Blogs

Articles

Best AI SDR Tools
Best AI SDR Tools

Persana Team

AI

May 24, 2025

Persana Team

AI

May 24, 2025

Persana Team

AI

May 24, 2025

Persana Team

AI

May 24, 2025

10 Best AI SDR Tools Actually Tested by Sales Teams (2025)

AI SDR tools can turn a full work week into a single day of productive work. Sales teams now complete five days of tasks in just 24 hours with these intelligent assistants.

These tools pack quite a punch. Instead of manually sending 50-100 emails each day, AI sales tools blast out thousands of tailored outreaches quickly. They automate repetitive work and find quality leads while analyzing key data to recommend the next best steps. The numbers tell an interesting story - a human SDR usually costs around $60K per year, but an AI SDR solution runs between $1K-$5K monthly, which cuts down costs by a lot.

My experience with sales teams using these technologies shows how SDR automation lets representatives focus on what truly counts - closing deals rather than getting buried in manual work.

That's why we tested the best AI sales tools in real-life conditions to create this complete list for 2025.

Persana AI

Persana AI

Persana AI distinguishes itself among AI SDR tools through its 24/7 autonomous sales agents. These agents handle everything from prospecting to closing deals. The platform combines access to over 1 billion contacts through 75+ data providers with sophisticated AI technology that creates individual-specific experiences.

Persana key features

Nia, Persana's flagship AI agent, automates up to 90% of the sales development process. The platform's core strength lies in its complete data engine. This engine gathers information from more than 75 top data sources and gives sales teams exceptional access to qualified prospects worldwide.

The platform stands out with these capabilities:

  • Signal-based selling that tracks 75+ buying intent indicators, including job changes, funding rounds, website visits, and keyword intent

  • Hyper-personalized outreach that adapts messages based on prospects' unique needs and recent activities

  • Waterfall enrichment system that connects to multiple data providers simultaneously, ensuring higher match rates than Apollo and ZoomInfo combined

  • Real-time alerts when prospects change roles, helping teams capture new accounts quickly

Persana's PersanaVector™ technology uses semantic intent recognition instead of simple keyword matching. This approach delivers 76% higher relevance scores compared to traditional search methods.

Persana pros and cons

Pros:

  • Higher match rate for contact information compared to competing platforms

  • Unlimited team members included on all paid plans

  • Users save 8-10 hours weekly on prospecting tasks

  • Seamless integration with major CRM platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot

Cons:

  • Learning curve exists to guide through the platform

  • Limited documented customer service information exists

  • Focus remains on small and medium businesses with potential growth limitations

  • Users need time to adjust to unusual login processes

Teams using Persana report a 95% increase in qualified leads. They save over three weeks per month by eliminating manual scoring.

Persana pricing

The platform offers clear pricing tiers with a credit-based system. Their recent Pricing 2.0 update brings user-friendly features like credit rollover and flexible top-ups.

The platform's pricing plans include:

  • Starter: USD 68/month (24k credits/year) with unlimited users and simple features

  • Growth: USD 151/month (60k credits/year) adding email tool integration and lookalike finder

  • Pro: USD 400/month (216k credits/year) including CRM integration and intent triggers

  • Unlimited: USD 750/month with complete access to all features

Most actions cost just 1 credit each, except phone number information which needs 10 credits.

Persana best for

My evaluation shows Persana works best for sales teams automating their outbound process. The platform excels for businesses that value data accuracy and need to unite their tech stack. Users eliminate fragmented tools and save valuable time.

The platform cuts sales cycle time by 65% while increasing conversion rates by 30%. One customer highlighted its value: "With Nia, we've managed to unlock enterprise deals on autopilot".

The unlimited user model makes Persana perfect for growing teams that need flexible solutions without increasing per-seat costs.

Apollo.io

Apollo.io

Apollo.io is an AI sales platform that combines rich data resources with smart automation to simplify your sales process. The platform has become a go-to solution for sales teams looking to boost their outreach efforts, with over 500,000 companies using it today.

Apollo.io key features

The platform's foundation rests on its massive B2B database with more than 210 million contacts and 35 million companies. This data powers several capabilities:

  • AI-driven workflow automation that handles research, writing, involvement, and end-to-end execution

  • Intelligence that adapts to your selling style by learning from your performance and industry trends

  • Signal-based prospecting that shows the right personas, companies, and buying signals instantly

  • Personalized outreach generation that creates tailored messages within seconds

  • Multi-channel engagement tools for automated communication with platforms of all types

The platform combines smoothly with popular CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot. Users can manage their entire sales cycle through one unified system. Apollo's Chrome extension works with LinkedIn and company websites to help find contacts live.

