Originally published at StackPrice. Disclosure: I run StackPrice, a free list-price tracker for sales tools. Some links on the StackPrice site are affiliate links; none of the links in this article are affiliate links.
Cold email tools all advertise "from $X/mo", but the X usually assumes annual billing, and the limits behind it (contacts, sends, credits) differ a lot. I pulled every plan for the cold email tools StackPrice tracks straight from each vendor's official pricing page and put them in one table.
Short answer: the cheapest published paid plan here is Mailshake, Starter at $25/mo, billed annually ($29/mo if billed monthly). Next is Smartlead, Base at $32/mo, billed annually ($39/mo if billed monthly). All prices were checked on the vendors' official pricing pages on 2026-10-17.
Entry plan by tool
| Tool | Cheapest published paid plan | Free plan? | Official pricing page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mailshake | Starter at $25/mo, billed annually ($29/mo if billed monthly) | No | mailshake.com/pricing/ |
| Smartlead | Base at $32/mo, billed annually ($39/mo if billed monthly) | No | www.smartlead.ai/pricing |
| Saleshandy | Starter at $34/mo, billed annually ($41/mo if billed monthly) | No | www.saleshandy.com/pricing/ |
| Instantly | Outreach Growth at $37.60/mo, billed annually ($47/mo if billed monthly) | No | instantly.ai/pricing |
| lemlist | Email at $55/mo, billed annually ($69/mo if billed monthly) | No | www.lemlist.com/pricing |
Every plan, side by side
List prices in USD. "Annual (per mo)" is the per-month price when billed annually.
| Tool | Plan | Monthly billing | Annual (per mo) | Limits / credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mailshake | Starter | $29 | $25 | 1 email address, 1,500 sends/mo, 50 data finder credits |
| Mailshake | Email Outreach | $49 | $45 | 2 email addresses, unlimited sends, 50 data finder credits |
| Mailshake | Sales Engagement | $99 | $85 | 10 email addresses, unlimited sends, 2,500 data finder credits, dialer |
| Mailshake | Agency | Contact sales | Contact sales | |
| Smartlead | Base | $39 | $32 | 2,000 contacts, 6,000 sends/mo, 2,000 verified emails |
| Smartlead | Pro | $94 | $78 | 30,000 contacts, 90,000 sends/mo, 30,000 verified emails |
| Smartlead | Unlimited Smart | $174 | $144 | Unlimited contacts, 150,000 sends/mo, 50,000 verified emails |
| Smartlead | Unlimited Prime | $379 | $315 | Unlimited contacts, 500,000 sends/mo, 170,000 verified emails |
| Saleshandy | Starter | $41 | $34 | 2,000 active prospects, 6,000 emails/mo, 1,500 lead finder credits/mo, 1 user |
| Saleshandy | Pro | $99 | $76 | 30,000 active prospects, 4,000 lead finder credits/mo, 10 users |
| Saleshandy | Scale | $189 | $149 | Unlimited active prospects (fair use), 8,000 lead finder credits/mo |
| Saleshandy | Enterprise | Contact sales | Contact sales | |
| Instantly | Outreach Growth | $47 | $37.60 | 5,000 emails/mo, 1,000 uploaded contacts |
| Instantly | Outreach Hypergrowth | $97 | $77.60 | 25,000 uploaded contacts; 125,000 emails/mo on plan card (comparison table says 100,000) |
| Instantly | Outreach Light Speed | $358 | $286.30 | 500,000 emails/mo, 100,000 uploaded contacts |
| Instantly | Enterprise | Contact sales | Contact sales | 500,000+ emails/mo |
| lemlist | $69 | $55 | Unlimited users & senders, 650M+ lead database | |
| lemlist | Multichannel | $109 | $87 | 5 senders per user, LinkedIn/SMS automation, dialer |
| lemlist | Enterprise | Contact sales | Contact sales |
Notes worth knowing before you buy
- Mailshake: No free trial per vendor FAQ.
- Smartlead: Annual billing saves 17% per vendor FAQ.
- Saleshandy: 1 credit = 1 verified email; 6 credits = phone.
- Instantly: Annual prices are the per-month figures shown with yearly billing.
- lemlist: Credits roll over while subscribed.
How to read this: compare the limit you actually need (sends per month or active contacts), not just the entry price. A $25/mo plan with 1,500 sends/mo and a $37.60/mo plan with 5,000 emails/mo are not the same product tier.
FAQ
What is the cheapest option in this comparison?
Mailshake, Starter at $25/mo, billed annually ($29/mo if billed monthly).
Which tools have a free plan?
None of these tools lists a free plan.
Are these the prices I'll actually pay?
They are published list prices in USD from each vendor's official page, checked 2026-10-17. Taxes, add-ons, extra seats and negotiated discounts are not included, and negotiated prices are not published.
The live, sortable version (updated when vendors change prices) is at https://getstackprice.com/cold-email-software-pricing/. Spotted a price that changed? Email natalie@getstackprice.com.
