Alternatives
Instantly alternatives for cold email in 2026
The best Instantly alternatives are ZicReach, Smartlead, lemlist, Apollo, Saleshandy and Woodpecker. ZicReach fits teams that want leads, sending and free unlimited warmup on one credit balance, with a free plan of 100 credits. Below: who each one fits, what their pricing pages listed and when to stay with Instantly.
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On this page
Facts checked on each vendor's site on .
Why look
When teams look beyond Instantly
Instantly is a solid tool. These are the needs that usually start the search.
One bill for leads and sending
Instantly sells sending and lead credits as separate plans, or together as a bundle. Some teams would rather have one balance that pays for both.
A free plan to start
Instantly's site says Start free. If you want a plan that stays free while you test, compare what each tool gives you without paying.
Other channels
If your buyers answer on LinkedIn or the phone, a multichannel tool may fit better than an email first one.
An AI agent that asks first
Some teams want an AI SDR that does the work but waits for a Confirm before anything sends or changes.
The alternatives
6 Instantly alternatives, and who each fits
ZicReach is our product, so it is first. Each card says who the tool fits, including when another one fits better.
1. ZicReach
Our productAn AI outbound platform: a built-in B2B lead database with waterfall enrichment, AI cold email with free unlimited AI warmup, Unibox and a CRM, built-in video meetings, workflows, and ZicAgent, an AI agent that does the work from a chat. Test a campaign on AI prospects in the AI Campaign Simulator before you send.
Fits best: Teams that want leads, sending, free unlimited warmup, replies and an AI agent that does the work from a chat, in one account on one credit balance, starting on a free plan. Test each campaign on AI prospects before you send.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $39 a month (Starter plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Yes, ZicBook: Find People, Find Companies, Find Jobs, lookalikes and Search Google
- Email warmup
- Free and unlimited on every plan, the free plan included, with AI written warmup emails
2. Smartlead
A cold email platform with unlimited email accounts on every plan, a Master Inbox, a warmup pool, client access and white label for agencies, and add-ons for deliverability tests, calls and mailboxes.
Fits best: Agencies that want unlimited mailboxes, client access and a white label add-on, and teams that want to buy deliverability testing, mailboxes and calling as add-ons.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $39 a month (Base plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- SmartProspect; price: check their site
- Email warmup
- Yes, with their own warmup pool
3. lemlist
A multichannel outreach platform: email, LinkedIn, calls and WhatsApp in one sequence, with a lead database, an email finder and verifier, lemwarm warmup, a unified inbox and lemAgent.
Fits best: Teams whose buyers answer on LinkedIn or the phone as often as on email, and who want those steps in the same sequence as their emails.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $69 a month (Email plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Yes, a large lead database; data uses credits
- Email warmup
- lemwarm, included in all plans
4. Apollo
A sales platform built around a large B2B contact and company database, with waterfall enrichment, email campaigns, a parallel dialer, a meetings scheduler, conversation intelligence and agents.
Fits best: Sales teams that prospect by phone as well as email, want call recording and conversation intelligence, and work mainly from a CRM such as Salesforce or HubSpot.
- Lowest listed paid price
- Check their site
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Yes, a large contact and company database
- Email warmup
- Domain warming, inbox rotation and reputation monitoring
5. Saleshandy
A cold email tool with unlimited email accounts and warmup at no extra cost, a unified inbox, API access and lead finder credits on every listed plan.
Fits best: Small teams that want a low entry price with lead finder credits, unlimited mailboxes and warmup in one plan.
- Lowest listed paid price
- $41 a month (Starter plan)
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Lead finder credits included (1,500 a month on Starter)
- Email warmup
- Unlimited mailboxes warmed at no extra cost
6. Woodpecker
A cold email tool with Email, Multichannel (email and LinkedIn) and LinkedIn plans, unlimited email accounts, warmups included and an Agency Panel add-on.
Fits best: Agencies that want per client billing through an agency panel, and teams that add LinkedIn steps to email.
- Lowest listed paid price
- Check their site
- Built-in B2B lead database
- Check their site
- Email warmup
- 3 warmups included on Email and Multichannel; more as an add-on
Only in ZicReach
Five things you only get in ZicReach
We did not see these listed on the other tools' sites when we checked on 23 October 2026. Some tools list AI agents, warmup or meeting tools of their own; the table shows what each one lists.