Apollo.io pros and cons

Pros:

  • Complete database with regular updates that ensure accurate information

  • Advanced filtering capabilities for targeting based on job titles, company size, and buying intent

  • Email automation tools that reduce time through sequence creation and follow-ups

  • User-friendly interface despite the original learning curve for new users

  • Ground results with reply rates jumping up to 200% in one week for some users

Cons:

  • Data accuracy problems with some users reporting up to 60% incorrect contact information

  • Customer service challenges that many find unresponsive and unhelpful

  • Email deliverability issues with messages often landing in spam folders

  • Software bugs affecting the dialer, Chrome extension, and data enrichment features

  • Restrictive credit system that brings additional costs beyond the subscription

Apollo.io pricing

The platform uses a tiered pricing structure with a credit-based system for certain actions. It offers four main plans:

Apollo.io pricing

All plans come with unlimited email credits subject to fair usage policies. Free plan users can only connect Gmail accounts, while paid plans support Microsoft Office and other email providers.

Apollo.io stands out as a versatile solution for businesses of all sizes - from individual sales representatives to large enterprises looking for complete sales automation. The platform's effectiveness depends on your specific needs and how well you direct its features while considering potential data accuracy limits.

Saleshandy

Saleshandy

Saleshandy stands out as a dedicated solution to optimize outreach campaigns in the cold email automation landscape for SDRs. The platform evolved from a simple email tracking tool into a detailed B2B sales engagement solution and helped over 10,000 businesses generate USD 15.00 million in revenue since 2015.

Saleshandy key features

Saleshandy's email automation capabilities are the foundations of its strength. Sales teams can create individual-specific cold email campaigns with minimal manual effort:

  • Automated Multi-Step Sequences with up to 26 steps per sequence, which lets you run A/B testing to optimize email content

  • Advanced Personalization through merge tags, spintax, and video integrations with tools like Sendspark and Pitchlane

  • Email Deliverability Suite with automatic email warm-up through TrulyInbox partnership to build sender reputation

  • Unified Inbox that brings together replies from multiple email accounts in one dashboard

  • B2B Lead Finder giving access to over 700 million contacts from 60+ million companies with advanced filtering options

The sort of thing i love about Saleshandy is its sequence score feature, especially when you have to optimize email campaigns. This tool analyzes technical setup, sequence configuration, and email writing before sending. You could call it a pre-flight check for deliverability.

AI SDR teams handling multiple clients will find Saleshandy's unlimited team members and clients feature valuable - a great advantage for agencies scaling their operations. The platform's sender rotation feature switches between multiple email accounts automatically. Teams can reach more prospects while maintaining high deliverability rates.

Saleshandy pros and cons

Pros:

  • Connect unlimited email accounts and add unlimited team members at no extra cost

  • Build unlimited teams for better organizational structure

  • Highly scalable cold email solution with email sending limits up to 300,000 per month

  • Free email warm-up included in all plans through TrulyInbox partnership

  • Agency portal lets you manage multiple clients from a central location

Cons:

  • Free trial runs only 7 days with 100 emails

  • Some users report email deliverability problems with messages landing in spam folders

  • Limited CRM and marketing integrations based on user feedback

  • User interface becomes difficult with complex workflows

  • Email verification needs credits beyond the free allotment

Saleshandy pricing

Saleshandy's pricing tiers cater to different needs, with a 30% discount for annual subscriptions:

Saleshandy pricing

All plans include unlimited email accounts. Each plan limits how many accounts you can use per sequence (from 10 in Starter to 100 in Scale Plus). Saleshandy provides a robust solution to automate cold email outreach while maximizing deliverability.

Saleshandy's B2B Lead Finder has separate pricing. Plans start at USD 24.00/month for 1,000 credits (email only) or USD 32.00/month for email plus phone information.

Saleshandy works well for SDR teams who need to automate email sequences, track engagement, and generate leads through a single platform. The platform might lack some advanced AI capabilities compared to other tools. However, its email deliverability strength and unlimited team structure make it worth considering for teams focused mainly on email outreach.

