The best AI lead generation agents (2026)

AI agents that find, research and enrich new leads and start the outreach. Compared on starting price, free plans and who each one is built for.

AI lead generation: quick answer

From the 7 AI lead generation agents on Klyvoo, with prices checked on each official site.

Quick comparison

Agent Best for Starting price Pricing model Free trial Standout
Ava by Artisan B2B teams that want outbound done for them Custom pricing Annual quote sized to leads, mailboxes and dialer seats Built-in database of 250M+ verified B2B contacts
Alice by 11x Funded B2B teams ready for an annual contract $3,750/mo (billed yearly) Annual contract priced per prospect Managed mailboxes with warmup and 105+ outreach languages
AiSDR Founders and small sales teams $250/mo Monthly plan by contacts researched Lowest published entry price with month-to-month Solo plan
Clay GTM teams building custom enrichment workflows Free plan; Launch $167/mo Actions plus data credits per month Free plan; 14-day trial on paid plans Waterfall enrichment across 100+ data providers, with Claygent for web research
Apollo.io Sales teams wanting data plus outreach together Free plan; Basic $65/user/mo Per seat plus credits Free plan; 14-day trial on Basic and Professional Contact database, AI research, sequences and dialer in one tool
Instantly Cold email at high volume $47/mo Monthly plans plus credits 14-day free trial Unlimited email accounts and warmup with a 450M+ lead database
Persana AI Teams wanting AI research and enrichment cheaply Free plan; Starter $68/mo (yearly) Credits per year Free plan Clay-style waterfall enrichment and an AI research agent at a lower starting price

Prices in USD from each vendor’s official pricing page, checked October 2026. Some links may be affiliate links; that never changes our picks.

Showing 7 AI lead generation agents

1. Ava by Artisan

AI sales agent

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Best for: B2B teams that want outbound done for them

AI BDR that finds leads in its own database, writes outreach, answers replies and books meetings.

StandoutBuilt-in database of 250M+ verified B2B contacts
Watch out forNo public prices; you need a demo to get a quote
Starting price
Custom pricing
Books appointments
Yes
Human transfer
No; hands booked meetings to reps
Setup
Onboarding sessions and CSM in shared Slack

2. Alice by 11x

AI sales agent

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Best for: funded B2B teams ready for an annual contract

AI SDR that researches prospects and runs multichannel outreach until meetings are booked.

StandoutManaged mailboxes with warmup and 105+ outreach languages
Watch out forStarts at $45,000 a year, billed annually
Starting price
$3,750/mo (billed yearly)
Books appointments
Yes
Languages
105+ on Pro and Enterprise
Setup
2-week onboarding, no setup fee

3. AiSDR

AI sales agent

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Best for: founders and small sales teams

AI SDR that researches leads and runs email, LinkedIn and phone outreach to book meetings.

StandoutLowest published entry price with month-to-month Solo plan
Watch out forSolo covers only 200 contacts a month
Starting price
$250/mo
Books appointments
Yes
Human transfer
Escalates ready prospects to your reps
Languages
Any language you need
Setup
Self-serve on Solo; GTM engineer onboarding on Explore

4. Clay

AI lead generation agent

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Best for: GTM teams building custom enrichment workflows

Pulls leads from 100+ data providers and uses its Claygent AI agent to research, enrich and score prospects.

StandoutWaterfall enrichment across 100+ data providers, with Claygent for web research
Watch out forTwo credit types (actions and data credits) make costs hard to forecast
Starting price
Free plan; Launch $167/mo
Free trial
Free plan; 14-day trial on paid plans

5. Apollo.io

AI sales intelligence and outbound platform

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Best for: sales teams wanting data plus outreach together

Combines a B2B contact database with an AI assistant and agents that research accounts and run outbound sequences.

StandoutContact database, AI research, sequences and dialer in one tool
Watch out forPer-seat pricing adds up and credits do not roll over
Starting price
Free plan; Basic $65/user/mo
Free trial
Free plan; 14-day trial on Basic and Professional

6. Instantly

AI cold email and lead finder

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Best for: cold email at high volume

Finds leads in a 450M+ B2B database with SuperSearch and sends cold email with AI sales and reply agents.

