# Instantly vs Mailshake

Updated 2026-10-15. Compared from independent Reddit comments only. Methodology: https://gtmranked.com/methodology/

**Is Instantly or Mailshake better?** Too close to call on user sentiment: Instantly scores 23/100 from 21 rated comments, Mailshake 19/100 from 9 rated comments. Pick on fit: Instantly is best for Solo operators and small teams running email-only cold campaigns; Mailshake is best for Beginners who want a simple, affordable email sequencer. Neither scores well: both are below 40/100, so read the complaints below.

**Is Instantly or Mailshake cheaper?** Instantly: Outreach plans from $47/mo billed monthly, or $37.60/mo on yearly billing, for 5,000 emails and 1,000 uploaded contacts; every tier includes unlimited email accounts and warmup. Lead database credits are a separate subscription from $47/mo. No free plan is listed; sign-up needs no credit card. Mailshake: Per-user plans: Starter $25/mo billed annually ($29 monthly), Email Outreach $45/mo annually ($49 monthly), Sales Engagement $85/mo annually ($99 monthly); Agency plan via sales; Data Finder and ready-made mailboxes are paid add-ons; no free trial (payment up front) and no free plan. Prices are from each vendor's pricing page and change often.

| | Instantly | Mailshake |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 23/100 | 19/100 |
| Rank in category | #10 | #11 |
| Rated comments | 21 | 9 |
| Best for | Solo operators and small teams running email-only cold campaigns; Teams that want many sending inboxes without per-seat or per-inbox fees | Beginners who want a simple, affordable email sequencer |
| Starting price | $37.60/mo | $25/mo |

## #10 Instantly

Instantly is a cold email platform that sends sequences from an unlimited number of connected inboxes with built-in warmup, and sells a separate B2B lead database and CRM. Website: instantly.ai. Category: [Cold Email & Sequencing](https://gtmranked.com/best/cold-email/). Score 23/100 (6 positive, 5 mixed, 10 negative of 21 independent comments).

**Verdict:** The few independent users who give a real opinion find Instantly simple to set up for email-only campaigns and value that it has no per-seat or per-inbox caps. Negative reports outnumber positive ones, and they concentrate in 2026: warmup accounts stuck in poor pools, a health dashboard that showed 100% while mail went to spam or domains were blacklisted, slower support, and higher-tier pricing for basic needs like replying from the unified inbox. Nearly half the comments (48 of 100) were promotional, including clusters of short generic praise and seeded plugs for other tools, so independent evidence is thinner than the volume suggests.

**What users like:**
- Simple to set up and run for straightforward email-only campaigns; core sending and inbox rotation work [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaSMarketing/comments/1tydo7d/_/p0a0pt8/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1v1zpqn/_/oyrgkl5/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1vocl5m/_/p5sh5pm/) [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/EmailOutreach/comments/1ugczhf/_/ou4njgb/)
- No per-seat or per-mailbox caps, which users moving from seat-priced tools found cheaper as the team grew (one reported saving about $900/month going from 3 to 8 SDRs) [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/LovedByCreators/comments/1fukmc0/_/nec6cvw/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/agency/comments/1oeu8qt/_/nol8snr/)
- Warmup is included rather than sold as a separate tool [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Emailmarketing/comments/17rj2h6/_/k8lk3fw/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/EmailOutreach/comments/1ugczhf/_/ou4njgb/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/LovedByCreators/comments/1fukmc0/_/nec6cvw/)

