Abstract This manuscript concentrates on the problem of designing a sampled data controller (SDC) for the consensus of a fractional-order multi-agent system (FOMAS) with Lipschitz non-linearity via an algebraic approach. The solution of the FOMAS is represented by using the Laplace transform approach. An upper bound of the sampling period is determined through various integral inequality techniques. Distinguished from the existing works, the estimate for an upper bound is more accurate which involves the Lipschitz constant of the non-linear function. Finally, numerical examples are given to validate the correctness of results. Furthermore, the comparison results are presented to show the proposed method determines a better upper bound of the sampling period.