lemlist vs Outplay (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick lemlist: it is first in our ranking of cold outreach tools, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
lemlist grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
lemlist
Cold email and LinkedIn sequences with a built-in lead database
Outplay
Multichannel sales outreach across email, phone, social and SMS
Which one is for you
Pick lemlist if
- Fits if your team mixes cold email with LinkedIn and calls in one sequence
- Works for an email-only team that can share the Email plan at $55 a month billed yearly
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want LinkedIn for five people, at $87 a user a month billed yearly or $109 monthly
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as Freemium can't launch campaigns and the trial leaves out lemwarm and calling
- Tight if you need lead data, which starts at $16 a month billed yearly for 2,000 credits
- Watch out: on Multichannel, WhatsApp is $20 a user, extra senders $9 each, and SMS a $15 number plus 6 credits a text
- Watch out: SSO, custom roles and lemlist inside your CRM are Enterprise only, at a price set by sales
Pick Outplay if
- Fits if a sales team wants calls, email and LinkedIn in one tool
- Works for a solo seller starting on the free plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: manual email only, 2 mailboxes
- Pricey if you want phone, SMS or social, which start at Growth, $89 a user
- Watch out: LinkedIn automation is an add-on and its price isn't shown
- Not for you if you want a second seat on Starter, which is single-seat
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAlemlistGood | 2.2GPAOutplayFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFive people share the Email plan, which has unlimited users: $55 a month billed yearly for 50,000 emails, $11 a head, a third of the cheaper quarter. LinkedIn, calls and SMS are another story: Multichannel is $87 per user billed yearly, in this category's dearest tenth. | CStarter is $39 for 1 seat on yearly billing, the category's middle. Growth is $89 a user, past the dearer quarter ($50), and that is where phone, social and SMS begin. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan you can send from, since Freemium can't launch campaigns. The 14-day Multichannel trial needs no card and gives 200 credits and 50 emails a day, but leaves out lemwarm and calling. | CFree Forever: 2,000 active prospects, 2 mailboxes and manual email outreach. Plus a 7-day trial of Growth with no card. The free plan is manual-only. |
| Features | BThe whole job: emails, LinkedIn invites, messages and voice notes, calls, SMS and WhatsApp in one sequence, with conditions and an automatic stop on a reply. Warm-up, a 650M-lead database and one inbox for every channel sit alongside. | CSequences across email, calls, SMS and social, with a dialer on Enterprise. LinkedIn automation is an add-on with no price shown, and extra seats need Growth. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. There's a fair bit to set up, from senders and warm-up to conditional steps and personalized images, so give it a few days before a sequence feels right. | CNo store rating on record. A multichannel workspace with mailboxes, sequences and CRM links to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, plus a Chrome extension that runs lemlist from Gmail and LinkedIn on Multichannel. HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zapier, Make, n8n, Clay and Aircall connect, and there's a public API. No phone or desktop app. | BWeb, iPhone, Android and an extension, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Slack, Zapier, Gong and Calendly. No desktop app. |
| Best for | email and LinkedIn in one sequence | multichannel sales sequences for teams |
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: lemlist and Outplay. How we grade
Price against what you get
lemlist starts at $55 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Outplay starts at $39 a month and scores 2.3.
lemlist scores higher, and starts $16 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other cold outreach tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than lemlist for less, and 3 score higher than Outplay 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
- lemlist also covers templates and AI agents.
- Outplay also covers workflow automation and reports.
At a glance
| lemlist | Outplay | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $55 per month for 50,000 emails, billed yearly ($69 monthly) | $39 per month, billed annually, for 1 seat |
| Free plan | None | Free Forever: 2,000 active prospects a month, 2 mailboxes, manual email outreach, click-to-dial and the AI mail writer. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Multichannel, no card required, with 200 credits and 50 emails a day | 7-day free trial of the Growth plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | lempire | Appvirality Inc |
| Price read from | lemlist.com | outplay.ai |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
lemlist
- No free plan for sending: after the trial, accounts drop to Freemium, which cannot launch campaigns. The trial itself leaves out lemwarm and calling.
- Lead data costs extra: the enrichment add-on is $16 a month billed yearly ($20 monthly) for 2,000 credits, and buying signals $21 ($29) for 100.