**What users complain about:**
- The dashboard's health and spam-check scores did not match reality for several users: 100% scores while test emails went to junk, and domains found blacklisted after months of warmup [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1vocl5m/_/p473zsz/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1vocl5m/_/p91ox3g/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1vocl5m/_/p5sh5pm/)
- Warmup inboxes stuck in low-quality pools and general deliverability problems were reported repeatedly in 2026, including after plan upgrades [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1rwy3ln/_/ob9u97a/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1rwy3ln/_/obg9ywi/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1rwy3ln/_/oba7pys/) [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/Warmysender/comments/1sler4t/_/p8bcwwi/)
- Support has slowed as the company scaled: generic answers, pool fixes taking 3 to 5 days, or no reply at all [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1rwy3ln/_/ob32oaw/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1rwy3ln/_/ob9u97a/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1rwy3ln/_/obg9ywi/) [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1v1zpqn/_/oyrflaj/)
- The entry Growth plan is restrictive, with users pushed to pricier tiers for features like replying from the unified inbox; others call it high cost for the value and note there are no agency rates [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaSMarketing/comments/1tydo7d/_/p0a0pt8/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1v1zpqn/_/oyrflaj/) [3](https://www.reddit.com/r/EmailOutreach/comments/1ugczhf/_/owpbvs1/) [4](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1v1zpqn/_/oyrgkl5/)
- Domains bought through Instantly cannot be transferred out, which one user called a reason to leave [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coldemailing/comments/1rwy3ln/_/ovxjfjl/)

**Best for:** Solo operators and small teams running email-only cold campaigns; Teams that want many sending inboxes without per-seat or per-inbox fees.
**Skip it if:** Agencies that need client accounts or agency pricing; Anyone who would trust the built-in health score instead of running independent inbox placement tests.
**Pricing (vendor-stated, checked 2026-10-14):** Outreach plans from $47/mo billed monthly, or $37.60/mo on yearly billing, for 5,000 emails and 1,000 uploaded contacts; every tier includes unlimited email accounts and warmup. Lead database credits are a separate subscription from $47/mo. No free plan is listed; sign-up needs no credit card.

Full review: https://gtmranked.com/tools/instantly/

## #11 Mailshake

Mailshake is a sales outreach platform that automates cold email sequences and follow-ups, with phone dialing, CRM integrations and lead management on higher tiers. Website: mailshake.com. Category: [Cold Email & Sequencing](https://gtmranked.com/best/cold-email/). Score 19/100 (4 positive, 0 mixed, 5 negative of 9 independent comments).

**Verdict:** Independent discussion is thin: about nine non-promotional comments give a real view, most of them brief. Users who rate it describe Mailshake as a straightforward, reasonably priced sender that is fine for beginners, while several commenters blame its small warmup pool and shared sending infrastructure when emails land in spam, and older reports found it did nothing extra for deliverability. Over 40 of the 100 comments were promotional, mostly accounts dropping Mailshake into lists to plug other products, including a cluster pushing Klenty with near-identical wording.

**What users like:**
- Straightforward and good value for beginners, according to a user running campaigns since 2018 [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/comments/1cibweb/_/nfs74cy/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/coldemail/comments/1lkw0zd/_/mzv9846/)
- Works fine for sending, including alongside a LinkedIn sequence for recruitment outreach [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/coldemail/comments/1srpqot/_/ohmo5xw/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/RecruitmentAgencies/comments/1udu55u/_/oteovm2/)

**What users complain about:**
- Warmup pool is seen as small, and one user's inbox placement rose from about 40% to 75% after moving to Instantly [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/coldemail/comments/1sx7ji1/_/oiyipwh/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/coldemail/comments/1sx7ji1/_/oilx8c4/)
- Shared sending infrastructure means your reputation depends on other customers' sending [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/coldemail/comments/1sx7ji1/_/oiokfui/)
- Seen as a plain sending tool that did nothing extra for deliverability (2020 report) [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Emailmarketing/comments/idxe38/_/g2dbk1k/)
- A link-building user got much better results after switching to lemlist's personalized images (2021) [1](https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/liam46/_/gnj6wk2/)

**Best for:** Beginners who want a simple, affordable email sequencer.
**Skip it if:** Senders who rely on the built-in warmup to fix inbox placement.
**Pricing (vendor-stated, checked 2026-10-14):** Per-user plans: Starter $25/mo billed annually ($29 monthly), Email Outreach $45/mo annually ($49 monthly), Sales Engagement $85/mo annually ($99 monthly); Agency plan via sales; Data Finder and ready-made mailboxes are paid add-ons; no free trial (payment up front) and no free plan.

Full review: https://gtmranked.com/tools/mailshake/