BuzzStream vs Linkee (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick BuzzStream: it is first in our ranking of link building tools, and it grades higher too, 2.2 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
BuzzStream grades higher on features and platforms. Linkee grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BuzzStream
Outreach CRM for link building and digital PR
Linkee
AI prospect vetting, email finding and outreach for link building
Which one is for you
Pick BuzzStream if
- Fits if you pitch journalists or bloggers and need every past conversation kept on file
- Works for teams sharing prospect lists who must not pitch the same contact twice
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you send pitches in bulk, as Starter has no bulk sends, automated follow-ups or reports
- Pricey if you need the API, which is only on Professional at $424 a month and Custom
- Watch out: contacts count against your limit until deleted, and archiving a project frees none
- Not for you if you want a trial without payment details, as the first charge comes on day 15
- Pricey if you want AI-built media lists, as ListIQ is a separate subscription from $24 a month
Pick Linkee if
- Fits if you run guest post and niche edit outreach for one site
- Works for cleaning up prospect lists exported from Ahrefs or Semrush before pitching
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than one site or person: Essential and Pro allow 1 project and 1 seat, and more means Agency at $298.33 a month
- Watch out: the pricing page's cards, table and FAQ give different counts of linked inboxes per plan
- Skip it if you want to know what each credit buys before paying, as the page doesn't say
- Not for you if you need placed links watched afterwards, as no link monitoring is on record
- Too light for staying free, as there's no free plan, only a 14-day trial with 500 credits
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABuzzStreamFair | 2.0GPALinkeeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $49 a month for 1 user and 500 contacts, right in the middle of what this category charges. Bulk sending and automated follow-ups need Growth at $174 a month for 3 users, and the API needs Professional at $424. | CEssential is $80.83 a month billed yearly ($97 monthly) for 10,000 credits, inside this category's usual range. What each action costs in credits isn't stated, and more than 1 project or seat means Agency at $298.33. |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan. The 14-day trial takes its first charge on day 15 unless you cancel, so it starts with your payment details. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with 500 credits and no card. After that you're on a paid plan. |
| Features | BContact discovery, pitch templates with open and reply tracking, follow-ups, a shared record of every conversation, a Chrome extension and link monitoring. It covers the whole outreach job, though Starter leaves out bulk sends, auto follow-ups and reports. | CDatabase or imported prospects, AI vetting with spam and PBN filters, site categories, email finding and verification, and outreach with follow-ups. The gaps: no link monitoring on record, and 1 project on the two cheaper plans. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. The Chrome extension adds prospects from any page, but you still connect your mailbox, set up projects and build templates before the first pitch goes out. | CNo rating on record. You pick campaign types, connect inboxes and work out the credit system, which the pricing page doesn't break down per action. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus a Chrome extension, with Gmail, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Ahrefs and Hunter. There's an API on Professional and Custom. No desktop or phone app. | CWeb only, sending through Gmail, Outlook or SMTP, with Ahrefs metrics built in. No API or other integrations on record. |
| Best for | keeping outreach conversations in one place | vetting and pitching guest post prospects |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BuzzStream and Linkee. How we grade
Price against what you get
BuzzStream starts at $49 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Linkee starts at $80.83 a month and scores 2.0.
BuzzStream scores higher and starts $31.83 a month lower. Of the other link building tools on the chart, none scores higher than BuzzStream for less, and 18 score higher than Linkee for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Linkee also covers email verification.
At a glance
| BuzzStream | Linkee | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per month, billed monthly | $80.83 per month for 10,000 credits, billed yearly ($97 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial; the first charge is taken on day 15 unless you cancel | 14-day free trial with 500 credits, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | BuzzStream | Linkee, Inc. |
| Price read from | buzzstream.com | linkee.ai |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BuzzStream
- Starter is one user without bulk sends, automated follow-ups or reports; those start at Growth for $174 a month.
- The API is limited to Professional and Custom plans.
- Contacts count against the plan limit until deleted from the database; archiving a project does not free any.
- ListIQ, BuzzStream's AI tool for building media lists, is a separate subscription from $24 a month.
Linkee
- There is no free plan; after the 14-day, 500-credit trial a paid plan is needed.
