Cold outreach could feel like a shot in the dark.

You send countless emails, spend a lot of time and money hoping for a response, and often hear nothing back.

The right tool can change that. Turn cold email outreach into a strategic, data-driven process.

Instead of hoping for the best, you can take advantage of in-depth analytics, AI generators, A/B testing, and lead enrichment.

We’ve analyzed 10+ top cold outreach tools to help you choose the best fit. Here’s a breakdown of their key features:

Software Free Trial or Plan Entry Price (yearly billed) Warm-Up Lead Database Enrichment Email Linkedln AI
lemlist $32/mo
Snov.io $30/mo
Waalaxy $56/mo
Woodpecker $54/mo
Milkshake $58/mo
La Growth Machine €50/mo
Overloop $49/mo
Klenty $50/mo
Instantly $30/mo
Amplemarket on request
Apollo $49/mo

What we figured out by researching the market’s best cold email software:

The Ultimate List of Top 10+ Best Cold Email Software

1. lemlist

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Capterra – 4.6/5 (370 reviews) │ Product Hunt – 4.9/5 (425 votes)

Overview

lemlist is an advanced sales engagement platform designed to help users find, engage, and convert their ideal buyers across multiple channels. Here’s how

Find leads in the lead database or LinkedIn

Access lemlist’s AI-powered B2B database of 450 million+ contacts, narrow your search with 20+ filters, and find the most profitable prospects in seconds!

You can also use the lemlist Chrome extension to gather contacts from LinkedIn directly from the lemlist app and send them to your outreach campaign.

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Get leads’ verified emails and information

Find directly in lemlist your contacts’ valid and verified email addresses and information, such as their company name, industry, and more!

Create campaigns that stand out

Thanks to lemlist’s custom variables, you can customize at scale parts of text, images, and even landing pages!

P.S. To save hours on campaign creation, utilize the power of AI with lemlist’s AI and generate personalized icebreakers and complete sequences in under a minute!

Follow up on multiple channels

You can add automated and manual steps to reach your leads on their preferred channel such as email, LinkedIn, phone, or similar.

Tailor your outreach process at scale to automatically respond to each prospect’s interaction with the advanced conditions step!

You can also combine different lemlist accounts as senders into 1 campaign and reach out to 2x, 3x, and 4x more leads without the risk of landing in spam.

Track all your interactions in a Unified Inbox 

You don’t have to jump from one inbox to another trying to track down specific messages or interactions.

With the Unified Inbox you can see all of your interactions via email or LinkedIn in one unique inbox. You will be able to see opened emails, received and sent messages, and added notes for each contact. 

Ensure to land in prospects’ inboxes

For each paid lemlist seat, you’ll get free access to lemwarm – a warm-up and deliverability booster that ensures high deliverability for the long run!

Keep up with top industry practices

lemlist will get you more than just software – you can get access to top-notch playbooks, masterclasses, private communities, expert advice, templates, and much more! For free.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

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✅ Pros

  • AI-Powered Campaigns: lemlist’s AI helps in creating highly personalized multichannel campaigns.
  • Smart Enrichment: Extracts valid email addresses and LinkedIn information without relying on your LinkedIn profile.
  • Warm-up & Deliverability Booster: Ensures emails avoid spam folders and land in the recipient’s inbox.
  • Multichannel Outreach: Engage leads on their preferred channels, including email, LinkedIn, and more.
  • Integration with CRMs: Native integrations with popular CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.

❌ Cons

  • Some advanced features might be available only in higher-tier plans.
  • Integration with certain third-party tools might require additional setup.
Compare to lemlist

2. Snov.io

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 – 4.5/5 (280 reviews) │ Capterra – 4.6/5 (203 reviews)

Overview

With its award-winning features for lead generation, email verification, automated email outreach, email warm-up, and customer management, you can use Snov.io to automate and accelerate your sales at scale. Read our snov.io review to learn more about the tool.

