7 Top Cold Email Service Providers in 2025

Cold outreach can actually work — when you have the right tools that can get the job done.

A good cold email service helps you land in the inbox, personalize your messaging at scale, automate follow-ups, and track what’s working. 

But the problem? 

There are way too many tools in the market that promise the same thing!

And if you pick the wrong one, you not only waste money on the tool, but also lose time and miss out on opportunities because it doesn’t fit your workflow.

Don’t worry: I’ve done the heavy lifting, tried several cold email services, and found out which ones you can trust to deliver the right results.

In this blog, I’ll share

• My review of the top cold email service providers in 2025
• The pros & cons of each tool so you know what to expect from them
• The Pricing plans to help you make an informed decision

Read on to find out which cold email software is the best for you! 

TL;DR: Best Cold Email Service Providers Compared

Need a quick rundown on which cold email tool is the best? I’ve got you covered!

Here’s a brief overview and comparison of the top 3 cold email service providers you can scan to get started with your cold outreach:

• Saleshandy: For scaling cold outreach with advanced personalization, AI optimization, and flexible pricing.
• Instantly.ai: For anyone who wants to find leads, launch cold outreach campaigns, and manage their entire sales process with just one tool.
• Smartlead.ai: A cold email outreach tool that lets you create sequences with automated follow-ups and comes with smart deliverability features.

Top 7 Cold Email Service Providers in 2025

1. Saleshandy
2. Apollo.io
3. Smartlead
4. Lemlist
5. Instantly
6. Snov.io
7. Hunter.io

1. Saleshandy

Saleshandy is the #1 cold email service provider.

It offers advanced AI-assisted cold emailing and prospecting features at cost-effective prices.

The reason my team and I use Saleshandy is because of its AI sequence generator.

It makes creating campaigns super easy. Just enter your company’s URL, choose your ICP and goals, and the AI will whip up a complete cold email sequence for you in minutes.

Why Saleshandy Tops My List of Cold Email Service Providers

• Advanced Sequences: You can create multi-step trigger-based sequences that are automatically adjusted based on your prospects’ actions.
• Hyper-personalization: Saleshandy helps you to hyper-personalize emails with features like Merge Tags, Variable Tags, and Spintax.
• Unified Inbox: Manage all your client conversations in one place and categorize your threads with smart AI filters.
• Advanced Deliverability Capabilities: Saleshandy gives you access to unlimited email warmup and features like sender rotation,  sequence score, ESP matching, and AI bounce detector.
• Prospecting Features: Saleshandy allows you to find targeted leads with its B2B database, AI search, and LinkedIn Chrome extension. 

✅Pros of Saleshandy

• Easy-to-use dashboard
• Add unlimited emails, clients, and prospects at no extra cost
• Generate AI variants of your cold emails with just one click
• Customer support is really helpful
• Offers plug-and-play cold email infrastructure 
• SOC-2 compliant software

❌Cons of Saleshandy

• The free trial is limited to 7 days

Pricing (Billed Annually)

• Outreach Starter: $25/month
• Outreach Pro: $69/month
• Outreach Scale: $139/month
• Outreach Scale Plus: $209/month

2. Apollo.io

Apollo.io is a sales intelligence platform. 

It offers everything from prospecting to multi-channel outreach.

So, if you need a platform that can help you find leads and create multichannel sequences, Apollo might be worth a shot!

One feature that stood out to me when I used Apollo was AI-powered email writing. It helped write personalized cold emails based on my prospect’s company mission, current role, and pain points.

However, Apollo also sets a limit on the number of words you can ask the AI to write, so watch out for that: it might show up on your next invoice.

Apollo also has a good B2B database with 210 M+ prospects and advanced filters to help you find the right prospects.

Why is Apollo.io a Good Cold Email Service Provider?

• Multi-Channel Outreach: You can use Apollo to create sequences across multiple channels, including emails and phone calls, and even add manual steps.
• AI-Personalized Emails: Apollo reduces the amount of time you spend on writing personalized cold emails through an AI email writer.
• Detailed Analytics: You can get a snapshot of your sales campaign through a user-friendly dashboard to measure its performance.

✅Pros of Apollo.io

• Offers intent signals so you can approach in-market leads
• A Chrome extension helps you prospect on the go
• Comes with a forever-free plan

❌Cons of Apollo.io

• Lacks important deliverability features like sender rotation and email warmup
• The basic plan only lets you create 2 email sequences
• The UI may be hard to navigate for new users

Apollo.io’s Pricing Plans (Billed Annually)

• Basic: $49/month
• Professional: $79/month
• Organization: $119/month

3. Smartlead.ai

If you want to automate cold outreach, verify emails, and buy email domains designed for cold emailing with just one tool, Smartlead.ai could be your ideal choice. 

