Smartlead pricing is confusing if you’re new to cold email. The Basic plan costs $39/mo but caps at 1,000 leads, while the Custom plan starts at $149/mo — and the AI personalization uses your own OpenAI key, which adds a separate cost. This page breaks down every Smartlead pricing tier, hidden cost, and value threshold so you can pick the right plan.
For the full Smartlead review, see our Smartlead Review 2026. This page focuses purely on pricing.
Smartlead Pricing Tiers (2026)
| Plan | Price/mo (annual) | Active Leads | AI Accounts | Email Accounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | $0 (7 days) | 100 | 1 | Unlimited |
| Basic | $39 | 1,000 | 2 | Unlimited |
| Pro | $79 | 10,000 | 5 | Unlimited |
| Custom | $149+ | 50,000+ | 10+ | Unlimited |
Included on every plan: Unlimited email sending, automated warmup network, multi-sender rotation, API access, and white-label reporting (Custom plan only).
What Each Plan Actually Costs (With Hidden Fees)
Basic Plan — $39/mo
The Basic plan is Smartlead’s entry tier. It’s designed for solo founders and small teams sending under 1,000 emails/day.
What you get:
- 1,000 active leads (contacts in the system)
- 2 AI accounts (mailboxes with AI personalization enabled)
- Unlimited email accounts (Google Workspace, Outlook)
- Unlimited email sends
- Warmup network access
- Basic sequence automation
Hidden costs:
- OpenAI API for AI personalization: ~$0.002/email (~$20/mo at 10K emails)
- Google Workspace for sender accounts: $6/user/mo × number of senders
Real monthly cost: $39 + ~$20 OpenAI + ~$30 Google Workspace = ~$89/mo all-in.
Pro Plan — $79/mo
The Pro plan is the sweet spot for SMB outbound teams. It raises the lead limit to 10,000 and AI accounts to 5 — enough for 5,000–10,000 emails/day.
What you get beyond Basic:
- 10,000 active leads (10x the Basic limit)
- 5 AI accounts (3 more than Basic)
- Advanced AI personalization (multi-variable)
- White-label sender domains
- Priority support
Real monthly cost: $79 + ~$30 OpenAI + ~$60 Google Workspace = ~$169/mo all-in.
Custom Plan — $149+/mo
The Custom plan is built for agencies and high-volume senders. It removes the lead cap and adds white-label reporting, sub-accounts, and dedicated infrastructure.
What you get beyond Pro:
- 50,000+ active leads (5x the Pro limit)
- 10+ AI accounts (2x the Pro limit)
- White-label reporting for clients
- Sub-accounts (manage multiple clients in one dashboard)
- Dedicated IP addresses (optional)
- Priority support + dedicated account manager
Real monthly cost: $149 + ~$50 OpenAI + ~$120 Google Workspace = ~$319/mo all-in.
Smartlead vs Competitors Pricing
| Tool | Entry Price | Lead Limit | AI Personalization | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smartlead | $39/mo | 1,000 | $0 + OpenAI key | Agencies + high volume |
| Instantly | $37/mo | 1,000 | Included | SMB + flat-rate value |
| Saleshandy | $25/mo | Unlimited | Not included | Solo founders |
| Apollo | $49/mo | Unlimited | Included | All-in-one |
| Reply.io | $49/mo | Unlimited | $149/mo add-on | AI SDR |
Which Smartlead Plan Should You Pick?
Pick Basic ($39) if:
- You send under 1,000 emails/day
- You’re a solo founder or team of 1–2
- You don’t need white-label
- You’re comparing Smartlead vs Instantly on price
Pick Pro ($79) if:
- You send 1,000–10,000 emails/day
- You have 3–5 SDRs
- You need advanced AI personalization
- You want white-label sender domains
Pick Custom ($149+) if:
- You’re an agency managing 3+ clients
- You send 50,000+ emails/day
- You need sub-accounts and white-label reporting
- You want dedicated infrastructure
Smartlead vs Instantly: Cost Comparison
The two most-asked questions we get: Is Smartlead cheaper than Instantly? and Which should I pick?
| Volume | Smartlead Plan | Smartlead Cost | Instantly Plan | Instantly Cost | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 emails/day | Basic | $39 + ~$50 OAI | Growth | $37 | Instantly |
| 10,000 emails/day | Pro | $79 + ~$30 OAI | Pro | $97 | Smartlead |
| 50,000+ emails/day | Custom | $149+ + ~$50 OAI | Scale | $358 | Smartlead |
See our full Instantly vs Smartlead pricing comparison for the detailed breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Smartlead cost per month?
Smartlead starts at $39/mo (Basic, annual billing). The Pro plan is $79/mo, and the Custom plan starts at $149/mo. All plans include unlimited email sending and warmup — the only variable is lead count and AI account count.
Does Smartlead include AI personalization?
Yes, but you bring your own OpenAI API key. This means you pay OpenAI directly for token usage (~$0.002 per personalized email). At 10,000 emails/mo, that’s about $20 in OpenAI costs on top of your Smartlead subscription.
Is there a free Smartlead plan?
No — Smartlead offers a 7-day free trial (100 leads, 1 AI account). After 7 days, you need a paid plan. The cheapest paid plan is $39/mo (Basic).
Does Smartlead charge per email?
No. All Smartlead plans include unlimited email sends. The only variable limits are lead count (contacts in the system) and AI account count (mailboxes with AI personalization enabled).
How many sender accounts can I connect on Smartlead?
Unlimited — on every plan. You can connect unlimited Google Workspace or Outlook accounts on Basic, Pro, or Custom. This is one of Smartlead’s strongest features vs competitors.
Last updated: August 2026. Pricing verified directly with Smartlead.ai. Always confirm current pricing on their site before purchasing.