How B2B social selling pricing models compare on one annual unit

B2B social selling pricing models move volume, delivery and outcome risk differently. This comparison names five real examples: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo.io, Cognism, Dripify and Outreach. It uses one annual unit: expected net cash for the first 12 contract months, plus separately stated VAT cash, internal work and exit exposure.

Research closed on 5 September 2026. No quotation was tested. Terms such as service levels, indexation and minimum commitments can matter more than the label, so English commercial, finance and tax reviewers must examine the actual agreement.

Vendor list prices quoted here are ex-VAT, as published on 5 September 2026, and may be billed in GBP or USD. Check the invoice currency and tax treatment before comparing.

What to take away

Per-seat subscription: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Dripify and Expandi

Formula: committed seats x charge per seat x billed periods.

This is straightforward when named users are stable. The buyer carries the risk of dormant seats, mid-term team changes and required higher editions. Compare active and committed seats separately, and ask whether administrators, approvers and temporary users are chargeable. Record renewal and removal dates.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator Core lists at about £80 per seat per month, or about £60 on annual billing; Plus and Advanced cost more. That is roughly £720 to £960 per seat per year before VAT.

Dripify lists per-seat plans from about $59 per month, or about $708 per seat per year. Expandi lists plans from about $99 per month, or about $1,188 per seat per year.

Exit exposure for a 12-month per-seat contract is typically the remaining committed fees. At renewal, exit cost is often zero. On early termination, expect to pay up to 100% of the remaining term unless the contract allows otherwise. For 5 seats at £60 per seat per month, a mid-term exit after 6 months leaves about £1,800 plus VAT.

Usage-based charge: Apollo.io, Cognism and ZoomInfo

Formula: fixed charge + units consumed in each band x band rate.

Usage may be messages, contacts, profiles or credits. It can also be storage or another supplier-defined event. Usage ties some cash to consumption but creates exposure to spikes, retries, automated activity and unclear metering.

Apollo.io sells per-seat plans with credit limits. Basic lists at about $49 per user per month billed annually, Professional about $79 and Organization about $119. Those rates equal about $588 to $1,428 per user per year before VAT.

Cognism and ZoomInfo sell quote-only annual licences with contact credits. UK contracts typically run from roughly £5,000 to over £20,000 a year depending on credits, seats and data regions.

The Cabinet Office's current risk allocation and pricing guidance, written for public contracting, notes volume payment can combine a unit charge with a fixed service element, and uncertain volume affects risk. The same questions apply in private procurement, though the guidance sets no commercial terms.

Require a unit definition, usage log, dispute route, cap and alert threshold. Model each band rather than multiplying all volume by the final marginal rate.

io Professional at $79 per user per month is $4,740 per year before VAT. At the lower end, 1 user on Basic at $49 per month is $588 per year. At the upper end, 20 users on Organization at $119 per month is $28,560 per year. These are list-price calculations, ex-VAT, and do not include any overage credits.

Fixed annual licence and retainer: Outreach, HubSpot and agency packages

Formula: fixed contracted amount + approved change charges.

A fixed amount gives cash certainty only when scope, assumptions, deliverables, acceptance and exclusions are clear. The supplier may price in risk, while the buyer may pay for unused capacity. For a retainer, define included hours or outputs, carry-over, response time and work outside scope. Do not call it unlimited unless the contract truly removes volume boundaries.

Outreach sells annual per-seat contracts. Starter lists at about $100 per user per month, Professional about $140, with annual commitment and tier limits. Those rates equal about $1,200 to $1,680 per seat per year before VAT.

HubSpot Sales Hub lists Starter at about £15 per seat per month and Professional at about £75, with annual billing and tier gates. That is roughly £180 to £900 per seat per year before VAT.

For a genuine fixed-fee retainer, a UK agency might quote £2,000 to £8,000 per month for a defined social selling programme. This is an indicative range, not a named vendor quote. The exact figure depends on scope, deliverables, seniority and contract length.

Exit exposure for annual licences such as Outreach and HubSpot is typically the remaining contract value. At renewal, exit cost is often zero. On early termination, expect up to 100% of remaining fees, sometimes plus a notice period.