- On Multichannel, WhatsApp is $20 per user a month, extra email senders $9 each a month, and SMS needs a $15 a month number plus 6 credits a text.
- LinkedIn, SMS and calling need the per-user Multichannel plan; SSO, custom roles and CRM-embedded use are Enterprise only.
Outplay
- Monthly prices are not shown on the default pricing view, only annual billing figures.
- Starter is a single seat; extra seats start at Growth, which is priced per user.
- LinkedIn automation appears as an add-on in the pricing FAQ and the feature table; the page does not give its price.
- The pricing page also has tabs for a Growth Bundle, a Lifetime Growth Suite and a Sales Dialer that are not covered here.
Key features
lemlist
- Multichannel sequences
- Campaigns mix emails with LinkedIn visits, invites, messages and voice notes, calls, SMS and WhatsApp, with conditional next steps and an automatic stop.
- lemwarm and deliverability tools
- Warm-up, inbox rotation, rotating IPs, custom tracking domains, sending limits and a deliverability hub with alerts are included on every plan.
- Lead database and finders
- Search more than 650 million leads and find emails and phone numbers through 25+ data providers, paid for with credits: $1 covers 20 emails or 5 phone numbers.
- Personalization
- Liquid syntax for conditional content, custom variables, personalized images and AI-written lines tailored to each lead.
- lemAgent and AI agents
- lemAgent plus signal, enrichment and messaging agents research leads and write outreach. AI also flags reply intent and out-of-office replies and drafts answers.
- Unified inbox and extension
- Replies from every channel land in one inbox, and on Multichannel a Chrome extension runs lemlist from Gmail and LinkedIn.
Outplay
- Multichannel sequences
- Sequences combine email, calls, LinkedIn steps and SMS, with triggers that move prospects between steps.
- Centralized inbox
- Replies from all connected mailboxes land in one master inbox, available on every plan including Free.
- AI writing tools
- An AI sequence writer, an AI mail writer and objection-handling and out-of-office detection; sequence limits rise by plan.
- Built-in calling
- A built-in dialer with call recording is included from Starter, and a power dialer arrives with Enterprise.
- Reporting and coaching
- Hot-lead identification, team performance reports and a leaderboard help managers see which reps and sequences work.
- CRM and tool integrations
- Native connections to Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Slack, Zapier and others, plus Gmail and Outlook extensions.
Plans
lemlist
Email$55
per month for 50,000 emails, billed yearly ($69 monthly)
Unlimited users and email senders, lemwarm, the lead database and AI agents. Price rises with volume: $71 a month at 100,000 emails, billed yearly.
Multichannel$87
per user / month, billed yearly ($109 monthly)
Unlimited emails and messages, 5 email senders per user, LinkedIn and SMS steps, a call dialer, and lemlist inside Gmail and LinkedIn.
EnterpriseCustom
Multichannel plus lemlist inside your CRM, custom roles, SSO and SAML, custom terms and a dedicated account manager.
Outplay
Free Forever$0
1 seat, 2 mailboxes, 2,000 active prospects a month and manual email outreach.
Starter$39
per month, billed annually, for 1 seat
Email outreach, CRM integrations, centralized inbox, 5 mailboxes, 20,000 prospect storage and 20 AI-written sequences.
Growth$89
per user / month, billed annually
Adds phone, social and SMS channels, unlimited mailboxes and sequences, 100,000 prospects stored and 50 AI sequences.
Enterprise$139
per user / month, billed annually
Adds a power dialer, voicemail, team management, custom roles and SSO, with unlimited prospect storage.
Ways to pay less
lemlist
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
lemlist lists a 20% saving for yearly billing and 10% for quarterly: Email at 50,000 emails is $55 a month yearly, $62 quarterly and $69 monthly.
Outplay
- Annual discount
Lower monthly rate on annual billing
Outplay's pricing page says annual billing gives a lower monthly rate than paying month to month; it does not state the percentage in the page text.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, lemlist or Outplay?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Outplay is cheaper to start with: $39 a month, against $55 a month for lemlist. lemlist starts at $55 per month for 50,000 emails, billed yearly ($69 monthly), and Outplay starts at $39 per month, billed annually, for 1 seat.
Which has a free plan, lemlist or Outplay?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Outplay has a free plan. lemlist does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do lemlist and Outplay run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Outplay lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app and a browser extension. 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.