Home / Compare
The honest comparison

Engine vs agency vs in-house.

Each option is right for somebody. Here is the trade-off laid out straight — including when we would tell you not to hire us.

In-house SDRTraditional agencyNovanexom
Typical monthly cost$5,000–$8,000+ fully loaded$3,000–$6,000from $2,000
Channels coveredUsually 1–2Usually email onlyEmail + LinkedIn + AI voice + inbound
Ramp time2–3 months hiring + training4–8 weeks3–4 weeks
Research per prospectWhen there's timeRarelyEvery qualified lead
Works nights & weekendsNoNoYes
Quits, gets sick, churnsYesTeam turnoverNo
TransparencyFullMonthly reportLive dashboard, all day
Best atComplex, high-touch sellingVolume with human polishConsistent qualified pipeline at scale

Market cost ranges are indicative of typical UK/US pricing and vary by market and seniority.

When in-house is the right answer

If your deals are large, complex and consultative — six-figure contracts, long committee-driven cycles — a skilled human who owns relationships end-to-end is worth every penny. The engine can still feed that person qualified meetings, but it shouldn't replace them.

When a traditional agency is the right answer

If your brand demands white-glove, fully bespoke human outreach at low volume — a handful of named enterprise accounts — a boutique ABM agency may fit better than any engine.

When the engine is the right answer

If you sell to an identifiable B2B buyer, your market is bigger than a handful of named accounts, and you want consistent qualified pipeline without hiring — this is exactly the job the engine was built for. And because the dashboard is live, you'll know within weeks whether it's working, not after a year of retainers.

Our promise on this page

On the intro call we'll tell you which column you belong in — even when it isn't ours. A bad-fit client costs us more than an honest no.

See your engine before you buy it.

Open the live demo dashboard — no signup — or book a 20-minute intro call and we'll tell you honestly whether the engine fits your market.