Our verdict
The price of a meeting only counts if the meeting is qualified. For an SME selling high-value deals to decision-makers, compare the cost of a meeting with someone who has a need, your own time included, not the price of a calendar slot. An agency costs the most and takes the least of your time; software on its own costs the least and takes the most time; an assisted service sits in between.
How much does a B2B meeting cost in 2026?
From €55 to €600 depending on the method. Public prices, method by method (French providers).
| Method | What you pay | Cost per meeting | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay-per-meeting cold calling | Each approved meeting, plus a commission: 30% with no subscription, 10 to 20% with a subscription of €100 to €500 excl. VAT a month (with commitment) | €55 to €86 excl. VAT depending on the sector (median around €65, May 2026), plus the commission | JobPhoning, pricing page |
| Agency on a monthly retainer | Usually €1,000 to €3,000 a month (from €790 for some) | €240 to €500 (Monsieur Lead: €2,400 to €3,000 a month for about 5 days of calling and 6 to 10 meetings announced, MeetMagnet calculation) | Monsieur Lead; Re-Com, Lalaleads, Leadactiv, Hacquisition for the retainer |
| Agency paid per meeting | €990 excl. VAT setup fee, then each meeting (1,000 contacts a month, capped number of meetings) | €350 excl. VAT per meeting | Lalaleads, pricing page |
| Hybrid agency | €1,499 excl. VAT a month, plus a bonus per meeting attended | Bonus from €250 excl. VAT per meeting attended, on top of the retainer | Oliverlist, pricing page |
| In-house SDR | €45,000 to €70,000 a year (salary, employer costs and tools), plus hiring and management | About €375 (Oliverlist’s estimate for a junior SDR at €45,000 a year and 10 meetings a month) | Oliverlist, glossary; Getalead |
| Outsourced SDR | €36,000 to €96,000 a year, all in (€3,000 to €8,000 a month) | Not published | Getalead |
| Prospecting software on its own | From €19 a month for sending only; around €100 and up with signals, often capped (credits, quotas) | Depends on your time and your results | MeetMagnet survey of public prices |
| Assisted service (MeetMagnet Assisted) | €299 excl. VAT a month, a real person included; unlimited signals, no credits | About €37 excl. VAT for an executive coach customer (16 meetings in 2 months) | MeetMagnet pricing; Aline Ecault account |
Sources: each provider’s public pages, checked on 26 September 2026 (French providers). “Excl. VAT” appears where the provider states it. The glossary of the agency Oliverlist puts the cost of a qualified meeting at €150 to €600 depending on the sector.
How much does a meeting cost with an appointment setting agency?
An appointment setting agency usually costs €1,000 to €3,000 a month, or €12,000 to €36,000 a year (French market). Three models exist side by side:
- The monthly retainer: Hacquisition from €790 a month for one channel, Re-Com from €1,290 a month, Leadactiv from €1,760 excl. VAT, Monsieur Lead €2,400 to €3,000 for about 5 days of calling. Monsieur Lead announces 6 to 10 qualified meetings for those 5 days: €240 to €500 per meeting.
- Pay per meeting: Lalaleads charges €350 excl. VAT per meeting, after a €990 excl. VAT setup fee.
- Hybrid: Oliverlist starts at €1,499 excl. VAT a month, plus a bonus from €250 excl. VAT per meeting attended. The bonus comes on top of the retainer; it is not pay per meeting.
The agency does almost everything for you, often including phone calls. The packages in detail and our comparison are on the page lead generation agency: prices and an alternative.
How much does an SDR cost, in-house or outsourced?
An SDR (a sales development rep, whose job is to find and qualify meetings) costs from €45,000 a year in-house for a junior profile, according to Oliverlist, to €50,000 to €70,000 a year according to Getalead. These figures include salary, employer costs and tools. Oliverlist works this out at about €375 per meeting, for 10 meetings a month. On top of that come hiring, ramp-up and management time.
Outsourced, an SDR costs €36,000 to €96,000 a year all in according to Getalead, or €3,000 to €8,000 a month. Oliverlist also quotes an SDR or freelancer at €560 a day. These are French market figures.
How much does pay-per-meeting cold calling cost?
It is the lowest unit price: €55 to €86 excl. VAT per approved meeting depending on the sector, around €65 at the median (May 2026), on the French cold calling marketplace JobPhoning. A commission comes on top: 30% with no subscription, or 10 to 20% with a subscription of €100 to €500 excl. VAT a month, with commitment. A meeting rejected for a stated reason is not charged, and a pilot of about ten slots is offered.
The prospect is called with no prior signal: qualification happens during the call. The brief, listening to the calls and sorting the meetings stay on your side.
And prospecting software on its own?
