Smartlead AI Review | Features,Pricing & Alternatives

Are you still wondering whether you should try Smartlead for automating your team’s sales outreach? You’ve hit the right place.

Welcome to our comprehensive Smartlead.ai review. 

In this review, we’ll discuss the potential of Smartlead including its features, benefits, pricing, user-reviews etc.

This Smartlead.ai review is designed to give you a comprehensive understanding of Smartlead’s capabilities for sales/lead generation use cases.

So, whether you manage a sales team, own a lead generation agency or a budding entrepreneur trying to setup your first GTM strategy – from this blog you will find out if Smartlead.ai is suitable for your particular need or not.

So let’s start with a quick overview of the platform.

Quick takeaways: Smartlead review

• What it is: Smartlead.ai is an AI-driven cold email outreach platform for B2B sales (automated follow-ups, personalization, multi-channel outreach).
• Key benefits: Unlimited email accounts and automated warm-ups boost deliverability.
• User feedback: Rated ~4.7/5 on G2/Capterra; users praise its intuitive interface and deliverability features but note a learning curve for integrations and limited templates.
• Pricing: Three plans ($39 Basic, $94 Pro, $174 Custom) with a 14-day free trial.
• Summary: Great for scale (unlimited warm-ups, inbox rotations) but consider the UI and support limitations.

What is Smartlead.ai?

Smartlead.ai is an AI-driven cold email outreach platform that automates sales prospecting. It focuses on multi-channel email and SMS outreach with features like automated follow-ups and smart personalization. The platform’s goal is to help sales teams scale cold emailing and improve deliverability.

As we go deeper into this Smartlead.ai review, we’ll discuss these features in details and how they actually help your sales process. 

So stay tuned.

Key features of Smartlead.ai

Here are the key features and benefits of Smartlead.ai:

Unlimited email accounts and warm-up

Smartlead lets you use multiple email IDs for your outreach activities. This strategic approach helps in circumventing spam filters as an abrupt surge in emails from a fresh account can trigger spam alerts.

Also, their email warm-up helps in increasing sender reputation score.

Multiple outreach channels

Using Smartlead, you can reach out to the prospects via text and social media platforms such as SMS, Twitter, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. 

Unified Inbox

SmartLead consolidates all your conversations in a single location, enabling you to effortlessly keep track of the proceedings and promptly respond to queries via their unified inbox feature.

Personalized email communication

You can send personalized emails with elements like the recipient’s name and organization using Smartlead. This demonstrates your attention to detail and lends authenticity to your outreach efforts.

AI-powered features

By using AI capabilities,  Smartlead assists you in crafting compelling email subject lines, predicting the emails that are most likely to grad a response, and even scheduling your emails to be dispatched at optimal times.

API & integration

With its API and integration features you can integrate other cold email outreach tools with your Smartlead account. However, this feature is exclusive to the premium plan.

Overall, Smartlead’s features such as multiple email addresses, varied outreach channels, and AI support can help you connect with prospects automatically.

Now in this Smartlead.ai review, we. will take a look at its plans and pricing with detailed breakdown. So, that you can assess your budget accordingly.

Smartlead.ai plans and pricing

Smartlead.ai offers 3 types of plans and pricing currently with the following features and break-downs.

We have compared the smartlead plans another popular cold email software SmartReach.io offering the same functionalities at a better price.

Features	Smartlead Basic Plan	Smartlead Pro Plan	Smartlead Custom Plan	SmartReach Plus Plan
Starts at	$39/month	$94/month	$174/month	$89/month
Active leads	2000	30000	12,000,000	50,000
Emails Per month	6000	150000	60,00,000	Unlimited
Unlimited Email Warm Up	✅	✅	✅	✅
Unlimited Email Accounts	✅	✅	✅	✅
Free Email Verification	❌	❌	❌	✅
Centralised Inbox	✅	✅	✅	✅
Dynamic Sequences	✅	✅	✅	✅
Detailed Analytics	✅	✅	✅	✅
Customer Support	General Support Within 24 hours	Active support	Active support	24×6 support on Chat & Calls
Webhooks & Integration	❌	✅	✅	✅
Block List	❌	✅	✅	✅
API Access	❌	✅	✅	✅
Email assistance	❌	✅	✅	✅
AI Automations	❌	❌	❌	✅

Smartlead.ai user reviews: What do users say about Smartlead? 

Now, let’s take a candid look at the recent experiences of actual users of Smartlead.ai, shedding light on potential pitfalls and areas for improvement.  

