Who is Cleverly and what does it sell?
Cleverly is a Los Angeles outbound lead generation agency best known for LinkedIn outreach, per its website and Clutch profile.
It's one of the most visible names in LinkedIn lead gen. And one of the cheapest.
- Its homepage cites 8+ years of outbound work. Clutch lists a 2018 founding and 10 to 49 employees.
- Its footer names the legal entity as Lead Generation, Inc.
- Its hero says it's trusted by 1,000 active clients. Its footer says 5,000+ clients.
- Its counters claim 224.7K leads, $51.2M in revenue and $312M in pipeline generated.
All self-reported. The review platforms, below, give the outside view.
Cleverly sells done-for-you outbound across LinkedIn, cold email and cold calling, plus appointment setting, outsourced SDRs and outbound strategy consulting, per its homepage.
LinkedIn is the core. Its LinkedIn page adds content ghostwriting and profile optimization, without saying which plans include them.
How the LinkedIn service works, per its FAQ:
- Cleverly writes messaging in your voice and builds a targeted list.
- It sends connection requests from your LinkedIn profile.
- People who accept get a 3-touch drip sequence.
- When someone replies, "you take over the conversation from there." On the Appointment Setting plan, a dedicated response handler works the reply and books the meeting for you.
So which plan you buy decides who does the closing work. Ask before you sign.
How many leads? Cleverly's own pages give three different answers: 10 to 30 B2B meetings a month (LinkedIn page header), roughly 15 to 25 leads a month (LinkedIn page FAQ), and 20 to 40 new leads a month (main FAQ). Its FAQ is upfront that it "can't guarantee a specific number." Fair enough. Plan on the low end.
Cleverly pricing: how much does Cleverly cost in 2026?
Cleverly's LinkedIn plans range from $397 to $997 a month, per its own FAQ, with discounts for teams of 3+ users. Cold email is sold as pay per meeting-ready lead, month-to-month, with no figure published.
| Item | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn plans | $397 to $997 a month | Cleverly FAQ |
| Plan names | Silver $397, Gold $697, Platinum $997 | Salesforge (a competitor), Aug 2026 |
| Cold email / calling | $1,995 and $3,995 a month | Salesforge (a competitor), Aug 2026 |
| Sales Navigator | $99+ a month, required, not included | Salesforge (a competitor). Not stated on Cleverly's pages we checked |
What each LinkedIn tier includes. LeadHaste and Salesforge, both competitors, describe the same three tiers, each capped at 600 prospects a month:
| Plan | Monthly | Adds, per LeadHaste's review |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | $397 | Outreach, list building, account manager, profile recommendations |
| Gold | $697 | Follow-ups, email integration, multiple campaigns |
| Platinum | $997 | Appointment setter, inbox management, meeting booking |
Read that last row again. Only the top tier books the meeting for you, per LeadHaste. On Silver and Gold, the replies land in YOUR inbox.
Other line items both reviews list: LinkedIn paid ads at $999 to $2,999 a month and content ghostwriting at $697 a month. Salesforge adds a Teams plan for 3 LinkedIn profiles from $891 a month.
Credit where due: Cleverly publishes a price range. Most outbound agencies don't publish anything.
Cleverly contract terms: the 90-day lock-in and cancellation
Cleverly's terms of use set a 90-day initial term that starts when your campaign deliverables are delivered, then auto-renew every 30 days.
| Term | What it says |
|---|---|
| Initial term | Starts the day campaign deliverables arrive, expires 90 days later |
| Renewal | Automatic, every 30 days |
| Cancellation | Notice by email at least 10 days before the term ends |
| Refunds | Amounts paid are non-refundable, except as the agreement provides |
Two things to read twice.
- The clock starts at deliverables, not at signing. Setup time sits outside your 90 days.
- The terms aren't perfectly consistent. The paused-campaign section says "thirty (10) days." Ten or thirty? Get it confirmed in writing.
Also note: the FAQ calls cold email "no contracts, month-to-month." Ask which terms cover the plan you're buying.
Minimum spend on the entry plan: 3 months x $397 = $1,191, plus Sales Navigator if it applies. Not legal advice. Read the current terms yourself before you sign.
