Cold email agency vs SDR
Updated October 7, 2026. Prices read October 7, 2026.
A cold email agency is a flat monthly fee for a managed email program, from $2,000 a month at Sales.co. An outsourced SDR team is priced by the number of SDRs, from $11,950 per 4-week engagement for one SDR at SalesRoads. The right pick depends on whether your buyers answer email or the phone.
An SDR you hire adds salary, commission, tools and management time. The Bridge Group's 2025 survey of 351 B2B companies puts median SDR on-target earnings at $80K a year, before tools and management. Sales.co is our own service, so read this page with that in mind.
What this page adds: one table that puts published prices for email agencies, outsourced SDR teams and a hired SDR next to launch time and minimum term. It also adds the one source-of-booking count we can see: of 143 calls booked through Sales.co's own campaign, 98 named cold email and 17 named a cold call (Sales.co's conversion benchmarks).
The options side by side
Sales.co ($2,000 a month) and OutreachBloom (from $2,400) are the lowest published prices below; the outsourced SDR teams start at $11,950 per 4 weeks.
| Option | Published price | Who does the work | Channels | Time to launch | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales.co | $2,000/mo (10,000 emails); $2,500 (15,000); $3,000 (20,000) | Sales.co: list, domains, copy, sending, replies | Email; calls +$1,500/mo | Within 7 days | Month-to-month, no setup fee |
| OutreachBloom | From $2,400/mo | OutreachBloom: infrastructure, list, messaging, replies | Typically live within weeks (home page FAQ) | Not stated | |
| CIENCE | $7,499 first month; SDRs on top | CIENCE team plus platform; optional SDRs | Email, calls | 5-day setup; engine live in 14 days | Month-to-month |
| SalesRoads (outsourced SDR) | $11,950 per 4 weeks for 1 SDR; $16,750 for 2 | Dedicated SDRs, research team, strategist, coach | Calls, with email cadences in its playbook | 15 business days from kickoff | No long-term commitment, cancel anytime; SalesRoads recommends its 12-week program |
| SalesHive (outsourced SDR) | Custom quote | US-based or offshore SDRs | Calls, or calls and email | 2 to 3 weeks | Month-to-month, cancel with written notice |
| In-house SDR | Median on-target earnings $80K a year, about $6,700 a month, before tools, management and benefits (Bridge Group, 2025) | You: hiring, tools, data, coaching | Your choice | Your hiring time, then a 3.0-month average ramp (Bridge Group, 2025) | Employment |
The in-house row uses The Bridge Group's 2025 survey (published February 6, 2025, read October 7, 2026): median SDR on-target earnings of $80K a year, split $55K base and $25K variable, and an average ramp time of 3.0 months. The sample was 78% North American and 83% B2B SaaS. On-target earnings are pay at quota; employer taxes, benefits, tools, data and management time are extra and we have no published source for them. Two vendor figures point the same way. OutreachBloom's site says a single SDR costs $80k+ a year before tools and management (outreachbloom.com, read October 7, 2026). CIENCE prices the SDRs it places with clients: its table lists US SDRs at $4,500 (level 1) to $6,500 (level 3) per SDR. That table shows no period; CIENCE's SDR page calls SDR pricing monthly, so we read it that way. CIENCE also sets commission rules for its SDRs: base salary times the share of target reached, times 0.35 between 60% and 99% of target and 0.7 at or above it, and none below 60%. The SalesRoads engagement, by its own description, includes dedicated SDRs, a research and data team, a client strategist, a performance coach and an optimization specialist.
What the same money buys
One SalesRoads SDR for one 4-week engagement ($11,950) costs about as much as six months of Sales.co's smallest plan ($12,000). Two SDRs for 4 weeks ($16,750) cost about as much as eight months. One month of a hired SDR at the Bridge Group median (about $6,700 in on-target earnings) costs more than three months of Sales.co's smallest plan ($6,000). The comparison is on price only; the two channels reach people differently.
Where an SDR does better
- Buyers who answer the phone and ignore cold email. You can test this by asking your last ten customers how they first spoke to you.
- High-value accounts where a human follow-up call changes the odds.
- A team that wants one person learning the market and passing objections back to product.
- Booking calls from a list you already have, which an SDR can work the same week.
Where an agency does better
- A defined market of thousands of companies, reached by email at a fixed monthly price.
- No hiring, no ramp: sending starts within a week.
- A price you can compare before a call: Sales.co publishes $2,000 a month, SalesRoads publishes $11,950 per 4 weeks for one SDR, and SalesHive quotes on a call.
How to decide
Ask where your last ten customers first heard from you. If email or LinkedIn started most of them, an email agency is the cheaper test. If the phone did, price an SDR. If you do not know, start with email: it costs less to learn from. In Sales.co's campaign 42 of 143 bookings (29%) came from companies whose contact never answered the email, and 22 of those 42 named cold email as how they heard about us. For the numbers behind the email side, see is a cold email agency worth it.
Where to go next
How to choose a cold email agency · best outsourced SDR companies · outsourced SDR services · cold calling vs cold email
Sources
- SalesRoads: salesroads.com/pricing, read October 7, 2026.
- CIENCE: cience.com/pricing and cience.com/outbound-sdr, read October 7, 2026.
- The Bridge Group, SDR Models, Motions & Metrics: 2025 Research Report (10th edition): www.bridgegroupinc.com/research/2025-sdr-models-metrics-report-the-bridge-group, published February 6, 2025, read October 7, 2026.
- OutreachBloom: outreachbloom.com/pricing and outreachbloom.com, read October 7, 2026. SalesHive: saleshive.com/pricing, read October 7, 2026.
- Sales.co: sales.co/pricing and Sales.co's conversion benchmarks, read October 7, 2026.
FAQ
Is a cold email agency cheaper than an SDR?
On published prices, yes at the entry level. Sales.co's smallest plan is $2,000 a month. A hired SDR's median on-target earnings are $80K a year, about $6,700 a month before tools and management (The Bridge Group, 2025). SalesRoads charges $11,950 per 4-week engagement for one dedicated SDR, about six months of Sales.co's smallest plan. They do different work: one sends email, the other phones.
What does an outsourced SDR cost?
SalesRoads publishes $11,950 per 4 weeks for one SDR and $16,750 for two. SalesHive quotes on a call. CIENCE lists SDR capacity by level and region, from $1,500 (offshore, level 1) to $6,500 (US, level 3) per SDR, plus a $1,000 onboarding fee per SDR. The table shows no period, and CIENCE's SDR page calls the pricing monthly.
Can a cold email agency replace an SDR?
For first-touch outreach to a defined list, yes: the agency builds the list, sends and answers replies. For phone-first buyers, complex accounts or a team that wants a salesperson close to the product, an SDR does work email does not. Sales.co sells cold calls as a +$1,500 a month add-on.
How fast can each one start?
Sales.co starts sending within 7 days. SalesRoads states 15 business days from the kickoff call. CIENCE states a 5-day setup sprint and a full engine in 14 days. SalesHive states 2 to 3 weeks.
Which converts better, email or calls?
In Sales.co's own campaign, 143 companies booked a call. When asked how they heard about Sales.co, 98 named cold email, 17 named a cold call and 9 named LinkedIn (the form allows one answer). That describes one company's campaign selling a service, not a general ranking.