Disclosure: we make one of the options on this page, so this is not an independent review. Competitor facts come from their own websites and were checked on October 21, 2026. We say where others are the better fit. Spotted something wrong? Email us and we will fix it.
Side by side
| Hop On Stages | The Speaker Lab | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Done-for-you cold email outreach | Coaching and courses that teach you to book yourself |
| Price | Quoted separately, based on your goals (not published) | Not published (sales call) |
| Who does the outreach | We do | You do, using what they teach |
| What you keep afterwards | The conversations and bookings from the campaign | The skills and the system |
| Community | No | Large community (they cite 17,000+ experts), podcast and free content |
| Demo video help | We edit the reel in-house ($3,000 flat, separate service) | Teaches demo video best practices; no production service published |
| Commission | None | None (coaching, not a bureau) |
| Named results | Keith Ferrazzi ("somewhere close to 81 qualified leads"), Steve Taubman (paid NYC invitation), Doug Noll (workshop selected) | Not compared here |
What actually matters
Time is the real price
Learning to book yourself is a genuine asset, and The Speaker Lab is one of the best-known places to learn it. The catch is that the training only pays off if you do the work every week: building lists, finding contacts, writing pitches, following up. For a speaker who is also delivering talks, writing books and running a business, that time is often the bottleneck, not knowledge.
Done-for-you outreach trades money for that time. We do the research, writing and sending, and pass you the interested replies.
Stage of your career
If you are new and still learning what event planners want, how fees work and how to position a talk, training first is the smarter move. You will make better decisions about every vendor later, including us. If you have been speaking for years and simply have not been prospecting, training you already half know is less useful than someone doing it.
The demo video
The Speaker Lab publishes a lot of good advice on demo videos, including what to film and what editing costs. It does not sell video production. We make speaker reels as our core service. Plenty of speakers follow The Speaker Lab's advice on what a demo video should contain and then hire someone to cut it.
Using both
These two fit together better than most comparisons on this site. Learn the system, so you understand what good outreach looks like, then hand the repetitive part to a team. You will be a sharper client, and you will know quickly whether the outreach is good.
What The Speaker Lab is
The Speaker Lab is a speaker coaching and education company led by Grant Baldwin. It offers coaching programs and courses built around its SPEAK Framework, plus a widely followed podcast and a large library of free articles. It cites a community of 17,000+ experts. Pricing is discussed on a sales call. It teaches; it does not pitch on your behalf.
For more on doing it yourself, read our guides on cold email for speakers and how to find paid speaking engagements.
Which one should you choose?
The Speaker Lab is the better choice if
- You are early in your speaking business
- You want to understand the whole booking process yourself
- You have time each week to prospect and pitch
- You want a community of other speakers
Hop On Stages is the better choice if
- You already know the basics but do not have the hours
- You want outreach running while you speak and write
- You want the reel and the outreach built by one team
- You want results from a campaign, not a course
Questions people ask
Is The Speaker Lab worth it, or should I hire done-for-you outreach?
If you are new and have time, training teaches skills you keep. If you know how to pitch but will not do it consistently, done-for-you outreach is the more direct route. Many speakers do both, in that order.
How much does The Speaker Lab cost?
Its price is not published; it is discussed on a sales call. Hop On Stages outreach is also quoted separately.
Does The Speaker Lab book speakers?
No. It is a coaching and education company that teaches you to book yourself. It is not a bureau or an outreach agency.
Does Hop On Stages teach speakers how to pitch?
Not as a course. We do the outreach for you. Our guides are free if you want to learn the basics.
Sources
- The Speaker Lab: homepage
- The Speaker Lab: speaking demo video
- Hop On Stages: done-for-you speaker booking outreach
Keep comparing
Comparison
Hop On Stages vs Speak to Scale
Coaching plus speaker management against focused done-for-you outreach: what each includes and costs.
Guide
Get booked as a keynote speaker
The order of operations that actually produces paid keynotes: positioning, proof, then direct outreach.
Guide
Cold email for speakers
Finding the decision-maker, verifying emails, a short pitch structure, follow-ups and deliverability basics.
Roundup
Best speaker booking services
Done-for-you outreach, self-serve platforms and bureaus, ranked with real prices.
Guide
How to make a speaker reel
The eight steps from raw keynote footage to a finished demo reel, whether you edit it yourself or hire help.
Service
Speaker booking outreach
Cold email outreach to event organizers, run for you. How it works and what it has produced.
Your next stage
Get a speaker reel that books the room.
One flat $3,000 per reel (50% to begin, 50% on completion). Edited from footage you already have, delivered in 2 to 3 weeks, with two rounds of revisions. Two minutes to see if you're a fit.