- Essential and Pro allow 1 project and 1 seat; more of either, and user roles, need Agency at $298.33 a month billed yearly.
- Credits pay for database prospects, email finding and verification, and SEO metrics, but the page does not say what each action costs.
- The pricing page's cards, table and FAQ give different counts of linked email accounts per plan, so confirm before buying.
Key features
BuzzStream
- Prospect research
- Search the BuzzStream Discovery database of writers and sites, find contact details, and see publisher and influencer metrics before you pitch.
- Pitch emails and follow-ups
- Templates and open, click and reply tracking on every plan; bulk sends, scheduling and automated follow-ups start at Growth.
- Outreach CRM
- Keeps every conversation with a site or person in one record, shared across projects, so a team does not pitch the same contact twice.
- BuzzMarker Chrome extension
- Adds a site or person to a project, looks up contact details and starts outreach from whatever page you are on.
- Link monitoring
- Watches the links you have won for changes: 1,000 links on Starter, 25,000 on Growth and 100,000 on Professional.
- Reports
- Growth adds email, project and link reports; Professional adds team performance reporting and unlimited report customization.
Linkee
- Prospect database and import
- Pick a guest post or niche edit campaign and draw prospects from Linkee's website database or a list exported from Ahrefs or Semrush.
- AI vetting and filters
- Checks each site's relevance to your keywords, filters by DA, spam score, word count and language, removes past contacts, PBNs and broken or non-HTTPS sites.
- Site categories
- Groups prospects by type, such as blog, news, SaaS, e-commerce or affiliate, and by niche, such as finance, health or parenting.
- Email finding and verification
- A built-in finder collects addresses with names and positions, third-party finders add more, and every address is validated before sending.
- Outreach and follow-ups
- Send personalized emails from Gmail, Outlook or SMTP, schedule automatic follow-ups, reuse templates and track results in campaign analytics.
- Team roles
- Agency accounts get user roles and project access controls for splitting client work across a team.
Plans
BuzzStream
Starter$49
per month
1 user, 500 contacts, 30 prospecting searches, 50 Discovery results per search and 1,000 links monitored.
Growth$174
per month for up to 3 users, $58 per extra user
25,000 contacts, 250 searches, bulk sending, automated follow-ups, reports, the Ahrefs integration and 25,000 links monitored.
Professional$424
per month for up to 6 users, $70 per extra user
100,000 contacts, 1,000 searches, team performance reports, the API, a dedicated account manager and 100,000 links monitored.
Custom$999
per month and up
12 or more users, 300,000+ contacts and 4,000+ searches, with an implementation plan and onboarding for new team members.
Linkee
Essential$80.83
per month for 10,000 credits, billed yearly ($97 billed monthly)
1 project and 1 seat, unlimited campaigns, AI vetting, email finding and outreach, and Ahrefs metrics. The page gives 1, 2 or 3 linked inboxes.
Pro$164.17
per month for 25,000 credits, billed yearly ($197 billed monthly)
Everything in Essential plus a CRM and an onboarding session, still 1 project and 1 seat, with 5 linked inboxes (3 in the FAQ).
Agency$298.33
per month for 60,000 credits, billed yearly ($358 billed monthly)
Unlimited projects, seats and linked email accounts, user roles and access control, and priority live chat.
Ways to pay less
BuzzStream
- Annual discount
One month free when paying 12 months ahead
BuzzStream's pricing FAQ says paying for 12 months in advance gives one month free, arranged by emailing customer service after signing up.
Linkee
- Annual discount
Lower price with yearly billing
Linkee's pricing page labels yearly billing "Save 20%": Essential is $80.83 a month billed yearly instead of $97 monthly, about 17% less.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BuzzStream or Linkee?
As of Oct 23, 2026, BuzzStream is cheaper to start with: $49 a month, against $80.83 a month for Linkee. BuzzStream starts at $49 per month, billed monthly, and Linkee starts at $80.83 per month for 10,000 credits, billed yearly ($97 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, BuzzStream or Linkee?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither BuzzStream nor Linkee has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do BuzzStream and Linkee run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only BuzzStream lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.