Cold emails still work in 2024 if you do them properly and use the right tools. To make your cold email campaigns hit the mark, the tools you choose should be easy to use, have the right personalization features, and help you stay out of the spam folder.
Let’s take a look at some of the best cold email software your team can use in 2024 and beyond. But first…
What is a cold email tool?
A cold email tool is a piece of software designed to help marketing and sales teams do effective outreach campaigns. A business uses cold email software to get in touch with contacts that have not previously been in touch with them. This is the “cold” aspect of the outreach process.
Anyone can write cold emails manually using a free Gmail account. Using cold email marketing software comes with a range of features that make outreach more effective:
- Automated email campaigns: schedule when cold emails go out, when the tool should follow up, what triggers the sequence to stop, etc.
- Personalized cold emails: personalize cold outreach campaigns based on the information stored in your CRM. For example, based on industry, company location, company size, main pain points, etc.
- Email tracking: most cold email software tracks metrics such as email opens, click-through rates, and more, letting you measure the performance of cold email campaigns in real time.
- Follow-up sequences: the best cold email software doesn’t let you just send one email. Instead, you can create full sequences for cold outreach, allowing you to send personalized cold emails without manually responding.
- A/B testing: determine which cold emails perform the best for your sales team and their outreach. Pit two different versions of cold emails against each other to see which one performs best for your sales process.
- Email list management: besides cold outreach, cold emailing software lets you segment and manage lists for more targeted outreach.
- Cold email templates: a list of pre-built emails that you can use in your cold email software to get the best results with your cold email outreach.
Best cold email software to try in 2024 and beyond
Most cold email tools offer all of these features. But what is the right cold email software for your use case? Let’s take a look at the best choices out there for sales teams.
Woodpecker
Woodpecker caters to both businesses and agencies looking to enhance their sales pipeline. The platform starts by warming up your inbox to ensure optimal deliverability, followed by verifying your entire database to target real recipients and avoid fake addresses.
With Woodpecker’s cold email software, you can personalize emails and create automated sequences, boosting productivity by automatically following up when someone reads or opens a message. The detailed dashboard provides vital email analytics, allowing you to track responses and opened emails effectively.
Split testing enables you to experiment with different email versions for your target audience, and a variety of AI-adjustable templates are available for customization.
Woodpecker integrates seamlessly with most email marketing software, allowing you to send messages directly from tools like Mailchimp. It also connects with popular CRMs such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive, and many others for enhanced automation.
Pricing starts at just $29 per month for 500 emails. Sign up and get started for free today!
Saleshandy
Saleshandy is a cold email outreach tool that offers a robust set of features tailored for effective cold email campaigns. One of its standout features is the unified inbox, which consolidates all email responses in one place, ensuring you never miss a follow-up.
The cold email outreach software also includes sender rotation, allowing you to send emails from multiple addresses to avoid spam filters and improve deliverability. Automatic email warmup helps new email accounts build a positive sender reputation, enhancing the success rate of your campaigns.
For those looking to optimize their email content, Saleshandy provides A/B testing (multivariant) capabilities, enabling you to experiment with different email versions to determine which performs best. On top of that, email verification is available to ensure your emails reach valid addresses, though this feature comes with an extra charge.
Saleshandy’s pricing structure includes a 7-day free trial, but no free plan is available. Paid packages for cold emailing start at $36/month. While the tool offers various packages depending on your needs, such as cold emailing, B2B lead finder, and agency account management services, email verification incurs additional costs.
There are some downsides to consider in this dedicated cold email software. Lower-tier plans have limited integrations, meaning you can’t connect with popular CRM systems like Hubspot, Pipedrive, or Zoho.
The follow-up feature is not included in the basic cold emailing plans, requiring an upgrade to a more comprehensive or tailored package. The abundance of plans might be overwhelming for new users.
User feedback highlights some areas for improvement. The user interface and contact management can be confusing, making navigation and usage challenging.
The lack of full integration with Zoho and the need for more HTML sample templates can make creating effective emails more time-consuming. Many users also express a desire for more integrations to enhance the tool’s functionality.
Quickmail
Quickmail is a versatile tool designed to streamline and enhance your cold email campaigns. One of its key features is email inbox warmup, which gradually builds your sender reputation to improve deliverability.
This feature, coupled with the ability to manage multiple inboxes and use inbox rotation, helps prevent your emails from being flagged as spam.
