Fractional SDR or AI SDR?

An AI SDR is software that finds contacts, researches them, writes outreach and sends it, mostly by email and at volume. A fractional SDR is an experienced person working part of the week for you, across email, phone and LinkedIn. They overlap on the first half of the job (lists, research, first-touch email) and differ most on the second half: calls, replies, objections and the judgement call on whether a prospect is worth a meeting.

Price

AI SDR tools are priced as software. Published plans reported by Artisan, which sells an AI SDR itself, start at about $250 a month for AiSDR's entry tier, with 11x reported at about $5,000 a month.

A fractional SDR is priced as a person's time. Published retainers run from about $3,000 to $8,000 a month for 15 to 25 hours a week, according to GigRadar. Revnew puts per-meeting deals at about $150 to $600 per qualified meeting.

So the software is usually cheaper per month. Artisan claims an AI SDR produces pipeline at about one-fifth of the cost of a human rep. That is a vendor's claim about its own category, and Artisan itself frames it as a pipeline-cost comparison rather than a like-for-like swap. The number to compare is cost per qualified meeting held, including the human time an AI tool still needs.

What each does well

Artisan's own comparison of AI and human SDRs says the human's higher cost buys something the software cannot where deals are relationship-led, and lists complex deals and live discovery calls as weak points for AI SDRs. That is a notable admission from a company selling the software.

What buyers say they want

Gartner research points both ways. In one Gartner survey of B2B buyers, 67% said they prefer a buying experience without a sales rep. In a later Gartner survey, 69% of B2B buyers said they turn to sales reps to validate insights they got from AI. Gartner also predicts that by 2030, 75% of B2B buyers will prefer sales experiences that put human interaction ahead of AI. Read together: buyers want less outreach, and when they do talk to someone, they want it to be useful.

Gartner also predicts that AI agents will far outnumber human sellers by 2028, while fewer than 40% of sellers will say the agents made them more productive. Volume is easy to add. Results are not.

The deliverability limit

An AI SDR's advantage is volume, and email providers limit volume. Google's sender guidelines set extra requirements for anyone sending 5,000 or more messages a day to personal Gmail accounts, and ask senders to keep spam complaints low. Mail that recipients mark as spam hurts later sends from the same domain. Whoever runs your AI SDR needs to watch domain health, warm-up and complaint rates. A fractional SDR sending fewer, more targeted messages is less exposed, though not immune.

When to choose which

• AI SDR: a large, well-defined list; a simple offer that email can carry; a team member who will handle replies and watch deliverability.
• Fractional SDR: a smaller list of high-value accounts; an offer that needs a conversation; outreach that includes calls; no one in-house to manage the tool.
• Both: the AI tool builds lists, enriches contacts and drafts first touches, and the fractional SDR reviews the copy, makes the calls and works the replies. Artisan itself recommends pairing the two.

If you are leaning towards software, read whether AI SDR tools are worth it for a closer look at the tools on their own. The AI SDR hub covers whether AI will replace SDRs and whether the tools work. If you are weighing people, compare a fractional SDR against a full-time hire, or see every outbound option side by side. For the human half of the job, you can match with a human fractional SDR.

FAQ

Is an AI SDR cheaper than a fractional SDR?

Per month, usually. Published AI SDR plans start at a few hundred dollars a month, while part-time human retainers start at about $3,000. Per qualified meeting held, it depends on your list, your offer and how much human time the tool still needs.

Can an AI SDR make phone calls?

Most AI SDR products focus on email and LinkedIn. If calls matter for your buyers, plan on a person for that part.

Do buyers mind AI outreach?

Gartner surveys show B2B buyers want fewer rep interactions overall, but most still want a person to check what AI has told them. Irrelevant outreach, whether from a person or software, is what buyers avoid.

Can I use an AI SDR and a fractional SDR together?

Yes. A common split is software for lists, research and first emails, and a person for calls, replies and deciding who gets a meeting.