Here's what it comes down to. Artisan wants you committed for a year before you know if it works. AiSDR lets you leave after 90 days. That difference tells you almost everything you need to know.
I'll be honest. When I started researching this comparison, I expected it to be closer. It wasn't.
| Factor | Artisan (Ava) | AiSDR |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | ~$1,500-2,000/month Not Public | $900/month Published |
| Contract Terms | Annual required 12 Month Lock | Quarterly Cancel Anytime |
| Emails Included | Volume-based (unclear) | 1,200/month at base tier |
| Unused Messages | Unknown | Roll over to next quarter |
| Total Funding | $36.5M (Series A Dec 2025) | Not disclosed (bootstrapped focus) |
| G2 Rating | Mixed reviews, UI complaints | 5.0/5 (limited reviews but positive) |
| Reply Handling | Limited | Under 10 min response time |
| CRM Integration | HubSpot, others | HubSpot native, Salesforce coming |
| Contact Database | 300M+ contacts | 700M+ contacts |
Artisan's got momentum. Fresh $25M Series A from Glade Brook with HubSpot Ventures participating. That's real validation. The product promises to consolidate your entire outbound stack into one AI-powered platform.
The pitch is compelling. "Ava" handles lead generation from a 300M+ database, writes personalized emails, manages LinkedIn outreach, and books meetings. One tool instead of five.
Annual contracts. That's it. That's the problem.
Look, I understand why they do it. They need predictable revenue. Investors want to see retention metrics. Annual contracts look great on paper. But here's the thing. You're being asked to commit $18,000+ before you know if this actually works for your business.
Imagine discovering that two months in. Now imagine you've got ten more months on your contract.
Quarterly billing. Cancel anytime. Unused messages roll over. This is how software should work when the vendor is confident in their product. You see results in 6 weeks, which is well within a quarterly cycle. If it doesn't work, you leave. Simple.
AiSDR takes a different approach. They publish their pricing. $900/month gets you 1,200 messages. Scales up to $4,500/month for higher volume. No hidden fees. No annual lock-in. TechCrunch ranked them top 3 in the AI SDR category.
The product handles the full SDR workflow. Lead identification from a 700M+ contact database, personalized outreach across email and LinkedIn, and replies in under 10 minutes. They analyze 323+ signals per lead to craft messages that feel personal.
There's always a catch. Let me be real about AiSDR's limitations.
First, the volume. 1,200 messages at $900/month means you're paying about $0.75 per email. That adds up if you're doing high-volume outreach. The math works better if your deal sizes are $10K+ ACV.
Second, HubSpot-first. If you're on Salesforce, you'll have to wait. They say it's coming in 2025, but it's not there yet. For HubSpot shops, though, the integration is solid.
Third, you don't control the logic. You can't build custom signal combinations like "funding + hiring + tech stack change." You use their predefined triggers. For some teams, that's fine. For others, it's limiting.
This one's pretty clear. AiSDR wins on contract terms, pricing transparency, and user sentiment. Artisan has more features and a bigger platform vision, but asking for 12-month commitments on unproven AI tech is a dealbreaker for most teams.
Here's the smart play. Start with AiSDR for a quarter. Spend $2,700 instead of $18,000. If AI SDRs work for your business, you'll know. Then you can decide whether Artisan's additional features are worth the annual lock-in.
But signing an annual contract before you've seen results? That's not confidence. That's gambling.
We've analyzed the full AI SDR landscape for revenue leaders.
11x vs Artisan 11x vs AiSDR
The CRO Report