Cleverly is one of the largest B2B lead generation agencies in the market, with around 1,000 active clients and eight years of history. It is a legitimate operator. But it is built around a specific model, and that model does not fit everyone.
The short version: Cleverly's entry point is LinkedIn outreach at $397 a month, and its channels are priced and sold separately. If you want cold email you pay $1,995 a month. If you want cold calling you pay $3,500 a month for a dedicated human SDR. Buyers usually go looking for alternatives when they want more than one channel without stacking three separate retainers, or when the human SDR model prices them out of calling entirely.
Here are seven alternatives worth evaluating, what each one actually costs, and which type of buyer each one fits.
Cleverly pricing, for reference
Taken from Cleverly's public pricing page as of 2026.
Channel | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
LinkedIn Outreach | $397/mo | 600+ prospects per month, account manager |
Cold Email | $1,995/mo | 10,000+ emails per month, GTM expert |
Cold Calling | $3,500/mo | Dedicated SDR, 300 dials/day, ~5,000 calls per month |
Running all three is roughly $5,900 a month before any bundle discount. Cleverly notes that multi-channel discounts are available on a call.
Quick comparison
Agency | Starting price | Channels | Contract | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Outbound System | Quote-based | Email, AI calling, LinkedIn | Month to month | Multi-channel without three retainers |
Cleverly | $397/mo | Email, human calling, LinkedIn | Varies | LinkedIn-first buyers on a small budget |
Belkins | Quote-based | Email, LinkedIn, appointment setting | Typically annual | Enterprise buyers wanting a known name |
Martal Group | Quote-based | Email, LinkedIn, calling | Multi-month | Tech and SaaS with longer sales cycles |
SalesHive | Quote-based | Email, calling, LinkedIn | Month to month | Buyers who want a flat, predictable fee |
CIENCE | Quote-based | Email, calling, data | Multi-month | Data-heavy and research-led outbound |
Callbox | Quote-based | Email, calling, LinkedIn | Multi-month | International and APAC coverage |
Most agencies in this category do not publish pricing. Cleverly is unusual in that it does, which is genuinely to its credit. Where we have written "quote-based," treat it as a real unknown rather than a hidden number, and get it in writing before you sign.
Where Cleverly is actually the right call
Being fair about this matters, because picking the wrong alternative is worse than staying put.
Cleverly is hard to beat if LinkedIn is your primary channel and your budget is genuinely small. At $397 a month with 600 prospects and a dedicated account manager, nothing else on this list competes on that specific combination. It has eight years of campaign data behind it and a very large volume of positive client reviews.
It is also a reasonable choice if you want a single channel, run well, with no interest in the others. The company is stable, US based, and has real case studies with named clients.
Why buyers look for alternatives
Three structural reasons come up repeatedly, and none of them are about quality of execution.
Channels are priced separately. The $397 entry price is LinkedIn only. Adding email and calling means three line items and roughly $5,900 a month. Buyers who assumed the entry price scaled to a full outbound program get surprised.
Cold calling is expensive because it is human. $3,500 a month buys a dedicated SDR making around 300 dials a day. That is a fair price for a human rep. It is also the single largest line item in the stack, and it is the one most often cut first, which leaves the program email and LinkedIn only.
LinkedIn-first is a ceiling. LinkedIn caps how many people you can contact per profile per week. That is a platform limit, not an agency limit, and no agency can engineer around it. If your total addressable market is larger than what one or two profiles can touch, LinkedIn alone will not fill a pipeline.
1. Outbound System
Best for: Buyers who want email, calling, and LinkedIn running as one system rather than three separate retainers.
Outbound System runs cold email, AI cold calling, and LinkedIn outreach as a single integrated program. The clearest difference from Cleverly is on the calling channel. Cleverly staffs a human SDR at $3,500 a month for roughly 5,000 dials. Outbound System uses an in-house AI calling platform that runs 15,000 dials a month, which is three times the volume, with 100% script adherence.
That tradeoff is worth understanding honestly. A good human SDR can improvise, handle an unexpected objection, and build rapport in a way an AI agent cannot. What the AI gives you is volume and consistency: it never has a bad day, never skips the script, and does not need ramp time. For high-volume top-of-funnel qualification, that trade usually favors the AI. For complex enterprise conversations, a human rep is still better.
The infrastructure is dedicated rather than shared: 100+ Outlook inboxes per campaign on private Azure hosting with dedicated US IPs, and SPF, DKIM and DMARC on every domain. That is the part most agencies quietly skip, and it is why deliverability holds at scale.
Numbers: 1,000+ active clients, 52M+ emails sent, 10,400+ campaigns, 127K+ leads generated, $26M+ in closed revenue attributed to those leads, 98%+ inbox placement.
Terms: Month to month, no lock-in. Launch is 14 days from kickoff.
Watch out for: If you want a named human SDR your prospects build a relationship with over months, the AI calling model is not that. Say so on the call and get routed correctly.
2. Belkins
Best for: Enterprise buyers who want the most recognized name in the category.
Belkins is the highest-profile appointment setting agency in B2B and has the review volume to back it, with over 200 verified reviews on Clutch at a 4.9 average. They focus on email and LinkedIn with a strong appointment setting motion, and they are genuinely good at it.
The tradeoffs are price and commitment. Belkins sits at the premium end and typically works on longer engagements. If you are a small team testing outbound for the first time, the entry cost is real.
