plus $150 to $300 per qualified meeting. It shares risk between you and the vendor once a pilot has shown the target market works.
Whatever you write down before you sign. At minimum, set the target title and company size, require that the meeting is held and not just booked, agree a no-show policy and a monthly cap, and make sure every call and meeting is visible in your CRM.
Agree the review point in writing before you start, and judge it on qualified meetings held and pipeline created, not on activity. Quantum's own outbound process is built around 90 days, with a review of results at the end of each step.