- ZicAgentAn AI agent inside ZicReach that does tasks for you from a chat: it builds campaigns, finds leads, edits tables and runs workflows, and asks before it changes anything.See how it works
- AI Campaign SimulatorTest a campaign before you send it on thousands of AI agents that act like your real prospects. See how they react and why, with a score and fixes.See how it works
- AI BoardAn AI whiteboard for plans and presentations. ZicAgent draws your ICP maps, personas and plans.See how it works
- Video meetings with recordingsMeet prospects in a built-in video room, record the call and share the recording with a link.See how it works
- Free AI warmupUnlimited warmup on every plan, the free plan included, with warmup emails written by AI. It never uses credits.See how it works
Side by side
Instantly and its alternatives, side by side
ZicReach is the first column. Scroll sideways on a phone, and open a group to see its rows. Check their site means we did not find it on that tool's pages.
Plans and price2 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Instantly | Smartlead | lemlist | Apollo | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan or trial | Free plan with 100 credits, no card needed | Says Start free, no card needed. Trial terms: check their site | Free trial on all plans, no card needed | 14 day free trial with 200 credits | Free plan; Gmail accounts only for email on free plans | 7 day free trial | 14 day trial or 500 cold emails, no card needed |
| Lowest listed paid price | $39 a month (Starter plan) | $47 a month (Outreach Growth plan) | $39 a month (Base plan) | $69 a month (Email plan) | Check their site | $41 a month (Starter plan) | Check their site |
AI that does the work3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Instantly | Smartlead | lemlist | Apollo | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key featureAI agent that does tasks for you from a chat | Yes, ZicAgent: builds campaigns, finds leads, edits tables and runs workflows from a chat, and asks before it changes anything | Lists AI Sales Agent and AI Reply Agent; tasks from a chat: check their site | Lists SmartAgents; tasks from a chat: check their site | Lists lemAgent; tasks from a chat: check their site | Lists agents that work in the background; tasks from a chat: check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Key featureTest a campaign on AI prospects before you send | Yes, the AI Campaign Simulator: thousands of AI agents act like your real prospects, then you get a score and fixes | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| AI whiteboard for plans and presentations | Yes, AI Board: ZicAgent draws ICP maps, personas and plans | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
AI Leads Engine7 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Instantly | Smartlead | lemlist | Apollo | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in B2B lead database | Yes, ZicBook: Find People, Find Companies, Find Jobs, lookalikes and Search Google | Yes, through separate credits plans or bundles | SmartProspect; price: check their site | Yes, a large lead database; data uses credits | Yes, a large contact and company database | Lead finder credits included (1,500 a month on Starter) | Check their site |
| Waterfall enrichment across many providers | Yes, a waterfall across many data providers | Waterfall email enrichment on credits plans | Check their site | Lead data enrichment add-on, $20 a month | Yes, waterfall enrichment | Check their site | Check their site |
| Lead enrichment and email verification | Yes, enrich each lead and verify every email | Check their site | Verified emails included (2,000 a month on Base) | Email finder and verifier listed | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| AI personalization fields and icebreakers | Yes, AI fields and icebreakers for each lead | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| AI agents that research and qualify leads | Yes, AI agents research and qualify each lead | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Signals: job changes, hiring, intent | Yes, job changes, hiring and intent | Check their site | Check their site | Buying intent signals add-on, $29 a month | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Spreadsheet tables with AI columns | Yes, spreadsheet style tables with AI columns and formulas | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
AI Email Marketing10 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Instantly | Smartlead | lemlist | Apollo | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI writes the whole sequence | Yes, AI writes the whole sequence | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| An email written for each prospect | Yes, a new email written for each prospect | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Email warmup | Free and unlimited on every plan, the free plan included, with AI written warmup emails | Unlimited on outreach plans, with their deliverability network | Yes, with their own warmup pool | lemwarm, included in all plans | Domain warming, inbox rotation and reputation monitoring | Unlimited mailboxes warmed at no extra cost | 3 warmups included on Email and Multichannel; more as an add-on |
| Sending mailboxes | Gmail, Outlook, Zoho, Hostinger or any SMTP and IMAP mailbox | Unlimited email accounts | Unlimited email accounts on all plans | Email plan: unlimited users and senders; Multichannel: 5 senders per user | Check their site | Unlimited email accounts | Unlimited email accounts |
| AI reply agent | Yes, an AI reply agent | Yes, AI Reply Agent | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Unified inbox for replies | Yes, Unibox | Yes, Unibox | Yes, Master Inbox | Yes, Unified Inbox | Check their site | Yes, unified inbox on every listed plan | Yes, a centralized inbox |
