Lemlist is a popular multichannel cold outreach software built around personalization and LinkedIn outreach.
If you're reading this, something about it isn't working for you, maybe the price, the results, or a missing feature.
All these reasons lead teams to start comparing other options.
Without a doubt, Lemlist is a good tool. The personalization is strong, the LinkedIn outreach works, and it suits smaller teams.
The trouble starts as you scale your cold outreach. The starter plan is email only, so LinkedIn and other channels sit on pricier per-user plans.
Email deliverability can get bad at high volume, and reviews often flag weak personalization in languages other than English.
What you want is a tool that stays affordable as you scale and still reaches the inbox. Plus, reviews on G2 and Reddit say the same thing, and Lemlist doesn't always manage both.
By the end of this guide, you'll know:
To make this guide useful, I reviewed each platform's features, pricing, and user feedback from G2 and Reddit to understand where each tool performs well and where it falls short.
Let's get into it.
Short version, so you don't have to scroll.
And whichever one you pick, sort out your email infrastructure first.
Lemlist is a popular cold email tool. It has strong LinkedIn automation and some of the best personalization features around. People don't leave because it's bad. They leave for specific reasons, and these are the ones that come up most in reviews.
No LinkedIn on the first plan: The entry plan is email only. LinkedIn, calling, and SMS all sit on the pricier Multichannel plan, charged per user.
Cost and credits at scale: Pricing is per user, so the bill grows with every seat. Reviews also note the lead database burns through enrichment credits quickly, and more cost extra.
Inconsistent lead data: The waterfall search is handy, but users say data quality varies by industry and region, so the built-in database isn't always reliable.
Source: G2
Basic analytics and week non-English personalization: Reviewers call the in-app reporting shallow, so deeper tracking means exporting to a CRM. Personalization is also weaker other than English language.
All advanced features are available on higher plans: Lemlist does cover data, warmup, and multichannel, but the useful features are one or two tiers up. The real cost is higher than the entry price looks.
Here is one of the G2 review on Lemlist pricing concerns.
Source: G2
Those are the reasons I kept in mind while building this list. Let’s understand each tool in detail.
I set up a way to judge these that goes past what each tool's website claims.
I looked at how the price moves as you add users or mailboxes, and cross-checked everything against G2 and Reddit, where the honest complaints live.
Then I scored every tool on five things that matter most for anyone leaving Lemlist:
Check this table to get a quick understanding of each tool’s multichannel options, pricing models, starting price, and if they provide free trial.
Prices are the lowest entry point at the time of writing. They might change with billing terms, so check the current plan before you buy.
In the sections below, I go through each tool: what it's good at, where it's weak, and why it's on the list. Let's start at the top.
Best for: GTM teams and agencies that want email and LinkedIn in one sequence, without paying for every seat and mailbox.
G2 Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 (100+ reviews)
If you're looking for a Lemlist alternative that lets you run email and LinkedIn outreach together without charging per user, Salesforge is one of the best options available. It's a multichannel outreach platform trusted by more than 10,000 businesses.
With Salesforge, you can run email and LinkedIn in the same sequence. The workflow changes automatically based on how your prospects respond, which makes your outreach flexible.
While Lemlist does a great job with personalized cold emails, Salesforge stands out when you need to run outreach across multiple mailboxes at scale.
Another advantage is pricing. LinkedIn outreach is included in every Salesforge plan, whereas Lemlist only offers it with its $87/user/month Multichannel plan.
All your replies are managed through Primebox™, which brings email and LinkedIn conversations from all your mailboxes into a single inbox.
Salesforge also supports AI personalization in more than 21 languages by using company news, LinkedIn activity, and industry context. Lemlist performs well in English, but its multilingual capabilities aren't as strong.
Pricing is another reason Salesforge chosen by growing teams. If you add another teammate on Lemlist's Multichannel plan, your monthly cost increases to around $174. With Salesforge, adding a second or even a tenth teammate doesn't cost anything extra.
Here's what you get with the platform:
Beyond the core platform, you can add other products from the Forge ecosystem whenever you need them. Mailforge, Infraforge, and Primeforge handle your sending infrastructure, while Leadsforge helps you find lead data.
Each product has separate pricing, so you only pay for what you actually use.
One feature that makes Salesforge different is the flexibility in how you use it.
As a result, Salesforge becomes one of the best platform that helps you to send cold emails at scale.
Salesforge comes with three plans. Here are the basic details of each:
Before committing, you can start with a 14-day free trial to explore the platform without paying a single dollar.
You can read more about the platform in detail by checking the dedicated Salesforge review blog.
Best for: Solopreneurs, founders, and small SDR teams who want an affordable all-in-one with a built-in lead database.
G2 Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 (400+ reviews)
Snov.io is the budget all-in-one on this list, and that label fits.
