11x vs Artisan vs AiSDR 2026: which AI SDR fits your team?

Pick 11x if you are a mid-market or enterprise team that wants a managed AI SDR across email, LinkedIn, phone, SMS and WhatsApp, and can sign an annual contract from $3,750 a month. Pick Artisan for the cheapest self-serve start, with a free plan, a 30-day trial and paid plans from $250 a month, though its sequences cover email and calls, not LinkedIn. Pick AiSDR for email plus LinkedIn automation without an annual contract, from $250 a month, if you do not need to approve each message before it is sent.

Checked against each vendor's own pages on 15 October 2026.

Revexa builds Leo, an AI agent in the same market, so read with that in mind. This comparison is about the tools in the title. Prices are USD list prices excluding VAT.

What each tool is

11x sells AI "digital workers": Alice for outbound and Julian, an AI voice agent for inbound. Alice Growth starts at $3,750 a month billed annually for 5 users and 2,000 new prospects a month, and Julian from $2,417 a month for chat or $5,333 for voice, also billed annually (11x Alice pricing, 11x Julian pricing).

Artisan sells Ava, an AI BDR that researches, writes, replies and books meetings. Intern costs $250 a month billed annually or $280 monthly for 10K credits, about 500 leads, plus separately billed mailboxes and phone numbers (Artisan pricing).

AiSDR is an AI SDR for email and LinkedIn. Solo costs $250 a month, month-to-month, for 200 researched contacts and 1 user, while Explore ($900 a month) and Scale ($2,500) need quarterly contracts (AiSDR pricing).

Side by side

Sources: 11x Alice pricing, 11x docs, 11x signals, Artisan pricing, Artisan sequence docs, AiSDR pricing, AiSDR llms.txt, AiSDR Ami, AiSDR features.

Where 11x is better

• The widest channel mix. One sequence can mix email, LinkedIn, phone with consent, SMS and WhatsApp, while Artisan's sequences are email, manual tasks and human calls (11x sequences, Artisan sequence docs).
• An AI voice agent. Julian handles inbound voice, chat and SMS and replies "within 60 seconds". AiSDR's own guide says AI cannot yet handle real-time conversations (11x llms.txt, AiSDR readiness guide).
• Languages and deliverability. Outreach in 105+ languages on Pro and above, with inbox placement tests and domain rotation included (11x Alice pricing, 11x mailbox health).

Where Artisan is better

• The lowest-commitment start. A free plan with 300 credits a month, a 30-day trial with 10K credits and no card, and a monthly Intern plan at $280 (Artisan pricing).
• The lowest list price per lead. By our arithmetic, Intern works out to about $0.50 per lead, against $1.00 to $1.25 for AiSDR and about $1.88 for 11x, before Artisan's separately billed mailboxes and phone numbers (Artisan pricing, AiSDR pricing, 11x Alice pricing).
• A power dialer for reps who call. Parallel dialing and "Blitz rooms" cost $67 per seat per month billed annually or $75 monthly (Artisan pricing).
• Documented EU features. Artisan describes an automatic GDPR Article 14 notice on first contact and a one-click unsubscribe under Article 21, as vendor claims (Artisan).

Where AiSDR is better

• LinkedIn automation at the lowest price of the three. Messages, connection requests and InMail are included from $250 a month, with 1, 5 or 20 LinkedIn accounts by plan (AiSDR llms.txt).
• The shortest commitment and included infrastructure. Solo is month-to-month and larger plans are quarterly, against annual contracts at 11x, and domains, mailboxes and warmup come with every plan (AiSDR pricing).
• LinkedIn intent signals as triggers. Post engagement, profile visits and keyword tracking are available from Explore at $900 a month (AiSDR pricing).

Limitations and criticisms

11x

• Press reporting. On 24 March 2025, TechCrunch reported that 11x had shown logos of companies that said they were not customers, and employees alleged that its ARR counted contracts with three-month break clauses. 11x said it reports "contracted ARR" and removed unauthorized logos (TechCrunch).
• Inconsistent pricing and annual terms. $3,750 a month billed annually is $45,000 a year, but the same page's FAQ says "11x starts at $36,000 per year". On Trustpilot, 4.3 out of 5 from 38 reviews, a one-star review dated 8 May 2026 says a pilot was replaced by a demand for a full annual commitment (11x Alice pricing, Trustpilot).
• Fit limits in its own docs. 11x calls itself "the wrong tool" when nobody owns the configuration, the ICP is undefined, CRM ownership data is unreliable or the market is very small (11x docs).

