The index, and the person behind it.
SDR Lab scores the tools that run modern outbound — independently, on the same four factors, with a hard line between what's paid and what's ranked.
Why this exists
Every other week another “AI SDR” launches, raises a round, and grades its own homework with a slide that says it replaces three reps. Most of the comparison content you find when you go looking is either a vendor's own page or an affiliate post that ranks whoever pays the highest commission. I found that annoying, so I built the thing I actually wanted: an index that tests these tools the way you'd use them, run by someone with no reason to flatter any of them.
SDR Lab is that index. It scores the software that books meetings for you — autonomous reps, cold-email engines and data platforms — and the score is the only thing here that isn't for sale.
How I score
I don't take a vendor's marketing at face value. Every tool in the Index gets the same four factors — channel coverage, autonomy, personalization and value — scored from real pricing pages, product documentation and hands-on use, cross-checked against public user reviews on sites like G2 and Capterra, then averaged into one SDR Score. The full method, including the bands and where I'm still calibrating, lives on the methodology page.
The factor that catches most tools out is autonomy. A lot of them demo beautifully and then quietly hand the real work back to you — you're the one writing the prompts, fixing the personalization, pressing send. The Index is built to surface that gap before you've signed a contract over it.
How the money works
SDR Lab is reader-supported, in two honest ways. Some links are affiliate links, and a few vendors pay for featured placement. Anything paid is labelled PARTNER and carries a sponsored link attribute, every time.
Neither one buys a better number. A vendor can pay to be visible; they cannot pay to be ranked higher or move a factor — those positions come from the test and nothing else. The day that line blurs, the whole thing is worthless, so I keep it bright.
Who's behind it
I'm Marcus Taylor. I founded Venture Harbour, where I've spent years building and running web software — and a fair amount of outbound to put in front of people. That's how I ended up caring whether these AI reps actually do the job they claim to. I'm the only human byline on this site; if a verdict has my name on it, I wrote it and I ran the test behind it.
SDR Lab is independent of every tool it covers. No board seat, no equity, no advisory cheque from anyone in the rankings — just a strong preference for knowing which of these things work before recommending them to anyone.
One caveat
This category is young and the products change monthly, so I re-check on a monthly cadence and re-score where something material moves. If a price or a channel claim looks wrong, tell meand I'll re-check it against the vendor's live site. The Index is only useful if it's current.