We evaluated all the Lemlist alternatives on the market so you don’t have to.

Maybe you’re looking into Lemlist as a cold email platform and you’re overwhelmed and/or confused (trust us, that happens).

Or maybe you’re already a Lemlist user and you’re finding your results aren’t good enough based on what you’re paying and/or the frustration you’re feeling.

All good. We’re here to help.

Lemlist Alternatives: Table of Contents

• The Top 4 Complaints and Problems With Lemlist
• 1. GMass – Best Lemlist Alternative Overall
• 2. Woodpecker – A Simpler Alternative to Lemlist
• 3. Instantly – A Lemlist Alternative for Hardcore Cold Email Bros
• 4. YAMM – An Ultra-Budget Alternative to Lemlist
• 5. Outreach.io – An Enterprise Alternative to Lemlist
• Lemlist Alternatives: Conclusions and Next Steps

The Top 4 Complaints and Problems With Lemlist

Based on our own experiences using Lemlist and our analysis of comments and reviews on Reddit, G2, and Capterra, here are the top reasons and limitations why you might want a Lemlist alternative.

Confusing interface

This is the most common complaint about Lemlist by far. And it’s true: Lemlist has a complex interface that’s tough to navigate, even after you’ve been using the software for a while. They also have lots of different products (like Lemwarm, Lemcal, and others) and it can be confusing to figure out what they do and how to use them.

Poor deliverability

The second-most common complaint we see when people talk about Lemlist is the deliverability. Lots of emails bouncing or going to spam — not a whole lot of good solutions to avoid that fate.

High prices

Lemlist is an expensive product. Part of the problem is the packages include lots of features that many users don’t want (for instance, if you’re on the Email Starter plan, do you really want to be paying more because the plan includes a phone number finder)?

Missing essential features and options

Sales teams and others who go to Lemlist from another tool often find it’s missing some core (and crucial) features that they’re used to. Personalization and automation tools are lacking, analytics are limited, it’s missing a good unified inbox, and much more.

So who’s doing those things better?

We’ve hand-tested and sent actual cold email campaigns from more than 30 of the top cold email outreach tools to find alternatives to Lemlist that just might serve you better.

Here are our top 5 Lemlist alternatives.

1. GMass – Best Lemlist Alternative Overall

GMass is one of the most popular cold email software platforms today (300,000+ users, an average of 4.8/5 stars across 10,000+ reviews).

Why is GMass the top Lemlist alternative? It’s because GMass not only addresses all of the top issues sales teams, cold emailers, and other professionals have with Lemlist, it also brings a whole lot more to the table.

Here are the reasons why GMass is going to be a better cold email outreach tool for you than Lemlist.

GMass has a much better (and much easier to use) interface

GMass and Lemlist take opposite approaches to their user interfaces.

Lemlist is a massive platform to learn with a giant maze of tabs, screens, products, and settings.

GMass, on the other hand, works inside of Gmail and only has a SINGLE box with every single setting for your campaign.

You can learn GMass in a matter of minutes and never get lost looking for a particular campaign setting or feature. It’s also easy to teach GMass to the other members of your sales teams and to remember how to use it when you haven’t sent a campaign in a little while.

GMass has email deliverability tools Lemlist does not

Here’s the hard fact about email deliverability that no one else wants to say: Your email platform can only do so much.

Most of deliverability comes down to you as the sender — your sender reputation, your email copy, your prospecting.

However, GMass is doing everything it can to help you boost your deliverability.

Lemlist’s only email deliverability tool is its automated email warmup feature, called Lemwarm. It’s offered on plans that cost $69/month or more.

GMass, notably, does not offer automated email warmup. Why? A few years back, GMass had the most-used free email warmup tool in the world. Then Google said, in no uncertain terms, that automated warmup is against their rules and to shut it down. GMass did. Lemlist, and some other cold email companies, kept theirs going, even at the risk of getting themselves and their users cut off completely by Google one day.

When you use an automated warmup tool, it’s likely that Google knows — so it’s quite possible you’re doing more harm than good. But even if you’re sneaking one past Google, automated warmup is antiquated. In the age of inbox rotation, where cold emailers now send smaller volumes of messages from multiple sending accounts (rather than huge blasts from one account), you can manually warm up an address in a matter of weeks — or less — by sending to friends and coworkers.

