Belkins vs CIENCE: Pricing, Terms and Reviews Compared (2026)

Quick verdict

• Choose Belkins if you need email, LinkedIn, calling, ABM, paid ads and events run by one team, your procurement team wants a vendor with hundreds of reviews, and you can commit for 3 to 6 months.
• Choose CIENCE if you want to buy SDR capacity like a utility: add or drop reps each month, pick offshore reps at $1,750 or US/EU reps at $3,500, and pay a bonus tied to held meetings.
• Choose neither if cold email is your main channel and you want the domains in your name. That's what we do; book a campaign plan call to see the plan.

Belkins vs CIENCE side by side

Sources for every row are listed at the end. Belkins figures marked "reported" come from third parties via Salesforge; CIENCE figures come from its own pricing page, checked October 2026.

Pricing: what each one costs per month

Belkins

The Belkins pricing page shows four plans and no prices. Third parties report a $5,000 to $14,800+ monthly retainer and a $2,000 to $5,000 setup fee, and Clutch data puts one engagement at about $5,500 a month for 10+ meetings. The plans differ by appointment target and channel: Growth aims for 100+ appointments a year without full cold calling, ABM or ads, and Growth Plus aims for 200+ with every channel. We go deeper on Belkins pricing separately.

CIENCE

CIENCE's rate card has four parts: a $2,000 monthly campaign team that runs campaigns and reports held meetings, a $499 monthly graph8 platform with 75,000 credits, SDRs at $1,750 a month offshore or $3,500 in the US or Europe, and a one-time setup fee whose amount isn't listed. On top of that sits a performance bonus per SDR:

• Below 60% of the SDR's held-meeting target: no bonus.
• 60% to 99% of target: base x percent of target x 0.35.
• 100% or more: base x percent of target x 0.7.

CIENCE doesn't define "base" on the page. If it means the SDR's monthly fee (our assumption, so ask), a US SDR at 100% of target earns a $2,450 bonus ($3,500 x 1.0 x 0.7), and at 80% earns $980 ($3,500 x 0.8 x 0.35). An offshore SDR at 100% adds $1,225.

The rate card changed recently. Salesforge's August 2026 snapshot showed a $5,000 setup fee, $1,000 onboarding per SDR and SDR tiers from $1,500 to $6,500. Get the current card in writing with your quote; our CIENCE pricing breakdown tracks the changes.

Monthly and year-one cost scenarios

CIENCE figures are list prices before setup. The bonus column assumes "base" is the SDR fee and that every SDR hits 100% of target every month, which is the expensive case.

The math: CIENCE is $2,000 + $499 + SDR fees, x 12. Belkins is the retainer x 12 plus setup. The 5-SDR offshore example ($11,249) is CIENCE's own.

A Belkins Growth retainer at $10,000 a month sits close to two US CIENCE SDRs ($9,499), but the money buys different things. With Belkins, $123,500 in year one (including a mid-range $3,500 setup) is pegged to a 100+ appointment target, about $1,235 per booked appointment at the floor. With CIENCE you're buying two reps' time; the cost per meeting depends on the targets set for each SDR, which CIENCE agrees with you rather than publishing.

Delivery model and team

Belkins was founded in 2017 by Vladyslav Podoliako and Michael Maximoff. It is remote-first with offices in Dover, Delaware, Colorado, Illinois and London, and had about 300 people by the end of 2022. Its small business plan is delivered by partner agencies rather than Belkins' own team, so on that tier you're buying the Belkins process run by someone else.

CIENCE was founded in 2015 in Denver, with offices in Kyiv and Guadalajara, and Clutch lists it at 1,000 to 9,999 employees. Since 2025 it has been the services arm of graph8, a sales platform that holds the contact data, email, calls and workflows your SDRs use. That means CIENCE's data and tooling come bundled; the $499 platform fee is the price of that software seat.

CIENCE gives you named SDR capacity and a campaign team that reviews their work, so you end up managing reps. Belkins sets an outcome target and runs the team behind it itself.

Channels

Belkins has more channels. Growth includes cold email, LinkedIn, intent-based calling, Messenger and WhatsApp, executive dinners and conference activation. Growth Plus adds full cold calling and voicemail, ABM, paid advertising and webinar support.

CIENCE's setup builds email, phone and LinkedIn infrastructure plus four starting campaigns: buyer intent, best-fit accounts, website visitors and competitor customers. It doesn't list ads, events or webinars on the pricing page.