Pricing & Functionalities

Free Trial Starter Plan: $30/mo Pro 5K Plan: $75/mo Managed Service
Free $30/mo $75/mo starting at $2,999/mo
     – Ideal to try out Snov.io sales pack
– 0 credits
– 100 email recipients
– Unlimited sender accounts
– Unlimited emails
– 1 mailbox warm-up
– Email Finder, Email Verifier, Email Warm-up, Drip Campaigns, Sales CRM
– Database lead search, Unlimited campaigns, Unlimited follow-ups, Chrome extensions, Custom tracking domain, HubSpot integration
     – All the core tools needed to set up steady sales
– 1,000 credits
– 5,000 email recipients
– Bulk lead search, Bulk verification, Email AI assistant
– Unlimited team seats
– Calendly, Pipedrive integrations
– 5,000+ integrations
– Engagement notifications
– Unlimited data export
– REST API and Webhooks
– Personal Implementation Manager
     – Pro choice for unlimited sales and business opportunities
– 5,000 credits
– 10,000 email recipients
– Includes everything in the Starter plan, plus:
– Email A/B testing
– Individual team member statistics
– Team permissions control
– Team data sharing
     – Email and LinkedIn outreach set up and managed for you
– Custom lead gen and outreach campaign
– 1,000+ SOM companies
– 1,000+ ICP contacts
– 1,000+ UVP messages
– AI playbook
– 20-40 meetings per quarter

✅ Pros

  • Comprehensive features even in the free trial plan.
  • Over 5k integrations, including popular tools like HubSpot and Pipedrive.
  • Offers a service for businesses that need email & LinkedIn outreach set and managed for them.
  • Recognized as a leader in Email Marketing and Email Verification by G2.

Cons

  • Issues with IMAP settings for receiving emails during Drip email campaigns.
  • No “Unsubscribe” link feature.
  • Does not show the contact’s most-used email address.
  • Some users might find the Managed Service pricing to be on the higher side.
Compare to lemlist

3. Waalaxy

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 – 4.8/5 (325 reviews) │ getapp – 4.4/5 (245 reviews)

Overview

Waalaxy is a tool designed to make LinkedIn a primary acquisition channel. It offers automated sales and recruitment prospecting solutions, making the process of reaching out to potential leads or candidates more streamlined and efficient.

Pricing & Functionalities

Free Plan€56/mo€80/mo
Free Plan Advanced Business
     – Automate LinkedIn invites, profile views, messages, and connecting
– 80 invitations per month
– Pre-filled message templates
     – Includes LinkedIn features from free plan
– 800 invitations per month
– Pre-filled message templates
– Cloud-based solution
– CRM Synchronization
– Auto-imports of prospects
     – Includes everything from the Advanced plan
– Cold emailing automation
– Find emails with Dropcontact integration

✅ Pros

  • LinkedIn Integration: Waalaxy offers seamless integration with LinkedIn, allowing users to automate their LinkedIn outreach effectively.
  • Multi-Channel Campaigns: Users can run campaigns not only on LinkedIn but also through cold emailing, maximizing their outreach potential.
  • Email Finder: Waalaxy provides an email finder tool that helps users find the email addresses of their LinkedIn contacts, making it easier to reach out to potential leads.
  • Automated Sequences: Users can set up automated sequences for sending invitations and messages on LinkedIn, saving time and effort.
  • Detailed Analytics: Waalaxy offers detailed analytics that allows users to track the performance of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

❌ Cons

  • Risk of LinkedIn Suspension: There’s a risk of LinkedIn account suspension when using automation tools like Waalaxy.
  • Limited Personalization Options: The tool offers limited variables for message personalization compared to other similar tools.
  • Pricing: Some users find Waalaxy to be on the pricier side compared to other similar tools.

Learn more about the tool in our Waalaxy review.

4. Woodpecker

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 – 4.2/5 (42 reviews) │ Capterra – 4.6/5 (31 reviews)

Overview

Woodpecker offers tools for sending cold emails, automating follow-ups, and achieving genuine responses. The platform is tailored to different needs, including individual cold emailers, sales teams, and agencies.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

Cold Email Sales Assistant Agency
$54/seat/mo $64/seat/mo $79/seat/mo
     – Mailbox Rotation
– Condition-based campaigns and manual tasks
– Free Warm-up and Recovery for each slot
– Free email list verification and validation
– Unlimited follow-ups and team members
– Deliverability Monitor and Bounce Shield
– Up to 1,500 new prospects contacted monthly
– A/B testing
– API keys and integrations
     – All features from Woodpecker Cold Email, plus
– LinkedIn Automation via Dux-Soup Turbo
– Unlimited follow-ups and team members
– Up to 1,500 new prospects contacted monthly
– A/B testing
– API keys and integrations
     – All features from Woodpecker Cold Email, plus
– Unlimited clients on one panel
– Deliverability Monitor for all clients’ accounts
– LinkedIn automation via Dux-Soup Turbo
– Dedicated reporting app for your clients
– Smart automation
– No monthly limit for contacting new prospects
– A/B testing
– API keys and integrations