So instead, GMass offers deliverability tools and benefits that will actually help you avoid the spam folder.

Spam Solver

GMass’s unique Spam Solver tool analyzes your email for inbox vs. spam placement before you send by testing it on around 20 actual inboxes. See your inbox rate and your spam rate — then keep retesting based on Spam Solver’s suggestions.

Gmail API sending

GMass sends through Google’s mail servers using the Gmail API. Lemlist (among others) do not, they send via IMAP. As a result, you have a significant built-in deliverability advantage with GMass’s approach to sending.

Far more deliverability-boosting options than Lemlist

With GMass you can embed images if you’re using them in your cold outreach. GMass offers custom tracking domains with SSL (Lemlist does not have the latter part). GMass offers easy-to-use spintax, send speed throttling, and A/B testing — again, no need to hunt for those features.

And every GMass plan includes free, unlimited email address verification so you can reduce your number of bounced messages.

GMass is WAY more affordable than Lemlist — while offering unlimited everything

Lemlist’s pricing plans are on the more expensive end of cold outreach tools.

Their Email Starter plan is $39/month (or $32 if you prepay for the year) but is too underpowered for cold outreach pros.

Then there’s a BIG jump to their Email Pro plan of $69/month (or $55 if you prepay for the year). It includes inbox rotation, but only three sending email addresses. It includes a prospecting tool (email finder) but in limited quantity — just 150 per month.

Then there’s another big jump to the Multichannel Expert plan of $99/month ($79 annual) that includes five sending emails, LinkedIn prospecting, and A/B testing.

Finally there’s the Outreach Scale plan at $159/month ($129 annually) with 15 sending emails, more email and phone number finding credits, and an account manager.

GMass’s pricing plans are far less expensive and include a lot more.

Unlike Lemlist, all GMass plans include unlimited emails, campaigns, and contacts.

GMass’s Standard plan is only $25/month (or $18 annually) with unlimited everything, plus free email verification, Spam Solver, and more.

GMass’s Premium plan is $35/month (or $27 annually) and adds auto follow-up sequences, API/Zapier, A/B testing, triggered emails, and more.

And finally, GMass’s Professional plan is $55/month (or $43 annually) and adds inbox rotation with unlimited sending addresses.

These GMass plans don’t have a whole lot of fluff or add-on services you don’t need and don’t want to pay for — they’re plans for cold outreach pros, sales teams, and everyone else who wants to send more emails that actually hit the inbox without paying a fortune.

Plus GMass has a whole lot more features you actually want and need

There’s plenty more to GMass as well that you won’t find in Lemlist (or will find less-user-friendly or less-developed versions of in Lemlist), including:

• SMTP sending. With Lemlist, you cannot use an external SMTP server. GMass enables you to connect any server, whether it’s to break Gmail’s limits or to send via a trusted provider.
• Unified inbox with lightning fast replies. GMass’s Reply Project brings all your email replies into one spot when you’re using multiple sending domains. And with templates and ChatGPT you can then respond to those replies in record time.
• Triggered emails. Send automations when you know prospects are in their inbox.
• Easy automated sequences. Putting together follow-ups (which everyone hates) is as simple in GMass as writing a few sentences in a few text boxes.
• Advanced personalization. GMass’s mail merge personalization is easy and connected right to Google Sheets. Also send personalized images, links, and even PDFs or other attachments with GMass.
• More than a cold email platform — get rid of all your other email platforms and tools and consolidate. Lemlist is purely a cold outreach platform. GMass is so versatile you can also use it to send internal communications, run the hiring process, send your newsletters, or even track every email you send.

Does Lemlist have anything that GMass does not?

Yes, there are a few things Lemlist has that GMass does not.

As we mentioned earlier, automated warmup (even if it’s a tactic that’s on the way out) is part of Lemlist and not GMass.

Lemlist also offers a limited built-in prospecting tool, which GMass does not.

