Best Lemlist Alternatives: Honest Comparison for Cold Email Outreach
Lemlist is a solid cold email tool with strong personalization features and multichannel capabilities. But at $69/month per user just for email (and $99/month for multichannel), it's not cheap. And once you factor in the per-seat pricing model and credit add-ons, costs can spiral quickly for growing teams.
If you're looking for alternatives—whether because of price, features, or scalability—here's a no-BS breakdown of the best options.
Why People Switch From Lemlist
Before we dive in, let's be clear about what makes people look elsewhere:
- Per-user pricing: Lemlist charges per seat, which gets expensive fast if you have a team
- Limited sending addresses: You get 3 email addresses on Email Pro, 5 on Multichannel Expert
- Credit consumption: Lead finder credits run out quickly—additional credits cost $0.01 each
- No A/B testing on lower plans: You can't A/B test copies on the Email Pro plan
That said, Lemlist does excel at visual personalization with custom images and videos, and the multichannel features (LinkedIn, calls, WhatsApp) are genuinely useful if you'll use them.
1. Instantly.ai – Best for High-Volume Email at Scale
If you're sending serious volume and want to avoid per-seat pricing, Instantly is the go-to choice. It's built specifically for cold email at scale.
Pricing
- Growth: $37/month (or $30/month billed annually) – 1,000 contacts, 5,000 emails/month
- Hypergrowth: $97/month ($77.60/month annual) – 25,000 contacts, 125,000 emails/month
- Light Speed: $358/month – Enterprise features with SISR and private IP pools
What's Good
- Unlimited email accounts and warmup included on every plan
- Flat-fee pricing—no per-seat costs as you add inboxes
- 450M+ lead database available (separate pricing)
- Native A/B testing, AI personalization, and spintax
- Unified inbox (Unibox) for managing replies
What's Not
- No LinkedIn or calling features—email only
- Lead database is a separate product (starts around $47/month)
- Full reply functionality requires Hypergrowth plan or higher
- UI feels basic compared to Lemlist
Best For
Agencies and teams sending thousands of emails daily who need deliverability at scale without paying per seat. If you're email-first and don't need LinkedIn automation, Instantly offers better value than Lemlist for high-volume outreach.
2. Smartlead – Best Budget Option for Cold Email
Smartlead has become the darling of cold email agencies because of its aggressive pricing and unlimited mailboxes. It's laser-focused on email deliverability.
Pricing
- Basic: $39/month – 2,000 active leads, 6,000 emails/month
- Pro: $94/month – 30,000 active leads, 150,000 emails/month
- Custom: Starting at $174/month – Up to 12M leads and 60M emails
Add-ons: LinkedIn automation is $59/month per account. Client accounts for agencies are $29/month each.
What's Good
- Unlimited email accounts and warmup on all plans
- Dynamic IP addresses and mailbox rotation
- Centralized master inbox for all conversations
- Whitelabeling for agencies (Pro plan includes one free client)
- More affordable than Lemlist for similar email features
What's Not
- Lead limits are hard caps—you need to delete leads to add new ones
- No built-in spam checker before sending
- LinkedIn is a paid add-on, not native
- UI feels dated compared to competitors
- Some users report bugs and cache issues
Best For
Solopreneurs and small agencies who want maximum email volume at minimum cost. If you're running cold email campaigns and don't need a massive lead database or CRM built in, Smartlead delivers solid value.
3. Reply.io – Best for True Multichannel Sales
Reply.io is closer to a full sales engagement platform than just a cold email tool. It includes email, LinkedIn, calls, SMS, and WhatsApp in one system.
Pricing
- Email Volume: Starting at $59/month – 1,000 active contacts, unlimited mailboxes and warmup
- Starter: $49/user/month – Email automation, 1 mailbox, 5,000 data credits
- Professional: $89/user/month – Multichannel automation, 10 mailboxes, LinkedIn + calls + SMS
Agency plans available with flexible pricing. AI SDR plans start at $800/month.
What's Good
- True multichannel—email, LinkedIn, calls, SMS, WhatsApp
- 1 billion+ B2B contacts database
- Jason AI handles automated responses and meeting booking
- Unlimited email warmup included
- Strong CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive)
What's Not
- Per-user pricing on most plans adds up quickly
- Steep learning curve—lots of features can overwhelm beginners
- Email verification is a paid extra ($5 for 1,000 emails)
- Advanced deliverability features only on expensive plans
- LinkedIn and calls are add-ons on lower tiers
Best For
Sales teams already running multichannel outreach who want everything in one platform. If you're actively using LinkedIn messages, calls, and SMS alongside email, Reply.io consolidates it all. But if you're email-only, it's overkill.
4. Apollo.io – Best for Prospecting + Outreach Combined
Apollo.io is more of a sales intelligence platform with outreach built in. If you need prospecting data and email sequences in one place, it's worth considering.
Pricing
- Free: 100 credits/month, basic features
- Basic: $49/user/month – 900 credits/month, unlimited sequences
- Professional: $79/user/month – 1,200 credits/month, A/B testing, calling
- Organization: $119/user/month (min 3 users) – 2,400 credits/month, advanced security
What's Good
- Massive B2B database with contact and company data
- Prospecting and outreach in one tool
- Built-in dialer and call recording
- Intent data and technographic filters
- Free plan is actually usable for testing
What's Not
- Credit system is confusing and credits run out fast
- No unified inbox—managing conversations is clunky
- Per-user pricing + credit costs = unpredictable bills
- Email deliverability isn't as strong as dedicated cold email tools
- Additional credits cost $0.20 each
Best For
SDRs and small teams who need a combined prospecting and outreach tool. Apollo shines at finding contacts—the email sequencing is functional but not best-in-class. Pair it with a dedicated cold email tool if you're doing serious volume.
Quick Comparison Table
| Tool | Starting Price | Best For | Email Accounts | Multichannel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lemlist | $69/user/mo | Personalized outreach | 3-5 per user | Yes (LinkedIn, calls) |
| Instantly | $30/mo | High-volume email | Unlimited | No |
| Smartlead | $39/mo | Budget cold email | Unlimited | Add-on ($59/mo) |
| Reply.io | $49/user/mo | Multichannel sales | Varies by plan | Yes |
| Apollo.io | $49/user/mo | Prospecting + outreach | Unlimited (Gmail/Microsoft) | Yes (calls) |
My Recommendations
For high-volume cold email agencies: Go with Instantly or Smartlead. Both offer unlimited mailboxes and flat-rate pricing that won't blow up your budget as you scale.
For sales teams needing multichannel: Reply.io is the most complete solution if you're actively using LinkedIn, calls, and SMS. Yes, it's per-user pricing, but you get everything in one platform.
For solopreneurs on a budget: Smartlead's Basic plan at $39/month gives you unlimited mailboxes and warmup—hard to beat for the price.
For teams who need prospecting + outreach: Apollo.io makes sense if you're currently paying separately for a data provider and an outreach tool. Just watch those credit costs.
Staying with Lemlist? If you value the visual personalization features (custom images, landing pages) and are actively using multichannel outreach, Lemlist is still a solid choice. The 14-day free trial lets you test everything before committing.
Related Comparisons
Looking for more options? Check out our guides on best CRM software to pair with your outreach stack, or our Close CRM review if you need a CRM built specifically for sales teams.