✅ Pros

  • User-Friendly Interface: Woodpecker offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it simple for users to set up and manage campaigns.
  • Decision tree
  • Modular pricing
  • Combined billing

❌ Cons

  • Limited Built-in Templates: The platform could benefit from a wider variety of built-in email templates.
  • Poor personalization with fallback variables
  • Price: Some users feel that the pricing is a bit high, especially for smaller businesses or individual users.
Compare to lemlist

5. Mailshake

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 – 4.7/5 (236 reviews) │ Capterra – 4.6/5 (106 reviews)

Overview

Mailshake is a sales engagement platform designed to automate personalized cold email campaigns and follow-ups. It aims to help users generate leads, build relationships, and promote content.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: No

Email outreach Sales Engagement
$58/user/mo $84/seat/mo
     – Mail accounts from any provider
– Email warm-up service (normally $29/mo)
– Gmail / Outlook / SMTP
– Email personalization
– AI email writing with SHAKEspeare
– Advanced scheduling and throttling
– Automated email sequences
– Respond to leads (Lead Catcher)
– Salesforce / Pipedrive / Hubspot
– 1000+ integrations via Zapier
– A/B testing
– Prospects view
– 5k list-cleaning credits monthly
– 5k recipients per campaign
– Browser extension
– Email template management
– Email deliverability setup assistant
– Onboarding call
     – All Email outreach features, plus
– Power phone dialer
– LinkedIn automation
– Lead temperature
– 10k list-cleaning credits monthly
– 10k recipients per campaign
– Unlimited free dialer minutes to North American phone numbers
– Phone scripts
– Account level view and organization
– Create custom tasks
– Priority support

✅ Pros

  • Ease of Use: Mailshake boasts a user-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate, making campaign setup straightforward.
  • Integration Capabilities: It offers integrations with various CRM systems and tools, enhancing workflow efficiency.
  • Educational Resources: The platform offers a plethora of educational content, including webinars, tutorials, and templates, to help users optimize their outreach efforts.
  • Suitable for agencies: Great features for agencies (reporting, client onboarding).

❌ Cons

  • No free trial.
  • Limited Customization: Some users feel that the platform could offer more advanced customization options for emails.
  • Poor LinkedIn automation
Compare to lemlist

6. La Growth Machine

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.9/5 (38 reviews) │ Capterra- 4.9/5 (32 reviews)

Overview

La Growth Machine is a multichannel sales automation tool designed to enhance outreach efforts. It allows sales teams and professionals to automate their prospecting routine, reaching leads on platforms like LinkedIn, email, and Twitter. The goal is to generate more conversations and opportunities.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

Basic Pro Ultimate
50 euro/seat/mo 100 euro/seat/mo 150 euro/seat/mo
     – Multichannel (Email, LinkedIn, Twitter)
– Unlimited Enrichment
– Import from LinkedIn or CSV
– Linkedin Voice
– Support by Chat
– 3 Running Campaigns
– Invite 3 Members (free members)
     – Everything in the basic plan (Email, LinkedIn, Twitter)
– LinkedIn + Email Inbox
– Qualify your leads
– Magic Messages (A.I. Assisted)
– API, Zapier integrations
– 6 Running Campaigns
– Invite 25 Members (free members)
– Advanced Support
     – Everything in Pro plan, plus
– Unlimited Campaigns
– Build custom workflow
– Hubspot and Pipedrive Integration
– Priority support

✅ Pros

  • Omnichannel Outreach: Engage leads on multiple platforms, including LinkedIn, email, and Twitter.
  • Magic Messages (AI): Generate messages for LinkedIn and email campaigns in a single click.
  • Multichannel Inbox: Centralize LinkedIn and email inboxes for efficient communication.
  • Voice Messages: Humanize communication with voice messages on LinkedIn, leading to higher response rates.
  • Lead Enrichment: Discover missing information for each contact automatically.

❌ Cons

  • Pricing: The tool might be considered expensive for small businesses or individual users, especially when compared to other tools in the market.
  • Integration Issues: While it offers LinkedIn integration, it might lack a seamless setup.
  • Technical issues: A few users have pointed out technical issues such as widget disconnect.

