Simple Swift Email vs Instantly, Smartlead and lemlist
All four send cold email. Instead of a feature checklist about tools we do not control, here are their public entry prices, and the questions worth asking any vendor, answered for us.
Assumption, check before relying on it. Competitor prices are list prices for each vendor's cheapest email plan, billed monthly, as shown on their public pricing pages ([verify date]). Vendors change pricing often and limits differ between plans, so follow the links for current details.
| Tool | Entry price | Plan | How it is priced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Swift Email | $37 / month | Starter, or $29 / month billed yearly | Flat monthly price per plan; paid plans include Swift Pilot, and there is a Free plan |
| Instantly pricing (opens in a new tab) | $47 / month* | Outreach "Growth" plan, billed monthly | Flat monthly price per plan; email accounts are not charged per seat |
| Smartlead pricing (opens in a new tab) | $39 / month* | "Basic" plan, billed monthly | Flat monthly price per plan with email and lead caps |
| lemlist pricing (opens in a new tab) | $69 / month* | Email plan (50,000 emails), billed monthly | Volume-based price with unlimited users |
* Assumption from the vendor's public pricing page, not verified by the vendor. Instantly, Smartlead and lemlist are trademarks of their owners; we are not affiliated with them.
Questions to ask any cold email tool
Put these to every vendor you try. Here are our answers.
| Question | Simple Swift Email |
|---|---|
| Does it research each lead before writing? | Yes. The AI reads the lead's website and writes around what it finds, on every plan. |
| Can I check every email before it sends? | Yes. Emails wait in a review queue by default. Automatic sending is an optional setting per campaign. |
| How is volume spread across mailboxes? | Each email goes from the healthy mailbox with the most room left today, inside per-mailbox daily and hourly caps. A lead always hears from the same mailbox. |
| What happens when an AI provider rate-limits? | Writing fails over to your next AI connection immediately, in the priority order you set. |
| Can I check my lead list before sending? | Yes, on paid plans. The Email verifier marks each address Valid, Risky, Invalid or Unknown from its format, its domain and known lists of throwaway providers, shared inboxes and typing mistakes. It does not connect to mail servers, so it cannot confirm that one particular inbox exists. It is not included on the Free plan. |
| Where do replies go? | All connected reply inboxes feed one shared inbox, matched to the right lead and campaign. |
| Do I pay per seat? | No. Plans are priced per workspace bundle. Starter includes 1 seat; higher plans include more. |
| Can I bring my own AI keys? | Yes. OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, OpenRouter or any compatible API. Your own key also removes the daily limit on AI-written emails. |
See the difference on your own leads.
Start on the Free plan. Connect a mailbox and your AI key, upload a list, and review your first AI-written emails before anything is sent. Move to a paid plan when you need more.