Lead generation is a collective term for four very different ways of getting conversations, with prices that differ by a factor of ten. Below is what each channel costs in the US and the UK, what you get for it and how to compare them fairly.
The short answer
For B2B lead generation in the US and the UK you pay roughly the following in 2026:
| Channel | Typical price | What you buy |
|---|---|---|
| Cold email outsourced | US: $2,000 to $8,000 per month UK: £2,000 to £10,000 per month | Volume and qualified replies |
| Appointment setting by phone, outsourced | US: $150 to $500 per meeting (small and midsize companies) | Conversations and appointments |
| LinkedIn outreach outsourced | US: $3,000 to $10,000 per month | Connections and conversations |
| Google Ads | Your own ad budget, at an average of $5.58 per click and $103.54 per lead for business services (US) | Clicks from people who are already searching |
| In-house SDR on the payroll | US: $8,800 to $9,500 per month UK: £5,200 to £5,700 per month | Capacity you manage yourself |
Sources: published price ranges from Cleverly (US cold email, LinkedIn and pay-per-meeting) and Modern Inbound (UK cold email), WordStream Google Ads Benchmarks 2025, and our SDR calculation in cold email or hiring an SDR. Checked on 4 October 2026.
The monthly amount on its own says nothing. The question you are really asking is: what does a conversation with someone who can sign cost me. We come back to that at the bottom.
The difference between a lead and a conversation
Agencies do not count the same way. The same campaign can be called 400 leads, 87 positive replies or 12 appointments, depending on who sends the invoice. Before you compare prices, ask every provider the same things:
- What counts as a result? A downloaded whitepaper is something quite different from someone asking whether you can call next week.
- Who decides that? If the supplier does the classifying itself and invoices on that basis, there is an incentive built into the model.
- What does not count? An honest definition also names the out-of-office replies, bounces, opt-outs and replies asking you to come back later.
- What do you still have to do yourself? Filtering and forwarding is something other than replying and scheduling.
Without those four answers you are comparing amounts that are not about the same thing.
The channels at a glance
Cold email
The cheapest channel per contact moment and the most scalable, provided your target group is reachable by email and large enough. From around 1,000 companies it becomes worthwhile. Below that number your list is exhausted within a few weeks and you pay for volume that is not there. The full calculation is in what outsourcing cold email costs.
Telephone prospecting
More expensive per contact moment, but you hear straight away why someone says no. Works well for complex propositions that need explaining and for small target groups where you want to speak to every company. Note: in the UK you have to screen numbers against the Telephone Preference Service and the Corporate TPS before you call, and in the US calls to mobile numbers with an autodialer or a prerecorded message need prior consent under the TCPA.
LinkedIn outreach
Good for roles that barely read their email and for markets where the network counts for more than the message. The volume is structurally lower than with email, because LinkedIn puts hard limits on how many invitations and messages you may send per week.
Google Ads
The only channel where the buyer starts. That makes the intent the highest and the cost per click as well. Only works if people actually search for your category. With a new or unknown proposition nobody searches for your solution and you need a channel that starts by itself.
In-house SDR
The most expensive option in year 1 and the cheapest in year 3, provided that person stays. Count on about three months of ramp time (the 2025 average, according to the Bridge Group) in which you pay in full and get little back. The full business case is in outsourcing cold email or hiring an SDR.
Convert it into cost per conversation
Take an outsourced email program of $3,495 per month for 15,000 emails. If that produces 45 positive replies, that is $78 per reply. If it produces 15, it is $233. Put a US SDR next to that at about $9,000 per month who books 10 meetings, the median monthly quota in the Bridge Group's 2025 SDR report: $900 per meeting, plus the months in which they are still ramping up.
Then fill in your own conversion. If you close one in five conversations and a customer is worth $3,000 on average, every conversation is worth $600. Even at $233 per reply you earn back a program of $3,495 with six conversations per month.
Which channel fits you
- Target group above 1,000 companies and reachable by email: cold email, lowest cost per conversation.
- Target group below 500 companies: telephone or LinkedIn, because your list runs out too quickly.
- People actively search for your category: add Google Ads, because otherwise you leave that intent unused.
- Ten or more meetings per month needed and someone who can manage it: an in-house SDR becomes defensible from that point on.
In practice, most of the B2B companies we speak to with a target group of 1,000 companies or more choose email as their basis, because the channel is the quickest to switch on and the monthly risk is the smallest.
Frequently asked questions
What does a B2B lead cost on average in the US and UK?
That depends entirely on what is being called a lead. A downloaded document costs a few dollars. A lead from Google Ads costs $103.54 on average for US business services, according to WordStream. A positive reply from a decision maker in cold email costs roughly $80 to $230 in our worked example. Always ask first what exactly is being counted before you compare amounts.
Is outsourcing lead generation cheaper than doing it yourself?
In the first year, almost always yes. Buying the tooling yourself costs $280 to $1,375 per month plus one to two hours per working day from someone who runs it, and the first two to three months go on warmup and learning costs. From year two or three that tips the other way, provided you keep the knowledge in-house.
What is the minimum budget I need?
Published US price ranges for an outsourced cold email program start at around $2,000 per month, and UK agencies at around £2,000. With us it starts at $1,995 per month with a minimum term of three months. Below that amount you buy too little volume to learn what works.
How quickly does lead generation produce something?
With cold email you are usually live within two weeks and the first replies come three to ten days after going live. With advertising it can be faster. With an in-house SDR the average ramp time is about three months before anything comes out structurally.
What would it cost for your target group?
Request the free market scan: how many companies fit your target group, how many decision-makers are reachable and what monthly volume is realistic for that. In your inbox within one working day.
Rather email first? That works too: info@link2leads.nl