Prospecting software with signals costs around €100 a month and up: Gojiberry $99 excl. VAT a month (up to 1,800 prospects contacted a month), lemlist $158 a month for multichannel, enrichment and 100 signals. Sending tools start lower: Waalaxy from €19 a month per user (LinkedIn only), La Growth Machine from €50 per identity billed annually (€60 monthly), lemlist from $69 a month for the Email plan, unlimited users. Most of them cap something: credits, quotas or invitations. MeetMagnet Self-serve (€149 excl. VAT a month) has no lead credits and no AI credits; LinkedIn sending limits, however, apply to everyone.
The hidden cost is your time: building the target, writing the messages, following up, sorting the replies. One customer summed up a tool he had dropped straight away in four words: “too expensive in time”. Our comparisons cover each tool: Gojiberry alternative, Waalaxy alternative, lemlist alternative and La Growth Machine alternative.
How much does a meeting cost with MeetMagnet?
A real example: Aline Ecault, an executive coach, got 16 meetings in 2 months on Assisted. €598 excl. VAT for 16 meetings, or about €37 excl. VAT per meeting. What you can expect:
- What you pay: €149 excl. VAT a month on Self-serve (7-day free trial, unlimited signals, no lead credits or AI credits), €299 excl. VAT a month on Assisted, or €3,588 excl. VAT a year. Signals beyond LinkedIn come with the multi-source option on Assisted. The detail is on the pricing page.
- What we commit to: onboarding, check-ins on day 7, 30, 60 and 90, then a check-in every month. That is the role of human support.
- The time required: about 15 minutes a day to approve prospects and reply to the people who are interested.
How do you calculate the real cost per meeting?
Cost per meeting = (monthly cost + your team’s time × cost of that time) ÷ qualified meetings in the month
- Add up what you pay each month: retainer, bonuses, subscription, tools.
- Add the time spent on your side: briefing, approvals, follow-ups, meetings that lead nowhere. Put an hourly rate on it.
- Count only qualified meetings: a decision-maker, a need, a timeframe.
- Divide, then compare with the average deal value: one meeting that closes often pays for several months.
With public prices: an agency at €2,400 a month that gets 6 meetings comes to €400 per meeting, before your time. At €3,000 for 10 meetings, €300.
Is a cheap meeting worth anything?
Only if it is qualified. A customer who came to us after another tool told us about “twenty or so meetings… that led to absolutely nothing”. The same trap exists with leads: on agency marketplaces, agencies that are our customers were paying €90 to €700 per lead, and a lead is not a meeting.
A meeting counts when it leads to a sale. That is why MeetMagnet starts from a buying signal: the person contacted has a reason to talk now. The method is explained in our article from buying signal to B2B meeting.
Who this calculation changes the decision for
- SMEs without a salesperson, weighing up hiring, paying an agency or prospecting themselves.
- Agencies, which have to deliver meetings to several clients without adding an SDR per client.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a B2B lead generation agency cost?
Usually €1,000 to €3,000 a month, according to our survey of public prices on 26 September 2026 (French market). The entry-level packages we found range from €790 a month (Hacquisition, one channel) to €1,760 excl. VAT (Leadactiv). Some add a bonus per meeting attended (from €250 excl. VAT at Oliverlist); others charge per meeting instead of a retainer (€350 excl. VAT at Lalaleads, plus a €990 excl. VAT setup fee).
How much does an SDR cost?
An in-house SDR costs from €45,000 a year (junior profile, Oliverlist’s estimate) to €50,000 to €70,000 a year (Getalead), salary, employer costs and tools included, before hiring and management time. An outsourced SDR from an agency costs €36,000 to €96,000 a year all in, according to Getalead. French market figures, checked on 26 September 2026.
How much does a meeting cost with cold calling?
On a cold calling marketplace such as JobPhoning (France), an approved meeting costs €55 to €86 excl. VAT depending on the sector, around €65 at the median (May 2026), plus a commission: 30% with no subscription, 10 to 20% with a subscription of €100 to €500 excl. VAT a month, with commitment. A meeting rejected for a stated reason is not charged (checked on 26 September 2026).
How much does a meeting cost with MeetMagnet?
MeetMagnet does not charge per meeting: you pay a subscription. €149 excl. VAT a month on Self-serve, with unlimited signals and no credits. €299 excl. VAT a month on Assisted, with a real person who follows you: onboarding, check-ins on day 7, 30, 60 and 90, then a check-in every month. A real example: Aline Ecault, an executive coach, got 16 meetings in 2 months on Assisted, or about €37 excl. VAT per meeting. The cost varies with your market and your target.
What is a qualified meeting?
A meeting with someone who has a real need, the power to decide or influence the purchase, a budget and a timeframe for the decision. A slot with someone who will not buy has no value, even if it is free.