We have taken reviews from 3 major software review platforms – G2, Capterra and Trustpilot. 

G2 reviews

Check out this review: G2

Check out this review: G2

Capterra review

Read this review: Capterra

Trustpilot review

Read this review: Trustpilot

What are the pros and cons of Smartlead AI?

After going through the core features and user-reviews of Smartlead.ai, we have summed up the pros and cons of Smartlead.ai.

Pros of using Smartlead ✅

• Deliverability Features: Smartlead.ai employs sophisticated email warming techniques to enhance deliverability and increase the likelihood of emails being opened.
  
• Unlimited Sender Accounts and AI-Driven Warm-Up Sequences: This allows for high-volume email sending without sacrificing email deliverability.
  
• Dedicated IP Servers: These are used for email campaigns to ensure optimal deliverability.
  
• Custom CRM, API, Webhooks, and Integrations: These features make it adaptable for businesses of all sizes.
  
• Slack & LinkedIn Outreach: Personally, I found their LinkedIn outreach and slack outreach very good. Since, Slack is a growing platform for SDRs to reach out to the prospects.

Cons of using Smartlead.ai ❌

• Emails Landing in Spam: Despite its deliverability features, some users have reported that a majority of the emails end up in the spam folder.
  
• Unintuitive UI: The platform’s UI needs improvement especially for the beginners doing their first cold email using the platform.
  
• Unresponsive Customer Care: Some of the reviews mentioned that their customer support takes too long to respond to user queries. Plus they only offer active support to the pro plan users which is expensive. 
  
• Limited API & Webhook Access: They offer API, integration and webhook access to only pro plan users which is often a must-have for sales teams looking to integrate Smartlead account with other sales tools for reporting. 
  
• Limited Email Assistance: currently Smartlead don’t offer any email assistance for the basic plan($39/month) & pro plan($94/month) which is a hindrance.

SmartReach.io: A top Smartlead alternative

For running cold email outreach, instead of Smartlead.ai you can go for SmartReach.io. 

SmartReach.io is one of the top Smartlead.ai alternatives for running cold email outreach. 

Let’s understand how it can help you run colod email campaigns effectively and why it’s a better alternative to Smartlead.ai below.

What is SmartReach.io?

SmartReach.io is a AI-enabled sales engagement platform for automating and scaling your outbound sales outreach using multiple channels such as email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, calling and text messaging.

From prospecting to closing sales deals – SmartReach.io supports your lead generation journey in every stage of sales funnel. 

BTW, SmartReach is rated 4.8 in G2 and loved by over 3500+ businesses worldwide! 🎉

Why SmartReach is the best Smartlead.ai alternative?

In short, everything! Including its features, security, customer support and pricing. 

Here’s what SmartReach.io offers you for running cold email outreach 👇🏻

▶ ️Lead Finder: With SmartReach’s in-built B2B lead finder tool, you can find find prospect contact information such as email addresses and phone numbers easily based on the parameters you select (industry, location, designation etc.). 

You can even import the prospect list directly into your email campaigns without needing any 3rd party tools.

▶ AI Sequence Generator: Use SmartReach Content AI to generate sales sequences based on prompts and specific contexts for maximum deliverability and conversion.

▶ Multichannel Outreach: You can run automated and semi-automated campaigns on top channels such as LinkedIn, email, Whatsapp, calling and text messaging.

▶ Complete LinkedIn Automation: With SmartReach, you can fully automate actions like view profile, send connect request, send message and send Inmail. SmartReach also provides a co-piloted approach, where the task could be semi-automated.

▶ AI Automations: SmartReach provides multiple AI automation features like out-of-office auto rescheduling, auto response classifier, magic content, etc

▶ Shared Inbox: One common inbox for all your campaign responses. Access and reply to all the different campaign replies. Avoid delayed responses. Bring transparency and collaboration with shared inbox.

▶ SmartReach CRM: Manage leads, track communications and streamline sales process using SmartReach CRM tool. Change the dynamics of relationship management for your business. 

▶ Inbox rotation: Use inbox rotation feature to manage sending high volume of emails without affecting your sender reputation. Safeguard your sending reputation and land in the primary inbox.

▶ Reports and Analytics: Find detailed and insightful reports and analytics relating to every stage of your sales pipeline. Leverage deal grid report, hot prospect report and many more amazing reports to take data-driven business decisions on deal prioritization, email engagemenet etc.