GMass also does not focus on finding phone numbers or LinkedIn automation — Lemlist adds those to its plans, GMass is email only.

And GMass does not have a Calendly-style tool like Lemlist does nor does it offer the ability to send “customized” images and videos.

Getting started with GMass

As we’ve noted here, GMass is the top Lemlist alternative because it addresses all of the top complaints about Lemlist — plus brings a whole lot more to the table as a sales engagement platform.

Unlimited emails, campaigns, contacts, email verification, email tracking, and sending addresses.

An easy-to-use interface that’s built into Gmail, not an external platform.

The best deliverability boosting tools in the industry.

And all at a significantly more affordable price than Lemlist.

GMass offers a free trial with no credit card required — you can get started by downloading the Chrome extension, checking out the quickstart guide, and sending your first campaign in a matter of minutes.

2. Woodpecker – A Simpler Alternative to Lemlist

Woodpecker’s cold email interface is far less complex than Lemlist’s, making it a viable alternative if you’re looking for simplicity in sending campaigns.

Some of the other ways Woodpecker is an alternative to Lemlist include:

• Lower prices. Woodpecker’s cold email plans start at $29/month ($20 annually) or $49/month ($33 annually), with the price going up for more contacts. Those are much cheaper than Lemlist’s plans and include unlimited sending accounts. (But note: Woodpecker puts extremely restrictive limits on contacts and number of emails sent per month.)
• Unlimited sending accounts. In Woodpecker’s inbox rotation plans they allow for unlimited sending accounts (though they do limit total emails sent across those accounts per month). Lemlist is very restrictive on total sending accounts.
• Unified inbox. Lemlist does not have a unified inbox, and Woodpecker does.
• Multichannel options. The Woodpecker agency plan has some LinkedIn automation options, as well as the option to add in manual cold calling steps.

Woodpecker is a more limited cold email platform than Lemlist, and other popular options like GMass, Instantly, and Mailshake. For instance, they limit A/B testing to five versions and have more limited personalization options.

Still, if you’re focused on a simpler interface than Lemlist at a more affordable price — and you’re willing to make the trade-off on hard sending caps and numbers of contacts — Woodpecker is a potential alternative for you to explore.

Get started with Woodpecker / prices start at $29/month

3. Instantly – A Lemlist Alternative for Hardcore Cold Email Bros

Instantly definitely doesn’t have a less complex interface than Lemlist — in fact, it might be even more byzantine — but the software carved out its niche in the cold email market.

If you’re in the top percentage of super hardcore cold emailers, your community has gravitated toward. They really popularized inbox rotation (and even offer paid setup of domains and email addresses to help go wild on sending accounts) as well as a unibox with light CRM features.

Lemlist’s main appeal as a sales engagement platform is in its upper-tier plans for multichannel outreach. Instantly is not about multichannel, it’s about rockin’ cold email until the wheels fall off.

Some of the other ways Instantly is an alternative to Lemlist include:

• Comparable prices. Instantly’s pricing plans are very similarly to Lemlist’s ($37/month or $30 annual for the extremely limited plan, $97/month or $77.60 annual for the “real” plan.) However, Instantly does put hard caps on numbers of emails you can send and numbers of contacts.
• Unlimited sending accounts. While Instantly puts those strict limits on numbers of emails you can send and numbers of contacts, they don’t put limits on number of sending accounts.
• Options for built-in paid leads. Lemlist includes some free leads with its plans and charges for more; Instantly has a more built-out lead database but charges a significant amount for it.
• Really made for individuals, not teams. Again, Instantly’s big audience is with individuals who are wild with cold email. Lemlist is more oriented toward sales teams.

Instantly hyperserves a slice of the cold email market and has become popular within that niche group for doing so. Other platforms are more geared toward serious professionals, companies, and teams looking for something else (for instance, Lemlist has more multichannel appeal, or GMass has more diverse usage).

But if you’re a solo operator planning to go all-in on tons of sending accounts and you like the idea of sharing your cold email campaign success rates and revenues on social media, Instantly can be a good fit for you compared to Lemlist.

