Outsourced SDR cost in the UK: what you'll actually pay in 2026.
Most agencies don't publish prices, which makes budgeting hard. This guide pulls together the figures UK and US providers do publish, shows what an in-house SDR really costs, and gives you one number to compare every quote on: cost per qualified meeting.
The short answer
| Option | Typical cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| In-house SDR (UK, year one) | £45,000–£67,000 a year fully loaded | Sentrama, ORRJO, Flowd |
| UK outsourced SDR / appointment-setting agency | £3,500–£11,000 a month | ORRJO, Sentrama, Flowd |
| Pay per meeting (UK) | around £250 per booked meeting | Sentrama |
| US outsourced SDR (for comparison) | $3,000–$15,000 a month | Leadium, ORRJO |
Figures as published by each provider, checked 1 October 2026. Links at the end of this article.
What an in-house SDR really costs
Advertised SDR salaries in the UK sit around £28,000–£38,000. That is not the cost. Add commission, employer National Insurance, pension, a Sales Navigator seat and data tools, a recruitment fee and someone's time to manage the role, and published breakdowns land between £45,000 and £67,000 for the first year (Sentrama, ORRJO, Flowd).
The bigger cost is time. A new SDR typically takes three to six months to reach full productivity (Flowd). If the target market or message turns out to be wrong, you find out after you've paid for the ramp.
The three ways agencies charge
Monthly retainer. A fixed fee for a defined programme: list building, messaging, sending, calling and reporting. Published UK ranges are roughly £3,500–£10,000 a month for full-service programmes (ORRJO) and £5,000–£11,000 for appointment-setting agencies (Sentrama). Predictable, but you carry the risk if it doesn't work.
Pay per meeting. You pay for each booked meeting — about £250 in the UK (Sentrama). Check whether you pay on booking or attendance: with UK show rates of 70–80%, a £250 booked meeting costs £313–£357 per meeting that actually happens.
Hybrid. A lower retainer plus a fee per qualified meeting. This splits the risk, and is common for calling programmes where effort is fixed but outcomes vary.
Compare every quote on cost per qualified meeting
Monthly fees are hard to compare because programmes differ. Cost per meeting isn't. Leadium's own example: a $4,500 programme that books 8 meetings costs $562 per meeting; at 12 meetings it's $375. Do the same sum for every quote, using attended meetings with people who match your ICP — not “conversations” or “touches”.
What should be in the price
- ICP definition and a verified, segmented prospect list
- Messaging written for each segment, not one generic template
- Separate sending domains and mailboxes with SPF, DKIM, DMARC and warm-up — never your main domain
- Reply handling and booking into your calendar
- CRM updates (HubSpot or your own) so you own the data
- Weekly reporting on replies, meetings and what's working
- UK GDPR and PECR basics: a named sender, easy opt-out, opt-outs honoured
Ask what is billed separately. Data credits, sending tools and dialler licences often sit outside the headline fee.
Red flags in a quote
- Guaranteed meeting numbers before anyone has looked at your market
- Sending from your main company domain
- Long lock-ins with no pilot or review point
- Reports that count emails sent instead of qualified conversations
- No clarity on who owns the list and the CRM data when you stop
Where Sales Hype sits
Sales Hype is founder-led and publishes its prices: managed outbound from £2,500 a month and an outsourced SDR service from £2,200 a month, with no setup fee. Managed outbound has a 3-month minimum; SDR terms are agreed when the programme is scoped. Data and tools are billed separately. Scopes differ between providers, so compare any quote — ours included — on cost per qualified meeting rather than the monthly fee.
See outsourced SDR, managed outbound, or AI SDR vs outsourced SDR.
Questions
How much does an outsourced SDR cost per month in the UK?
Published UK ranges for full-service programmes run from about £3,500 to £11,000 a month (ORRJO, Sentrama), usually with a setup fee. Smaller founder-led or fractional services sit below that range; Sales Hype's published prices start from £2,500/month for managed outbound and from £2,200/month for the outsourced SDR service.
Is it cheaper to hire an SDR in-house?
Rarely in year one. A UK SDR on a £30k base costs roughly £45k–£67k fully loaded once commission, NI, pension, tools and recruitment are included, and takes three to six months to ramp. In-house makes sense once the channel is proven and you have someone to manage the role.
Is pay-per-meeting better than a retainer?
It shifts risk to the provider, but check what counts as a meeting. Most vendors bill on booking, not attendance, and loose qualification produces meetings that never become pipeline. Compare everything on cost per qualified, attended meeting.
What should be included in the price?
At minimum: ICP and list building, messaging, separate sending domains with SPF/DKIM/DMARC and warm-up, reply handling, CRM updates and weekly reporting. Data and tool licences are often billed separately — ask.
Sources
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