The best cold email software depends on how many mailboxes you run and what happens after a reply. OXYGEN sells Google and Microsoft inboxes at $4 a month with warm-up, runs LinkedIn in the same sequence and files replies on a built-in CRM, from $49 a month. Instantly and Smartlead suit volume senders with unlimited mailboxes, Salesforge adds LinkedIn at a low price, lemlist adds a lead database, and Woodpecker prices by prospects contacted.
By Tim Scheuer, Co-founder of Oxygen · Checked October 18, 2026
Cold email software sends personal emails to people who have not heard from you, from several mailboxes on secondary domains, in a sequence that stops when someone replies. Most of the work is sending infrastructure: buying and warming mailboxes, spreading volume across them, keeping daily limits per mailbox, testing where mail lands and pausing when bounces climb. The tools below differ in five ways: what the entry plan sends, whether mailboxes and warm-up cost extra, how placement tests are priced, where lead data comes from, and whether LinkedIn runs in the same sequence. Check too what happens after a reply: whether it stays in a shared inbox, or lands on a CRM record with the deal.
| Tool | Entry plan and limits | Mailboxes and warm-up | Buy inboxes in-app | Deliverability | Lead data | Starts at | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 OXYGENAgentic marketing and sales platform | From $49 a month per workspace, in credits; the free plan cannot send | Your own Google or Microsoft mailboxes, or bought ones with warm-up included | Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 inboxes at $4 a month | Google inbox monitoring from $1 a month; rotation, daily limits, bounce pause | Waterfalls across 17 email providers, billed on a hit; no database | Automated in the cloud, same sequence; $34 a month per account | Free plan; paid from $49 a month per workspace |
 InstantlyCold email at volume | Growth $47: 5,000 emails and 1,000 contacts a month; 14-day trial, no card | Unlimited email accounts and warm-up on every plan | AirMail inboxes $4 a month, done-for-you Google $5 | 2 free placement tests, then a $47 add-on; rotation; pause above 5% bounces | SuperSearch, 450M+ leads, on a separate credits plan from $9 | None of its own; hands leads to HeyReach, Expandi and others | Growth $47 a month, Hypergrowth $97; about 20% less yearly |
 SmartleadCold email with unlimited mailboxes | Base $39: 6,000 sends and 2,000 contacts a month; 14-day trial, no card | Unlimited mailboxes and warm-up on every plan | Google and Outlook inboxes $4.50 a month, plus $13 a year a domain | Placement tests from $49 a month; rotation; optional bounce pause | SmartProspect, 300M+ profiles; $59 add-on on Base and Pro | None of its own; pushes leads to HeyReach or Aimfox | Base $39 a month or $32 yearly; Pro $94 or $78 |
 SalesforgeEmail and LinkedIn sequencer | Pro: 5,000 emails and 1,000 active contacts a month; 14-day trial, no card | Unlimited mailboxes and premium warm-up on both plans | Separate products, 10 minimum: Primeforge $4.50, Mailforge $3 | A free placement test a month; rotation, daily limits, Bounce Shield | Leadsforge, a separate product from $49 a month | Cloud steps in the same sequence; 1 sender on Pro | Pro plan card shows $40 a month; Growth adds users and senders |
 lemlistMultichannel prospecting and sequences | Email plan $69: unlimited users and senders, 50,000 emails a month | Unlimited email senders; lemwarm warm-up on paid plans | Google and Outlook mailboxes from $10 a month | Placement tests at 100 credits; rotation; pause past 50% bounces | 650M+ lead database; the Email plan includes no credits | Multichannel plan only, $109 per user, via a Chrome extension | Email plan $69 a month for the team, or $55 yearly |
 WoodpeckerCold email priced by prospects contacted | $35 a month: 500 prospects and 8,000 emails; unlimited users | Unlimited accounts; free warm-ups by tier (2 at entry), then $5 each | $4 an address, $6 for Google or Microsoft | Rotation, adaptive sending, deliverability monitor, unlimited verification | Lead Finder over 1B+ contacts; 100 free credits at entry | $29 a month per account: visits, invites, DMs and InMail | From $35 a month for 500 prospects, or $280 a year; 14-day trial, no card |
OXYGEN Agentic marketing and sales platformBest for: B2B teams that want inboxes and warm-up bought in the app, LinkedIn in the same sequence, and every reply filed on a CRM.
