Pay per lead vs pay per meeting: the terms compared

Pay per lead vs pay per meeting comes down to where you start paying. With pay per lead, you pay for each person delivered. Then you write to them and book the meeting yourself. With pay per meeting, the seller does that work and bills once a meeting counts. A meeting costs more per unit. Its fine print sits in what counts as a meeting.

Pick by who on your team will work the leads. If nobody will, pay per meeting is the better fit. If you or a first sales hire will, pay per lead fits. It costs less per unit and keeps the thread in your inbox.

We sell leads. We do not book meetings, and we do not promise replies.

The two contracts side by side

Both price rows come from pricing guides written by sellers of this service. Nobody measured these ranges. Read them as what a founder will hear.

Some per-lead sellers run their own outreach. They hand you people who replied to their emails. Then the first email is theirs, and so is the domain. Ask which kind of lead you are buying.

Where along the path each model bills

An outbound deal passes these steps. The model decides which step you pay for, and who does the steps before it.

Pay per lead usually bills at step 1. Pay per meeting bills at step 4, 5 or 6. No seller we read bills on the deal.

When pay per meeting fits

• Nobody on your team will work leads. You sell, but nobody writes the first emails or makes the calls. This is the main case
• Your deal is large. The prices in the table below run $100 to $300 a meeting, and more where the price is hidden. Each one must pay for itself in deals. To compare channels on cost per held meeting, see lead generation for startups
• Your market is big enough. One meeting seller asks for more than 1,500 accounts and deals above about $3,000 a year
• You can carry the minimum. Plan for a $5,000+ project, or a prepaid balance that is not refunded

When pay per lead fits

• You or a first sales hire will write and call. The leads come with your work, not instead of it
• You want the thread in your inbox from the first email. Every reply is yours to keep
• You want to test small. Buy one batch, judge it, then decide. Check the seller's minimum first
• You want to choose who you write to. You see each person before anyone contacts them

Questions to ask any seller before you sign

Ask for each answer in writing, by email.

1. The unit, word for word. A lead, or a meeting booked, held or accepted
2. Who decides that a unit counts. You, the seller, or criteria you both signed
3. When the bill starts. On delivery, on booking, or after the meeting
4. What happens to a no-show or a wrong person. Replaced, not billed, refunded, or worked off for free
5. The smallest amount you can buy. A minimum project, a monthly fee or a prepaid balance
6. The date you can stop. And whether unused money comes back
7. Whose domain sends the emails. If it is yours, spam marks land on your domain
8. What you keep when you stop. The contacts, the replies, or only the meetings

How our leads work

A lead from us is one person who fits your buyers. They engaged with content on your topic, and you see the topic and the date. Each one was checked online, with a proof link: a public page that shows them at the company. You get a named work email. How we check: how we find and check each lead.

Most leads in a pack engaged in the last 45 days. None did so more than 90 days ago.

A pack of 50 costs $2,000, or $40 a lead. You get it as a CSV file. There is no contract and no minimum term. All prices: our pricing.

If a lead is wrong, tell us within 14 days of delivery. A lead is wrong when any field is wrong, or when the person has left the company. You get a replacement lead; a refund only if no lead in your ICP is left to replace it.

If nobody on your team will write to these people, a meeting seller is the better fit.

Test pay per lead on your own buyers

See what a lead holds before you pay, on the sample leads page. Give us your work email, then tell us who you sell to. We send 10 leads that fit, with contacts, free. If fewer fit, we tell you how many and why. Then count wrong fields, replies and meetings held, as in how to run a B2B lead generation pilot.

Get 10 free leads

What counts as a meeting, and who decides

"Pay per meeting" covers four different units. The price only means something next to the definition.

• Booked. A time is on your calendar. You pay even if the person never comes
• Held, or attended. The person showed up. One seller writes that the person must attend and fit the ICP you agreed on. A no-show is not billed
• Accepted. You, or criteria you signed, decide after the meeting. One seller bills only accepted meetings, by a third-party list
• Approved before booking. One seller has the client approve each meeting before it goes on the calendar

The seller usually writes the definition. Read it before the price. A "qualified meeting" with no written rule leaves the seller to decide.

Our view: arguments over what counts are where this model breaks. A delivered lead leaves less to argue about. It is in your file, and its fields are right or wrong.

Who carries which risk

Both models leave the last two risks with you. One meeting seller says outright that it does not promise the person wants to buy. A held meeting proves someone gave you their time. It does not prove a need.

Published terms, with dates

Most sellers in this market show no price until after a call. These are some of the terms we found on public pages. The list is not complete. Where a page did not say, the cell says so.

Two third-party prices are not confirmed on the sellers' own pages. We read each page on the date shown. Terms change, so check the live page before you sign. Sources are listed at the end.

Minimums, prepaid balances and lock-ins

The unit price is half the contract. The other half is how much you must buy before you can stop.

• A monthly fee on top of the unit. One pay-per-lead plan adds $299 a month. One meeting shop adds $200 a month for its sending tools
• A minimum project. One meeting seller starts at $5,000+, by a third-party list
• A prepaid balance. One meeting shop takes money up front and does not refund what is left
• A term. Third-party pricing guides report 3 to 6 month minimums. One pay-per-lead page says "monthly" in its table and 12 months in its text
• Setup. One vendor guide puts hidden setup fees at $1,500 to $5,000

Ask for the smallest amount you can buy, and the date you can stop. Both belong in writing.

The remedy when a unit is bad

Sellers fix a bad unit in four ways. Only a refund returns money, and no seller in the table above states one.

"Do not bill" sounds like a refund, but it only covers units that fail the definition. A held meeting with the wrong person still counts if the definition is loose.

What you own when you stop

With pay per lead, you hold a file of people. When you send the first email yourself, every reply lands in your inbox. If you stop buying, the contacts and the threads stay with you.

With pay per meeting, you hold the meetings that happened. The rest depends on the contract. Ask three things in writing:

• Who keeps the list of people the seller contacted
• Whose domain and inbox sent the emails
• Whether you get the replies that did not become a meeting

Questions

What does pay per lead mean?

You pay a set price for each person delivered who fits your buyers. Some plans add a monthly fee on top. Writing, calls and meetings stay your work.

Is pay per meeting better than pay per lead?

It is better when nobody on your team will work leads. It costs more per unit, and the definition of a meeting decides what you get. Pay per lead fits when you or a first sales hire will write and call.

How much does a meeting cost on pay per meeting?

One calling shop charges $250 per held meeting, with people from a list you bring. A third party lists a cold-email shop at $100 to $300 a meeting, plus $200 a month. One vendor guide gives $75 to $500 per scheduled meeting. Most sellers quote only after a call.

Who pays for a no-show?

On a held, attended or accepted meeting, the seller does: a no-show is not billed or is replaced. On a booked meeting, you pay for it.

Do you book meetings?

No. We deliver leads that fit your buyers, with the topic, the date and a proof link. You write to them and call them.