Cleverly reviews: what Trustpilot, Clutch and G2 say
Cleverly has a big review footprint: 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 1,166 reviews and 4.3 on Clutch from 85 reviews, as fetched in November 2026.
| Platform | Rating | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 4.5 (1,166 reviews, 88% five-star) | trustpilot.com |
| Clutch | 4.3 (85 reviews). Cost is its lowest sub-score at 4.1 | clutch.co profile |
| G2 | 3.8 (22 reviews) | As reported by Salesforge, Aug 2026 |
What reviewers praise. Knowledgeable, responsive staff, smooth onboarding, and messaging that sounds like the client, per Trustpilot. Clutch reviewers add communication, timeliness and LinkedIn targeting.
What reviewers flag. Few or no qualified leads for some clients, a sense of heavy automation, thinner support after the sale, and billing or cancellation disputes, per Trustpilot. Clutch reviewers raise lead quality and patchy project management.
Fair summary: a LOT of happy customers, and a visible minority who never got buyers. Trustpilot shows Cleverly replied to 44% of negative reviews.
Cleverly pros and cons: who it fits and who should skip it
Cleverly fits a business that wants a cheap, fast test of LinkedIn outreach. It fits poorly when deals are large, buyers are senior, or you can't hand over your LinkedIn login.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Published pricing, rare in this market | Template-style messaging, per LeadHaste and Salesforge |
| Lowest entry price for done-for-you LinkedIn outreach, per both reviews | Sales Navigator and the 90-day term sit on top of the sticker price |
| Huge review base on Trustpilot | Results vary widely, from 40+ meetings for some clients to none for others, per LeadHaste |
| Can add email, calling and ads under one vendor | Each channel is priced separately |
Where the fit lands, based on 100Signals' fit table (100Signals is also a competitor):
- Strong: testing LinkedIn outbound before a bigger commitment, and B2B service firms with a clear, LinkedIn-reachable buyer.
- Poor: enterprise deals that need personal executive outreach, teams that can't share LinkedIn account access, and anyone whose profile or website won't survive a 15-second look from a prospect.
Reply rates? Salesforge puts third-party estimates for Cleverly at 8% to 15%. 100Signals quotes Cleverly's own average of 20 to 40 new conversations per 500 prospects. A conversation is not a meeting. And a meeting is not a held call.
Is Cleverly worth it? The cost per meeting math
Cleverly is worth it if the replies it generates turn into held meetings at a cost your deal size can carry. The sticker price tells you nothing until you run that number.
The formula: monthly cost / held meetings = cost per held meeting.
Illustrative example only. Your numbers will differ:
| Line | Assumption | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | Gold, $697 a month (Salesforge's tier price) | $697 |
| Sales Navigator | $99 a month, if required | $796 total |
| Leads | 15 a month, low end of Cleverly's own range | 15 |
| Leads that book | Assume 1 in 3 | 5 booked |
| Show rate | Assume 70% | 3.5 held |
| Cost per held meeting | $796 / 3.5 | About $227 |
Cheap. On paper.
Now add the hidden line: YOUR time. Someone has to work every reply, book every call and chase every no-show, unless you're on a plan with a response handler. Price that at your hourly rate and the math moves.
Run your real numbers with the cost per held call guide.
Questions to ask Cleverly before you sign
Ask these six questions in writing before you pay a dollar. Every serious review of Cleverly points at the same soft spots.
- How is my LinkedIn login stored? Salesforge reports G2 reviewers flagging credentials kept in open text. Ask about encryption and two-factor support, and get the answer in writing, as 100Signals also advises.
- Which tier books meetings for me? If it's not Platinum, budget YOUR time to work replies.
- Is Sales Navigator required, and who pays? Salesforge says yes and adds $99+ a month.
- When does the 90-day clock start? Per Cleverly's terms, at deliverables, not signing.
- What counts as a lead? A reply, a positive reply, or a booked meeting? Get the definition.
- What are my numbers after 30 days? Ask for replies, booked meetings and HELD meetings as three separate figures.
Want a full checklist for any provider? Use how to vet a provider.