Artisan

• LinkedIn suspension and no LinkedIn channel. LinkedIn restricted Artisan's company page and staff accounts from 19 December 2025 until about 7 January 2026. Today's sequence docs list no LinkedIn step, and Trustpilot reviewers on 16 June and 3 September 2026 complained about it (TechCrunch, Trustpilot).
• Credits run out fast. A typical campaign uses about 20 credits per prospect, and unused annual credits do not roll over. A reviewer on 22 September 2026 said credits "disappear incredibly quickly", and Trustpilot shows 4.1 out of 5 from 42 reviews (Artisan pricing, Trustpilot).
• Sending cap. The primary mailbox sends at most 100 emails a day, and Artisan advises 50 or fewer (Artisan mailbox docs).

AiSDR

• Limited approval control. There is no per-message approval, and you cannot preview the exact email each lead receives: "Live emails will be similar but not identical" (AiSDR approval help).
• Key features on the top tier. Salesforce sync, website visitor tracking and AI video and voice notes are only on Scale at $2,500 a month (AiSDR pricing).
• Poor fits, by its own account. AiSDR lists B2C and e-commerce sellers, companies with a CPA below $100 and startups without product-market fit as poor fits. It had no Trustpilot reviews on 15 October 2026 (AiSDR readiness guide, Trustpilot).

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• 9 April 2025: Artisan raised a $25M Series A led by Glade Brook Capital and reported $5M ARR and 250 customers at the time (TechCrunch).
• 5 May 2025: 11x CEO Hasan Sukkar stepped down to become non-executive chairman, and CTO Prabhav Jain became CEO (TechCrunch).
• 26 May 2026: Artisan launched Ava 2.0, a rebuild with a dialer, approval gates and credit pricing. V1 customers are being migrated during 2026 (Artisan).
• 2026: AiSDR moved to contact-based plans and added the $250 Solo plan. The date of the change is not public (AiSDR pricing).
• 14 October 2026: A CEO post, "The new 11x", widened 11x's positioning to inbound, voice and account expansion (11x blog).

Which one should you choose?

• Mid-market or enterprise team with a defined ICP and a named owner that needs phone, SMS, WhatsApp or an AI voice agent: 11x.
• Startup testing with little commitment, or reps who make calls: Artisan.
• Buyers who are active on LinkedIn, and a preference for short contracts: AiSDR.
• You must approve every message before it goes out: 11x or Artisan.

For the wider field, see AI SDR tools compared 2026.

Another option

If you want the outreach done for you on buying signals with approval before anything is sent, agents such as Leo by Revexa ($99/month in the US, €89 in Europe, 999 SEK in Sweden, 7 days free) take a different approach.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an AI SDR cost per month?

11x Alice starts at $3,750 a month billed annually. Artisan Intern is $250 a month billed annually or $280 monthly, plus mailboxes and phone numbers. AiSDR Solo is $250 a month month-to-month, and Explore and Scale cost $900 and $2,500 on quarterly contracts.

Which AI SDR lets me approve every message before it is sent?

11x supports per-message review or a named approver (11x personalization), and Artisan has a per-campaign "Require approval before sending" setting (Artisan campaign settings). AiSDR does not offer per-message approval, only sample previews and approval of the first campaign.

Can I try 11x, Artisan or AiSDR for free?

Artisan has a free plan with 300 credits a month and a 30-day trial with 10K credits, no card needed. AiSDR lets you build campaigns without a card, but you pay to launch them, and 11x publishes no trial.

Do they do LinkedIn and phone, or just email?

11x covers email, LinkedIn, consented phone, SMS and WhatsApp, plus an AI voice agent for inbound. Artisan covers email and human calls, with no LinkedIn step. AiSDR covers email, LinkedIn and calls through Aircall.