Instantly alternative: SmartOutbound, with no contact limits or volume caps per plan
Instantly or SmartOutbound? Email volumes, contact limits, prices in euros, features and limits of each, with public prices checked in November 2026.
Updated on 11 November 2026
Instantly made its name on a strong promise: unlimited sending inboxes and unlimited warmup. It is a solid tool, widely used by lead generation agencies. Its pricing rests on two caps: the number of emails sent per month and the number of contacts imported.
The prices side by side
Public prices checked on 11 November 2026 on the official pricing page, monthly billing, excluding VAT.
| Instantly Growth | Instantly Hypergrowth | SmartOutbound (10 inboxes) | SmartOutbound (30 inboxes) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per month | $47 | $107 | €9.99 excl. VAT | €29.97 excl. VAT |
| Emails per month | 5,000 | 125,000 | up to 15,000 | up to 45,000 |
| Contacts imported | 1,000 | 25,000 | unlimited | unlimited |
| Sending inboxes | unlimited | unlimited | 10 | 30 |
| Warmup | unlimited | unlimited | included | included |
At SmartOutbound, volume depends on the number of inboxes: a maximum of 50 campaign emails per inbox per day, a limit we recommend whatever the tool.
The real question: inboxes or volume?
Both approaches look much the same on paper. In practice, deliverability means you have to spread your sends anyway: one inbox should not go beyond a few dozen prospecting emails a day. So to send 15,000 emails a month, you need around ten inboxes, with Instantly as with SmartOutbound.
The difference shows on contacts. With 1,000 contacts imported on the Growth plan, a campaign to 3,000 prospects forces you onto the next plan up. At SmartOutbound, contacts are not limited: you import your full file and the tool verifies the addresses before sending.
What Instantly does that SmartOutbound doesn't
- A built-in prospect database to find contacts inside the tool.
- Microsoft 365 and Outlook inboxes, which SmartOutbound does not yet support.
- A more established ecosystem, with plenty of integrations and a large agency community.
What SmartOutbound does differently
- Pricing in euros, with no contact cap.
- AI included to write sequences, personalise the first line of each email and sort replies.
- An assistant that builds the campaign from your files: import, targeting, writing, inbox selection. You review and launch.
- Separate workspaces per client for agencies, each with its own inboxes, campaigns and statistics.
- Data hosted in France and an interface in 27 languages.
Who each one suits
Instantly suits agencies sending very high volumes from Microsoft inboxes, or wanting to buy their contacts in the same tool. SmartOutbound suits teams and agencies that have their own files, use Google Workspace or a standard host, and want predictable pricing in euros.
See also the full comparison and SmartOutbound's pricing.
Frequently asked questions
+Is SmartOutbound cheaper than Instantly?
At the same volume, yes. For around 15,000 emails a month, SmartOutbound costs €9.99 excl. VAT with 10 inboxes, with no contact limit. Instantly's Growth plan costs $47 a month for 5,000 emails and 1,000 imported contacts.
+Are inboxes unlimited at SmartOutbound?
No, they are counted in blocks of 10, from 10 to 100 inboxes. In exchange, contacts and users are unlimited.
+Can I import a very large file?
Yes, up to 100,000 contacts per import, with as many imports as you need. Every address is verified before sending.