Cleverly vs insaneX: LinkedIn DMs vs ads to a quiz
Cleverly starts conversations by messaging prospects on LinkedIn. insaneX gets buyers to book a call after clicking an ad and passing a qualifying quiz. One starts in the DMs. The other ends on your calendar.
| Cleverly | insaneX | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Outbound LinkedIn, email and calling | Inbound Meta and Google ads to a cold traffic offer |
| Who starts it | Cleverly, from your profile | The buyer, after clicking an ad |
| Qualification | Targeting, then you or a response handler | 7-question quiz, about 30 seconds |
| Booking | You, or the handler on the Appointment Setting plan | Calendar inside the quiz, buyer self-books |
| Show-up support | Not described on the pages we checked | CRM, email and SMS follow-up plus a VSL |
| Reporting | Leads and meetings | Held and qualified calls reported separately |
| Published price | $397 to $997 a month | Not listed on this page |
| Term | 90-day initial term, then 30-day renewals | Not listed on this page |
| Who it's for | Budget LinkedIn outreach | B2B and SaaS companies with revenue (pre-revenue turned away) |
These aren't the same product at the same price. Cleverly is a low-cost channel. insaneX builds a full booking machine: offer, ads, quiz funnel, CRM, follow-up and VSL, live in 14 days.
LinkedIn outreach or paid ads? Outreach wins when your buyers are a small, named list. Ads win when there are enough buyers to find with targeting and an offer. Outreach volume is capped by how many connection requests one profile can safely send. Ad volume is capped by budget. Which cap would you rather hit? See the ad side in Facebook ads for B2B.
Best Cleverly alternatives in 2026
The main Cleverly alternatives are SalesBread for LinkedIn, Belkins, SalesRoads and Leadium for full outbound, and insaneX for inbound booked calls.
- SalesBread. A boutique LinkedIn and email outreach agency. See SalesBread alternatives.
- Belkins. Omnichannel outbound from $5,000 a month, per its Callbox comparison, Clutch 4.9 from 234. See Belkins alternatives.
- CIENCE. Managed SDRs for bigger outbound programs. LeadHaste puts Belkins and CIENCE at $5,000+ a month.
- Callbox. Global outbound with heavy cold calling, which LeadHaste lists for APAC reach. See Callbox alternatives.
- SalesRoads. US SDRs on the phone, $11,950 per 4 weeks per rep, cancel any time, per its pricing page.
- Leadium. Email, calling and LinkedIn. Its FAQ says all contracts are month-to-month, and it guarantees activity deliverables, not appointment outcomes. Clutch 5.0 from 90.
- insaneX. Ads plus a qualifying quiz, for owners who'd rather buyers book themselves. The record: $54.3M+ client revenue, 85+ SaaS and B2B brands scaled, 87% client success rate.
Compare the full field in best appointment setting companies.
Questions
How much does Cleverly cost?
Cleverly's FAQ lists LinkedIn plans from $397 to $997 a month, with discounts for teams of 3+ users. Its terms set a 90-day initial term that then renews every 30 days. Salesforge, a competitor, reports cold email at $1,995 and cold calling at $3,995 a month.
Is Cleverly legit?
Yes. Cleverly is a Los Angeles agency with 4.5 on Trustpilot from 1,166 reviews and 4.3 on Clutch from 85 reviews as of November 2026. Praise centers on responsive staff and onboarding. Complaints mention lead quality, automation and billing or cancellation disputes.
What are the best Cleverly alternatives?
For LinkedIn outreach: SalesBread. For full outbound: Belkins (from $5,000 a month, per its Callbox comparison), SalesRoads and Leadium (month-to-month). For inbound booked calls: insaneX, which uses Meta and Google ads and a 7-question quiz with the calendar inside.
Does Cleverly require Sales Navigator?
Salesforge, a competitor, says Cleverly requires LinkedIn Sales Navigator at $99+ a month, not included in plan pricing. We did not find this on Cleverly's own FAQ, terms or LinkedIn service page, so confirm it with Cleverly before signing.
Is it safe to give Cleverly my LinkedIn login?
Cleverly sends outreach from your own LinkedIn profile, so it needs account access. Salesforge, a competitor, reports G2 reviewers flagging credentials stored in open text. Ask Cleverly in writing how logins are stored, whether two-factor is supported, and who on its team can access your account.
Can I cancel Cleverly anytime?
Not in the first term. Cleverly's terms set an initial term that expires 90 days after campaign deliverables arrive, then renews every 30 days. Notice is due by email at least 10 days before the term ends, and payments are non-refundable except as the agreement provides.
How is insaneX different from Cleverly?
Cleverly messages prospects on LinkedIn from your profile. insaneX runs ads to a qualifying quiz, so buyers book a call themselves, with CRM, email and SMS follow-up. Held and qualified calls are reported separately, and the system is live in 14 days.