Instantly vs Smartlead: near-identical sequencer bills, different limits and refund terms

At 1,000 and 5,000 cold emails a day Instantly and Smartlead cost within $10 of each other once mailboxes and domains are added. What separates them is how each counts contacts, Smartlead's 7-day refund against Instantly's no-refund terms, and API access, which Smartlead keeps off its $39 plan.

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  • Warm-up and sending included
  • $2.50 a mailbox, 12 minimum
  • Month-to-month billing

Instantly

Smartlead

Entry price
$47 a month (Growth, 5,000 emails)$39 a month (Base, 6,000 sends)
Priced by
By emails a month and uploaded contacts; email accounts unlimited, no per-seat priceBy sends a month and stored contacts; mailboxes unlimited, no per-seat price
Warm-up
Unlimited warm-up included in every planUnlimited warm-up on every plan; the pool tier rises with the plan
At 5,000 a day, all lines
$727.33$717.33

Instantly vs Smartlead, line by line

Each cell links to the vendor's page it comes from.

Instantly and Smartlead prices

Instantly

Instantly plans and prices
PlanPriceWhat it buysBillingIncludes
Growth$47 a month5,000 emails, 1,000 uploaded contactsmonthlyUnlimited email accounts and warm-up; no team members or webhooks source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)
Hypergrowth$97 a month125,000 emails, 25,000 uploaded contactsmonthlySubsequences, webhooks, Unibox, team members, workspaces source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)
Light Speed$358 a month500,000 emails, 100,000 uploaded contactsmonthlyDedicated sending server and IP rotation (SISR) source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)
EnterpriseCustom500,000+ emails, 100,000+ contactsmonthlyPrivate deliverability network, account manager source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)

Smartlead

Smartlead plans and prices
PlanPriceWhat it buysBillingIncludes
Base$39 a month6,000 sends, 2,000 contactsmonthlyUnlimited mailboxes and warm-up; no API, webhooks or team members source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)
Pro$94 a month90,000 sends, 30,000 contactsmonthlyCRM, API and webhooks, unlimited team members source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)
Unlimited Smart$174 a month150,000 sends, unlimited contactsmonthly50,000 verified emails, Premium warm-up pool, CSM calls source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)
Smart, 240K step$228 a month240,000 sends, unlimited contactsmonthlySlider step between Smart and Prime; 80,000 verified emails source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)
Unlimited Prime$379 a month500,000 sends, unlimited contactsmonthly170,000 verified emails, 3 SmartServers, 3+ client workspaces source (opens the vendor's page in a new tab)

List prices from Instantly's pricing page and Smartlead's pricing page, checked . Taxes and card fees excluded.

Full monthly cost at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 emails a day

Each sequencer plan the volume needs, with the same mailboxes and domains on both sides.

  • Instantly + Outreach2day mailboxes

    Keep the sequencer, buy the mailboxes from us

    1,000 a day (40 mailboxes)

    $205.67

    5,000 a day (200 mailboxes)

    $727.33

    10,000 a day (400 mailboxes)

    $1,357.67

  • Smartlead + Outreach2day mailboxes

    Keep the sequencer, buy the mailboxes from us

    1,000 a day (40 mailboxes)

    $202.67

    5,000 a day (200 mailboxes)

    $717.33

    10,000 a day (400 mailboxes)

    $1,314.67

  • Outreach2day all-in

    Mailboxes, warm-up and the sequencer in one bill

    1,000 a day (40 mailboxes)

    $108.67

    • 40 mailboxes at $2.50, warm-up and sequencer included: $100
    • 8 domains at $13 a year: $8.67
    5,000 a day (200 mailboxes)

    $543.33

    • 200 mailboxes at $2.50, warm-up and sequencer included: $500
    • 40 domains at $13 a year: $43.33
    10,000 a day (400 mailboxes)

    $1,086.67

    • 400 mailboxes at $2.50, warm-up and sequencer included: $1,000
    • 80 domains at $13 a year: $86.67

25 cold emails per mailbox a day and 5 mailboxes per domain: 1,000 a day = 40 mailboxes, 8 domains, 22,000 emails a month; 5,000 a day = 200 mailboxes, 40 domains, 110,000 emails a month; 10,000 a day = 400 mailboxes, 80 domains, 220,000 emails a month (22 sending days). Monthly list prices on monthly billing; .com domains at $13 a year spread over 12 months.

With the same Outreach2day mailboxes and domains on both sides, the setups come to $206 on Instantly and $203 on Smartlead at 1,000 a day, $727 and $717 at 5,000, and $1,358 and $1,315 at 10,000. The sequencer plans differ by $3 to $43 a month.

