Instantly vs Smartlead
The two cold email tools most often shortlisted together. Both offer unlimited mailboxes and warmup with published monthly prices; the plan limits are what differ.
| Instantly | Smartlead | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Cold email platform with unlimited sending accounts and warmup, a lead database, an AI reply agent and a built-in CRM. | Cold email automation with unlimited mailboxes, warmup, mailbox rotation, unified inbox, and a white-label client workspace for agencies. |
| Pricing | Outreach: Growth $47/mo (5,000 emails/mo, 1,000 contacts), Hypergrowth $97/mo (125,000 emails/mo, 25,000 contacts), Light Speed $358/mo (500,000 emails/mo); Enterprise: custom; lead credits sold separately | Base $39/mo, Pro $94/mo, Smart $174/mo, Prime $379/mo billed monthly ($32, $78, $144, $315/mo billed yearly); add-ons extra |
| Pricing model | Public pricing | Public pricing |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Unknown | Yes |
| HubSpot | Yes | Yes |
| Salesforce | Unknown | Yes |
| Last checked | 2026-10-17 | 2026-10-17 |
| Source | instantly.ai | smartlead.ai |
Prices as shown on each vendor's site on 2026-10-17. Vendors change prices often, so confirm before you buy.Some links are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no cost to you. It never affects rankings.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Instantly if…
you want a lead database, AI reply agent and built-in CRM next to sending, and HubSpot is your CRM.
Pick Smartlead if…
you run outbound for several clients (white-label workspaces) or need confirmed Salesforce as well as HubSpot integration, and want yearly pricing from $32/mo.
Smartlead: Buy for sending at volume. Its API and webhooks make it easy to route replies and sync activity to the CRM with n8n.
Read the full build-vs-buy guide for Outbound & Sequencing →
FAQ
Does Instantly or Smartlead publish its pricing?
Instantly: yes. Outreach: Growth $47/mo (5,000 emails/mo, 1,000 contacts), Hypergrowth $97/mo (125,000 emails/mo, 25,000 contacts), Light Speed $358/mo (500,000 emails/mo); Enterprise: custom; lead credits sold separately. Smartlead: yes. Base $39/mo, Pro $94/mo, Smart $174/mo, Prime $379/mo billed monthly ($32, $78, $144, $315/mo billed yearly); add-ons extra. Checked 2026-10-17 on the vendors' pricing pages.
Do Instantly and Smartlead work with HubSpot and Salesforce?
Instantly: HubSpot yes, Salesforce unknown. Smartlead: HubSpot yes, Salesforce yes. "Unknown" means we could not confirm it on the vendor's site.
Is there a free plan for Instantly or Smartlead?
Instantly: No. Smartlead: No.
Should I build this in n8n instead of buying Instantly or Smartlead?
Instantly: Buy the sending infrastructure; mailbox rotation, warmup and deliverability are not a DIY job. Use n8n to push positive replies into your CRM and Slack. Smartlead: Buy for sending at volume. Its API and webhooks make it easy to route replies and sync activity to the CRM with n8n.
Keep comparing
Instantly
Cold email platform with unlimited sending accounts and warmup, a lead database, an AI reply agent and a built-in CRM.
Smartlead
Cold email automation with unlimited mailboxes, warmup, mailbox rotation, unified inbox, and a white-label client workspace for agencies.