OXYGEN sends from Google and Microsoft mailboxes: connect your own, or buy Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 inboxes in the app at $4 a month with warm-up included. Sequences rotate inboxes, keep daily limits per mailbox and pause on bounces, and Google inbox monitoring with placement tests starts at $1 an inbox a month. LinkedIn steps run in the cloud in the same sequence. When a lead replies on any channel, the sequence stops for them, the reply lands in one inbox with AI triage and a drafted answer, and the replier is filed on the built-in CRM.
Instantly Cold email at volumeBest for: High-volume senders and agencies that want unlimited mailboxes and warm-up at a flat monthly price.
Instantly's Outreach plans connect unlimited email accounts from any provider, with unlimited warm-up on every plan. It sells mailboxes in the app: AirMail inboxes at $4 a month and done-for-you Google accounts at $5. Campaigns rotate inboxes, keep daily limits per mailbox and pause above 5% bounces, and placement tests run on a $47 add-on after 2 free ones. Lead data comes from SuperSearch, its 450M+ lead database, on a separate credits plan from $9 a month. LinkedIn needs another tool such as HeyReach, and the CRM is a separate add-on.
Instantly website · Oxygen vs Instantly: the full comparison
Smartlead Cold email with unlimited mailboxesBest for: Agencies and volume senders that want unlimited mailboxes, client workspaces and white-label.
Smartlead connects unlimited mailboxes with unlimited warm-up on every plan. It sells Google and Outlook mailboxes in the app at $4.50 a month, plus $13 a year per domain. Campaigns rotate inboxes, keep daily limits per mailbox and can pause at a bounce rate you set, and placement tests start at $49 a month. SmartProspect searches 300M+ business profiles, unlocked on a $59 monthly add-on on Base and Pro. Agencies get client workspaces with client logins and white-label from Pro. LinkedIn runs in HeyReach or Aimfox, each on its own account.
Smartlead website · Oxygen vs Smartlead: the full comparison
Salesforge Email and LinkedIn sequencerBest for: Small teams that want low-priced cold email with LinkedIn steps in the same sequence.
Salesforge connects unlimited mailboxes with premium warm-up on both plans, and its sequences mix email and LinkedIn steps, with LinkedIn automated in the cloud. Mailboxes come from sister products with a 10-mailbox minimum: Google or Microsoft on Primeforge at $4.50 a month, shared ones on Mailforge at $3. Each plan includes a free placement test a month, inbox rotation, daily limits and Bounce Shield. Lead data sits in Leadsforge, a separate product from $49 a month. Pro allows 1 user and 1 LinkedIn sender; Growth adds unlimited users and senders.
Salesforge website · Oxygen vs Salesforge: the full comparison
lemlist Multichannel prospecting and sequencesBest for: Teams that want one team price for email, a lead database, and room to grow into LinkedIn.
lemlist's Email plan covers unlimited users and email senders at one team price, with 50,000 emails a month and lemwarm warm-up. It sells Google and Outlook mailboxes in the app from $10 a month, and its Deliverability Hub runs placement tests at 100 credits each, next to inbox rotation, daily limits and a pause once bounces pass 50%. Its people database lists 650M+ leads, revealed on credits, though the Email plan includes none. LinkedIn steps need the Multichannel plan at $109 per user a month and run through a Chrome extension.
Woodpecker Cold email priced by prospects contactedBest for: Email-first teams and agencies that want usage pricing with unlimited users and email accounts.