Contract terms and leaving

CIENCE says "Month to month, no long contract," and you can add or remove SDRs each month. Belkins publishes no terms; third parties report 3 to 6 month minimums, and the Enterprise plan advertises custom SLAs and contract terms.

Neither vendor publishes who owns the sending domains and mailboxes after you cancel. CIENCE says setup includes "protected domains" across email, phone and LinkedIn; Belkins says its retainer includes up to $10,000 a year of tools. Both suggest the infrastructure sits in the vendor's stack, so ask for transfer terms before you sign.

What reviewers say

Belkins

Clutch 4.9 from 234 reviews and G2 4.7 from 95. Reviewers praise communication, project management and responsiveness to feedback. Complaints cover lead quality and targeting misses, limited transparency on how targets are chosen, reports based on booked rather than held meetings, and a slower ramp than marketed.

CIENCE

Clutch 4.2 from 142 reviews and G2 3.7 from 181, well below Belkins on both sites. Positive reviews mention communication and help narrowing the ICP. Negative reviews describe months with zero meetings or no-shows, staff turnover, and difficulty getting refunds or leaving contracts, plus one allegation of fabricated leads. Positive reviewers suggest planning 2 to 3 months to reach a steady state.

Who should pick which

A third option: IntentSignal

IntentSignal is a B2B cold email agency for US companies with $10K+ contract values. Programs start at $2,999 a month, month to month, with hybrid retainer-plus-performance options. Custom AI agents research each account and write to what's happening at that company, and you own every domain and mailbox we build, in writing. The two co-founders run every account.

Where we're weaker: we're not a phone-first SDR shop and we don't run ABM or events, and we don't have a Clutch or G2 profile yet. On strong signals we see about 1 booked meeting per 100 emails, nearer 1 per 200 on generic lists. Route got 117 opportunities in one month. If that fits, book a campaign plan call.

For more options, see our Belkins alternatives and CIENCE alternatives lists, or compare the cost of an agency vs an in-house SDR.

Questions to ask both before signing

1. Belkins: what is the minimum term and setup fee in writing, and which plan is this quote?
2. CIENCE: what is "base" in the bonus formula, what is each SDR's held-meeting target, and what is the setup fee today?
3. Both: who owns the domains and mailboxes when we leave, and can they be transferred?
4. Both: does a meeting count when booked or when held, and how are no-shows handled?
5. Both: what did clients at our deal size get in months 1 to 3?
6. CIENCE: are our SDRs dedicated, and what happens if one leaves?

Frequently asked questions

Is Belkins or CIENCE cheaper?

CIENCE is cheaper to start: one offshore SDR with the team and platform lists at $4,249 a month, and one US SDR at $5,999, before setup and bonus. Belkins is reported at $5,000 to $14,800+ a month plus a $2,000 to $5,000 setup fee.

Does CIENCE have a long-term contract?

No. Its pricing page says month to month, and you can add or remove SDRs monthly. Belkins reportedly requires 3 to 6 months.

Which has better reviews, Belkins or CIENCE?

Belkins, clearly. It has Clutch 4.9 from 234 reviews and G2 4.7 from 95. CIENCE has Clutch 4.2 from 142 and G2 3.7 from 181.

What is graph8 and how does it relate to CIENCE?

graph8 is a sales platform for contact data, email, calls and workflows. CIENCE became its services arm in 2025, and CIENCE clients pay $499 a month for a graph8 seat with 75,000 credits.

Do Belkins and CIENCE use offshore SDRs?

CIENCE lets you choose offshore SDRs from $1,750 a month or US/EU SDRs from $3,500. Belkins is remote-first with offices in the US and London and doesn't price by rep location.

How fast do Belkins and CIENCE launch?

Both say about two weeks: Belkins markets "as little as 14 days" and CIENCE says under 14 days. Third-party reviews put Belkins at 60 to 90 days to meaningful results and CIENCE at 2 to 3 months to a steady state.

Sources

• Belkins pricing page
• Belkins about page
• Belkins on Clutch (4.9, 234 reviews)
• Belkins on G2 (4.7, 95 reviews)
• Salesforge Belkins review (reported prices, setup, minimums, ramp)
• CIENCE pricing page (rate card, bonus formula, terms)
• CIENCE on Clutch (4.2, 142 reviews)
• CIENCE on G2 (3.7, 181 reviews)
• Salesforge CIENCE review (graph8, earlier rate card, ramp)