| Inbox placement | Yes, by mailbox provider, read from engagement, no seed lists | Inbox Placement listed as a product | SmartDelivery add-on, from $49 a month | Deliverability Hub with monitoring and alerts | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Domain and deliverability checks | Yes, MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC and blocklist checks for every domain | Check their site | Check their site | Deliverability Hub with monitoring and alerts | Reputation monitoring listed | Check their site | Check their site |
| Campaign automations and A/B tests | Yes, campaign automations and A/B tests | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| CRM | Built in, with a pipeline: a deal opens from every Interested reply | Yes, listed as a product | Integrated CRM | Integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive and Attio | Works from your CRM (Salesforce and HubSpot named); own CRM: check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
Other channels3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Instantly | Smartlead | lemlist | Apollo | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone calls | No | Check their site | Through the SmartDialer add-on | Built-in calling on the Multichannel plan | Yes, Parallel Dialer | Check their site | Check their site |
| SMS and WhatsApp | Through workflows, with your own Twilio account | Check their site | Check their site | WhatsApp on the Multichannel plan; SMS: check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| LinkedIn steps | No | Check their site | Check their site | LinkedIn automation on the Multichannel plan | Check their site | Check their site | On the Multichannel and LinkedIn plans |
Automation3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Instantly | Smartlead | lemlist | Apollo | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agentic workflows with app integrations | Yes, a visual builder with 30+ app integrations, like n8n | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Public REST API and webhooks | Yes, public REST API and webhooks | API listed; webhooks: check their site | Yes, APIs and webhooks | Yes, API reference published | Yes, API docs published | Yes, on every listed plan | In the API, webhooks, MCP and CLI add-on |
| MCP server | Yes, with guides for 24 AI clients | Check their site | Yes, Smartlead MCP | Yes, lemlist MCP | Yes, Apollo MCP | Check their site | In the API, webhooks, MCP and CLI add-on |
Meetings3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Instantly | Smartlead | lemlist | Apollo | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meeting booking pages | Yes, booking pages | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Meetings Scheduler | Check their site | Check their site |
| Built-in video meetings | Yes, video meetings in the browser | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Call recording with a share link | Yes, record calls and share a link | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Call recording on the Professional plan; share link: check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
Teams and agencies3 rows
| Feature | ZicReach | Instantly | Smartlead | lemlist | Apollo | Saleshandy | Woodpecker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agencies and white label | A workspace per client; white label on Scale | Agency bundle listed; white label: check their site | Client access; white label add-on at $29 a month per client workspace | Check their site | Check their site | White label on Enterprise | Agency Panel and white label add-ons, priced per active client |
| Team roles | Yes, owner, admin, member and viewer | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
| Two-step login | Yes, two-step login | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site | Check their site |
Fair to say
When Instantly is still the better choice
Switching is not always right. Stay with Instantly if one of these is you.
- You send at very high volume and want unlimited email accounts and warmup on an outreach plan.
- You already use Unibox, their CRM and their AI Reply Agent, and your team knows them well.
- You want an established tool with a long track record. ZicReach is newer.
Sources. Facts about Instantly, Smartlead, lemlist, Apollo, Saleshandy and Woodpecker were read on each tool's own pricing and product pages on 23 October 2026. Prices are as listed then, in US dollars, monthly billing unless noted. Where a fact was not on their site, the cell says Check their site. ZicReach facts come from our pricing and product pages. Product names belong to their owners; no endorsement is implied.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Short answers about Instantly alternatives.
What is the best Instantly alternative?
It depends on what you miss. ZicReach fits if you want leads, sending and warmup on one credit balance with a free plan. Smartlead fits agencies that want white label. lemlist fits LinkedIn and calls. Apollo fits phone heavy sales teams.
Is there a free Instantly alternative?
ZicReach has a free plan with 100 credits and unlimited email warmup, with no card needed. Apollo lists a free plan too. Smartlead, lemlist, Saleshandy and Woodpecker list free trials.
Which Instantly alternative has a built-in lead database?
ZicReach (ZicBook), Apollo and lemlist list a lead database, and Saleshandy includes lead finder credits. Smartlead lists SmartProspect. Instantly itself sells lead data as credits plans.
Do these tools include email warmup?
Yes, each lists warmup in some form. In ZicReach it is free and unlimited on every plan. Woodpecker lists 3 warmups on its Email plan, with more as an add-on.
How did you check these facts?
We read each tool's own pricing and product pages on 23 October 2026. Prices and plans change, so check their site before you buy.
Can I move my campaigns from Instantly to ZicReach?
Yes. Export your leads as a CSV and import them into a ZicReach table, connect your mailboxes over SMTP and IMAP, and rebuild your steps in a campaign or ask ZicAgent to draft them.