▶ Integrations and Workflows: Connect all your favourite CRMs such as Hubspot, Pipedrive, Zoho, Salesforce natively with SmartReach. Add any other third party sales tools using Zapier integration and API key. Native integrations with clay.com and RB2B is also available

▶ Unlimited Sender Emails: You can connect unlimited emails to your campaigns for reaching out to prospects. This helps in email deliverability by reducing your chance to land in spam. 

▶ Plans and pricing: SmartReach’s basic email only plan starts at $29/month which includes unlimited free sending emails, free unlimited email validations, free email finder and upto 10 email account warm-ups.

Whereas, Smartlead’s basic plan at $39/month only provides unlimited email accounts but not free email validations.

So, you need to separately use an email validation service for verifying the email lists which costs a separate subscription fee.

But that’s not all.

If you spend just an additional $10, you get access to a sales engagement plan at $39/month allowing scale up your sales cadences using multiple channels such as email, LinkedIn, calling, Whatsapp and text messaging with unlimited LinkedIn seats for semi-automation. 

This makes your sales outreach even more flexible and engaging.

Still wondering about the ROI of SmartReach ?

Check out our case study page to learn more about how other businesses are getting ROI from using SmartReach.

Smartlead.ai review: final verdict

In conclusion, Smartlead.ai has been quite a popular name for lead generation and email automation. 

In practice, outbound teams often prioritize quality outreach and engagement over just lead generation.

Tools like SmartReach.io excel in these areas, boasting features specifically designed to maximize email deliverability and drive conversion from the campaigns.

While both SmartReach.io and Smartlead.ai have their place in driving sales, SmartReach.io offers a sharper focus on nurturing existing leads through targeted its B2B outreach system.

SmartReach’s specialized features in ensuring email deliverability and engagement give it a competitive edge, underscoring the importance of selecting the right tool for the task at hand.

Also, despite its strengths, Smartlead AI is not without its challenges.

The platform’s too much focus on email outreach could be a concern for contemporary sales teams, particularly in an era where businesses are leveraging AI and multichannel outreach to effectively engage and convert prospects.

And while you’re evaluating, don’t overlook the additional benefits that platforms like SmartReach.io can bring to your outreach strategies. 

The right mix of tools can drive your business forward, so choose with both insight and foresight. 

Want to see if SmartReach.io works for your particular use case?

Try SmartReach for Free for 14-Days with all the features unlocked. (No credit card required)

Have any product related queries, or any customization needs for your sales team?

Take a 15 mins FREE consulting call with our team at your convenient time.

Frequently asked questions

• Is Smartlead AI legit?

Smartlead AI is a legitimate platform used for email outreach automation. It offers personalized email campaigns, advanced analytics, and multi-inbox support. Its positive reviews from users affirm its authenticity and reliability for lead generation.

• What is Smartlead AI used for?

Smartlead AI is used for automating email outreach, creating personalized campaigns, and managing multi-inbox setups. It helps businesses generate leads, track engagement through analytics, and scale email marketing efforts effectively.

• What is Smartlead.ai?

Smartlead.ai is an AI-powered email outreach platform designed to help businesses scale lead generation. It offers personalized email campaigns, advanced analytics, and multi-inbox management to optimize email marketing and improve engagement rates.

• Does SmartLead verify emails?

Yes, SmartLead verifies emails to ensure deliverability and reduce bounce rates. It uses advanced algorithms to validate email addresses, improving campaign performance and protecting sender reputation.

• How to verify leads in SmartLead?

Verify leads in SmartLead by using its built-in email verification feature. Upload your email list, and SmartLead will validate addresses to filter out invalid or risky emails, ensuring better deliverability and campaign success.

• Is Smartlead AI safe for cold email outreach?

Yes! Smartlead uses AI-driven email warm-ups and smart sending strategies to prevent your emails from landing in spam.

• Does Smartlead AI integrate with CRM tools?

Yes, it integrates with HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, and more.

• Can I try Smartlead AI for free?

Yes! Smartlead offers a 14-day free trial.

• Does Smartlead.ai offer a free trial or free plan?

Yes. Smartlead.ai offers a free 14-day trial (no credit card required) for all plans. There is no permanent free tier, but the trial lets you test features like warm-up and multi-channel outreach.

• How many emails can I send with Smartlead?

Each plan has its own monthly email limit: for example, the Basic plan allows 6,000 emails/month, Pro allows 150,000, and Custom goes much higher. All plans support unlimited email accounts

• Is Smartlead better than other cold email tools?

Smartlead.ai excels at large-scale email deliverability, but other tools (Instantly, SmartReach) offer different strengths (e.g., built-in prospecting, additional outreach channels). The “best” choice depends on your needs.