Lemlist Review: Is This Cold Outreach Tool Worth $69+/Month?
Lemlist has become one of the go-to names in cold email and sales outreach. But with plans starting at $69/user/month and quickly climbing higher, you need to know if it's actually worth the investment for your team.
I've dug through the pricing, tested the features, and compared it to the alternatives. Here's what you need to know before signing up.
What Is Lemlist?
Lemlist is a sales engagement platform that combines cold email outreach with LinkedIn automation, cold calling, and lead generation. It started as an email personalization tool back in 2018 but has grown into a full multichannel outreach platform used by over 37,000 businesses.
The core selling points are:
- Multichannel sequences (email, LinkedIn, calls)
- Advanced email personalization with dynamic images
- Built-in lead database with 450M+ contacts
- Email warmup tool (lemwarm) included in plans
- CRM integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive
Lemlist Pricing Breakdown
Lemlist offers four pricing tiers. All prices are per user, per month, and you can get 10% off with quarterly billing or 20% off with annual billing.
Email Starter - $39/month
The entry-level plan for basic email campaigns. You get:
- 1 sending email address
- Unlimited email campaigns
- AI-generated sequences
- 750 credits/month for email finder and verification
- Access to the 450M+ lead database
This is fine if you're just getting started, but you'll quickly outgrow it. The 750 credits only gets you about 150 verified emails per month, which isn't much for serious outreach.
Email Pro - $69/month
This is where most users start. It adds:
- 3 sending email addresses
- 1,000 credits/month
- CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive)
- Custom image personalization
- A/B testing
- API access
If you're doing email-only outreach, this is the sweet spot. You get the personalization features that make Lemlist stand out.
Multichannel Expert - $99/month
The most popular plan. Everything in Email Pro plus:
- 5 sending email addresses
- 1,500 credits/month
- LinkedIn outreach automation
- LinkedIn voice messages
- Cold calling integration
- Custom landing pages
- Advanced campaign conditions
If you want the full multichannel experience, this is it. You can run coordinated campaigns across email, LinkedIn, and phone from one sequence.
Enterprise - Custom Pricing
For larger teams (minimum 5 seats, annual billing only). Includes:
- 2,500 credits/month per user
- Unlimited guest seats
- Dedicated account manager
- Priority support
- Custom onboarding
- SSO/SAML login
Hidden Costs to Watch
The per-seat pricing adds up fast. If you have a 5-person sales team on the Multichannel Expert plan, you're looking at $495/month. Plus:
- Extra sending email addresses cost $9/month each
- Additional credits cost $0.01 each ($1 = 100 credits)
- One credit = one email found, or 5 credits = one phone number
Some users report that costs mount up quickly once you start using the platform seriously, especially if you burn through credits fast.
What Lemlist Does Well
Personalization That Actually Works
Lemlist's biggest strength is personalization at scale. You can create custom images that automatically populate with lead-specific details - their name, company logo, LinkedIn photo, even website screenshots. This helps cold emails feel less mass-produced.
The AI variables let you create dynamic intro lines based on job title, industry, or recent activity. When done right, 78% of satisfied users cite email personalization as the feature they appreciate most.
Multichannel Sequences
The sequence builder lets you combine email, LinkedIn actions (profile visits, connection requests, messages, voice notes), and call reminders in one workflow. Everything is visualized in a flowchart layout, so you can see exactly where each prospect is in your funnel.
For managers, this visibility is valuable - you can track who's doing what and which sequences perform best without jumping between tools.
Deliverability Features
Every Lemlist plan includes access to lemwarm, their email warmup tool. It automatically sends emails to a network of verified accounts to build your sender reputation. You also get:
- SPF, DKIM, DMARC checks before launch
- Spam score monitoring
- Inbox rotation across multiple sending addresses
- Custom tracking domains
Built-in Lead Database
The 450M+ contact database means you can prospect and launch campaigns without leaving Lemlist. Filters include job title, company size, industry, location, and intent signals like hiring status or recent funding.
