Best Cold Email Software (2026)
Quick Take
We tested and scored 8 cold email tools on pricing, features, deliverability, and ease of use. Whether you're a solo founder or an agency sending 100K emails/month, there's a tool here for you.
Our Top Picks at a Glance
| # | Tool | Best For | Starting Price | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Instantly.ai | Best overall for volume | $37/mo | 7.5/10 |
| 2 | Lemlist | Best for personalization | $39/mo | 8.0/10 |
| 3 | Smartlead | Best Instantly alternative | $39/mo | 7.4/10 |
| 4 | SalesHandy | Best built-in lead finder | $36/mo | 7.8/10 |
| 5 | Woodpecker | Best for agencies | $Custom/mo | 7.2/10 |
| 6 | GMass | Best for Gmail users | $0/mo | 7.2/10 |
1. Instantly.ai | Best overall for volume
Cold email platform built for sending at scale. Unlimited email accounts, built-in warmup, and a B2B lead database. Popular with agencies and high-volume senders for its aggressive pricing.
Our take: Unlimited accounts, built-in warmup, and aggressive pricing. The default choice for high-volume cold email.
Instantly.ai Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | $37 | $30/mo |
| Hypergrowth | $97 | $77/mo |
| Light Speed | $358 | $286/mo |
2. Lemlist | Best for personalization
Cold email and LinkedIn outreach platform with AI-powered personalization, image personalization, and multichannel sequences. Strong deliverability features including built-in warmup via Lemwarm.
Our take: Image/video personalization and LinkedIn steps set Lemlist apart. Higher per-user cost is worth it for quality-over-quantity campaigns.
Lemlist Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Email Starter | $39 | $32/mo |
| Email Pro | $69 | $55/mo |
| Multichannel Expert | $99 | $79/mo |
3. Smartlead | Best Instantly alternative
Cold email infrastructure platform with unlimited mailboxes, built-in warmup, and a unified inbox. Competes directly with Instantly.ai on features and pricing.
Our take: Nearly identical to Instantly with a better unified inbox and API. Strong choice if you want more flexibility.
Smartlead Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | $33/mo |
| Pro | $94 | $79/mo |
| Custom | $174 | $146/mo |
4. SalesHandy | Best built-in lead finder
Cold email automation with unlimited email accounts, email tracking, and a B2B lead finder. Competitive pricing and agency-friendly features make it a strong Instantly alternative.
Our take: The only cold email tool with a solid B2B lead database baked in. Good for teams that don't want a separate data provider.
SalesHandy Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Outreach Starter | $36 | $25/mo |
| Outreach Pro | $99 | $74/mo |
| Outreach Scale | $199 | $149/mo |
| Outreach Scale Plus | $299 | $219/mo |
5. Woodpecker | Best for agencies
Cold email tool designed for B2B companies and agencies. Clean interface, solid deliverability, and agency-friendly features like client management. European-made with strong GDPR compliance.
Our take: Client panels, white-label, and GDPR compliance. Built specifically for agencies managing multiple client campaigns.
Woodpecker Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Custom | Custom | — |
| Cold Email | $29 | $25/mo |
| Agency | $49 | $42/mo |
6. GMass | Best for Gmail users
Gmail-native mail merge and cold email tool. Lives entirely inside Gmail. no separate platform to learn. Great for solopreneurs and small teams who don't want another SaaS login.
Our take: Lives inside Gmail. no new tool to learn. Perfect for solopreneurs who want to send cold email without leaving their inbox.
GMass Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | — |
| Standard | $25 | $20/mo |
| Premium | $35 | $28/mo |
| Team | $125 | — |
How We Ranked These Tools
Tools were scored using our weighted algorithm across features (30%), pricing (25%), ease of use (20%), integrations (15%), and support (10%). All pricing verified as of February 2026.
Read our full scoring methodology for details.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best cold email software in 2026?
Instantly.ai is our top pick for most users — unlimited email accounts, built-in warmup, and the best price-to-value ratio. Lemlist is best for personalized campaigns.
What is the best cold email software in 2026?
Instantly.ai is our top pick for most users. unlimited email accounts, built-in warmup, and the best price-to-value ratio. Lemlist is best for personalized campaigns.
How much does cold email software cost?
Cold email tools range from $25/mo (GMass) to $99+/mo (Lemlist Multichannel). Most fall in the $35-100/mo range. Instantly and Smartlead offer the best value for volume senders.
How much does cold email software cost?
Cold email tools range from $25/mo (GMass) to $99+/mo (Lemlist Multichannel). Most fall in the $35-100/mo range. Instantly and Smartlead offer the best value for volume senders.