While it doesn’t have a built-in prospecting database or AI email writer, it gives you everything you need to scale your cold email campaigns.

One of my favorite things about Smartlead is the SmartDelivery feature:

Through it, Smartlead helps you test your inbox placement rate to help you achieve high email deliverability. 

To do this, it analyzes your email’s performance with ESP filters, tracks 400+ spam blacklists, and creates a detailed report on your domain health.

Why Choose Smartlead for Cold Emailing?

• Sequence Automation: Smartlead ensures that you never let a lead grow cold by automating follow-ups based on your recipient’s responses.
• Unlimited Email Warmup: AI-powered warmup allows you to build your sender reputation for consistently high email deliverability. 
• Unified Master Box: You can create a customized inbox through dynamic campaign tags to keep track of all your conversations in one place.

✅Pros of Smartlead

• Helps you perform email deliverability tests to see where your emails are landing
• Comes with a built-in email verification service
• Integrates with CRM platforms like HubSpot, Expandi, and OutboundSync
• You can buy email domains that are set up specifically for cold emailing
• GDPR-compliant software

❌Cons of Smartlead

• Slow customer support and buggy UI
• Integrations are only available with the more expensive Pro plan

Smartlead.ai’s Pricing Plans (Billed Annually)

• Basic Plan: $32.5/month
• Pro Plan: $78.3/month
• Custom Plan: Starts at $174/month

4. Lemlist

Lemlist is one of the most popular cold outreach providers in the market. 

However, its functionalities cover more than just cold emailing: it’s a multi-channel sales automation platform that comes with a built-in B2B lead database.

I particularly like Lemlist’s one-click sequence feature, which automatically creates cross-channel sequences based on an in-depth analysis of the prospect!

Why Does Lemlist Make My List of the Top Cold Email Software?

• Advanced Email Sequences: Lemlist goes beyond automated follow-ups to adapt your sequences based on your prospects’ actions, replies, and profiles.
• AI Personalization: Send personalized, human-sounding cold emails without wasting time with Lemlist’s AI email writer.
• Email Deliverability: Lemlist offers advanced email warm-up and sender rotation to ensure that your emails never land in spam folders.
• Unified Inbox: Easily manage your multichannel conversations in one place and filter interactions based on your priorities.

✅Pros of Lemlist

• Helps you find and verify email accounts of prospects
• Integrates with popular CRM platforms like Salesforce and Pipedrive
• Built-in lead database with 450 M+ B2B contacts

❌Cons of Lemlist

• Limits the number of email accounts you can connect
• Poor customer support
• The pricing plans are too expensive

Lemlist’s Pricing Plans (Billed Annually)

• Email Pro: $55/month
• Multichannel Expert: $79/month

5. Instantly.ai

Instantly is an AI-first cold outreach platform that helps you create personalized email sequences. 

Plus, it also comes with a lead database, native CRM, email verification, and deliverability features.

One thing that stood out to me was Instantly’s Unibox, which automatically categorizes conversations with AI labels and makes it really easy to filter high-priority interactions.

I also liked its vibrant UI, which made navigating between sequences, analytics, and settings much easier. 

What Makes Instantly a Good Cold Email Service Provider?

• AI-powered Sequences: Instantly’s AI CoPilot analyzes your prospects and helps you write email sequences based on their buying intent and latest activity.
• Advanced Deliverability: You can warm up your email domain, set up automated deliverability tests, and optimize email copy with AI-generated spintax.
• Native Lead Database: Instantly helps you find prospects that align with your ICP through advanced filters like technographics, revenue, and headcount.

✅Pros of Instantly.ai

• A/Z testing of email copies with unlimited variations
• “Unibox” you can use to access all conversations in one place
• AI-powered optimization to help you draft personalized email sequences
• Lead database with advanced filters for prospecting and lead generation
• An In-house CRM platform that helps you scale multi-channel outreach

❌Cons of Instantly.ai (Based on User Reviews)

• Unresponsive customer service
• The pricing plans might be too expensive for SMBs, startups, and solopreneurs
• Instantly’s limit of 1,000 users for the entry plan might be too restrictive

Instantly.ai’s Pricing Plans (Billed Annually)

• Growth: $30/month
• Hypergrowth: $77.6/month
• Light Speed: $286.3/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

6. Snov.io

If you rely on both LinkedIn and cold email outreach for lead generation, then Snov.io could be your one-stop solution for prospecting and outreach.

