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lemlist vs Smartlead: pricing, features and which to choose

Plans, prices, deployment options, strengths and limits for lemlist vs Smartlead, taken from each company's pricing page, docs and changelog. Updated October 2026.

lemlistSmartlead
lemlist logo

lemlist

Sales AI Tools

lemlist is a hosted sales engagement platform for B2B teams and agencies running email, LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp, and calling campaigns. It combines automation, enrichment, intent signals, deliverability tools, CRM integrations, and AI personalization. Email pricing starts at $69 per month for 50,000 monthly emails, while Multichannel Expert starts at $109 per user monthly.

Full reviewWebsite
Smartlead logo

Smartlead

Sales AI Tools

Smartlead is a hosted cold-email infrastructure and outreach platform for agencies, outbound teams, and operators managing multiple sending accounts. It combines mailbox rotation, warmup, campaign automation, unified inboxes, prospect data, analytics, APIs, and AI features. Paid plans start at $39 per month, with a displayed annual equivalent of $32 per month.

Full reviewWebsite

Quick comparison

FeaturelemlistSmartlead
CategorySales AI ToolsSales AI Tools
Main useMultichannel salesCold-email outreach
Pricing modelPaid onlyPaid only
Free plan Yes No
Entry paid plan$69/month (Email monthly)$39/month, $32/month annual billing (Base)
PlatformsWeb & APIWeb & API
Open source No No
Self-hosted No No
Public API Yes Yes
Profile updatedOctober 2026October 2026

Pricing plans

Every public plan, as listed on each company's pricing page.

lemlist

  • Email monthly$69/month

    Includes 50,000 monthly emails with unlimited users and senders at this volume. Higher volumes reach 1 million emails monthly, with custom pricing above that.

  • Email quarterly$62/month billed quarterly

    The displayed price applies to the 50,000-email monthly volume. Higher quarterly prices depend on the selected email volume.

  • Email annual$55/month billed yearly

    The displayed price applies to 50,000 monthly emails. Annual prices rise to $71 for 100,000, $127 for 200,000, $287 for 500,000, and $527 for 1 million.

  • Multichannel Expert monthly$109/user/month

    Includes LinkedIn automation, SMS, calling and VoIP, a multichannel inbox, five sending emails per user, 400 monthly calling minutes per user, and five guest seats.

  • Multichannel Expert quarterly$98/user/month billed quarterly

    Includes the Multichannel Expert feature set. WhatsApp is a paid add-on, and calling is limited to 400 minutes per user monthly.

  • Multichannel Expert annual$87/user/month billed yearly

    Includes the Multichannel Expert feature set. WhatsApp is a paid add-on, and calling is limited to 400 minutes per user monthly.

  • EnterpriseCustom

    Annual plan with a five-seat minimum, custom roles and permissions, SSO or SAML, a dedicated account manager, priority support, and custom terms.

  • TrialFree for 14 days

    Includes Multichannel features except in-app calls, 200 free credits, and access to test lemAgent.

  • Lead data enrichment$20/month

    Includes 2,000 credits, about 400 emails or 100 phone numbers. Successful-result credits roll over while the subscription remains active.

  • Lead data enrichment annual$16/month billed yearly

    Includes 2,000 credits. Successful-result credits roll over while the subscription remains active.

  • Buying intent signals$29/month

    Includes 100 intent signals.

  • Buying intent signals annual$21/month billed yearly

    Includes 100 intent signals.

Smartlead

  • Base$39/month, $32/month annual billing

    Includes 2,000 contacts, 6,000 email sends monthly, 2,000 verified prospect emails monthly, unlimited mailboxes and accounts, and warmup.

  • Pro$94/month, $78/month annual billing

    Includes 30,000 contacts, 90,000 email sends monthly, and 30,000 verified prospect emails monthly.

  • Unlimited Smart$174/month, $144/month annual billing

    Includes unlimited contacts, 150,000 email sends monthly, 50,000 verified prospect emails, premium warmup, CRM, and API features.

  • Unlimited Prime$379/month, $315/month annual billing

    Includes unlimited contacts, 500,000 email sends monthly, 170,000 verified prospect emails, three SmartServers, and private infrastructure features.

  • White-label$29/month per client workspace

    Optional add-on for white-label client workspaces. This fee is separate from the underlying Smartlead subscription.