It bundles a native lead database, an email finder, an email verifier, a built-in CRM, and campaign sending into one tool.
One thing that stands out is that you can build a list, verify the addresses, and launch a sequence without leaving the platform. That's a real advantage if you don't want to stitch a data provider onto your outreach tool.
The email finder and verifier are the parts I liked most.
You get verified email addresses straight from the tool, and users report low bounce rates. That points to reliable verification.
If you've been paying for a data provider and a sending tool separately, Snov.io puts both in one affordable plan and saves you money.
On channels, Snov.io does email and LinkedIn, so it counts as multichannel. Email is where it stands out.
The LinkedIn automation runs through a Chrome extension and works for basic prospecting. It's not as deep as a LinkedIn-led tool.
If your outreach is mostly email with some LinkedIn on the side, that balance is fine. If LinkedIn is your main channel, you'll want something further down this list.
The limitation is that being an all-in-one means no single part is top of its class.
The database is decent, though smaller than a dedicated data provider's. The CRM does the job, even if it stays fairly basic.
It's a strong value pick, not a power tool. And that's exactly who it's for.
Snov.io is a strong alternative to Lemlist for anyone who wants data and sending in one affordable place.
Best for: Outbound sales teams and SDRs who want true multichannel outreach with phone calls and SMS, not just email and LinkedIn.
G2 Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 (1500+ reviews)
Reply.io is the tool to look at when you want a multichannel outreach tool.
It runs sequences across email, LinkedIn, phone calls, SMS, and WhatsApp. A single cadence can touch a prospect on several channels in a coordinated way.
That breadth is where it goes beyond what Lemlist offers. It's the reason omnichannel teams pick it.
The multichannel sequence builder is the standout here.
A typical cadence opens with email, adds a LinkedIn touch, then flags a call task for the ones who engage. It all sits in one flow.
For a sales team that works the phones alongside email, having calls and SMS built into the sequence, not bolted on, helps a lot.
Reply also leans into AI.
It has conversational AI agents that can handle basic prospect replies and help book meetings. That's useful if your reply volume is high which exhaust your entire day.
The AI handles responses well, though anything nuanced still needs a human eye.
The catch is complexity and cost.
All that channel depth means more to learn. And the per user pricing adds up for bigger teams, the same way Lemlist's does.
If you only send email, you're paying for channels you won't use. But if true multichannel is the job, Reply does it about as fully as anything here.
For true multichannel outreach, Reply.io is one of the most complete Lemlist alternatives out there.
Best for: Social sellers, founders, and agencies where LinkedIn is the main channel and email supports it.
G2 Rating: 4.6 out of 5 (56+ reviews)
La Growth Machine, or LGM, comes at multichannel from the LinkedIn side.
The platforms listed here in this blog are email-first with LinkedIn attached. LGM is built so LinkedIn leads and email supports, with voice messages in the mix too.
If your motion is social-led and your best replies come from LinkedIn, this is the tool actually designed for you.
What stands out is how naturally it weaves LinkedIn and email together.
A typical sequence starts with a LinkedIn visit and connection, then follows with an email only if the prospect hasn't accepted. The branching suits that channel order rather than fighting it.
The enrichment along the way was handy too, filling in contact data as the sequence ran.
LGM also has a strong reputation for the quality of its LinkedIn automation.
That includes safer sending limits that respect LinkedIn's rules. It matters if you've ever had an account restricted for pushing too hard.
That care around LinkedIn sender behavior is something email-first tools tend to treat as an afterthought.
The limitation is scope.
LGM is excellent at LinkedIn-led multichannel, and less suited to pure high-volume cold email. That isn't its game.
It's also priced per identity, so scaling across a big team is a cost to plan for. But for LinkedIn prospecting done properly, it's one of the best on this list.
If LinkedIn outreach is your core channel, LGM is the Lemlist alternative that treats it as the main event.
Best for: Revenue teams, SDRs, and marketers who want prospect data and outreach in one tool, without buying leads separately.
G2 Rating: 4.7 out of 5 (9,000+ reviews)
Apollo is one of the most popular cold email platforms in this list.
It pairs a huge searchable B2B database with sequencing, so you find contacts and email them without leaving the platform.
That combination is the main reason people move to it from Lemlist, which handles the sending but leaves the data to you.
The database is the strong part.
You search by role, company size, and buyer intent signals. Then you pull a targeted list with verified email addresses and phone numbers, and drop it straight into a sequence.
Having intent data and contact data feed directly into outreach is genuinely useful. And it syncs cleanly with a CRM, so your reps aren't copying records around.
The sequencing itself is capable rather than remarkable.
It does email, calls, and LinkedIn tasks, so it counts as multichannel. The LinkedIn side is more task-based than the deep automation you get from LGM or Salesforge.
For most sales use cases that's a fair trade, since the data quality and CRM sync make up for it.