Watch out for: Contract length. Get the minimum term in writing.
3. Martal Group
Best for: Technology and SaaS companies with longer, more consultative sales cycles.
Martal runs a blended model with fractional sales talent alongside outbound execution, which suits companies selling complex products where the first conversation needs someone who understands the technology. They cover email, LinkedIn and calling.
Watch out for: The model works best when your ACV justifies a consultative motion. For transactional or low-ticket offers it is more process than you need.
4. SalesHive
Best for: Buyers who want one flat monthly fee and month-to-month terms.
SalesHive built its positioning around flat-rate pricing and no long contracts, which is a direct answer to the biggest complaint about this category. They run email, calling and LinkedIn, and they built their own software stack rather than reselling someone else's.
Watch out for: Flat-rate pricing means the scope is defined tightly. Read what is and is not included before you compare the number to a custom quote.
5. CIENCE
Best for: Data-led outbound where research quality is the constraint.
CIENCE is as much a data company as an agency. If your problem is that nobody can build you an accurate list for a hard-to-reach persona, their research operation is a genuine strength. They run managed SDR services on top of that data.
Watch out for: Larger organization, more process. Onboarding takes longer than the boutique options.
6. Callbox
Best for: Companies selling internationally, especially into APAC.
Callbox has been in the appointment setting business for a long time and has real multi-region coverage with native-language calling. If you need outbound in markets outside North America and Western Europe, they are one of the few credible options.
Watch out for: Global coverage means distributed teams. Ask specifically who is calling your prospects and from where.
7. Salesbread
Best for: Small teams who want a hard guarantee and fully manual personalization.
Salesbread promises one qualified lead per day, or 20+ per month, with a money-back guarantee if they miss it. They run LinkedIn plus email and they are explicit that they do not use AI personalization at all. Their researchers read prospect bios, listen to podcast interviews, and write lines by hand. Terms are month to month.
That is a real philosophical split from most of this list, and it is the right call for some buyers. If your ICP is small, senior, and worth a lot per deal, manual research beats volume.
Watch out for: Two things. They run a three to five week waitlist, which they state openly, so this is not an option if you need to launch now. And the manual model caps volume by design. If you need to reach thousands of prospects a month, this is the wrong shape of agency.
How to choose between them
Four questions will narrow this list faster than any comparison table.
How many channels do you actually need? If the honest answer is one, buy one, and Cleverly's $397 LinkedIn tier is genuinely competitive. If it is three, price the bundle, not the entry tier. Three separate retainers at three separate agencies is the most expensive way to run outbound.
Human SDR or AI calling? This is the biggest cost fork in the category. A human SDR runs $3,500 a month or more and gives you judgment and rapport. AI calling gives you roughly three times the dial volume for less, and gives up improvisation. Neither is universally right. Match it to how complex your first conversation needs to be.
What is the contract term? Month to month and a twelve-month minimum are very different risk profiles for the same monthly number. Several agencies in this category default to multi-month. Ask directly and get it in writing.
Who owns the infrastructure? Ask whether your sending domains and inboxes are dedicated to you or shared across clients. Shared infrastructure is why deliverability collapses in month three. This one question separates the agencies that will still be delivering at month six from the ones that will not.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Cleverly cost?
Cleverly publishes its pricing. LinkedIn outreach is $397 a month for 600+ prospects. Cold email is $1,995 a month for 10,000+ emails. Cold calling is $3,500 a month for a dedicated SDR making about 300 dials a day. Running all three is roughly $5,900 a month before any multi-channel discount, which Cleverly says is available on a call.
Is Cleverly worth it?
For LinkedIn-first outreach on a small budget, yes. $397 a month with a dedicated account manager is competitive and the company has eight years of campaign data behind it. The case gets weaker if you need multiple channels, because each one is a separate retainer and the total climbs quickly.
What is the cheapest alternative to Cleverly?
Nothing on this list beats Cleverly's $397 LinkedIn tier on headline price. The more useful comparison is cost per booked meeting across a full program. A cheaper single channel that does not fill a pipeline is not cheaper. Price the whole program against the meetings it produces.
Does Cleverly require a contract?
Cleverly does not publish contract terms alongside its pricing. Ask directly during the consultation and get the minimum term in writing before you sign.
Which Cleverly alternative is best for cold calling?
It depends on whether you want human or AI. Cleverly's own $3,500 a month human SDR is a fair price for a dedicated rep. Outbound System runs AI calling at 15,000 dials a month, roughly three times the volume, with perfect script adherence but no improvisation. SalesHive and Callbox both run human calling teams if that is the requirement.
Can I switch agencies mid-campaign?
Yes, but the domains and inboxes matter. If your current agency owns the sending infrastructure, you lose the warmed domains when you leave and the new agency starts from zero, which costs you two to three weeks. Ask who owns the domains before you sign anywhere, including here.
Outbound System
We write the copy, build the lists and run the campaigns, month-to-month. Every decision is backed by data from 10,400+ campaigns.
Bruce Merrill is the co-founder of Outbound System and has been booking B2B meetings through LinkedIn since 2016. He built the outbound program at the property tech startup LeaseLock ahead of its Series A and writes about cold email, LinkedIn outreach and AI calling.
About Outbound System
Outbound System runs done-for-you cold email, LinkedIn outreach and AI calling for B2B companies. 1,000+ active clients and 10,400+ campaigns launched.
