Lead generation agency comparisons: head to head, alternatives and best lists

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Choosing a lead generation agency usually means comparing firms that do not publish prices and describe the same service in different words. The pages in this hub put them side by side on the things a contract decides: how the agency charges, what a month with no meetings costs, how long the pilot or minimum term is, and what counts as a meeting.

We are one of the agencies being compared, so read these pages knowing that. Each one names its sources and the date we read them, quotes competitors' published prices where they exist, and says plainly when a figure is someone else's estimate. Where another model suits a buyer better than paying per meeting, the page says so.

The head-to-head pages take two firms at a time: Belkins against Martal Group and against SalesHive, CIENCE against Martal Group, SalesHive against CIENCE. The alternatives and reviews group covers Sopro alternatives for UK teams and what SalesHive clients report. The lists group compares pay-per-meeting agencies with their prices, groups appointment setting companies by how they charge, and sorts UK lead generation agencies by model.

The last group is the decision before any of these: whether to hire an agency at all. It compares AI SDR software with a pay-per-meeting agency, an AI SDR with a human one, and an agency with running outbound yourself, and ends with the red flags and questions to ask before you sign with anyone.

Whichever firms you shortlist, ask each the same four questions in writing: what is billed when no meeting happens, what counts as a meeting, how long you are committed for, and who decides whether a meeting was qualified. The answers usually separate the options faster than any feature list, and they are the rows these pages are built on.

For the prices behind these comparisons, see the pricing hub; for agencies that sell to fintech and banks, the financial services hub has its own comparison pages.

Head to head

Belkins vs Martal Group: price ranges, pilot terms and cost per meeting — Belkins vs Martal Group: Martal's pilot is published and G2 lists $4,100–$10,500 a month. Belkins' blog gives a $5,000 floor. Cost per meeting at each.
Belkins vs SalesHive: six rows, three verdicts, one unanswered question — Both bill monthly whatever the results. What each publishes on channels, term, guarantee and ramp, plus the zero-meeting month neither mentions.
CIENCE vs Martal Group: month-to-month SDR seats or a 3-month pilot — CIENCE vs Martal Group, October 2026: one prints its SDR rates, one quotes on a call and starts with a 3-month pilot. What a dry month costs at each.
SalesHive vs CIENCE: price, terms and the zero-meeting month (Oct 2026) — SalesHive rents US callers month to month on an unpublished fee. CIENCE prints $2,000 a month, $499 platform, SDRs from $1,750. Both bill an empty month.

Alternatives and reviews

Belkins alternatives (October 2026): seven firms grouped by how they charge — Belkins starts from $5,000 a month on a six-month agreement. Seven alternatives, priced from their own pages: monthly seats, pilots, pay per meeting.
CIENCE alternatives (October 2026): what else to buy instead of team-plus-seat pricing — CIENCE costs at least $4,249 a month with one offshore SDR, before setup. Seven alternatives with prices from their own pages, grouped by how they charge.
Martal Group alternatives (October 2026): if a three-month pilot is not what you want — Martal Group charges an unpublished flat fee after a 3-month pilot. Seven alternatives, priced from their own pages: monthly, annual, per meeting.
Callbox alternatives (October 2026): seven firms that charge differently from a $6,667 pod — Callbox estimates $6,667 a month per campaign pod. Seven alternatives, priced from their own pages and grouped by what an empty month costs.
SalesHive alternatives (October 2026): seven firms grouped by how they charge — SalesHive quotes one monthly fee and does not price by the meeting. Seven alternatives, priced from their own pages, from SDR seats to pay per meeting.
SalesRoads alternatives (October 2026): cheaper seats, other channels, or pay per meeting — SalesRoads charges $11,950 per four weeks for one US SDR. Seven alternatives, priced from their own pages: cheaper seats, pods and pay per meeting.
Leadium alternatives (October 2026): seven firms that publish what Leadium does not — Leadium publishes no price and guarantees activity, not outcomes. Seven alternatives, priced from their own pages, including pay per meeting.
Cleverly alternatives (October 2026): when LinkedIn replies are not enough — Cleverly charges $397–$997 a month for LinkedIn lead gen and $697–$2,997 for appointment setting. Seven alternatives with prices from their own pages.
Sopro alternatives for UK B2B teams: £3,000 a month vs paying per meeting — Sopro is a managed prospecting service, not software. What its monthly fee buys, what reviewers say, and how nine alternatives charge, model by model.
SalesHive reviews 2026: what clients report on pricing and complaints — A competitor reads SalesHive's 2026 reviews. The good ones are real; the bad ones share one cause: a flat fee that does not move when the campaign does.

Best lists and directories

Best pay-per-meeting lead generation agencies (2026): 12 compared, with prices — 12 pay-per-meeting and appointment setting agencies scored on published price, held-meeting billing and minimum term. Prices as of October 2026.
Pay-Per-Appointment and Appointment Setting Companies, Grouped by How They Charge — Which pay-per-appointment companies publish a per-meeting price, and how Belkins, CIENCE, SalesHive and others charge instead. Grouped by model, unranked.
B2B Lead Generation Agency UK: Eight Firms by Model — 8 B2B lead generation companies in the UK by how they charge: Sopro from €3.4K a month, Outbound Worx £1,495–£6,495, or per meeting. PECR, plainly.
Fintech lead generation agencies compared, with published prices (2026) — Fintech lead generation agencies compared on their own published prices as of October 2026, and where ROI Maximizer is not the right fit.

Agency, software or in-house?

Should You Hire a Lead Generation Agency or Just Do Outbound Yourself? — Do fifty outreaches yourself before you pay any agency, us included. If nobody wants the meeting when the founder asks, a stranger won't book it either.
AI SDR Software vs a Pay-Per-Meeting Agency: Which Should You Actually Buy? — One sells you a tool you operate; the other sells you an outcome. The difference that matters is who does the work the demo never shows.
AI SDR vs Human SDR: What Actually Changes, and What Doesn't — AI cut the cost of sending a personalised message to nearly zero. It did not change what makes someone agree to a meeting. Here is where the line falls.
How to Tell If a Lead Generation Agency Is Any Good: Red Flags and the Questions to Ask Before You Sign — Is your lead generation agency any good, or legit? Five checks, starting with a written definition of a qualified meeting, plus the 6 red flags.

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