The common complaints about Apollo are data accuracy on some records, and how pricing and credits work as you scale.
The database is massive, but no database is perfect, and reviewers note the occasional stale record.
Still, for prospecting plus outreach in one place, it's one of the most practical alternatives here.
Apollo is the Lemlist alternative to pick when you want the contact data and the outreach living together.
Best for: Larger sales teams and SDR orgs that run structured cadences and uses CRM for lead management.
G2 Ratings: 4.6 out of 5 (350+ reviews)
Klenty is a sales engagement platform aimed at teams rather than solo senders. You feel that as soon as you're in it.
It's built around multichannel cadences across email, LinkedIn, calls, and SMS. It has the structured workflow and account management features larger sales teams need to stay consistent.
If Lemlist felt too lightweight for a team motion, Klenty is a step up in that direction.
The CRM integration is the best part of Klenty.
The tight sync means reps can run cadences without leaving their pipeline view, and managers get detailed analytics on what's working.
For a sales rep managing a lot of accounts, that native CRM feel removes a lot of friction. The routing and workflow controls keep a team's outreach organized.
On channels, the multichannel is real, but the fuller multichannel sits on a higher plan. Factor that into the cost.
The email and calling cadences are strong out of the gate. Adding LinkedIn and SMS rounds it into a proper omnichannel tool for teams that need it.
The honest limitation is that Klenty is built for teams. That shows in both the pricing and the setup.
A solo founder will find it heavier and pricier than they need. The value really appears once you've got multiple reps running structured cadences.
For that audience, though, it's a serious sales engagement option.
You can take its 14-day free trial before paying for its any plan.
For a larger sales team that wants cadences tied into the CRM, Klenty is a strong Lemlist alternative.
Best for: Agencies, cold email specialists, and high-volume operators who want unlimited email accounts.
G2 Ratings: 4.8 out of 5 (4,000+ reviews)
Instantly built its reputation on high volume cold email. That's still where it's strongest.
The headline is the unlimited email accounts feature. You can connect as many mailboxes as you want and rotate sending across them, with no per-mailbox charge.
For agencies and cold email operators who scale by adding mailboxes, that flat-rate approach to unlimited mailbox connections is the main draw. It's a real answer to Lemlist's pricing at volume.
The sending is built for scale.
Connect a batch of mailboxes, and the inbox rotation spreads sends across them to protect sender reputation. That's exactly what you want when you're pushing serious volume.
The built-in warmup network is part of the pitch too, keeping accounts active. The campaign builder is clean and the analytics are clear, so getting a high-volume campaign live is quick.
Now the honest framing, because it matters.
Instantly is an email-first tool that has added multichannel, not a native multichannel platform. Its LinkedIn and wider channel features arrived later, and aren't as deep as Reply, LGM, or Salesforge.
If your job is high volume email, that's no problem at all. If you want email and LinkedIn woven together as equals, this isn't the tool built for that.
The other thing to weigh is that the features you'll want tend to sit on the growth plan, not the cheapest tier. So the cost is a step above the entry price.
For high-volume cold email, Instantly is still one of the most popular Lemlist alternatives, and it's easy to see why.
For high volume cold email with unlimited mailboxes, Instantly is a proven Lemlist alternative, as long as email is your main channel.
Best for: Agencies and cold email specialists running many client campaigns who want inbox rotation and whitelabel.
G2 Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 (350+ reviews)
Smartlead is another excellent cold email platform built for large-scale outreach, with agencies as its primary focus.
It offers effectively unlimited email scaling, dynamic inbox rotation to protect domain reputation, and full whitelabel so agencies can run it under their own brand.
If managing campaigns for multiple clients and reputation across many domains is your daily worry, Smartlead is designed around that exact problem.
The inbox rotation is the feature worth mentioning.
Connect a set of mailboxes, and Smartlead rotates sends across them automatically. That spreads the load and helps keep any single domain's reputation healthy.
For an agency handling many client domains, that automatic protection of sender reputation matters. The shared inbox pulls replies from all those mailboxes into one place.
The whitelabel and client management side is where it's strongest for agencies.
You can present the platform as your own and keep client campaigns cleanly separated. That's the kind of account management larger operations need.
The API is there too, for teams that want to build custom workflows on top.
The same honest note applies as with Instantly.
Smartlead is an email-first cold email tool that has added multichannel, not a native multichannel platform. Its LinkedIn support exists, but isn't the deep, woven-in automation you get from a LinkedIn-led tool.
For agencies whose core job is high-volume email at scale, that's fine. Just go in knowing email is the strength and multichannel is the addition.
For agencies that need inbox rotation and whitelabel at volume, Smartlead is a strong Lemlist alternative built for email scale.
Every tool above sends from email mailboxes.
Switching from Lemlist to any of them changes how you build and send campaigns. It does not, on its own, change whether your emails land in the inbox or the spam folder.