Woodpecker prices by prospects contacted a month, from $35 for 500 prospects and 8,000 emails, with unlimited team members and email accounts. Free warm-ups scale with the tier, 2 at entry, and each extra one costs $5 a month. It sells mailboxes in the app at $4 an address, or $6 for Google and Microsoft. Inbox rotation, adaptive sending, a deliverability monitor, a domain audit and unlimited email verification come with the plan. Lead Finder searches a 1B+ contact database, and LinkedIn visits, invites, DMs and InMail cost $29 a month per account.
| If you need | Pick |
|---|---|
| Inboxes and warm-up bought in the app, LinkedIn in the same sequence, and replies on a CRM | OXYGEN |
| As many mailboxes and warm-ups as you need, email only, at one flat price | Instantly |
| An agency running client workspaces with white-label | Smartlead |
| Email and LinkedIn in one sequence for a small team, at a low entry price | Salesforge |
| One team price for email, with a lead database in the same tool | lemlist |
| Pricing by prospects contacted, with unlimited users | Woodpecker |
Cold email software sends personal emails to prospects who have not heard from you, in a sequence of a first email and follow-ups that stops when someone replies. It connects several mailboxes, warms them up, spreads sends across them under daily limits, tracks bounces, and collects replies in one inbox. Most tools also sell mailboxes and domains, and some add lead data, LinkedIn steps or a CRM.
In the US, CAN-SPAM allows B2B cold email when the sender and subject line are accurate, each email carries a postal address and a way to opt out, and opt-outs are honored within 10 business days. In the EU and UK, GDPR asks for a lawful basis, usually legitimate interest, a clear reason to write to that person and an easy way to object, and some countries add stricter email rules. This is a plain summary, not legal advice: check the rules where your recipients live.
Work back from daily volume. Senders commonly keep each mailbox to a few dozen cold emails a day and put two or three mailboxes on each secondary domain, so a first campaign often starts with 2 or 3 domains and 5 to 10 inboxes. Use domains that look like your main one, never the main domain itself, and add mailboxes rather than raising daily limits when volume grows.
Most senders warm a new mailbox for two to four weeks before cold sends start, and keep warm-up running afterwards. Warm-up sends and answers emails between real inboxes, so providers see normal traffic before volume rises. Instantly, Smartlead and Salesforge include unlimited warm-up, lemlist includes lemwarm on paid plans, Woodpecker includes 2 to 10 free warm-ups by tier, and OXYGEN includes warm-up with every inbox you buy in the app.
Entry plans run from $35 to $69 a month: Woodpecker from $35 for 500 prospects, Smartlead Base at $39, Instantly Growth at $47 and lemlist's Email plan at $69 for the team, while Salesforge's Pro plan card shows $40. Mailboxes add $3 to $10 each a month, and placement tests and lead data often cost extra. OXYGEN starts at $49 a month per workspace, with inboxes at $4 a month each.
Cold email software is built around sending infrastructure: many mailboxes, warm-up, rotation and deliverability checks, priced per workspace or by volume. A sales engagement platform is built around reps: calls, tasks and LinkedIn steps next to email, logged to a CRM and usually priced per seat. OXYGEN covers both jobs: it sells and warms the inboxes, runs LinkedIn in the same sequence and files replies on its own CRM, with no seat per user.
Yes. OXYGEN and Salesforge run LinkedIn steps in the cloud in the same sequence as email, and Woodpecker sells LinkedIn as a $29 a month add-on per account. lemlist runs LinkedIn on its Multichannel plan through a Chrome extension. Instantly and Smartlead have no LinkedIn steps of their own and hand leads to HeyReach, Aimfox or Expandi. In OXYGEN, a reply on either channel stops the sequence for that lead.
Every tool here stops the sequence for a lead who replies. What differs is where the reply goes next. Instantly sells a CRM add-on, Woodpecker syncs with HubSpot and Pipedrive through its integrations add-on, and lemlist connects to CRMs through its integrations. OXYGEN stops the lead on any channel, triages the reply with AI, drafts an answer, and files the replier as a person on its built-in CRM with a deals pipeline.
We make OXYGEN, so it comes first and you should read this as an interested list. The other tools are the ones teams compare most often when they pick a cold email software. Each one is described from its own website, pricing page and docs, checked on the dates below; OXYGEN's facts and prices come from the product and its live price list. Prices are the cheapest self-serve plan each vendor lists.
The products named here are trademarks of their owners and are not affiliated with OXYGEN. Something out of date? Tell us.