StandoutUnlimited email accounts and warmup with a 450M+ lead database
Watch out forOutreach and lead credits are billed separately unless you buy a bundle
Starting price
$47/mo
Free trial
14-day free trial

7. Persana AI

AI lead generation agent

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Best for: teams wanting AI research and enrichment cheaply

Enriches leads from 100+ data providers and uses an AI research agent to find, research and message prospects.

StandoutClay-style waterfall enrichment and an AI research agent at a lower starting price
Watch out forAutopilot AI agents need the $600/mo Unlimited plan
Starting price
Free plan; Starter $68/mo (yearly)
Free trial
Free plan

How AI lead generation pricing works

Most tools on this page charge for credits. The credit rules matter as much as the plan price. Clay has a free plan, then Launch from $167/mo and Growth from $446/mo. It uses two credit types, actions and data credits, which makes costs hard to forecast. Persana AI sells credits by the year, with a free plan of 50 credits and Starter at $68/mo billed yearly. Its credits roll over on paid plans.

Apollo.io charges per seat plus credits. It has a free plan with no time limit, Basic at $65/user/mo ($49/user/mo billed yearly) and Professional at $99/user/mo. Its credits reset each billing cycle. Instantly sells outreach plans and lead credit plans separately at $47/mo each. Bundles with both start at $94/mo ($85/mo billed yearly).

The AI SDRs on this page price by how many leads they source and research. AiSDR starts at $250/mo for 200 researched contacts. Alice by 11x starts at $3,750/mo billed yearly for 2,000 new prospects a month. Ava by Artisan is custom pricing based on lead volume, mailboxes and dialer seats. Clay, Apollo.io and Persana AI have free plans and Instantly has a 14-day free trial with no credit card.

What we check

Where the leads come from

We check whether a tool brings its own B2B contact database or pulls from many data providers through waterfall enrichment.

AI research

We look at what the AI agent researches on its own, such as Claygent web research or Persana AI's Quantum AI Research Agent.

How credits work

We note which actions use credits and whether unused credits roll over, reset or expire.

Free plan or trial

We record whether you can start free and what the free plan actually includes.

What happens after the list

We check whether the tool also sends outreach or only hands you an enriched list to use elsewhere.

Every fact comes from the vendor’s official site. How we review

How to choose

  • If you want to build custom enrichment and research workflows: Clay. Clay pulls leads from 100+ data providers and includes its Claygent AI agent and unlimited seats on every plan.
  • If you want Clay-style enrichment at a lower starting price: Persana AI. Persana AI offers waterfall enrichment from 100+ providers with Starter at $68/mo billed yearly and credits that roll over.
  • If you want lead data and sequences in one tool: Apollo.io. Apollo.io combines a B2B contact database, AI research, sequences and a dialer, with a free plan to start.
  • If you want an agent that sources the leads for you: Ava by Artisan. Ava finds leads in its own database of 250M+ verified B2B contacts across 200+ countries.

FAQ: AI lead generation agents

What is AI lead generation?

AI lead generation uses AI agents to find new prospects, research them and fill in missing contact data. Clay and Persana AI pull from 100+ data providers and use AI agents for web research. Apollo.io and Instantly pair their own B2B databases with AI that helps find and enrich leads.

What are the best AI lead generation tools?

It depends on what you need. Clay is our most flexible pick for custom enrichment workflows and Persana AI is our best budget Clay alternative. Apollo.io is our best all-in-one pick for data plus outreach and Instantly is our pick for cold email at high volume. If you want an agent to source leads for you, Ava by Artisan draws on 250M+ verified B2B contacts.

How much do AI lead generation tools cost?

Clay, Apollo.io and Persana AI all have free plans. Paid plans start at $47/mo for Instantly, $65/user/mo for Apollo.io Basic, $68/mo billed yearly for Persana AI Starter and $167/mo for Clay Launch. AI SDRs that also find leads cost more. AiSDR starts at $250/mo, Alice by 11x at $3,750/mo billed yearly and Ava by Artisan is custom pricing.

Do I need an AI SDR or a lead data tool?

A lead data tool such as Clay, Persana AI or Apollo.io finds and enriches contacts. Your team then runs the outreach, though Apollo.io and Instantly can send sequences and cold email too. An AI SDR such as AiSDR, Alice by 11x or Ava by Artisan researches leads and also handles replies and books meetings. If you already have a sales process and just need better lists, a data tool costs less. Compare AI sales agents →

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Every price on Klyvoo comes from the vendor’s official pricing page. How we review