The short version
Pick Valley if your LinkedIn activity already brings in profile viewers, post engagers and followers, and you want an AI SDR that researches and messages them with as little of your time as possible. Pick Nova if you want to read every message before it sends, want each lead warmed up before the invite, and want LinkedIn and email in one place. Nova works warm signals too, with Playbooks for profile viewers, post engagers and people asking for a solution, so the bigger difference is who presses send. On price, Nova Growth is $99 a month per sender and Valley's entry plan is $149 billed quarterly or $199 month to month (as listed in August 2026).
What Valley does well
Valley picked a smart starting point. It turns your profile viewers, post engagers and company followers into a scored pipeline automatically, and those signals are real: someone who viewed your profile is warmer than a cold search result. Its research is ambitious (Valley cites hundreds of public data points per prospect), it integrates with HubSpot, Pipedrive and Clay, and it offers a done-for-you tier, Valley Studios at $1,499/mo, for teams that want outreach handled entirely. It is self-serve with a 7-day trial, and it backs its safety posture with a 5x refund guarantee if an account is suspended (their terms apply, as listed in August 2026).
Side by side
| Dimension | Nova | Valley |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Founders, sales teams, agencies wanting one safe system | B2B sales teams and agencies wanting an automated AI SDR |
| Pricing (listed Aug 2026) | Growth $99/mo per sender ($200 on the 3-month term) · Agency $399/mo including 5 senders, $69/mo per extra sender | Everything $149/mo (quarterly) or $199/mo · +Deep $419–499/mo · Studios (done-for-you) $1,499/mo |
| Lead discovery | ICP agents search LinkedIn every working day and score each match; 25+ Playbooks incl. profile viewers and post engagers; nobody is contacted until you approve | Signal capture (profile viewers, engagers, followers) + "Valley Deep" live-web search, CSV/Sales Navigator imports |
| Per-lead research | Deep research (posts, role, company news) with a pursue/hold/skip verdict and sources, feeding the first draft | AI research across hundreds of public data points per prospect |
| Warm-up of leads | Each lead gets a profile view and a like before its invite | Not a listed feature (August 2026) |
| Safety model | Daily budget per LinkedIn account (never pooled), working hours only, random spacing, weekly ramps, every action ledgered; 7 engagement-only days for new accounts | Dedicated IPs per account, "account safety rails", 5x refund guarantee on suspension |
| AI messaging | Drafted in your voice from that research; you approve each message before it sends | AI drafts and sends in your voice; no mandatory approval step described on site (August 2026) |
| Channels | LinkedIn (incl. voice notes) and email from your own mailbox: email-first campaigns, or a move to email when an invite sits unaccepted for 7 days | LinkedIn only (connection requests + InMails) |
| Beyond outreach | Unified inbox, Content Studio, profile reviewer, Slack reply alerts, CRM sync (HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Attio, Close) | Reply routing, CRM integrations, Slack notifications |
| Access | Self-serve, 7-day free trial (no card); 14-day money-back | Self-serve, 7-day free trial |
On safety claims, ours included
Valley states "zero suspensions across 1,000+ accounts" and offers a 5x refund if a suspension happens. We quote that as their claim because we cannot check it, and we apply the same rule to ourselves: Nova quotes no ban rate or comparative safety figure at all. What you can compare is how each tool works. Valley's published approach is infrastructure (dedicated IPs, safety rails) backed by insurance (the refund). Nova's is behaviour: a warm-up ramp for new accounts, a profile view and a like before every invite, a separate daily budget per LinkedIn account that ramps weekly, and actions that wait for tomorrow once the budget is spent. A refund pays you back after a suspension, but the restriction itself still costs you pipeline and network. We would rather you never need the refund.
Choose Valley if
- Your LinkedIn activity already brings in steady profile views, post engagement and followers, and you want them worked automatically.
- You want the least operator time possible and are comfortable with messages sending without review, or you want outreach done for you (Valley Studios).
- Your team runs on Pipedrive, or a 5x refund guarantee on suspension matters to you.
Choose Nova if
- You want to read and approve every AI-written message, connection note and voice note before it goes out under your name.
- You want each lead warmed up with a view and a like before the invite, and a daily budget for each LinkedIn account that is never pooled across senders.
- You want email from your own mailbox alongside LinkedIn, plus a unified inbox and Content Studio, in one tool.
- You want a lower entry price: $99 a month per sender against Valley's $149–199 (as listed in August 2026).
The quickest test is to run both trials against the same ICP and compare what lands in your queue. Nova's trial needs no card, and your first payment carries a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the safety section for how it works and what Nova costs per sender, then Start free trial. For what the queue looks like once it is running, the customer stories cover who each team was reaching and how they set it up.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nova cheaper than Valley?
Yes, at the entry tier. Nova Growth is $99/mo per sender; Valley's Everything plan is $149/mo billed quarterly or $199/mo month to month. Valley's Everything+Deep tier is $419–499/mo, and Valley Studios, its done-for-you service, is $1,499/mo. Nova's Agency plan is $399/mo including 5 senders, plus $69/mo per extra sender, and both Nova plans include every feature. Nova's own done-for-you service is $1,500/mo. Valley figures are as listed in August 2026, so check both pricing pages before you decide. Nova offers a 7-day trial and Valley a 7-day one, and the fairest test is to run both against the same ICP.
Does Nova or Valley require human approval before messages send?
Nova does. Every AI-written connection note, message, comment and voice note waits in an approval queue until you okay it. Valley's public pages stress automation depth (AI research across hundreds of data points, messages drafted in your voice, follow-ups and reply routing handled) and do not describe a mandatory approval step (as of August 2026; check their current docs, as this may change). If you want the most personalised touches for the least of your time, Valley's automated flow is the appeal. If nothing should go out under your name before you have read it, the approval queue is the reason to pick Nova.
Related comparisons
- Nova vs HeyReach — multi-sender scale vs depth per account
- Nova vs Expandi — the safety head-to-head
- Nova vs Dripify — simple drip sequencer vs the full system
- Best LinkedIn outreach tools 2026 — all 8 tools ranked by account safety, verified pricing
- LinkedIn connection request limits — the ceiling every tool on this page shares, and why no plan raises it
- Nova customer stories — how teams actually run this
- All comparisons · The account safety guide behind this page's argument
Valley is a trademark of its respective owner. Nova is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Valley. All third-party information on this page comes from publicly available sources — primarily joinvalley.co — as of the verification date shown above, and may have changed since. If you represent Valley and believe anything here is inaccurate or outdated, email hello@joinnova.ai and we will review and correct it promptly.
