Cold Outreach

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Cold Outreach page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 17, 2026.

Sequences of cold emails and LinkedIn messages that follow up by themselves and stop when someone replies.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about cold outreach tools, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 21 cold outreach tools

   2 of them are free or have a free plan, and 15 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $38.80 a month in the middle

   From $15 (Yesware) to $79 (Expandi), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Waalaxy and Yesware

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   2 of 21 have iPhone and Android apps

   20 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.2

   0 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is lemlist, at 2.8.

6. 6

   Best free option: Mixmax

   Mixmax has the highest GPA of the free ones, 2.2. Email sequences, tracking and meeting booking inside Gmail.

7. 7

   20 worth keeping, 1 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 20 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 1 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three cold outreach tools we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   2.8GPA

   lemlist

   Free trial · from $55/mo

   For: Most teams, and anyone mixing cold email with LinkedIn

   lemlist runs sequences that mix email with LinkedIn visits, invites and messages, calls, SMS and WhatsApp, and stops them when a lead replies. The Email plan is $55 a month for 50,000 emails, billed yearly ($69 monthly), with unlimited users and the lemwarm warm-up included. It runs in a browser, and on Multichannel a Chrome extension runs it from Gmail and LinkedIn. Know the limits: LinkedIn, SMS and calling need Multichannel at $87 per user a month, billed yearly, lead data is an add-on from $16 a month, and after the 14-day trial there is no free plan you can send from.

   The lemlist Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   2.8GPA

   Saleshandy

   Free trial · from $34/mo

   For: Senders who mainly use email and want lead data on the same bill

   Saleshandy sends sequences from unlimited connected mailboxes with warm-up and rotation, and every plan includes monthly credits for its Lead Finder of more than 850 million contacts. Starter is $34 a month for one user, 6,000 emails and 1,500 credits, billed yearly ($41 monthly); Pro is $76 ($99 monthly) for 10 users and 100,000 emails. It is second because lemlist's Multichannel plan adds LinkedIn invites and voice notes, SMS and a call dialer to the same sequence, while Saleshandy's dialer is an add-on from $23 a month, billed annually. CRM integrations start on Pro, and the 7-day trial stops at 100 emails.

   The Saleshandy Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.8GPA

   Waalaxy

   Free trial · from €19/mo

   For: Founders and freelancers who prospect mainly on LinkedIn

   Waalaxy sends LinkedIn connection requests and messages from 99+ ready-made sequences, paced to stay within LinkedIn's limits, and stops when someone replies. It runs as a browser extension on your own LinkedIn account, and Pro is €19 per user a month, billed yearly, with a 14-day trial on every plan. It is third because it is built around LinkedIn: Pro caps invitations at 300 a month, cold email needs Business at €69 per user, prices are shown only in euros and at the yearly rate, and the LinkedIn Inbox costs €20 a month after 500 free conversations.

   The Waalaxy Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Waalaxy and Yesware give the most for the money among cold outreach tools: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $38.80 a month across the 18 that charge, from $15 (Yesware) to $79 (Expandi).

3 of the 18 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 3 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded cold outreach tools, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
lemlist	A	C	B	C	B	2.8
Salesforge	A	C	B	C	B	2.8
Saleshandy	A	C	B	C	B	2.8
Waalaxy	B	C	B	B	B	2.8
Instantly	A	C	C	C	B	2.6
Klenty	A	C	C	C	B	2.6
Smartlead	A	C	C	C	B	2.6
Woodpecker	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
GMass	B	C	C	B	C	2.4
QuickMail	B	D	B	C	B	2.4
Dripify	D	C	B	C	B	2.2
HeyReach	C	C	C	C	B	2.2

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where cold outreach tools land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 20

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 1

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every cold outreach tool we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1lemlistFree trial · from $55/mo2.8
2. 2SalesforgeFree trial · from $40/mo2.8
3. 3SaleshandyFree trial · from $34/mo2.8
4. 4WaalaxyFree trial · from €19/mo2.8
5. 5InstantlyFree trial · from $37.6/mo2.6
6. 6KlentyFree trial · from $50/mo2.6
7. 7SmartleadFree trial · from $32.50/mo2.6
8. 8WoodpeckerFree trial · from $35/mo2.6
9. 9GMassFree trial · from $20/mo2.4
10. 10QuickMailFree trial · from $49/mo2.4
11. 11DripifyFree trial · from $59/mo2.2
12. 12HeyReachFree trial · from $63/mo2.2
13. 13La Growth MachineFree trial · from $60/mo2.2
14. 14MixmaxFree plan · from $29/mo2.2
15. 15OverloopFree trial · from $69/mo2.2
16. 16YeswareFree plan · from $15/mo2.2
17. 17ExpandiFree trial · from $79/mo2.0
18. 18OutreachPaid2.0
19. 19Reply.ioPaid2.0
20. 20SalesloftPaid2.0
21. 21MailshakeFrom $25/mo1.8

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 1,880

  tools graded

• 47

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries