- lemlist lists Email at $69 per user per month ($55 billed yearly) and Multichannel at $109 ($87 billed yearly); LinkedIn and SMS automation are on Multichannel.
- Our pick for email-only senders is Smartlead on its published pricing: Base is $39 a month ($32 billed yearly) with unlimited email accounts; none of these tools were tested by us.
- For three users over 12 months billed yearly: lemlist Email $1,980, Apollo Basic $1,764, Smartlead Base with three mailboxes $559, if its plan allows the seats (confirm).
- All prices were read from each vendor's page on 2026-10-08.
lemlist alternatives are worth pricing when you have worked out what lemlist charges per person. Its pricing page, read on 2026-10-08, lists the Email plan at $69 per user per month ($55 billed yearly) and Multichannel at $109 per user per month ($87 billed yearly). That is a tool built around adding LinkedIn, SMS and calls to email. If you only send email, or you have two or three people sending, the per-user math adds up fast. Below are the options, with prices from each company's own page, checked 2026-10-08. None of these tools were tested by us.
- Why people look past lemlist, from its own page
- How we checked
- Side-by-side table (checked 2026-10-08)
- Smartlead: our pick for email only, not tested by us
- Instantly: similar volume pricing, not tested by us
- Apollo: database plus sequences, not tested by us
- Gmail mail merge: free if you already have it, not tested by us
- 12-month cost for a team of one and a team of three
Part of our complete guide: how to find vending machine locations.
The short answer
- Pick Smartlead if you send email only and want a bill that does not grow with each person: Base is $39 a month ($32 billed yearly) with 2,000 contacts and 6,000 sends, and unlimited email accounts on every plan. Not tested by us; chosen on published pricing.
- Pick Apollo if you want contacts and sending in one account: Basic is $49 per seat per month billed annually.
- Pick Gmail mail merge if you send under about 50 a day on an eligible Google Workspace plan and want no new tool.
- Stay with lemlist if LinkedIn automation, SMS steps or a built-in call dialer in the same sequence are the reason you chose it.
Affiliate link. We earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which tool we recommend.
VendBuddy is our product and is for finding vending locations, not for sending email. We mention it once near the end. We have not run lemlist, Smartlead, Apollo or any of these senders, so every number below is a published one.
Why people look past lemlist, from its own page
We will not invent complaints. These are things the pricing page shows that matter for a small sender:
- It is priced per user. One person is $55 billed yearly on the Email plan. Three people sending is $165 a month on the same billing.
- The multichannel features are on the second plan. LinkedIn automation, SMS automation and the call dialer sit under Multichannel at $87 billed yearly per user, nearly $32 more a month per person than the Email plan.
- Multichannel caps senders per user. It lists 5 senders per user, where the Email plan lists unlimited senders.
- The trial includes only part of the product. The 14-day trial gives you Multichannel features except in-app calls, plus 200 credits for finding emails and phone numbers.
None of that makes lemlist a poor tool. It is priced for people who use the extra steps.
How we checked
On 2026-10-08 we read lemlist's pricing page, Smartlead's pricing page, Instantly's pricing page, Apollo's pricing page and Google's Gmail mail merge help page and copied plan names, prices and limits. We did not sign up, connect a mailbox or send an email, so we cannot speak to inbox placement, warmup quality or support. We give no scores, since a score for a tool we have not used would be invented.
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Start building free →Side-by-side table (checked 2026-10-08)
| What you care about | lemlist | Smartlead | Instantly | Apollo | Gmail mail merge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it is priced | Per user | By contacts and sends; we saw no per-user price | By contacts and sends | Per seat | Part of your Workspace plan |
| First paid price | Email $69/mo, $55 billed yearly | Base $39/mo, $32 billed yearly | Growth $47/mo | Basic $49 per seat per month billed annually | No extra charge on an eligible plan |
| Contacts and sends | Unlimited contacts | Base: 2,000 contacts, 6,000 sends a month | Growth: 1,000 contacts, 5,000 emails a month | Basic: unlimited sequences, 250 emails a day | Up to 1,500 recipients a day |
| Mailboxes | Email: unlimited senders. Multichannel: 5 per user | Unlimited email accounts | Unlimited email accounts on Growth | 1 per user on Basic | One account |
| Warmup | lemwarm included on all plans | AI warmups listed | Unlimited warmup on Growth | Not listed on the page text we read | None |
| LinkedIn, SMS, calls | Multichannel: LinkedIn and SMS automation, call dialer | Power dialer sold as an add-on | Not listed on the page text we read | US dialer on paid plans, credits apply | None |
| Tested by us? | No | No | No | No | No |
Sources: the five pages linked above, read 2026-10-08. Plans change often; confirm before you buy.
Smartlead lists a free trial with no card in its FAQ, so you can test sequences before choosing.
Affiliate link. We earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which tool we recommend.
Smartlead: our pick for email only, not tested by us
Best for: a sender who wants email only and a bill tied to volume, not headcount. Price: Base $39 a month ($32 billed yearly), Pro $94 ($78 yearly) with 30,000 contacts and 90,000 sends, Unlimited Smart $174, Unlimited Prime $379.
From its page: unlimited email accounts, AI warmups, a master inbox, send rotation across mailboxes, a free trial with no card and no lock-in contract. Mailboxes bought in the tool are listed at $4.50 each per month plus $13 per domain per year for a Google provider. A power dialer called SmartDialer is sold as an add-on with credit plans from $9 a month.
Downsides from the page: no LinkedIn or SMS steps in the pricing text we read. Mailboxes, domains and email verification add cost, and the Base plan's 2,000 contacts runs out quickly on a big list. We saw no seat limit in the text we read, so check how many people can log in before you plan a team on it. Full comparison: best cold email software.
Instantly: similar volume pricing, not tested by us
Best for: an email sender who wants a close alternative. Growth is $47 a month with 1,000 uploaded contacts, 5,000 emails a month, unlimited email accounts and unlimited warmup. Hypergrowth is $97 with 25,000 contacts. Downside: the first plan caps contacts at 1,000. See Instantly alternatives.
Apollo: database plus sequences, not tested by us
Affiliate link: VendBuddy may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Best for: someone who wants contacts and sending together. Free lists 2 sequences, 250 emails a day and one mailbox per user. Basic is $49 per seat per month billed annually with unlimited sequences and a US dialer on credits. Professional is $79 with unlimited daily sends and unlimited Google and Microsoft mailboxes. Downside: per-seat pricing like lemlist, and a 250-a-day cap on Basic.
Gmail mail merge: free if you already have it, not tested by us
Best for: a first batch of 20 to 50 pitches. Google's help page says mail merge works on eligible Workspace plans and sends to up to 1,500 recipients a day using tags like @firstname. Downside: the page lists no tracking, warmup or automatic follow-ups, and it sends from your main address.
12-month cost for a team of one and a team of three
Our arithmetic from the published prices. Smartlead lines include 3 mailboxes on one domain at its listed Google price ($175 a year for the three); we did not check mailbox costs for the others. Smartlead's page shows no per-user price, so we show one figure for both team sizes and ask you to confirm seat rules.
| Option | One user, 12 months | Three users, 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| lemlist Email, billed yearly | $55 x 12 = $660 | $55 x 3 x 12 = $1,980 |
| lemlist Email, billed monthly | $69 x 12 = $828 | $69 x 3 x 12 = $2,484 |
| lemlist Multichannel, billed yearly | $87 x 12 = $1,044 | $87 x 3 x 12 = $3,132 |
| Smartlead Base, billed yearly + 3 mailboxes | $384 + $175 = $559 | $559 (no per-user price seen; confirm seats) |
| Apollo Basic, billed annually | $49 x 12 = $588 | $49 x 3 x 12 = $1,764 |
| Gmail mail merge | Workspace cost only | Workspace cost only |
At one user the gap is about $100 a year. At three users it widens past $1,400 on these lines, because lemlist and Apollo charge per person and Smartlead's page does not. Whether that matters depends on whether you need what the extra seats buy.
Switching checklist
- Pause live sequences before you move any mailbox, and let in-flight steps finish.
- Export leads, replies and unsubscribes. Do not email people who opted out or bounced.
- Rebuild one sequence first and send it to yourself on two inboxes before using it on real prospects.
- Keep your sending domain and DNS records. SPF, DKIM and DMARC carry over; a new domain resets your reputation.
- Cancel the old plan on a written date after a week of low-volume sends on the new tool. Note that lemlist's lemwarm is included in its plans, so you will need warmup on the new tool.
When to stay with lemlist
Stay if you use LinkedIn or SMS steps and the sequences work. Stay if you use its lead database and a move would mean paying for contacts elsewhere. And stay if you are one person on the Email plan at $55 billed yearly and your sending is steady, because a saving of about $100 a year may not pay for a rebuild.
How to choose
Count how many people send and whether you need more than email. One sender doing email only has the most options. Several senders, or LinkedIn and SMS in the same sequence, point back to a per-user tool. Then decide on volume: a few hundred emails a month fits any of them, and under 50 a day Gmail mail merge may be enough.
Whichever you pick, the rules that matter are outside the tool. Send from a separate domain, warm the mailboxes, include an unsubscribe link and your mailing address, and write to a named person with a reason to care. The message itself is in cold email scripts for vending contracts. For people who asked to hear from you, a newsletter tool is the right call; see best newsletter platform for small business.
Fewer, better emails beat a bigger tool. Need someone to email first? Find them with VendBuddy, our product. Best for: finding local businesses near you (offices, apartments, gyms, medical) and the person who decides there. Searching a ZIP is free, and one credit gets the best contact on file for one business. It is built for vending operators. If you are a software sales team that needs technographics, intent data or 100,000-contact exports, it is not for you.
More cold email guides
- Best cold email software: the full comparison with Gmail mail merge.
- Instantly alternatives: when its first plan is too small.
- Cold email scripts for vending contracts: what to write.
- How to find business owner contact information: who to write to.
Try the free trial with one inbox on a separate domain and send 20 emails before you spend more.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best lemlist alternative?
For email-only sending, we pick Smartlead on published pricing: Base is $39 a month ($32 billed yearly) with unlimited email accounts on every plan, and its page shows no per-user price. We have not tested it. If you need LinkedIn or SMS steps in the same sequence, stay with lemlist. Read from each vendor's page on 2026-10-08.
How much does lemlist cost?
From its pricing page on 2026-10-08: Email is $69 per user per month ($55 billed yearly) and Multichannel is $109 ($87 billed yearly), with an Enterprise plan on custom pricing. Warmup (lemwarm) is included in all plans, and the trial is 14 days.
Does lemlist do LinkedIn outreach?
The Multichannel plan lists LinkedIn automation, SMS automation and a built-in call dialer. The Email plan is email only. The trial includes Multichannel features except in-app calls.
Is Smartlead cheaper than lemlist?
On list prices, yes. Smartlead Base is $39 a month against $69 for lemlist Email, and Smartlead's page shows pricing by contacts and sends rather than per user. Mailboxes cost extra on Smartlead, and we have not tested either tool.
Do I need LinkedIn and SMS for cold outreach to local businesses?
Usually not for a local placement pitch. A short email to a named property manager, followed by a phone call, is the approach in our cold email scripts guide. LinkedIn and SMS steps are built for outreach to larger companies, and we have not tested them.
What is selling, which buildings say yes, and the numbers before you buy a machine. Free, confirm from your inbox, unsubscribe in one click. Refer one friend and get 25 VendBuddy credits.
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