CIENCE vs LeadIQ (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LeadIQ grades higher than CIENCE: 2.4 against 1.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
LeadIQ grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CIENCE
Outsourced SDR teams and B2B data for booking sales meetings
LeadIQ
Prospecting extension for contact data, job changes and CRM sync
Which one is for you
Pick CIENCE if
- Fits if you want meetings booked and have budget to pay people to do it
- Works for sales leaders who prefer a monthly agreement over hiring SDRs
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are a small team, as one SDR costs about $4,249 a month all in
- Skip it if you want software to run yourself, as this is a service
- Watch out: a performance bonus is paid on top once an SDR reaches 60% or more of their meeting target
- Watch out: the one-time setup fee is not shown on the pricing page
Pick LeadIQ if
- Fits if you prospect on LinkedIn and push contacts into a CRM
- Works for one person who wants to try 30 days of any plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you need phones: a mobile number costs 10 credits each
- Skip it if you want much free, as the free plan is 50 credits
- Watch out: Pro covers up to 5 users; larger teams need Enterprise, which is annual only
- Watch out: the pricing page's static HTML shows $200 for Pro while its slider computes $20
How we grade them
| 1.4GPACIENCEWeak | 2.4GPALeadIQFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$1,750 per offshore SDR plus a $2,000 campaign team fee and $499 for the platform is about $4,249 a month for one SDR. Set against other outsourced SDR options, that is the dearer end. | B$15 a month billed annually for 200 credits, $20 monthly. That's inside the cheapest quarter on price, but 200 credits is small. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial is listed. Terms are month to month, which is not the same thing. | CA free plan with 1 user and 50 credits, and a 30-day trial of any plan. |
| Features | CSupplies SDRs, verified data, a platform and campaign management. It does the job end to end, with a human doing the work. | CCredit-based lookups, job-change tracking, an AI message writer, CRM enrichment and an API. Phones eat credits. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You do not learn software, but you brief a team, and the setup fee amount is not shown. | BA Chrome extension you install and use while browsing. No store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA web platform, with no integrations listed. The work is done for you, so the reach is the vendor's own system. | CWeb and a Chrome extension, with one integration listed plus API and MCP. |
| Best for | hiring an outsourced SDR team | prospecting from LinkedIn into your CRM |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: CIENCE and LeadIQ. How we grade
Price against what you get
CIENCE starts at $1,750 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. LeadIQ starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3.
LeadIQ scores higher and starts $1,735 a month lower. Of the other lead and email finders on the chart, 48 score higher than CIENCE for less, and 1 scores higher than LeadIQ for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- CIENCE also covers workflow automation and research.
At a glance
| CIENCE | LeadIQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $1,750 per offshore SDR / month, plus $2,000 campaign team and $499 platform | $15 per month for 200 credits, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 1 user and 50 credits. |
| Free trial | None listed | Any plan can be tried free for 30 days. |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | CIENCE | LeadIQ |
| Price read from | cience.com | leadiq.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CIENCE
- This is an agency service: a typical program costs thousands of dollars a month, and the page's five-SDR offshore example comes to $11,249 a month before bonus.
- A performance bonus is paid on top of each SDR's fee when they reach 60% or more of their meeting target.
- The setup fee is one-time, but its amount is not shown on the pricing page.
- Terms are month to month with no long contract, according to the pricing page.
LeadIQ
- Mobile numbers cost 10 credits each, so phone-heavy work uses credits fast.
- Pro covers up to 5 users; larger teams need Enterprise, which is annual only.
- The pricing page's static HTML shows $200 for Pro; the slider script computes $20 at 200 credits.
Key features
CIENCE
- Outbound SDR teams
- Dedicated SDRs call, email and message your buyers on LinkedIn each working day, and qualified meetings are booked onto your sales calendar.
- Verified B2B data
- The site lists B2B data, audience data and local data, described as verified contacts and accounts checked by humans.
- graph8 platform
- Contact data, email, calls and workflows sit in one system, which the page says is also offered for teams to run themselves.
- Campaign management
- A campaign team writes and adjusts campaigns across email, phone and LinkedIn and reports held meetings each month.
- One-time setup
- Setup builds your target list and four campaigns and prepares email, phone and LinkedIn infrastructure. The page says it goes live in under 14 days.
LeadIQ
- Credit-based contact lookups
- An email costs 1 credit, a phone number 10, email plus phone 11, and an account enrichment 3.
- Chrome extension
- Capture prospects while browsing LinkedIn or other sites and send them to a CRM or sales engagement tool.
- Job-change tracking
- Tracks champions who move to new companies so reps can reach out again.
- AI message writer
- Drafts outbound messages; the page also lists sales signals such as 10-K filings and hiring.
- CRM and form enrichment
- Keeps CRM records current and enriches web-form leads; the page lists Salesforce duplicate detection on Enterprise.
- API and MCP
- The pricing page lists API access and an MCP integration for AI assistants.
Plans
CIENCE
Campaign team$2,000
per month
Flat fee for the team that runs and adjusts campaigns, reviews SDR work and reports held meetings, whether you run one SDR or ten.
graph8 platform$499
per month
The system the SDRs work in: contact data, email, calls and workflows, with 75,000 credits a month included.
Offshore SDR$1,750
per SDR / month and up
English-speaking SDRs outside the US and Europe. A performance bonus is paid on top when an SDR hits their meeting target.
US and Europe SDR$3,500
per SDR / month and up
SDRs based in the United States or Europe, in your time zone. The same performance bonus applies.
LeadIQ
Free$0
1 user and 50 credits; setup takes under five minutes, per the page.
Pro$15
per month for 200 credits, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Up to 5 users. A slider sets credits: $50 a month at 1,000 credits on monthly billing, $37.50 on annual.
EnterpriseCustom
Annual only; adds account prospecting, governance controls, CSV file enrichment, SSO and team analytics.
Ways to pay less
CIENCE
No public discounts listed.
LeadIQ
- Annual discount
Save 25% with annual billing
The pricing slider is labeled annual billing (25% off) against monthly billing for the Pro plan's credit tiers.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CIENCE or LeadIQ?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LeadIQ is cheaper to start with: $15 a month, against $1,750 a month for CIENCE. CIENCE starts at $1,750 per offshore SDR / month, plus $2,000 campaign team and $499 platform, and LeadIQ starts at $15 per month for 200 credits, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, CIENCE or LeadIQ?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only LeadIQ has a free plan. CIENCE does not.
Which platforms do CIENCE and LeadIQ run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only LeadIQ lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.