Get started with Instantly / prices start at $37/month

4. YAMM – An Ultra-Budget Alternative to Lemlist

One of the top complaints about Lemlist is its price. And there’s no more budget-friendly tool than Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM).

While Lemlist is a minimum of $39/month ($32 annually) for a basic plan, YAMM costs $50-per-year for its top plan.

Why is it so much cheaper? You’ll be trading off a ton of features.

Obviously all the multichannel is gone but beyond that, you’re also not going to have things like inbox rotation, automated follow-ups, A/B testing, email validation, advanced scheduling, and dozens and dozens of other fundamentals you’ll find in other cold email software.

But if you just need a basic mail merge-driven cold email option and Lemlist seems like overkill, YAMM is worth evaluating from this list of Lemlist alternatives.

Some ways YAMM can serve as a Lemlist alternative:

• You don’t need to send serious campaigns, just one-off messages to a limited list. YAMM limits you to up to 1,500 emails a day on their top plan. You can’t use inbox rotation, so those are all from the same email address. You won’t be able to send follow-ups, get sophisticated analytics, or really do much of anything else. But those emails can go out with mail merge personalization.
• You don’t need multichannel, leads, or anything beyond basic emails. YAMM is bare bones. It’s reflected in the price. But if you don’t need any bells and whistles, you can save a whole lot of money here.

Again, YAMM is an entry-level solution at entry-level pricing. It’s not as complicated as Lemlist (though, for as bare bones as it is, it’s still a little more complicated than you’d want). It’s not close to as sophisticated as Lemlist, GMass, or any of the other alternatives here.

It’s a pure bargain play. You may outgrow it fast if you’re a real cold email pro or aspiring pro, but in the interim, you’ll get some emails out without breaking the bank.

Get started with YAMM / prices start at $25/year

5. Outreach.io – An Enterprise Alternative to Lemlist

Outreach, like Lemlist, is aiming to be more than a cold email outreach tool — it’s an entire sales engagement platform.

So for larger sales teams and enterprise-level needs, if Lemlist feels too “small” for you, Outreach.io is a robust solution that could be a good contender.

Some comparisons between Outreach and Lemlist:

• Outreach is complicated, but in a different way than Lemlist. Lemlist has a confusing interface. Outreach isn’t as confusing and its design and user experience are more intentional… but only after you’re really well-trained on it. Outreach has so much going on that there’s a long learning and usage curve.
• Outreach is more expensive. Outreach.io costs more than Lemlist (Outreach doesn’t even share its pricing on its site, so you know it’s steep). Since it’s made for enterprise-level users, it’s priced accordingly.
• Outreach is a complete sales platform with communication only as a piece of the puzzle. Outreach is a tool to run your entire sales team with a CRM, full sales pipeline monitoring and observations, and, yes, some outreach. Lemlist is much more of a communication platform with far, far less of the other features.

If you’re running a serious sales organization and Lemlist feels too limited for your needs, Outreach.io is a potential option. It’s a big step up and does a whole lot more than cold email campaigns — but that just might be what you’re looking for.

Get started with Outreach.io / prices are unlisted

Lemlist Alternatives: Conclusions and Next Steps

Lemlist is a popular email outreach platform — but it does more than just cold email campaigns. It’s also a multichannel engagement platform and has several additional products under its umbrella like scheduling software and even social media branding.

The good news: If you need a multichannel outreach sales engagement platform, it’s checking all those boxes. The bad news: Lemlist’s sprawling scale is one of the main contributors to its confusing interface and higher prices.

That’s why the top alternative to Lemlist is GMass.

GMass is better in the areas where Lemlist is flawed.

• GMass is much less complicated, working entirely inside Gmail with a single settings box.
• GMass prioritizes deliverability, sending through Gmail’s API and focusing on tools to get you into the inbox.
• GMass is far, far cheaper than Lemlist and also comes with unlimited everything (emails, campaigns, contacts, sending addresses, email verification).
• And GMass has many other highly sought-after sales features that Lemlist does not.

You can get started on GMass with a 7 day free trial — no credit card required — by downloading the Chrome extension.

You’ll spend less, hit inboxes more, get unlimited everything — and, as a result, drive more sales and better results — once you’re up and running with GMass.