How much does it cost to hire an appointment setting company in the UK? Compare the three pricing models, see typical prices in pounds and find out what drives the cost up or down.
Appointment setting companies in the UK typically charge in one of three ways: by the hour, through a monthly retainer or per appointment. Each model spreads cost and risk differently, so the right choice depends on your goals, budget and how well you already know your market.
The ranges below are indicative UK market prices, excluding VAT. Prices last reviewed: October 2026.
£25–£55per hour
Best for: pilots, short projects and first-time buyers
You pay for the calling time spent on your campaign – sometimes sold as a day rate of around £200–£400. It is the simplest way to test outsourced appointment setting and keep tight control of spend, but the number of meetings per hour will vary with data quality and how hard your buyers are to reach.
£1,500–£8,000per month
Best for: a steady, predictable pipeline
A fixed monthly fee for an ongoing programme, from a single dedicated caller to a full team. Entry-level dedicated seats start at around £1,500, most campaigns land between £2,500 and £6,000, and senior-led or multi-caller programmes can reach £10,000–£12,000. Agree volume and quality targets up front so you can judge the value.
£150–£500per appointment
Best for: roi-focused teams with clear targets
You are charged only for appointments that meet criteria agreed in advance. Expect the lower end for owner-managed SMEs and £400–£600 or more for C-suite meetings in large organisations. Check whether you are billed when a meeting is booked or when it actually takes place.
Start with your objectives: how many appointments you need, over what period and with whom. Then weigh up the factors below to see which pricing model gives you the best cost per qualified meeting.
A software company wants 12 meetings a month with heads of finance at mid-sized UK businesses. On a £4,000 monthly retainer that works out at about £333 per meeting. On a performance model at £300 per appointment the same volume costs £3,600 – but if you are billed on booking and three in four prospects turn up, each attended meeting really costs £400.
Try your own numbersBooking a meeting with a managing director of a 20-person firm is quicker than reaching a CFO at a FTSE 250 company. Seniority is the single biggest driver of price.
Technical or regulated sectors – such as financial services, healthcare or engineering – need more experienced callers and longer conversations.
More appointments per month means more hours of outreach. Higher volumes often bring a lower cost per meeting.
Phone-only campaigns are priced differently from multi-channel programmes that combine calls, email and LinkedIn.
Whether your appointment setter builds and screens the prospect list – including TPS and CTPS checks – or works from data you supply.
Longer commitments usually secure better rates, while short pilots cost more per hour but carry less risk.
Salary is only part of the cost of an in-house sales development rep (SDR) in the UK. Employer's National Insurance, auto-enrolment pension, recruitment, tools and data all add up – before commission, management time and the months it takes a new hire to ramp up.
Outsourcing gives you an experienced team from day one, with no notice periods or redundancy costs if your needs change. It is also an easy way to prove a market before you build a team of your own.
Illustrative figures based on 2026 UK salary benchmarks and current employer rates – before management time and a ramp-up period of around three months. Compare with an outsourced retainer of £1,500–£8,000 a month, which can be paused or scaled as you go.
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Indicative 2026 UK ranges are £25–£55 per hour, £1,500–£8,000 per month on a retainer, or £150–£500 per qualified appointment on a performance basis. Senior-led programmes and C-suite meetings can cost more. Where you land depends on the seniority of the people you want to meet, your sector, the volume of meetings and how much research and reporting is included.
B2B prices are normally quoted excluding VAT. The ranges on this site are indicative and exclude VAT. Your final quote will state clearly how VAT is handled for your business.
You pay only for confirmed appointments that meet criteria agreed in advance. The appointment setter carries more risk, so the price per meeting is higher than the equivalent hourly cost – but your spend is tied directly to results.
Make sure the agreement defines what a qualified appointment is and what happens if a prospect does not turn up.
It depends on the billing trigger. Many pay-per-appointment providers invoice when a meeting is booked, so you carry the no-show risk. Others invoice only when the meeting takes place, or replace no-shows free of charge. UK B2B show rates are commonly quoted at around 70–80%, so the trigger can change your real cost per meeting by a quarter or more – always ask before you sign.
Usually, at least in the first year. An in-house hire brings employer's National Insurance, pension contributions, recruitment fees, tools, data and management time on top of salary – plus several months before they are fully productive. Outsourcing gives you an experienced team from day one, and you can scale up or down without redundancy costs.
It depends on the provider and the model. A typical retainer covers list building, outreach, qualification, scheduling and reporting. Data licences, CRM set-up and multi-channel campaigns are sometimes priced separately – ask for a breakdown so you can compare like with like.
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