DEFROSTDefrost or Artisan (Ava)?
Facts checked
Artisan’s Ava is an AI sales agent for go-to-market teams: it emails people in your reps’ names and books meetings, on a plan sized by how many people it contacts a month, and Artisan does not publish prices. Defrost is a done-for-you email service for founder-led B2B service firms in the United States, and its only fee is $300 when a new company replies wanting to talk. Artisan suits a company with sales reps to make the calls and take the meetings; Defrost suits a founder with no sales team who wants to approve every email.
| Artisan (Ava) | Defrost | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI sales agent for go-to-market teams. Ava finds people, writes and sends the emails, handles replies and books meetings for your reps. | A done-for-you service for founder-led B2B service firms in the United States |
| What you pay for | A plan sized by how many people Ava contacts a month, and by mailboxes and dialer seats | A new company that replies wanting to talk |
| Published price | Not published. Three plans: Team (about 2,500 people contacted a month), Scale (about 6,000) and Enterprise (custom). You ask for a demo. | $300, once per company, plus any tax. No subscription or setup fee. A monthly limit you set, starting at ten companies. |
| How it reaches people | Email, sent in your reps’ names from your own domains. A dialer is an add-on: Ava sends the emails and your reps make the calls. | Email only, a few at a time, in working hours, with follow-ups |
| Who does the work | Ava, with Artisan’s customer success team helping you get started. Your reps make the calls. | We do. Your part is a few minutes, a few days a week. |
| Who sees a message before it goes | By default Ava sends without waiting for approval. You can choose to approve messages first, lock the tone and what each email asks for, and ban phrases. | You. Every email waits for your approval. |
| If nobody replies | The plan is sized by people contacted, not by replies | You pay nothing |
Artisan’s details are from its own pricing page and product summary, read on November 9, 2026, and are linked under Sources.
When is Artisan the better choice?
- You have sales reps, and want them on calls and in meetings while the emails go out in their names. Artisan offers a dialer for those calls, and Defrost doesn’t make calls.
- You want to reach a lot of people. Artisan’s smallest listed plan is about 2,500 people contacted a month.
- You want meetings booked for you. Ava handles replies and books the meeting. Defrost brings you the reply, and arranging the conversation is yours.
- You have someone to set the rules and keep watch: the tone, the phrases to avoid, and whether messages are approved first.
When is Defrost the better choice?
- You’re a founder with no sales team and no time to run software. We find the companies, write the emails in your name, send them and follow up.
- You want every email to wait for your approval, always. That is the only way Defrost works.
- You’d rather pay only when a new company wants to talk: $300, once per company, with no subscription.
Questions people ask
How much does Artisan cost?
Artisan does not publish prices; you ask for a demo. Its pricing page, read on November 9, 2026, lists three plans by the number of people contacted a month: Team at about 2,500, Scale at about 6,000, and Enterprise, which is custom. The page does not state a contract length or show a trial, so ask about both.
Does Ava send emails without my approval?
By default, yes. Artisan’s pricing FAQ describes Ava as autonomous by default and adjustable. You can choose to approve messages before they send, lock the tone and what each email asks for, and ban phrases.
How is Defrost different from an AI sales agent?
Defrost is a done-for-you service. We find the companies, write in your name and send only what you’ve approved, by email only. You pay $300 when a new company replies wanting to talk, and your part is a few minutes, a few days a week. For the wider choice, see our guide to AI sales agents for small firms.
Sources
- Artisan pricing, read November 9, 2026.
- Artisan’s summary of its products (llms-full.txt), read November 9, 2026.
- Defrost pricing.