It comes with a built-in email finder that offers highly accurate prospect data. 

But where Snov.io truly stands out from other tools is its sequence automation capabilities, through which you can:

• Automatically create personalized sequences based on prospect information
• Add LinkedIn touchpoints for high-value targets
• Get notifications on your active sequences through the Unibox

I also really like Snov.io’s clean user interface, which definitely made it easier for me to create my first sequence. 

Why Does Snov.io Make My List of Cold Email Service Providers?

• Trigger-based Sequences: You can create detailed sequences that automatically adjust the replies based on your prospect’s intent and responses.
• Personalization: Snov.io provides intelligent tools to help you send personalized cold emails to every prospect.
• AI Sentiment Analysis: Adapt your email sequences in real-time by getting AI-driven insights into your recipient’s buying intent.
• Email Deliverability: Snov.io makes sure that your emails never miss the inbox with ESP matching, email warmup, spam checks, and sender rotation.

✅Pros of Snov.io

• Snov.io gives you personalized tips to drive campaign engagement
• A unified inbox helps you categorize and track every conversation
• Helps you verify email accounts with a 7-tier verification process
• Comes with a forever-free plan

❌ Cons of Snov.io

• Occasional issues with personalization
• The email writer could be cleaner

Snov.io’s Pricing Plans (Billed Annually)

• Starter: $30/month
• Pro: $75/month
• Managed Service: $3,999/month

7. Hunter.io

Last on my list of the best cold email service providers is Hunter.io. 

It is a basic but highly effective cold outreach platform you can use to find email accounts and launch cold email campaigns without switching tools.

My favorite Hunter.io feature is definitely Warm Lead Tracking: it tells you which of your recipients opened your cold email without replying.

You can use this, along with other insights on its dashboard, to optimize your sequences and cold emails to increase engagement!

What Features Does Hunter.io Offer as a Cold Email Software?

• Personalized Sequences: You can add all the data you have about your prospects, and Hunter.io will help you personalize your sequences based on it.
• Ready-to-go Templates: Hunter.io offers cold email templates you can use to quickly create and launch your sequences.
• Detailed Analytics: With Hunter.io’s intuitive dashboard, you can easily track your ongoing campaigns to identify trends, tweak sequences, and optimize your outreach.

✅Pros of Hunter.io

• Integrates with popular CRM platforms like Zoho, Salesforce, and Pipedrive
• Helps you find and verify email addresses through Google Sheets
• You can look for prospects based on their tech stacks
• Comes with a forever-free plan (limited capabilities)

❌Cons of Hunter.io

• Let’s you connect very limited email accounts, even with paid plans
• The campaign management page could be more user-friendly

Hunter.io’s Pricing Plans (Billed Annually)

• Starter: $34/month
• Growth: $104/month
• Scale: $209/month
• Enterprise: Custom

Final Verdict: Which Cold Email Service Provider is the Best?

Through this blog, I’ve walked you through my experience with the best cold email service providers.

Now, it’s time for you to choose one that best aligns with your cold outreach requirements. 

My recommendation: sign up for a free trial of the tool you liked best to explore its features and find out if it fits your needs.

And if you’re not sure which tool to try first, why not give Saleshandy a shot? You get:

• Advanced condition-based sequences  
• Hyper-personalization capabilities
• A B2B Database of 700M+ 
• Full suite of email deliverability tools

Sign up, create your first sequence, and watch the leads flow in!

Top Cold Email Service Providers: FAQs

1. What’s the best email software for cold email marketing?

Saleshandy is by far the best email software for cold email marketing because it offers: 

• Automated cold email sequences with trigger-based responses
• Personalization tools for high engagement
• Dedicated email deliverability features
• Flexible pricing models for different requirements

2. What is the best system for cold emails?

Saleshandy is the best system for cold emails because it allows you to launch and track personalized cold email sequences at scale. It also ensures that your emails land in inboxes, helps you find accurate email addresses of prospects, and offers preset email accounts for cold emailing.

3. Which cold email service is best for agencies with high-volume requirements?

Saleshandy is the best cold email service for agencies with high-volume requirements because it:

• Let’s you add unlimited clients at no extra cost
• Helps you manage multiple clients and team members with a clutter-free dashboard
• Offers Whitelabel solutions you can use to enhance your brand value 
• Allows you to share analytics with your clients to keep them updated
• Comes with flexible pricing plans you can use to increase your sending volume