Where Lemlist Falls Short
Pricing Gets Expensive Fast
This is the most common complaint. The per-user pricing model punishes growing teams. Adding sending accounts costs extra. Credits run out. Some users feel the initial pricing seems affordable, but costs quickly mount once you use the platform seriously.
Competitors like Instantly and Smartlead offer unlimited email accounts on flat-fee pricing, which scales better for high-volume senders.
Learning Curve for Advanced Features
The basic features are straightforward, but conditional logic, complex sequences, and advanced reporting can be steep for newcomers. Some users find the personalization options overwhelming at first.
No Email Attachments
Lemlist doesn't let you attach files to emails. If you want to send a PDF or presentation, you'll need to upload it somewhere else and link to it. This limits engagement tracking on documents.
LinkedIn Analytics Are Basic
While Lemlist handles LinkedIn outreach, the analytics don't go deep. You won't get detailed engagement metrics or tracking for LinkedIn interactions the way specialized LinkedIn tools do.
Mixed Support Reviews
Support experiences vary widely. Some users praise quick, helpful responses. Others report frustration with getting issues resolved, especially on lower-tier plans which have limited access to dedicated support.
Lemlist vs The Competition
Lemlist vs Instantly
Instantly focuses purely on cold email at scale. Key differences:
- Pricing: Instantly allows unlimited email accounts on all plans. Lemlist charges per seat and per additional inbox.
- Multichannel: Lemlist wins here with native LinkedIn and calling. Instantly is email-only.
- Personalization: Lemlist's dynamic images and landing pages are more advanced. Instantly has AI sequence generation but less visual personalization.
- Best for: Choose Instantly if you want to scale email volume without per-seat costs. Choose Lemlist if you need true multichannel campaigns with advanced personalization.
Lemlist vs Smartlead
Smartlead is another email-first platform focused on deliverability:
- Pricing: Smartlead starts at $33/month with unlimited mailboxes and warmups. More affordable for high-volume sending.
- Lead Database: Lemlist includes 450M+ contacts. Smartlead has no native database - you need external lead sources.
- Personalization: Lemlist's custom images and dynamic landing pages beat Smartlead's basic personalization.
- Multichannel: Smartlead supports WhatsApp, Twitter, SMS. Lemlist does email, LinkedIn, and calls.
- Best for: Choose Smartlead for high-volume email with unlimited accounts. Choose Lemlist for personalization-heavy multichannel campaigns.
Lemlist vs Reply.io
Reply.io is a close competitor with similar multichannel capabilities. Reply includes SMS and WhatsApp in addition to email and LinkedIn, plus an AI reply agent for automated response handling. Pricing is comparable, so it often comes down to which interface you prefer.
Who Should Use Lemlist?
Good fit if you:
- Run multichannel outreach across email, LinkedIn, and phone
- Value advanced personalization (custom images, dynamic variables)
- Have a budget of $69+/user/month
- Want lead finding and outreach in one platform
- Need CRM integration with HubSpot or Salesforce
Not ideal if you:
- Need to scale with unlimited inboxes on a tight budget
- Focus primarily on high-volume email without multichannel
- Have a small team sensitive to per-seat pricing
- Need deep LinkedIn analytics
Getting Started With Lemlist
Lemlist offers a 14-day free trial on the Multichannel Expert plan - no credit card required. This gives you access to most features so you can test whether it fits your workflow.
The onboarding wizard walks you through company size, role, and use case to customize your experience. Most users find the initial setup straightforward, though advanced features take more time to master.
Start your free Lemlist trial here →
The Bottom Line
Lemlist is a solid choice for sales teams that need multichannel outreach with serious personalization capabilities. The combination of email, LinkedIn automation, calling, and a built-in lead database is genuinely useful for running coordinated campaigns.
The catch is price. At $69-$99/user/month, costs add up quickly for growing teams. If you're purely focused on email volume, tools like Instantly or Smartlead offer better value with unlimited accounts.
But if personalization and multichannel sequences are core to your strategy, Lemlist delivers features that most competitors can't match. The 14-day trial is free - worth testing to see if it fits your workflow.