This is where the switch quietly goes wrong.
They switch tools expecting better results, and their reply rate doesn't move. The reason is sitting one layer down: the mailboxes and domains aren't set up properly for cold email.
That's the thing most people shopping Lemlist alternatives miss.
Deliverability comes from your infrastructure, the domains and mailboxes you send from. Not from the sequencer sitting on top.
A great tool sending from weak mailboxes still lands in spam. A simple tool sending from well-configured mailboxes lands in the primary inbox.
If you only fix the tool, you've solved the wrong layer.
Regular Google or Outlook mailboxes aren't built for cold outreach.
Setting them up by hand means wrestling with DNS records and waiting a day or more per domain, often getting accounts blocked in the process.
This is where dedicated infrastructure earns its place.
With Mailforge, you set up cold email mailboxes with automated DNS, meaning SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are handled for you. They're ready in minutes, not a day.
Pricing runs from around $3 down to $2 per mailbox per month. For a batch of mailboxes, that's far cheaper than native Google Workspace.
The practical move is to run more than one mailbox and spread your sending, so no single mailbox carries all the load.
Every high-volume tool on this list, from Salesforge to Instantly to Smartlead, works better when it's sending from proper infrastructure underneath it.
The tool rotates the sends. The infrastructure decides whether they land.
The second half of deliverability is warmup.
New mailboxes need to build a sending reputation before you point real campaigns at them, or they'll flag as spam from day one. The recommended period is around 14 days.
This is where Warmforge comes in.
The metric to watch is the Heat Score, a real-time health score for each mailbox where 85 and above means it's healthy and ready to send.
It also runs inbox placement tests, so I can see where my email is actually landing before I commit a campaign to it.
So before you get too deep comparing sequencers, get this layer right first.
Set up mailboxes is useful for cold email, warm them up, and then let whichever tool you picked do its job on a foundation that works.
There is no single tool that can meet all your requirements. Choosing the right cold email tool depends on your needs, features, pricing, and accuracy.
I’d like to suggest the tools in the following aspects.
If you run both email and LinkedIn and want the best overall Lemlist alternative, pick Salesforge.
Email and LinkedIn in one sequence, unlimited mailboxes and senders, no seat-based pricing, and every reply in one inbox. It's the most complete answer to why most people leave Lemlist.
Here's the rest by use case.
If you're on a tight budget and want data and sending together, pick Snov.io. If you need true multichannel with calls and SMS, pick Reply.io.
If LinkedIn is your main channel, pick La Growth Machine. If you want prospect data built into your outreach, pick Apollo.
If you're a larger sales team living in the CRM, pick Klenty. If you're an agency running high volume cold email, pick Instantly or Smartlead, knowing both are email-first tools with multichannel added on.
Whichever you choose, sort out your infrastructure first.
Set up cold email mailboxes in Mailforge, warm them with Warmforge, and your new tool will actually reach the inbox.
Salesforge is the best overall Lemlist alternative for teams running both email and LinkedIn. It runs both channels in one sequence, gives you unlimited mailboxes and LinkedIn senders with no seat-based pricing, and manages every reply in one unified inbox.
The right pick depends on your channel mix and budget. But for teams that want both email and LinkedIn without paying per seat, Salesforge is the best fit.
Several alternatives offer a free tier or free trial. Apollo has a free plan with limited credits, Snov.io offers a free tier to test, and Salesforge gives you a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Free plans are good for evaluating a tool. But for real cold email campaigns, you'll usually need a paid plan and proper email infrastructure to get results.
For LinkedIn-led outreach, La Growth Machine is the strongest pick. It's built around LinkedIn, with email and voice supporting it rather than the other way around.
If you want LinkedIn and email as equal channels in one sequence, Salesforge is the better fit, since it runs both together with unlimited LinkedIn senders.
It depends on your job. Smartlead is better for agencies running high volume cold email who need inbox rotation and whitelabel across many client domains.
Lemlist is stronger on personalization and native LinkedIn outreach for smaller teams. If you want both email and LinkedIn as equals plus a unified inbox, Salesforge is worth comparing against both.
Yes, most of these tools send from mailboxes you provide, so you need email infrastructure underneath them.
Setting up cold email mailboxes with proper DNS by hand is slow and error-prone, which is why dedicated infrastructure like Mailforge exists. You can set up mailboxes with automated DNS in minutes, then connect them to whichever outreach tool you pick.
Because the tool isn't what controls deliverability, your infrastructure is.
If your mailboxes and domains aren't set up correctly for cold email and warmed up first, your email will land in spam no matter how good the sequencer is.
Set up dedicated mailboxes with Mailforge, warm them for around 14 days with Warmforge, and then run your campaigns. Fixing the infrastructure layer is what moves email from spam to the primary inbox.
