Instantly vs Smartlead, and the all-in-one option
Instantly and Smartlead both sell cold email by monthly sends and stored contacts: Instantly bills its CRM as a separate plan, and Smartlead adds CRM access from its Pro plan. Laureo Ultra puts cold outreach inside the CRM, with unlimited contacts on all plans and quotes and invoices on every plan.
Which is better, Instantly or Smartlead?
They are close: both price cold email by monthly sends and stored contacts, Instantly sells its CRM as a separate plan, and Smartlead adds CRM access from Pro at $94 a month. Laureo Ultra is the pick when the team wants the outreach inside the CRM, with campaigns, quotes and invoices on every plan and unlimited contacts on all plans.
One lead, from the first email to a paid invoice, on each:
| Step | Instantly | Smartlead | Laureo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store the leads | 1,000 on Growth, 25,000 on Hypergrowth | 2,000 on Base, 30,000 on Pro | Unlimited contacts on all plans |
| Answer the reply | In-app replies from Hypergrowth | Its unified inbox | Smart Inbox, under a Cold filter on Ultra |
| Track the deal | A separate CRM plan | CRM access from Pro | CRM & Pipeline on every plan |
| Send the invoice | Not in its Products menu | Not in its Products menu | Quotes & Invoices on every plan |
Is Smartlead cheaper than Instantly?
At the entry tier, yes: Smartlead Base costs $39 a month for 6,000 sends and 2,000 contacts, against $47 for Instantly Outreach Growth with 5,000 emails and 1,000 contacts. A team that wants a CRM pays for Smartlead Pro at $94 a month, or for Instantly Outreach plus a CRM plan at a flat $97 a month.
Laureo Ultra from $249.99/mo billed annually ($299.99 month-to-month) covers the cold outreach and the CRM in one plan, with 2 seats included. Prices as Instantly and Smartlead published them in October 2026.
| Cost line | Instantly | Smartlead |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan, billed monthly | $47 | $39 |
| Entry plan, billed annually, per month | $37.60 | $32 |
| With a CRM | Outreach plus a CRM plan at a flat $97 | Pro, $94 |
| No contact storage cap | Not on the Outreach plans | From Unlimited Smart, $174 |
Do Instantly and Smartlead use your data?
Both reserve rights to it: the Instantly terms license de-identified or aggregated subscriber data to improve and develop its features, and the Smartlead terms take a perpetual licence to user data that includes developing other services, with no exclusion for AI training stated in either. Laureo's AI never trains on your data.
Instantly vs Smartlead, criterion by criterion
Each row puts Instantly, Smartlead and Laureo on the same question. The Instantly and Smartlead cells come from their own pages, and the date at the top of this page says when we last checked them.
| Criterion | Instantly | Smartlead | Laureo |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you are buying | Outreach plans by volume; the CRM and Credits are sold apart | A cold email and outbound platform | One CRM with campaigns, quotes and invoices, and cold outreach on Ultra |
| CRM access | A separate CRM plan once the trial ends | From Pro; Base has no CRM access | CRM & Pipeline on every plan |
| Stored contacts | 1,000 uploaded on Growth, 25,000 on Hypergrowth | 2,000 on Base, 30,000 on Pro, no cap from $174 a month | Unlimited contacts on all plans |
| Entry planBoth start below Ultra. The Ultra price also covers the CRM, campaigns, quotes and invoices in one plan. | Outreach Growth, $47 a month for 5,000 emails | Base, $39 a month for 6,000 sends | Ultra, from $249.99/mo billed annually, with the CRM included |
| Webhooks | From Outreach Hypergrowth | With the API, from Pro | REST API and webhooks on Business and Ultra |
| Answering replies | The Unibox is preview only on Growth | A unified inbox in its Products menu | Smart Inbox on every plan; cold replies land under a Cold filter on Ultra |
| Quotes, invoices and support | None in its Products menu | None in its Products menu | Quotes & Invoices on every plan; Tickets & Help Desk on Business and Ultra |
| Your data and the AI | Its terms license de-identified subscriber data to develop features | Its terms take a perpetual licence to user data, including to develop other services | The AI never trains on your data |
Every tool in Laureo
The table covers the criteria that matter between Instantly and Smartlead. Here is the whole Laureo toolset, by name. The pricing page shows which plans include each one.
Marketing & Communication
Deals & Revenue
- Quotes & Invoices
- Booking Pages
- Deal Rooms
Customer Support
- Tickets & Help Desk
- Knowledge Base
- Public Help Center
- Feedback
- Live Chat
- AI Customer Support Agent (add-on)
Automation
Instantly, Smartlead, or the all-in-one option
Pick Laureo when the reply should land in the same app as the deal, the quote and the invoice: Ultra sends cold email from dedicated sending mailboxes inside the CRM, with unlimited contacts on all plans and no CRM plan or tier to add.
- One plan and one bill cover your CRM, inbox, email campaigns, booking pages, and quotes and invoices, so you stop paying for separate tools.
- Unlimited contacts and companies on every plan, with no contact tiers to outgrow.
- Quotes, invoices and payment reminders are built in on every plan, with no billing add-on.
- Business and Ultra include a help desk, knowledge base, public help center and live chat, with no separate help desk subscription.
- The AI never trains on your data, and every AI request goes only to providers that keep none of it.
Related Resources
- ComparisonLaureo vs InstantlyA cold email sending platform with its lead data and AI on a separate credits plan, and no quotes, invoices or help desk.
- ComparisonLaureo vs SmartleadA cold email and outbound platform priced by send volume, with contact storage caps below its Unlimited plans and no CRM access on Base.
- ComparisonZendesk vs Help Scout, and the all-in-one optionZendesk vs Help Scout: paid plans from $19 an agent or $25 a user, SLAs by plan, AI billed per resolution and no built-in CRM. Laureo includes the CRM.
- ComparisonInstantly vs Apollo, and the all-in-one optionInstantly vs Apollo: Outreach by volume with a separate CRM plan against Apollo seat plans and credits, next to Laureo Ultra: cold outreach inside the CRM.
- Comparisonlemlist vs Apollo, and the all-in-one optionlemlist vs Apollo: volume tiers and per-user Multichannel against Apollo seats and credits, next to Laureo Ultra: cold outreach, CRM, quotes and invoices.
- ComparisonInstantly pricingHow much does Instantly cost? Outreach, Credits and CRM plans with each price dated, the add-ons, then two people priced on Instantly and on Laureo.
- AlternativeInstantly alternativeAn Instantly alternative for teams that close after the reply: cold email on Ultra, with the deal, quote and invoice in the same CRM.
- ComparisonSmartlead pricingHow much does Smartlead cost? Base, Pro and both Unlimited plans with contacts, sends and add-ons, each dated, and what a Smartlead plan leaves out.
- ComparisonBrowse every CRM comparisonSee how Laureo stacks up against the other CRMs you are weighing.
- PricingEvery plan, what is included, and the monthly AI credits.
Instantly vs Smartlead FAQs
Common questions about choosing between Instantly, Smartlead and Laureo
Try the all-in-one option.
Weighing Instantly against Smartlead? Bring your data into Laureo and judge the all-in-one option on your own pipeline.
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