How Much Does Appointment Setting Cost? Per Meeting vs Monthly Retainer
By Success Mike LLC · October 12, 2026
If you want more sales calls on your calendar, the next question is what it costs to have someone else book them. Here is our pricing first, then how the rest of the market compares.
The short answer
At Success Mike LLC, appointment setting is done by a dedicated assistant at $15 per hour. Part-time runs 10 to 20 hours a week depending on what you need: about $150 a week for 10 hours, about $300 for 20. A full 40-hour week is about $600. You pay for hours worked, and you do not pay employee benefits: no 401(k), no health insurance, no other benefits.
How the rest of the market prices it
Three models are common, and the headline numbers are not comparable until you work out what a held meeting really costs you.
- Pay per meeting. You pay when a meeting is booked or held. Typical range: $150 to $500 for a standard B2B meeting, $400 to $750 if it must pass written qualification criteria, and $600 to $1,500 for senior decision-makers. Low risk up front, higher cost per meeting.
- Monthly retainer. A flat fee for a month of outreach work. Typical range: $3,000 to $10,000 a month, often with a 3 to 6 month minimum. Predictable, but a slow month costs the same as a good one.
- Hourly or dedicated assistant. You pay for hours worked by a person who calls, emails and books for you. Market range is about $25 to $75 per hour offshore. This is our model - and our rate starts at $15.
Per meeting vs retainer: do the math
Divide the monthly cost by the meetings actually held. A $5,000 retainer that produces 8 held meetings is $625 per meeting. A $400 per-booking deal with 12 bookings and a 60 percent show rate is $4,800 for about 7 held meetings, around $667 each. The cheaper-looking quote is often not cheaper. At low volume pay-per-meeting usually wins; at high volume a retainer usually does. A dedicated assistant at $15 an hour undercuts both once your calendar is filling steadily.
What changes the price
- Who you are calling (small business owners vs executives)
- Whether meetings must be qualified, not just booked
- List building and research, included or extra
- Show rate: a booked meeting nobody attends still costs money
- Contract length and minimums
How a dedicated assistant works for booking
You pay for time, not outcomes, so this works best when you know your offer and can give simple scripts and a target list. Your assistant makes the calls, sends the follow-ups, qualifies the replies and books straight into your calendar. At $15 an hour, 10 hours a week is about $150, 20 hours is about $300, and a full 40-hour week is about $600.
Hidden costs to ask about
- Setup or onboarding fees
- Minimum months or hours
- Charges for replacing someone
- Extra fees for list building, CRM setup or reporting
- How "qualified" is defined, in writing
How to choose
- Testing a new offer, low volume: part-time hours or pay per meeting.
- Steady outreach, a clear target market: a full-time assistant or a retainer.
- Unsure: start with a short trial and judge by held meetings, not bookings.
Need an appointment setter?
Tell us what you sell and who you want to reach, and we will match you with an assistant. Book a consultation and we will go through it with you.