Instantly vs SmartWriter (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Instantly if

• Fits if you send from lots of mailboxes and don't want to pay per inbox or per seat
• Works for teams that want warm-up included rather than bought per mailbox

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want LinkedIn steps in the same sequence, as Instantly is email only
• Tight if you stay on Growth, with 1,000 contacts in total, a read-only inbox and no webhooks
• Pricey if you need lead data too, since credits start at $9 a month for 150, and on Growth the CRM is only a 14-day trial
• Watch out: the contact limit is a running total, not monthly, and 25,000 more cost $87 a month
• Watch out: there's no free plan, and the trial stops at 250 contacts and 1,000 emails

Pick SmartWriter if

• Fits if you already send cold email from another tool and want the opening lines written for you
• Works for link-building outreach where each pitch needs a personal first line

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want one tool that finds leads, writes and sends, since it only writes
• Tight if your list is long: plans are 400, 1,200 or 3,500 lead credits a month
• Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say whether $49 assumes monthly or yearly billing, and it offers 20% off for yearly
• Watch out: each plan shows a higher crossed-out price beside the one charged, so the page needs reading twice

Instantly

• There is no free plan; the 14-day trial stops at 250 uploaded contacts and 1,000 emails.
• The uploaded-contact limit is a total across all campaigns, not a monthly one. On Hypergrowth and up, 25,000 more contacts cost $87 a month.
• Lead data and the AI agents need an Instantly Credits plan, from $9 a month for 150 credits; on Growth the CRM is only a 14-day trial.
• Replying from Unibox, webhooks, the CRM and full A/Z testing need Hypergrowth, $107 a month billed monthly.

SmartWriter

• Plans are metered in leads (credits): 400, 1,200 or 3,500 a month, with larger plans up to 25,000 credits. Unused credits roll over.
• The pricing page does not say whether the shown monthly price assumes monthly or yearly billing; it offers 20% off for yearly billing.
• Each plan shows a higher crossed-out price beside the charged one; the charged price is recorded here.
• It writes the messages; sending and sequencing happen in an outreach tool or email account.

Instantly

Unlimited sending accounts and warmup

Every Outreach plan connects and warms up any number of email accounts from any provider; the plan limits emails sent and contacts uploaded instead.

Sequences and A/Z testing

Multi-step campaigns with sending schedules, a global block list and bounce detection. Growth gets basic A/Z testing; Hypergrowth and above test up to 26 variants.

Unibox

Replies from every connected account land in one inbox. It is preview-only on Growth; replying in the app and custom reply labels start at Hypergrowth.

SuperSearch lead database

Search more than 450 million B2B contacts and enrich them through several email providers, paid for with Instantly Credits, a separate subscription.

AI Sales Agent and AI Reply Agent

Agents that find and contact leads or draft answers to replies. Each lead or reply generated costs 5 credits from the credits plan.

Automations

A visual trigger-and-action builder routes and tags leads when they reply, visit your site or book a meeting, and is included on every Outreach plan.

SmartWriter

Personalized first lines

Writes an opening line from a prospect's job bio, posts, recommendations or achievements, with a link to the source it used.

Company-based personalization

Draws on what a company does, recent news mentions, case studies and blog posts to write a pitch for that prospect.

LinkedIn outreach

LinkedIn personalization is included on every plan, alongside Instagram comments and Google review replies.

Backlink outreach

Writes personalized pitches for link-building outreach, including link replacement and contextual link insertion.

Chrome extension

Extension access is included on every plan.

Instantly

• Growth$37.6

  per month for 5,000 emails, billed yearly ($47 monthly)

  1,000 uploaded contacts, unlimited email accounts and warmup, basic A/Z testing and a preview-only Unibox.

• Hypergrowth$85.58

  per month for 125,000 emails, billed yearly ($107 monthly)

  25,000 uploaded contacts, the built-in CRM, replying from Unibox, webhooks, A/Z tests of up to 26 variants and premium live support.

• Light Speed$286.3

  per month for 500,000 emails, billed yearly ($358 monthly)

  100,000 uploaded contacts, the CRM, and SISR, which rotates dedicated servers and IP addresses for sending.

• EnterpriseCustom

  More than 500,000 emails a month, a private deliverability network and a dedicated account manager.

SmartWriter

• Basic$49

  per month for 400 leads (credits), billing basis not stated

  Shown as $59 crossed out and $49 charged. Up to 15 personalized lines per lead, all AI tools, unlimited projects and Chrome extension access. Shown under a Monthly Plan heading.

• Popular$79

  per month for 1,200 leads (credits), billing basis not stated

  Shown as $149 crossed out and $79 charged. Same tools as Basic with 1,200 leads.

• Pro$129

  per month for 3,500 leads (credits), billing basis not stated

  Shown as $359 crossed out and $129 charged, and aimed at agencies and larger marketing teams. Same tools as Basic with 3,500 leads.

Instantly

• Annual discount

  About 20% off with yearly billing

  Billed yearly, Growth is $37.6 a month instead of $47, Hypergrowth $85.58 instead of $107 and Light Speed $286.3 instead of $358.

SmartWriter

• Annual discount

  20% off yearly billing

  The pricing page labels its yearly option as 20% off.