DialPad

DialPad

DialPad offers an AI-powered communications platform that brings voice, messaging, and meeting capabilities together in one unified system. The platform goes beyond basic SDR tools by giving sales development teams more functionality to use for outreach and follow-up activities.

DialPad key features

DialPad's proprietary AI technology stands at the heart of its offering and changes how sales teams communicate:

  • AI-powered analytics give informed insights about customer conversations

  • Real-time transcription captures and summarizes calls automatically, so teams don't need manual notes

  • AI Recaps create call summaries with transcripts, action items, and key points for quick follow-up

  • Live sentiment analysis lets managers see if calls trend positively or negatively as they happen

  • Real-Time Assist (RTA) cards show relevant information automatically when someone speaks trigger keywords

The platform packs AI tools built specifically for sales teams. DialPad's Sell solution has AI Playbooks that monitor sales methodology compliance like BANT and SPIN without constant manager oversight. The system also scores sales conversations automatically through QA scorecards and identifies coaching opportunities.

DialPad pros and cons

Pros:

  • HD voice quality delivers crystal-clear communications

  • Smooth integration with major CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zoho

  • Pro and Enterprise plans come with round-the-clock support

  • Modern, user-friendly design makes navigation simple

  • Lower-tier plans include extensive AI features

Cons:

  • Higher-tier plans needed for international texting

  • Entry-level users can only access chat and email support

  • Add-ons lock many useful features, pushing up total costs

  • Standard plan limits video meetings to 10 participants

  • Some users report occasional mobile app glitches

DialPad pricing

DialPad's three main pricing tiers offer big savings for annual billing:

DialPad pricing

Extra features cost more, such as internet fax (USD 0.10 per page after monthly limits) and extended video meetings (starting at USD 15.00 per user monthly). The entry price looks attractive, but costs can climb quickly with add-ons.

Seamless.ai

Seamless.ai

Seamless.ai works as a real-time search engine for B2B sales leads. It enables teams to find and connect with potential customers. Sales teams can access its impressive database of over 1.3 billion business contacts and 121 million companies for prospecting.

Seamless.ai key features

The platform's core strength lies in its AI-powered prospecting capabilities:

  • Real-time data verification keeps information fresh with validation checks during every search

  • Smart lead search and discovery uses advanced algorithms to make lead generation easier based on industry, job title, or company size

  • Detailed contact enrichment gives valuable social profiles and professional background information to create better tailored outreach

  • Automated email campaigns use tailored templates and follow-up sequences to optimize outreach

  • Chrome extension lets users pull contacts directly from LinkedIn and other websites

The platform also has specialized features like job change tracking to propel development of your pipeline and buyer intent data to spot ready-to-buy prospects. It combines smoothly with popular CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, Salesloft, and Outreach, plus over 6,000 apps through Zapier.

Seamless.ai pros and cons

Pros:

  • Immediate data updates give you the latest information

  • Many CRM integrations help it fit into existing workflows

  • Chrome extension makes finding leads right from LinkedIn easy

  • List building tools help export prospect data quickly

  • Pitch Intelligence feature combines public information about contacts in one place

Cons:

  • Users report data accuracy problems with outdated emails and phone numbers

  • Pricing lacks transparency and many features need add-on purchases

  • Users must notify about cancelation at least 60 days before renewal

  • Search tools don't deal very well with finding specific leads

  • Some users find customer support slow to respond

Seamless.ai pricing

Seamless.ai uses a credit-based pricing model with four tiers:

Seamless.ai pricing

You'll need to contact their sales team to get specific pricing since Seamless.ai doesn't share full pricing details publicly. The Basic plan starts around USD 147.00 per month with annual billing.

Each plan has core features like email addresses, phone numbers, and integrations. Premium features such as AI writer, intent data, and job change alerts come as add-ons.

Salesforce

Salesforce

Salesforce started as a CRM giant and evolved into a complete platform with strong AI-powered sales capabilities. The unified system helps teams automate sales processes and boost lead management through AI integration.

Salesforce key features

Salesforce stands out with its end-to-end sales automation capabilities:

  • AI-powered assistants through Agentforce and Einstein help with meeting prep. Teams prepare 33% faster and see a 10% increase in win rates

  • Centralized customer data management keeps all information organized, available, and secure

  • Automated lead management processes track and nurture leads from original contact to conversion

  • Powerful analytics and reporting tools turn data into analytical insights for better decisions

  • Seamless integration capabilities with external systems through AppExchange, Salesforce Connect, or Force.com

Salesforce's Einstein Opportunity Scoring measures conversion probability and spots at-risk pipelines. Teams using this feature have seen their win rates improve by 14%.