  • SmartDelivery Growth$49/month

    Optional deliverability infrastructure plan. SmartDelivery also lists Pro at $174 monthly and Expert at $599 monthly.

  • SmartDelivery Pro$174/month

    Optional deliverability infrastructure plan for customers needing a higher SmartDelivery tier.

  • SmartDelivery Expert$599/month

    Optional deliverability infrastructure plan for customers needing the highest listed SmartDelivery tier.

Strengths and limits

lemlist

  • It combines email, LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp, and calling in one campaign platform.
  • The REST API and MCP server support campaign, lead, enrichment, and statistics workflows.
  • Email plans include unlimited users and senders at the selected volume.
  • lemAgent and AI Variables support personalization and enrichment actions.
  • Pricing changes with email volume, users, billing term, and optional data features.
  • WhatsApp, enrichment, and intent signals can create additional charges.
  • The company does not publish a blanket no-training guarantee for customer content.

Smartlead

  • The Base plan includes unlimited mailboxes and accounts.
  • Unlimited Prime includes 500,000 monthly email sends.
  • REST APIs, webhooks, and a command-line interface are available.
  • Higher plans include private hosted infrastructure and client workspaces.
  • Sending, contacts, and verified prospect emails have separate monthly limits.
  • Smartlead does not name the underlying AI models used by its products.
  • Its terms grant broad rights for data processing and service development.

Which should you choose?

Choose lemlist if

  • B2B teams coordinating email, LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp, and calling campaigns.
  • Agencies managing multiple sending identities and client outreach workflows.
  • Sales teams needing CRM-connected enrichment and intent signals.
  • Teams wanting AI personalization inside multichannel sequences.

Look elsewhere if

  • Teams seeking an open-source or self-hosted sales engagement platform.
  • Senders wanting one flat price regardless of email volume or channel mix.
  • Organizations requiring a published guarantee against AI training on customer data.

Choose Smartlead if

  • Agencies managing multiple client workspaces and sending accounts.
  • Outbound teams that need mailbox rotation and warmup.
  • Operators requiring REST API access, webhooks, and analytics.
  • Teams with high email volume and separate prospecting needs.

Look elsewhere if

  • Teams seeking a self-hosted or open-source outreach platform.
  • Buyers wanting native LinkedIn, WhatsApp, SMS, and calling workflows.
  • Organizations seeking an explicit blanket ban on AI training with customer data.

lemlist logo lemlist in brief

lemlist is a Paris-based B2B sales engagement company founded in 2018. It supports email, LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp, calling, lead discovery, enrichment, intent signals, AI personalization, deliverability, CRM connections, and a unified inbox. The company says it is bootstrapped and profitable and serves more than 20,000 customers. Tech.eu reported that its founders declined a $30 million venture offer and reached $5 million in annual recurring revenue without external funding. Other reports describe a 2021 $30 million secondary transaction in which Expedition Growth Capital acquired a 20 percent stake. In October 2025, lemlist announced a self-financed acquisition of Claap, a call recording, transcription, and sales intelligence company. The funding history is therefore better described as initially bootstrapped with a later reported growth-equity transaction.

A typical lemlist workflow starts with Lead Finder, CRM import, or an existing contact list. Users can enrich records, divide them into segments, and build sequences combining email with LinkedIn automation, SMS, WhatsApp, or calling. Replies are handled in a multichannel inbox, while CRM integrations connect campaign activity with HubSpot or Salesforce. AI Variables and lemAgent can generate personalized fields and signal-based actions. lemwarm prepares mailboxes and supports deliverability work. The company describes Lead Finder as drawing from more than 450 million B2B records, although records can be incomplete or outdated and must be checked before outreach. VoIP calling is included in Multichannel Expert, which documents 400 minutes per user each month. WhatsApp is available as a separate paid add-on.

lemlist covers more native channels than Smartlead, Instantly, or QuickMail, but the pricing structure is harder to forecast. Email is priced by monthly volume, Multichannel Expert by user, and enrichment, intent signals, and WhatsApp can add separate charges. The hosted service has no documented open-source core or customer-managed deployment. Its privacy materials describe service improvement and subprocessors without a blanket promise that customer content is never used to train general models. Customers remain responsible for list quality, consent, and outreach compliance. Smartlead is stronger for mailbox rotation and sending infrastructure, Instantly for high-volume cold email, and Apollo for data combined with engagement. lemlist is the better choice for B2B teams and agencies that want email, LinkedIn, SMS, WhatsApp, calling, enrichment, and CRM activity in one workspace.