Both sell mailboxes too. Instantly's done-for-you Google accounts cost $5 a month and Smartlead's SmartSenders $4.50; neither can be moved out of the tool. At 200 mailboxes that is $1,000 or $900 a month against $500 for ours.

Smartlead's lower number at 10,000 a day comes from a 240,000-send step on its pricing slider ($228). Instantly needs Hypergrowth with two Outbound add-ons ($271) because of its contact limit.

Where they differ

How each one counts

Instantly limits emails a month and uploaded contacts, and the contact limit is a running total: 25,000 on Hypergrowth until you delete old leads or buy an add-on. Smartlead limits sends a month and stored contacts, and its Unlimited plans drop the contact cap altogether.

If your lists are large and you rarely clean them, Smartlead's Unlimited Smart at $174 is the simpler plan. If you send many steps to fewer people, Instantly's Hypergrowth stretches further.

Refunds and trials

Smartlead refunds a new subscription in full within 7 days and a renewal within 3 days if unused. Instantly's terms make all fees non-refundable.

Both offer a 14-day trial without a card: Instantly with 1,000 emails and 2 accounts, Smartlead with 2,500 sends and unlimited mailboxes.

API, MCP and team features

Instantly has API v2 on every paid plan; Smartlead starts its API and webhooks at Pro ($94). Team members need Hypergrowth on Instantly and Pro on Smartlead.

Both run official MCP servers with an API key: mcp.instantly.ai and mcp.smartlead.ai (SSE). Instantly and Smartlead MCP shows how they pair with ours.

Ratings

Smartlead shows 2.9 out of 5 from 140 reviews on Trustpilot. Instantly's Trustpilot page lists 1,171 reviews with the score withheld for a guideline breach, so there is no public number to compare.

Which one to pick

Pick Instantly if

  • You want the API on the cheapest plan you can send from
  • You send several steps to a contact list you keep under 25,000
  • You want Instantly's lead database or CRM add-ons in the same account

Pick Smartlead if

  • You want a refund window on a new subscription
  • You upload large lists and want no contact cap (Unlimited plans)
  • You want dedicated IPs (SmartServers) or white-label client workspaces

Where Outreach2day fits

Outreach2day is a third option: mailboxes, warm-up and a sequencer in one subscription. It is ours, so it has its own section.

Outreach2day supplies mailboxes to both: it connects to Instantly and Smartlead with an API key and adds warm mailboxes to the account automatically. At 5,000 a day our 200 mailboxes cost $500 against $1,000 from Instantly and $900 from Smartlead.

It is also a third option for email-only campaigns: our own sequencer with steps, a send schedule, stop on reply and a replies inbox, in the $2.50 mailbox price. The setup is $543 a month at 5,000 a day. Instantly and Smartlead have lead data, LinkedIn or calling add-ons that we do not.

From 1,000 mailboxes Outreach2day quotes a volume price below the per-mailbox list price of every vendor in our comparisons, including Maildoso's $0.49, with warm-up and sending in the price. Book a call and we quote your volume.

Instantly vs Smartlead: questions

Is Instantly or Smartlead cheaper?

The sequencer plans are close: $97 against $94 at 1,000 emails a day and $184 against $174 at 5,000. Smartlead's Base plan ($39) is cheaper to start, Instantly's Growth ($47) includes the API.

Which has better refund terms?

Smartlead: a full refund within 7 days of a new subscription. Instantly's fees are non-refundable.

Do both include warm-up?

Yes. Both include unlimited warm-up on every plan.

Can I use the same mailboxes in Instantly and Smartlead?

Mailboxes you own, yes: both connect any IMAP/SMTP account. Mailboxes bought from Instantly or SmartSenders stay inside the tool that sold them.

Do Instantly and Smartlead have MCP servers?

Yes. Both have official servers that use an API key.

Deliverability call

Talk to our deliverability team

Book a call with the people who run our mailbox infrastructure. We look at your current setup and tell you what to change. Running 1,000+ mailboxes? We also quote a volume price below every vendor list price in our comparisons, warm-up and sending included.

  • Review your domains, DNS records and current inbox placement
  • Size the setup: domains, mailboxes per domain and daily volume per mailbox
  • Plan warm-up and the move from your current provider or sequencer
  • 1,000+ mailboxes: a volume price per mailbox for your setup

Free call

See open times in your time zone and book on this page.

Or open the booking page

More on Instantly and Smartlead

Sources

Each vendor's own pages. Vendors change prices and plans; if something here is out of date, write to support@outreach2day.com and we will fix it.

First cold emails on day 14, full volume on day 21

Add domains, create mailboxes and turn on warm-up. You see every mailbox's warm-up numbers from day one.

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