Salesforce pros and cons

Pros:

  • Teams can customize almost every element to match specific business needs

  • Cloud-based platform grows with your business

  • AppExchange connects with thousands of apps

  • Advanced AI features include conversation intelligence and autonomous agents

  • Complete analytics track sales activities and forecast results

Cons:

  • Teams need time to learn the complex system

  • Mobile app users struggle to log activities

  • Important features like forecasting management cost extra

  • Complex pricing with add-ons drives up total cost

  • Setup demands technical expertise and time

Salesforce pricing

Salesforce comes with tiered pricing and annual contracts:

Salesforce pricing

Yes, it is worth noting that while prices show monthly rates, payment happens yearly. SDR teams looking for complete AI capabilities should consider this a major investment.

AiSDR Inc

AiSDR Inc

AiSDR Inc serves as a complete sales autopilot powered by generative AI. The platform handles everything from lead generation to customized conversations. Your prospects receive messages that match your authentic voice and style.

AiSDR Inc key features

The platform delivers complete sales automation through these core capabilities:

  • Intelligent personalization uses 323+ data sources to create customized messages that achieve a 68% open rate

  • Multi-channel engagement connects through emails, LinkedIn messages, and text messages for complete outreach

  • Domain protection automatically warms up emails and prevents bounces to maintain deliverability

  • Buyer intent signals detect website visitors, funding rounds, job openings, and technology usage

The platform needs minimal human oversight after initial setup. A short questionnaire configures the system, and AiSDR manages sales conversations independently. The system responds to prospects within 5-10 minutes.

AiSDR Inc pros and cons

Pros:

  • First campaigns go live quickly in 1-3 days

  • AI responds to messages within 10 minutes

  • Access to unlimited leads from a 700M+ contact database

  • No contracts with month-to-month subscription

  • Results showed 15% more revenue in the first month for 150+ companies

Cons:

  • No Salesforce integration until 2025 limits CRM connections

  • AI-generated content needs occasional adjustments due to inconsistencies

  • Starting price exceeds simple automation tools

  • Base price yields about 3 meetings monthly

  • Lead filtering options need more customization choices

AiSDR Inc pricing

The platform uses a simple pricing model based on message volume:

AiSDR Inc pricing

Each additional 10 emails cost USD 7.50 beyond monthly limits. The platform has unlimited LinkedIn messages and text messages at no extra cost.

Outreach

Outreach

Outreach serves as a sales execution platform that brings AI tools right into seller workflows to strengthen teams in making informed decisions. The platform has grown beyond simple automation and now offers predictive analytics and complete sales assistance.

Outreach key features

Outreach's AI suite boosts the sales process through several core capabilities:

  • Smart Deal Assist predicts deal closures with 81% accuracy and recommends specific action items

  • Smart Account Assist creates AI-generated account summaries that give quick status overviews

  • Smart Email Assist creates individual-specific emails based on previous interactions

  • AI forecasting makes predictions more accurate through data analysis

  • Conversation intelligence through Kaia delivers immediate call transcription, summaries, and sentiment analysis

Outreach has introduced its AI Prospecting Agent that researches accounts and crafts relevant content by bringing together signals from first-party, second-party, and third-party data sources.

Outreach pros and cons

Pros:

  • Complete tools that cover the sales cycle from prospecting to forecasting

  • Continuous connection with popular CRM systems like Salesforce

  • Advanced analytics that show detailed sales performance

  • AI spots rep answers in calls and gives managers deep links to those moments

  • Scalability that fits businesses of all sizes

Cons:

  • Custom pricing costs more, particularly for smaller companies

  • Setup and customization take considerable time and effort

  • Team members need training to master the platform

  • Annual contracts require upfront payment

  • Setup fees range from USD 1,000.00 to USD 8,000.00

Outreach pricing

Outreach's pricing follows a per-user licensing model with four main packages:

Outreach pricing

Organizations typically spend between USD 20,000.00-50,000.00 annually, and all plans need yearly commitments.

Factors.ai

Factors.ai

Factors.ai transforms B2B sales prospecting through intent detection and account intelligence on multiple channels. Sales teams can identify and connect with high-intent accounts before their competitors find them.