For 5 seats on Outreach Professional at $140 per user per month, a mid-term exit after 6 months leaves about $4,200 before VAT.

Time and materials

Formula: approved time by role x contracted rate + authorised expenses.

This fits discovery or uncertain implementation where the required effort cannot yet be specified. The buyer carries more effort risk and therefore needs role rates, time records, approval limits and a forecast-to-complete. A cap is not a fixed price if scope stops when the cap is reached.

UK B2B social and marketing agencies such as Edelman, Ogilvy and The Marketing Practice commonly quote day rates or hourly rates for strategy, content and implementation. The UK government's Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) framework publishes role-based rate cards. For example, a senior performance analyst is capped at about £750 per day.

Private agency rates for comparable roles are often similar or higher.

Check whether travel, research tools and content production sit inside the rate.

For the annual unit, multiply forecast hours by the contracted rate and add authorised expenses.

For example, 500 hours at £150 per hour is £75,000 before VAT. At a lower usage of 100 hours, the cost is £15,000. At an upper usage of 2,000 hours, the cost is £300,000.

Outcome-linked payment: CIENCE, RevBoss and LeadGenius

Formula: base charge + verified eligible outcomes x outcome rate, subject to caps and adjustments.

Payment can align with a defined result, but only if the outcome, evidence window, exclusions and counterfactual are credible. A booked meeting, tagged opportunity and incremental contribution are not equivalent units.

CIENCE, RevBoss and LeadGenius sell managed lead-generation programmes where outcome-linked terms can appear. Typical deals use a monthly base plus a fee per qualified meeting or opportunity, with a cap and a quality review. Exact rates are quote-only and often range from about £100 to £500 per accepted meeting, depending on target seniority, geography and qualification rules.

For the annual unit, multiply expected accepted meetings by the fee and add the base charge.

For example, assuming a £2,000 monthly base and 50 accepted meetings at £200 each, the annual cost is £24,000 plus £10,000, total £34,000 before VAT. At lower usage of 10 meetings, the total is £26,000. At upper usage of 200 meetings, the total is £64,000. The base charge is an illustrative assumption; actual bases vary.

The 2026 Magenta Book explains, for government evaluation, why attribution and a suitable counterfactual matter when judging impact. Without that discipline, payment can reward activity that would have happened anyway or encourage poor-quality volume.

Make the comparison like for like

For each model, calculate 12-month net cash at lower, working and upper usage. Add implementation, internal administration, required add-ons and exit separately. Show gross VAT cash and expected recovery rather than silently mixing tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive quotes.

The standard VAT rate is 20% for most UK goods and services. Finance must confirm the actual supply and recovery position.

On these illustrative figures, per-seat and usage-based models show the lowest 12-month net cash at all three usage levels for comparable seat counts. Fixed annual licences cost more at higher usage because of larger commitments. Outcome-linked deals depend on meeting volume and base charge. Time and materials scales linearly with hours and is the most expensive at upper usage.

Worked example end to end: 5 seats on LinkedIn Sales Navigator Core at £60 per seat per month on annual billing. Net cash for 12 months is £3,600. VAT at 20% is £720. Gross cash including VAT is £4,320.

If the contract is terminated after 6 months, exit exposure is the remaining 6 months, about £1,800 plus £360 VAT, total £2,160. This example is ex-VAT except where stated.

Choose the mechanism whose risk matches the measurable scope. A lower working-case total should not win if a plausible volume, change or attribution assumption makes the commitment unaffordable.

Before you act

Common questions

Why does a lower working-case total not automatically win?

Because a plausible volume, change or attribution assumption can make the commitment unaffordable. Test lower, working and upper usage before deciding.

What must be clear before a fixed retainer gives cash certainty?

Scope, assumptions, deliverables, acceptance and exclusions. For a retainer, define included hours or outputs, carry-over, response time and work outside scope.

What makes outcome-linked payment credible?

A defined outcome, evidence window, exclusions and a credible counterfactual. A booked meeting, tagged opportunity and incremental contribution are not equivalent units.