Outsourced appointment setting can cost a few thousand dollars per month or well into five figures, depending on whether the buyer is purchasing a calling program, a dedicated SDR, a multichannel team or a larger GTM system.
Common pricing models
- monthly retainer
- four-week retainer
- dedicated SDR fee
- per-appointment fee
- base retainer plus performance fee
- modular platform plus SDR capacity
Current Q3 2026 examples
Leadium currently publishes roughly $3,500 per month for a cold-call program and about $4,000-$5,000 for multichannel service. Belkins describes average starter pricing from roughly $5,000. SalesRoads starts its one-dedicated-SDR structure around $9,950 every four weeks. SalesHive uses custom monthly pricing and positions the fee as including SDR resources, strategy, data and proprietary technology. CIENCE uses a modular structure with setup, strategy/platform charges and optional SDR capacity.
Four weeks is not a month
This is one of the most important normalization rules in outsourced sales.
There are about 13.04 four-week billing periods in a year:
365.25 / 28 = 13.04
A $9,950 four-week fee therefore annualizes to roughly $129,800, not $119,400. The average calendar-month equivalent is roughly $10,800, although the provider still bills every four weeks.
Cost per meeting can mislead
A better funnel is:
Booked Meetings -> Held Meetings -> Qualified Held Meetings -> Opportunities -> Customers
For example:
Cost per Qualified Held Meeting = Total Program Cost / Qualified Meetings Actually Held
A lower cost per booked appointment can be more expensive if no-show and qualification rates are weak.
What should be included in the quote?
Ask whether pricing includes:
- SDR labor
- sales manager or strategist
- contact data
- list research
- dialing software
- email infrastructure
- CRM work
- copywriting
- appointment setting
- no-show recovery
- reporting
- setup
Compare the operating model
SalesRoads is closer to a dedicated SDR program. SalesHive bundles people, strategy and technology. Belkins is an agency-style multichannel program. CIENCE can resemble GTM infrastructure plus optional SDR capacity. These should not be treated as identical units.
Bottom line
Normalize the billing period, define what counts as a qualified meeting, and compare total pipeline economics rather than calendar invitations.
Use the Outsourced SDR ROI Calculator or compare appointment setting providers.