Factors.ai key features

Factors.ai stands out with the industry's most accurate IP-matching. The platform achieves a 64% match rate—surpassing the closest alternative by nearly 30%. The platform excels at:

  • Complete intent tracking on website visitors, LinkedIn ads, G2 pages, and third-party sources

  • Account scoring that ranks sales-ready accounts based on engagement data

  • Up-to-the-minute alerts with context-rich notifications about account buying intent

  • LinkedIn optimization that doubles ROI through view-through attribution and frequency capping

  • Workflow automations that streamline outreach and eliminate manual CRM updates

The platform's waterfall enrichment capability identifies up to 75% of accounts visiting your website. This helps teams capture previously anonymous traffic.

Factors.ai pros and cons

Pros:

  • SOC2 Type II certified with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliance

  • Setup takes just 30 minutes

  • Shows companies viewing LinkedIn ads and G2 pages

  • Advanced GTM dashboards provide complete visualization

  • Predictive account scoring on Enterprise plans

Cons:

  • New users face a steep learning curve

  • Some team members find the interface challenging

  • Data loading can be slow at times

  • Documentation and knowledge base need improvement

  • Some users report data accuracy issues

Factors.ai pricing

The platform offers a tiered pricing structure:

Factors.ai pricing

Paid plans come with additional costs: extra users ($25/month each), segments ($100/month per 5), and alerts ($50/month per 5). The Basic plan suits SMB teams that focus on website and LinkedIn intent. Mid-market teams accelerating ABM efforts benefit from the Growth plan.

Clay by Reply

Clay by Reply

Clay by Reply is a new player in the AI SDR tools market. The platform makes sales outreach easier through smart automation. Sales teams can spend less time on manual tasks and more time creating personal connections with potential clients.

Clay key features

Clay shines when it comes to creating real connections with prospects at scale. The platform stands out with these powerful features:

  • Intelligent sequence building that changes messages based on how prospects respond

  • Natural language processing that reads prospect messages and suggests the right follow-ups

  • Customizable workflows that let teams create multi-channel outreach plans

  • Performance analytics that track open rates, response rates, and conversion metrics

  • Email verification that makes sure messages reach the right people

On top of that, Clay merges with popular CRMs and sales tools. Teams can easily add it to their current setup. The platform's magic comes from keeping that human touch while handling repetitive sales tasks automatically.

Clay pros and cons

Clay's accessible interface needs minimal training, and its AI assistant helps write messages that appeal to specific audiences. The platform also takes care of follow-ups consistently without manual work.

In stark comparison to this, Clay is 2 years old and sometimes doesn't have all the features you'll find in older tools. Some users say the AI's message writing can be hit-or-miss. Small teams might find the price tag tough to swallow compared to other SDR automation options.


Clay pricing

Clay uses subscription-based pricing that changes with user count and features. Plans start at basic levels for small teams and go up for bigger companies. Sales teams can try a demo or test period to review how this AI sales tool might boost their prospecting work.

Conclusion

Our extensive testing of AI SDR tools with sales teams has shown remarkable results. These platforms can turn a week's work into a single day of output. SDR automation tools now handle thousands of individual-specific outreaches while sales reps concentrate on their core task - closing deals.

The best AI solution depends on your team's needs. Teams looking for detailed automation might find Persana AI or AiSDR's end-to-end capabilities ideal. Saleshandy could work better for teams that focus on email outreach. Teams with tight budgets often start with Apollo.io's free tier before upgrading.

These tools offer the most important cost benefits. A traditional SDR costs around $60K per year, while AI alternatives range from $1K-$5K monthly and boost output substantially. The right AI SDR solution also saves countless hours spent on manual prospecting, data entry and follow-up sequences.

Data accuracy is vital when you evaluate these platforms. Persana AI and Factors.ai stand out at keeping contact information current, while other platforms struggle with outdated data. Sales teams should run trials of different solutions before implementing them fully.

What a world of sales development will involve AI enhancement. Early adopters of these tools gain competitive edges through faster outreach, better personalization and evidence-based decisions. You can visit Persana.ai to learn how their autonomous sales agents help teams achieve outstanding results.

Create Your Free Persana Account Today

Join 5000+ GTM leaders who are using Persana for their outbound needs.

How Persana increases your sales results

One of the most effective ways to ensure sales cycle consistency is by using AI-driven automation. A solution like Persana, and its AI SDR - Nia, helps you streamline significant parts of your sales process, including prospecting, outreach personalization, and follow-up.