Read the full lemlist review

Smartlead logo Smartlead in brief

Smartlead is a hosted cold-email infrastructure platform operated by 521 Products Pty Ltd, which trades as Smartlead and SmartProspect. Company profiles identify Vaibhav Namburi as founder, place the business in Sydney, Australia, and list 2022 as its founding year. The founder describes the company as bootstrapped, while outside databases disagree about whether it raised a small amount of funding. No major institutional round is identified. Smartlead targets agencies, outbound departments, and operators managing several sending identities. Higher plans add private hosted infrastructure and client workspaces. The entry plan focuses on mailbox management, warmup, contact storage, and monthly sending capacity. SmartProspect is a related prospect-data brand, not an acquisition or renamed company.

A typical Smartlead workflow starts with connecting mailboxes, configuring a campaign, importing or finding prospects, and assigning sending accounts through rotation rules. Users create sequences, set sending schedules, manage replies in a unified inbox, and review campaign analytics. Webhooks and the REST API connect activity to outside systems, while SmartProspect supplies verified prospect emails. SmartDialer adds calling functions, and SmartDelivery provides deliverability infrastructure. SmartAgents can execute campaign, reply, CRM, and mailbox-health workflows according to Smartlead's product updates. Multiple mailboxes and accounts can sit under one subscription, which suits agency operations. Contact storage, monthly sends, verification allowances, mailbox capacity, CRM access, and API features vary by plan.

Smartlead separates contact storage, sending capacity, and verified-prospect credits, so a large sending allowance does not provide unlimited prospect data. Its terms grant broad rights to process, store, transmit, and use customer data for service operation and development, and the company does not publish a blanket statement excluding customer data from model training. Instantly is a closer cold-email alternative with comparable mailbox and sending concerns. QuickMail focuses more on sequencing and integrations, while Saleshandy offers another email-outreach option. lemlist is broader, with native LinkedIn, WhatsApp, SMS, calling, intent signals, and enrichment. Agencies and outbound teams should pick Smartlead when mailbox rotation, high email volume, and hosted sending infrastructure matter most.

Read the full Smartlead review

Frequently asked questions

How do lemlist vs Smartlead compare on price?

lemlist has a free option, and its first paid plan (Email monthly) is listed at $69/month. Smartlead has no free plan, and its first paid plan (Base) is listed at $39/month, $32/month annual billing. Prices are from each company's pricing page and can change, so check before you buy.

Which has a free plan, lemlist vs Smartlead?

lemlist offers a free plan or free self-hosted use. Smartlead requires a paid plan.

Can I self-host or integrate lemlist vs Smartlead?

None of them is open source. All of them run as hosted services only. lemlist and Smartlead offer a public API.

How much does lemlist cost?

The Email plan starts at $69 per month for 50,000 monthly emails, or $55 per month with annual billing. Quarterly billing displays $62 per month. Multichannel Expert costs $109 per user monthly, $98 quarterly, or $87 yearly. Enrichment costs $20 monthly and intent signals cost $29 monthly. Enterprise pricing is custom.

Does lemlist have a free plan?

lemlist does not publish a permanent free plan. It offers a 14-day trial with Multichannel features except in-app calls, 200 free credits, and access to test lemAgent. Continued use after the trial requires a paid Email, Multichannel Expert, or Enterprise plan.

How much does Smartlead cost?

Smartlead starts at $39 per month with monthly billing, or a displayed $32 monthly equivalent with annual billing. Pro costs $94 monthly, Unlimited Smart costs $174, and Unlimited Prime costs $379. White-label workspaces cost $29 monthly per client workspace. SmartDelivery, verification, and SmartDialer can create additional charges.

Does Smartlead have a free plan?

Smartlead advertises a free trial without requiring a payment card, but its pricing page does not consistently publish a trial duration. The paid Base plan starts at $39 per month, with a displayed annual equivalent of $32 monthly. Trial availability and included limits should be checked on the pricing page before signup.

Related comparisons

lemlist vs Instantlylemlist vs Apollo.iolemlist vs Outreachlemlist vs Salesloftlemlist vs QuickMailSmartlead vs InstantlySmartlead vs Apollo.ioSmartlead vs QuickMail

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