Free tool · ISA economics
The honest math on hiring an ISA.
A human inside sales agent runs $36K–$60K+ a year in typical published ranges — before bonuses, before turnover, and before the hours you spend managing them. An AI ISA is a subscription. This calculator puts your numbers side by side; the judgment stays yours.
- No signup needed for the calculator
- Cost lens only — humans win some rows
The calculator
Four inputs. Your numbers, not ours.
Human ISA, true annual cost
$59,700/ yr
comp + your management hours
AI ISA subscription
$2,400/ yr
The difference
$57,300
per year, on the cost lens alone
Cost is one lens. A great human ISA still wins on empathy and complex negotiation — the honest capability comparison is on the AI ISA vs human ISA page.
Methodology & assumptions
- · Human ISA compensation: typical published US ranges of $36K–$60K+ base salary plus per-appointment or per-closing bonuses; defaults sit mid-range. Verify against current listings in your market.
- · Management overhead: hiring an ISA adds coaching, QA, and pipeline-review time; the default (3 hrs/week) is deliberately modest.
- · AI ISA pricing: published entry pricing across vendors as of July 2026 (see our AI ISA pricing survey). Edit the subscription field to the vendor you're comparing.
- · Omitted on purpose (favoring the human side): recruiting, ramp-up months, turnover, payroll taxes, benefits.
FAQ
About this comparison
Where do the default numbers come from?
The $48,000 human-ISA default sits inside typical published salary ranges for US inside sales agents ($36K–$60K+ base, before per-appointment bonuses). The $200/month AI default reflects published entry pricing across AI ISA vendors as of July 2026 — edit it to whichever vendor you're actually comparing, including Marshal's current pricing.
Is cost the only thing that matters?
No — and we'd rather say so on the calculator page itself. A great human ISA wins on empathy, complex objection handling, and nuanced negotiation. If your leads are high-stakes referrals needing white-glove conversations from the first hello, a human may be worth every dollar. The honest comparison lives on our AI ISA vs human ISA page.
What does Marshal's AI ISA actually do?
It calls the leads you provide, introduces itself as an AI assistant calling on your behalf, qualifies interest, and books consultations straight onto your Google Calendar — with recordings, an approved talk track, and budget caps you control.
What's deliberately left out of the math?
Recruiting cost, ramp time (often months), turnover risk, payroll taxes and benefits — all real, all omitted to keep the model simple. Including them would make the human side look worse; leaving them out keeps the comparison conservative.
It even makes the calls.
Marshal's AI ISA dials your leads, discloses itself, qualifies, and books your calendar — with recordings and budget caps. AI drafts. You approve.