By Jatin Modi, founder of Renaissance Group · Published 26 October 2026 · Updated 26 October 2026
How did we choose and compare these providers?
We included a provider when its own pages show AI-driven sales work delivered as a managed or done-for-you service and the page reads as current in 2026. We read each provider's pricing or product page on 26 October 2026 and recorded what it states and what it leaves out. We excluded pure software with no managed service (Landbase, whose pricing page lists self-serve credit bundles), tools sold only as software with managed onboarding (Artisan, covered on our alternatives page). Providers appear in alphabetical order. Hastings is one of the five and publishes this page, so the disclosure at the foot of the page applies to it.
We scored six criteria that a buyer can check on a provider's own pages: whether it publishes a price; whether a person on your side approves messages before they send; how long the contract runs and how you exit; who owns the sending domain; whether it states a result floor or reports against agreed measures; and whether it names customers. The sixth criterion also screens for substance. Gartner estimates that only about 130 of the thousands of agentic AI vendors are real (Gartner, 25 June 2025).
How do the five providers compare on the six criteria?
| Provider | Published price | Approval before send | Contract and exit | Sending domain owner | Results stated | Customers named |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AiSDR | $1.50 per person prospected; per-campaign service $149; fully managed $2,500 a month | Per-campaign service: "You review and approve before anything sends." | Pay as you go cancels anytime; team plans carry quarterly contracts | Not stated after cancellation | "1-3 meetings for each 100 contacts" | Four named testimonial givers |
| Belkins | None published | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | "100-400+ qualified appointments in a year", footnoted as dependent on multiple factors | Five case studies |
| CIENCE (pricing) | Campaign team $2,000 a month; platform $499 a month; SDRs from $1,750 (offshore) or $3,500 (US and Europe) a month | An SDR reviews the AI draft; client approval not stated | Month to month | Not stated | 5 to 20+ qualified meetings a month per SDR, by its own estimate | 25 logos and 115+ case studies |
| Hastings (pricing) | EUR 10,000 setup once; pilot EUR 4,500 a month for 90 days; plans from EUR 6,000 a month | A person on your team approves everything that goes out | 90-day pilot, then 12-month term | Not stated on the pricing page | Success measures agreed up front | None named |
| LeadHaste | $4,500 a month plus $1,000 setup | Client reviews conversations and approves targeting weekly; per-message approval not stated | 3-month start, then month to month | "Every domain, mailbox and record is registered to you." | A booked-meeting floor; "payments pause until we catch up" if missed | Eight case studies |
Prices are in each provider's own currency and change. Read the sentence in the table, then read the contract.
Who suits each provider better?
AiSDR suits a team that wants to start small. Pay as you go has no monthly fee and is billed daily, and the managed service at $2,500 a month hands over targeting, messaging and replies. Its pricing FAQ gives two different minimum campaign prices ($7.50 and as little as $3), so ask for the meter in writing.
Belkins suits a team that already buys outsourced appointment setting and wants human lead researchers on the work. Its main page does not describe an AI offering, and its September 2026 blog post describes a hybrid model in which AI does the legwork and people make the calls.
CIENCE suits a team that wants named SDR capacity by the month with no long contract. Its pages carry the group name graph8, and its Trustpilot score and its own rating claim differ, which the next section sets out.
LeadHaste suits a business-to-business seller with deals above $2,000 who can answer replies and handle 30 to 50 qualified conversations a month, which are the limits its page states. It publishes the clearest ownership and exit terms of the five.
Hastings suits a company of 50 to 1,000 people that wants finished sales, business development and marketing work, for example prospects worth calling and outreach drafts, delivered for approval. It is a poorer fit for a team that wants a per-meeting guarantee or a month-to-month start, since its pricing page lists a 90-day pilot and a 12-month term.
What does independent evidence say?
Independent coverage is thin and uneven. Belkins holds 4.9 out of 5 from 234 reviews on Clutch (Clutch, Belkins). CIENCE holds 1.6 out of 5 from 21 reviews on Trustpilot (Trustpilot, CIENCE), while its own site claims an average rating of 4.4 across seven review platforms; we show both and do not average them. LeadHaste has 3 Trustpilot reviews at 4.0 (Trustpilot, LeadHaste), too few to rely on, and AiSDR has none on Trustpilot (Trustpilot, AiSDR). All pages were read on 26 October 2026.
