CIENCE alternatives in 2026: 6 agencies compared
Updated July 2026 // by Mark Glazer // editorial standards
The short answer: CIENCE is one of the few agencies in this category that publishes a full price list, $7,499 in month one per its pricing page, so the alternatives question is about model and scale fit, not hidden numbers. Below, six agencies compared on pricing model, minimums and best fit, ReplyLead first, disclosed.
First, the disclosure: ReplyLead publishes this page, and we put ourselves first in the list. Every fact about the other agencies comes from their own published pages or Clutch profiles, checked in July 2026, with sources named wherever a number appears and self-reported claims labeled.
Who CIENCE is, and the credit it is owed
CIENCE positions itself as B2B lead generation that books qualified sales meetings: a managed team combining AI orchestration on its graph8 platform with human SDRs across phone, email, social and LinkedIn. It is a large horizontal operation, claiming 2,500+ clients served across 250+ industries on its homepage (self-reported).
Now the credit. Per its published pricing page, CIENCE lists real numbers: a $5,000 one-time GTM system setup, a $2,000 per month strategic team, a $499 per month graph8 platform license, and a first-month total the page itself quotes at $7,499. The same page publishes the SDR marketplace pay bands, $1,500 to $6,500 per SDR per month by level and geography, plus a per-meeting fee calculated from an ROI goal, all month to month with no long-term contract. Half the agencies on this page make you book a call to hear any number; CIENCE does not.
Fit-based reasons people look at alternatives
None of these are complaints; with the prices public, the questions are about model and scale.
- Where the risk sits. The strategic team, platform license and SDR compensation are owed whether or not revenue closes; the per-meeting fee is a performance layer on top of fixed costs, not a replacement for them. Our guide to pay-per-appointment vs retainer models maps who carries the risk in each.
- Entry scale. The published entry stack is $7,499 in month one before any SDR headcount, per its pricing page: proportionate for a mid-market GTM program, a lot of machine for one precise, email-led campaign.
- The 2025 restructuring. CIENCE and Tenbound became part of graph8 in 2025, per graph8's company page, and the offering and pricing model changed with it.
For what agencies charge across every model, see our cold email agency cost guide. For the wider field beyond the CIENCE question, see the best cold email agencies list.
The 6 alternatives
The order after ReplyLead is editorial, justified in one line per entry; we assign no star ratings of our own.
1. ReplyLead (this is us)
Why first: this is our list, so we take first position and face the same scrutiny.
Disclosure repeated: this is our page and we put ourselves first on it. The model is the opposite weighting to a fee stack: a lean amount covers the dedicated sending infrastructure that runs your campaign, and the bulk of our compensation comes from the revenue share, with the percentage and attribution window agreed up front and no long-term lock-in. The infrastructure costs are published as a line-item fee table on our ROI calculator: $2,023 per month at 25,000 emails a month, $5,531 at 100,000, at list prices.
The case studies are named and checkable on the case studies page: CEO Coaching International (client since 2024, 90+ positive replies per month), CTAP Inc. and Media Funds (a client since 2011, 75,000 emails per month, 70+ positive replies per month, and Basil Aribi takes reference calls), and TrailerSteps.com (100,000 emails per month, 60+ leads per month). Our working tools run in the browser with no signup, on the tools hub. Best for: teams that want cold email specifically, with the agency paid mostly when revenue closes. Not the pick for phone-heavy, multi-channel SDR coverage, which is CIENCE's home turf.
2. Belkins
Why second: the closest like-for-like swap for CIENCE in scale and channel breadth.
Belkins is a B2B appointment-setting agency founded in 2017, per its own site, running omnichannel outreach: cold email, calling, voicemails, SMS and WhatsApp, LinkedIn and paid ads. It claims more than $2B in client revenue generated since 2017 (self-reported). Unlike CIENCE, pricing is not published: the pricing page shows quote-only tiers named by yearly appointment volume, and its Clutch profile lists a minimum project size of $1,000+. Best for: mid-market and enterprise teams that want a large multi-channel appointment-setting vendor and accept quote-based pricing.
3. SalesHive
Why third: the structural opposite of CIENCE's layered stack, one flat fee and no setup fees.
SalesHive is a B2B sales development outsourcer, remote-first since 2016 per its about page, that runs cold calling plus email end to end with 100 percent US-based SDRs. Per its pricing page, the structure is one flat monthly fee covering the SDR team, strategist, platform, data and tools, with no setup fees and month-to-month terms; no dollar figures are published. Its homepage claims 129K+ qualified meetings booked and $2.5B+ in pipeline (self-reported). Best for: US companies that want calling plus email from US-based reps and will take a sales call to learn the price.