7. Overloop

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.3/5 (107 reviews) │ Capterra- 4.3/5 (104 reviews)

Overview

Overloop is a sales engagement platform designed to help businesses generate more revenue. It offers tools for multi-channel outbound campaigns, combining cold emails, LinkedIn automation, and phone calls to engage prospects effectively.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

Startup No-Brainer
$49/user/month $99/user/month
     – Access all features
– Max. 3 running campaigns
– 100 Email Finder credits/user/month
     – Everything in the Startup plan
– Unlimited campaigns
– 250 Email Finder credits/user/month
– Professional services and support

✅ Pros

  • Multi-channel Campaigns: Engage leads through cold emails, LinkedIn, and phone calls.
  • LinkedIn Automation: Profile visits, messages, and connection requests.
  • Email Finder: Enrichment tool to find email addresses.
  • CRM Integrations: Sync with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.
  • Custom Tracking Domain: Enhance email deliverability and tracking.

❌ Cons

  • Learning Curve: While the platform is user-friendly, there might be a learning curve for those unfamiliar with CRMs or advanced email outreach tools.
  • Occasional Glitches: As with many software platforms, users have reported occasional bugs or glitches that can affect the user experience.
  • Support Response Time: Some users have mentioned that the response time from customer support can be slow at times.
Compare to lemlist

8. Klenty

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2- 4.6/5 (326 reviews) │ Capterra- 4.6/5 (40 reviews)

Overview

Klenty is a sales engagement platform designed to help sales teams automate their email outreach and follow-up processes.

It offers features like multi-channel outreach, email sequence automation, CRM integrations, and more to streamline the sales process and increase engagement with prospects.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: Yes

Startup Growth Pro Enterprise
$50 per user/mo $70 per user/mo $100 per user/mo Custom pricing
     – Email Deliverability
– Custom Domain Tracking
– Email Analytics
– API Connections
– Zapier Integration
– Email Sequence Automation
– GMail Plugin
– 24/5 Support
     – Includes everything in Startup, plus
– CRM Integrations
– Sales Stage Automation
– LinkedIn Automation
– SMS Automation
– Advanced Reporting
     – Includes everything in Growth, plus
– Sales Coaching
– Goal-Based Team Leaderboards
– Account-Based Prospecting
– Website Tracking
     – Includes everything in Pro plus advanced features tailored for larger sales teams.

✅ Pros

  • Deep CRM Integrations for seamless data flow.
  • High-Quality Prospect and Account Data for better targeting.
  • Customizable Sales Playbooks to guide sales reps.
  • Flexible and Smart Sequences for personalized outreach.
  • Advanced Goals and Performance Insights for tracking and optimization.

❌ Cons

  • Lack of Advanced Analytics: While Klenty provides basic tracking, it might lack the depth of analytics that some advanced users seek.
  • Occasional Deliverability Issues: A few users have reported issues with email deliverability, which can impact the success of campaigns.
  • User Interface: Some users find the interface less intuitive compared to other platforms, which can lead to a steeper learning curve.
Compare to lemlist

9. Instantly

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 – 4.9/5 (835 reviews) │ AppSumo – 4.9/5 (62 reviews)

Overview

Instantly helps you scale your outreach campaigns through unlimited email-sending accounts, unlimited warmups, and smart AI.

Pricing & Functionalities

→ Free trial: YES

$30/mo$77.6/mo
Growth Hypergrowth
     – Unlimited Email Accounts
– Unlimited Email Warmup
– 1000 Active Leads
– 5000 Emails Monthly
– Live Chat Support
     – Unlimited Email Accounts
– Unlimited Email Warmup
– 25,000 Active Leads
– 100,000 Emails Monthly
– Premium Support

✅ Pros

  • Suitable for agencies: pricing works great for agencies managing a lot of email accounts (they don’t charge per email account).
  • Ease of Use: User-friendly interface and features.
  • Unlimited warm-up

❌ Cons

  • Pricing: Depending on the number of active leads, the pricing might be on the higher side.
  • Lack of native integrations: You might have to rely on Zapier to sync your data to your CRM.
  • Can’t modify running sequences
Compare to lemlist

10. Amplemarket

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2 – 4.5/5 (152 reviews) │ Product Hunt – 4.9/5 (14 votes)

Overview

Amplemarket is a sales automation platform designed to help sales teams automate their outreach and follow-up processes.

It provides tools for email sequencing, lead generation, and sales intelligence to streamline the sales process and increase engagement with potential customers.

Pricing

On request

✅ Pros

  • Automated LinkedIn steps, including LinkedIn voice messages
  • Integrates with popular CRM platforms for seamless data transfer.
  • Provides sales intelligence to target the right prospects.
  • Suitable for agencies.
  • Proactive support team.