Gartner predicts that over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027, citing escalating costs, unclear business value or inadequate risk controls (Gartner, 25 June 2025). Each of those three causes maps to something you can ask a provider before you sign. Human SDR cost gives a reference point: the Bridge Group's 2025 survey puts median SDR on-target earnings at $80,000 with a 3.0-month ramp (The Bridge Group, 2025). CIENCE lists SDRs from $1,750 to $3,500 a month, which is a different measure from earnings and does not equate to it.
What should you ask before you sign with any of them?
Ask who owns the sending domains and mailboxes if you leave, and get it in the contract. Ask whether a person on your team sees each message before it sends, or only a weekly summary. Ask for the result floor in writing, with the remedy if the provider misses it. Ask for a reference customer in your segment and call them. Ask what the first 30 days cost in total, including setup, and what you pay if you stop at day 30. Then run all candidates on the same segment for 90 days and compare cost per held meeting.
Where does Hastings fit?
Hastings is our service, and it is listed here under the same criteria as the others. A senior team from Renaissance Group runs agreed jobs from a library of use cases and a person on your team approves each item before it goes out. The pricing page lists a one-time EUR 10,000 setup and then EUR 4,500 a month for a 90-day pilot with two jobs, which is EUR 23,500 for the first 90 days by our arithmetic (Hastings pricing, read 26 October 2026). See also AI SDR tools and hired SDRs and Hastings and Salesforce Agentforce.
Related comparisons
Choosing a platform or tool: Salesforce Agentforce alternatives for mid-market companies, Hastings and Salesforce Agentforce, HubSpot AI alternatives, alternatives to 11x and Artisan and Hastings and ChatGPT Enterprise. Choosing who does the work: AI SDR tools or hired SDRs and Hastings and an AI consultancy. Building it yourself: Hastings and an internal AI team.
Questions buyers ask
Which managed AI service is best for a sales team?
No single provider wins on every criterion. LeadHaste states domain ownership and a meeting floor, AiSDR has the lowest-commitment start, CIENCE offers human SDR capacity by the month, and Hastings runs approved jobs across sales, business development and marketing. The criteria table lays out the differences.
What is a managed AI service for sales?
A provider that runs AI-assisted sales work for you, such as research, outreach and reply handling, with people on its side operating the system. You buy outputs and a result, not software seats.
How much does a managed AI sales service cost?
Published prices in this set run from $1.50 per person prospected at AiSDR and $2,500 a month for its fully managed service, to $4,500 a month plus $1,000 setup at LeadHaste (AiSDR, LeadHaste, read 26 October 2026). Belkins publishes no price. Hastings lists EUR 10,000 setup and EUR 4,500 a month for a 90-day pilot (Hastings).
Who owns the sending domain with a managed service?
Only LeadHaste states ownership on its own page, in the words "Every domain, mailbox and record is registered to you." The other providers in this set do not state it, so ask and put the answer in the contract.
Is a managed service better than AI SDR software?
It fits when nobody on your team has hours to operate and tune a tool each week. Software fits when you want control and a published meter. Our alternatives page compares the software side.
How do we compare providers fairly?
Run each on the same segment for 90 days, agree the measure in advance, and compare total cost per held meeting, counting setup, fees and your own review time.
Sources
AiSDR, pricing; Belkins, home page and blog post on AI SDRs (30 September 2026); CIENCE, home page and pricing; LeadHaste, home page (all read 26 October 2026).
Clutch, Belkins; Trustpilot, CIENCE, LeadHaste and AiSDR (read 26 October 2026).
Gartner, Over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by end of 2027 (25 June 2025).
The Bridge Group, 2025 SDR Models and Metrics Report (read 26 October 2026).
Hastings, pricing (read 26 October 2026).
Disclosure: Hastings publishes this page and is one of the five providers compared. It is listed in alphabetical order under the same criteria as the others. Vendor names identify their products only. Prices change, so check each source before you buy. This page is rechecked each quarter against its research file.