4. Sopro
Why fourth: the strongest fit on this list for UK and European buyers.
Sopro is a fully managed, email-led prospecting service that layers in LinkedIn, display ads, phone and even physical mail, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Brighton, UK, with 300+ employees per its about page. Per its published pricing page, engagements start at around 3K GBP per month with bespoke quotes beyond that, with explicitly no minimum contract. Its homepage counters claim 3,375 clients and more than 91 million outreach messages (self-reported). Best for: UK and European B2B companies with budgets from roughly 3K GBP per month.
5. Cleverly
Why fifth: the lowest published entry price in this comparison.
Cleverly is LinkedIn-first lead generation with cold email and calling alongside, started in Los Angeles and now fully remote, per its about page. Its homepage lists LinkedIn outreach at $397 per month (600+ prospects a month), cold email at $1,995 per month (10,000+ emails a month) and cold calling at $3,500 per month (5,000+ calls a month). It claims 224.7K leads generated and $312M in client pipeline (self-reported). Best for: budget-conscious SMBs that want productized outreach at a listed price rather than a bespoke engagement.
6. SalesBread
Why sixth: the boutique counterweight, for teams that find even a small agency machine too much.
SalesBread does done-for-you LinkedIn plus email outreach, and its homepage promise is 20+ sales-qualified leads per month or your money back, roughly one lead per day (self-reported). It runs month to month, requires your own LinkedIn account and a Sales Navigator subscription, and cites a typical 3 to 5 week waitlist (self-reported). It publishes no current rate card on its site. Best for: small B2B teams that want low-volume, ultra-personalized outreach from a boutique with a concrete guarantee attached.
Side by side
CIENCE appears as the baseline row; "publishes pricing" means figures on the agency's own site, found this July.
| Agency | Pricing model | Publishes pricing? | Minimums, if published | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIENCE (baseline) | Setup + retainer + platform license + SDR pass-through + per-meeting fee | Yes: full price list, first month $7,499 | Month to month; Clutch lists $1,000+ project size | Managed GTM stack at mid-market and enterprise scale |
| ReplyLead | Revenue share; lean amount covers infrastructure | Yes: fee table by volume, $2,023 at 25k emails/mo to $5,531 at 100k | No long-term lock-in | Email-led pipeline, agency paid mostly on closed revenue |
| Belkins | Monthly retainer, quote-only tiers by appointments/yr | No tier prices | Minimum project size $1,000+, per its Clutch profile | Mid-market omnichannel appointment setting |
| SalesHive | One flat monthly fee, no setup fees | No dollar amounts | Month to month | US-based SDR calling plus email |
| Sopro | Fully managed service, bespoke quotes | Partly: starts around 3K GBP/mo | No minimum contract | UK and European multi-channel prospecting |
| Cleverly | Productized monthly packages per channel | Yes: $397 to $3,500/mo on its homepage | None stated | Budget SMB LinkedIn-first outreach |
| SalesBread | Month to month with a money-back lead guarantee | No | Needs your LinkedIn and Sales Navigator | Boutique low-volume, high-personalization outreach |
Common questions
Does CIENCE publish its pricing?
Yes, in full, which is rare in this category. Per its pricing page: $5,000 one-time setup, $2,000 per month strategic team, $499 per month platform license, first month $7,499 in total, plus published SDR pay bands and a per-meeting fee calculated from an ROI goal, all month to month with no long-term contract.
What changed at CIENCE in 2025?
Per graph8's company page, CIENCE and Tenbound became part of graph8 in 2025. The division of labor is described there as: Tenbound defines the model, graph8 runs the system, CIENCE delivers the outcome. The pricing model changed with it, so older reviews describe a differently structured company.
Which CIENCE alternative publishes the lowest entry price?
Of the six agencies on this page, Cleverly, whose homepage lists LinkedIn outreach at $397 per month and cold email at $1,995 per month. ReplyLead publishes its infrastructure fee table on its ROI calculator; the rest of its compensation is a revenue share of closed deals.
Is there a CIENCE alternative that is not retainer-based?
When the research for this page was compiled in July 2026, none of the agency sites researched for these pages advertised a revenue-share pricing model. That model is ReplyLead's: a lean amount covers the dedicated sending infrastructure, and the bulk of compensation is a share of closed revenue, agreed up front. SalesBread offers a different route: month-to-month terms with a self-reported money-back lead guarantee.
The revenue-share version of this comparison
Most of our compensation arrives only when your deals close. The fee table is public and the case studies are named.
How the pricing works The case studies