❌ Cons

  • UI and UX could be updated.
  • You can’t modify the running sequence.
Compare to lemlist

11. Apollo

Rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

G2: 4.8/5 (6,631 reviews) │ Capterra: 4.6/5 (325 reviews)

Overview

Apollo is a sales intelligence and engagement platform designed to help users find, contact, and close their ideal buyers. It offers a database of over 265 million contacts and provides tools for streamlined engagement workflows powered by AI.

Pricing & Functionalities

Free plan Basic Professional Organization
Yes $49/user/mo $79/user/mo $119/user/mo (min 5 users)
     – Basic Sequence Automation (2 Sequence Limit)
– Basic Filters
– Buying Intent (1 Intent Topic Limit)
– AI-Assisted Email Writing (10k words monthly limit)
– LinkedIn Extension
– Send 250 Emails/day
– Gmail Extension
– Email Reply and Meeting Tracking
– Outreach and SalesLoft Integration
– CSV Export
– Zapier Integration
– Limited API Access
– Advanced Salesforce and HubSpot Integration (Bi-Directional)
– Conversations (150 minutes recording limit)
     – Everything in Free, plus:
– Select 1,000 Records at a Time
– No Sequence Limit
– Uncapped Sending Limits with SendGrid
– A/B Testing
– Buying Intent (6 Intent Topics Limit)
– AI-Assisted Email Writing (250k words monthly limit)
– Job Changes
– Advanced Filters
– Integration with All Email Providers
– Custom Fields
– Deals
– Email Open and Click Tracking
– Greenhouse Integration (Pull Only)
– Data Enrichment
     – Everything in Basic, plus:
– Select 5,000 Records at a Time
– Advanced Reports and Dashboards (Pre-Built)
– Buying Intent (6 Intent Topics Limit) and Intent Filters
– AI-Assisted Email Writing (800k words monthly limit)
– Manual Tasks
– Dialer
– Call Recordings
– Custom Stages
– Advanced Greenhouse Integration (Bi-Directional)
– Conversations (4000 minutes recording limit)
– Plays (5 Plays Limit)
     – Everything in Professional, plus:
– Buying Intent (Custom Amount of Intent Topics) and Intent Filters
– AI-Assisted Email Writing (1M words monthly limit)
– Call Transcriptions
– International Dialing and Local Presence
– Customizable Reports
– Permission Profiles
– Login with Single Sign-On (SSO)
– Advanced Security Configurations
– Advanced API Access
– Conversations (8000 minutes recording limit)
– Plays (300 Plays Limit)

Pros

  • Extensive Database: Apollo boasts a living database of over 265 million contacts, ensuring a wide reach for users.
  • AI-Powered: The platform utilizes AI to enhance various features, including lead scoring and engagement.
  • Multi-Platform Engagement: Users can engage with prospects via email, calls, and LinkedIn, all from within Apollo.
  • Data Enrichment: Apollo offers data enrichment features, ensuring that CRM data remains up-to-date and actionable.
  • Comprehensive Sales Tools: From conversation intelligence to deal analytics, Apollo provides a range of tools to assist sales teams throughout the sales cycle.

❌ Cons

  • UI/UX could be improved.
  • The platform can be slow depending on the amount of leads.
  • Some contact data can be out-of-date.
Compare to lemlist

Key takeaways

→ While some excel in automation capabilities, others shine in data enrichment and CRM integration.

→ The key to selecting the right tool lies in understanding your specific outreach goals, budget constraints, and integration requirements.

→ Regardless of the choice, a well-crafted, personalized cold email remains central to effective outreach, and the right software can significantly enhance this process!

→ While it’s tempting to go for a premium tool, there are cost-effective options with robust features. Sometimes, a lower-cost tool combined with another supplementary tool might offer the best value. Here are some user-friendly cold email tools that focus on key features.

→ Make a list of must-have features and functionalities. This can vary from anything that helps you achieve the benefits listed in the checklist above (e.g., AI-powered sequences, email warm-ups, specific integrations, etc.)

→ Clarify what you hope to achieve with your cold email campaigns. Whether it’s lead generation, partnership establishment, or direct sales, your goals will influence which features are must-haves.

While they didn’t make our best cold email software list, there are more tools that you should consider when picking your cold outreach tool.

Here are some additional options to explore:

You can check the complete list here.