The tool also supports split testing, allowing you to test different email versions and optimize your campaigns for better performance. Detailed email reports provide insights into your campaign metrics, enabling you to make data-driven decisions.
Quickmail’s pricing starts at $49 per month, covering up to 30,000 emails. A free trial is available for 14 days, giving you a chance to explore its features before committing.
Quickmail’s cold outreach tool has some drawbacks. The user experience can be complex, and getting started with the tool may take some time.
The email warmup feature, although praised, is noted for being slow. Additionally, customer support has received criticism for not being very responsive or helpful.
User reviews reflect these sentiments. While the email warmup feature is generally well-received, its slow pace can be a disadvantage. Users have also expressed concerns about the quality of analytics and the difficulty of setting up integrations and using the API effectively.
Despite these challenges, Quickmail remains a powerful option for those looking to enhance their personalized cold email outreach, offering essential features to improve email deliverability and campaign success.
Smartlead
Smartlead is designed to boost the effectiveness of your cold email campaigns with its strong deliverability features and unlimited email warmups, ensuring your messages reach the intended recipients. The tool also includes automated email follow-ups, helping you maintain consistent communication with prospects.
A unified inbox consolidates all responses, making it easier to manage conversations. Smartlead offers API access for seamless integration with other tools and systems.
Pricing for Smartlead starts at $39 per month, with three different plans to choose from. There is also an option for a custom plan tailored to specific needs, and a free trial is available to test the features before making a commitment.
There are some downsides to consider. The tool offers an add-on, but it is only available for subscribers of the highest plan. Users have reported reliability issues, and the user interface could benefit from improvements for a smoother experience.
User reviews highlight both strengths and areas for improvement. Some users find the design a bit too raw, indicating that the interface might be less polished than competitors. The complexity of the tool can also pose challenges, particularly with MX inbox connections and confusing instructions for next steps.
While Smartlead’s features are beneficial, occasional lags can hinder productivity, especially in time-sensitive scenarios where you may need a large number of leads for cold calling.
A few users have noted that loading times can be slow, and the inbox may need manual refreshing to fetch new emails in real time.
Supersend
Supersend is a dynamic tool designed for effective cold email campaigns, offering a range of advanced features. Its multichannel cold outreach capability allows users to connect with prospects not only via email but also through LinkedIn and Twitter, making it a versatile choice for comprehensive outreach strategies.
The tool includes an email validator to ensure the accuracy of email addresses, a unified inbox to manage all communications, and inbox rotation to maintain high deliverability rates.
One of the standout features of Supersend is its AI writer, which aids in crafting personalized messages across multiple channels. This, combined with email A/B testing, allows users to optimize their email content for better engagement.
The platform’s LinkedIn and Twitter outreach automation further enhances its functionality, making it easier to reach prospects across multiple platforms.
Pricing for Supersend starts at $30 per month, allowing you to send up to 6,000 emails. A 14-day free trial is available, offering an opportunity to explore its features before committing.
Supersend’s cold email software has some disadvantages. The LinkedIn automation feature can be buggy and prone to breaking. As a relatively new platform, many features are still in development, with new additions being made weekly, which can impact overall stability.
User reviews highlight the platform’s uniqueness and ease of use compared to other cold emailing tools. Supersend is noted for being one of the few tools that includes Twitter as a channel for outreach.
Users appreciate its comprehensive built-in features, which often incur extra costs in other tools. The platform is also praised for its user-friendly interface, making it easy to get started.
Salesblink
SalesBlink is a robust sales engagement platform designed to streamline and enhance your email outreach campaigns. Its standout feature is Sales AI, which assists in creating effective email sequences and personalized emails, making it easier to engage with prospects.
The tool also includes a meeting scheduler, allowing recipients to book appointments directly from emails, and an email inbox warmup feature to improve email deliverability.
SalesBlink offers detailed analytics reports and dashboards, providing valuable insights into your personalized cold email campaigns and helping you make data-driven decisions.
Pricing for this sales engagement platform starts at $25 per month, with a 7-day free trial available to test its features before committing.
There are some areas where SalesBlink falls short. The B2B email database is outdated and lacks many essential fields, which can hinder the effectiveness of your outreach. Onboarding needs improvement, and there is a significant learning curve for the more advanced features.
User reviews are generally positive, with many praising the combination of features and the functionality of the AI tool combined with the most popular email service providers. Some users have reported, though, a few scheduling issues and difficulties using the inaccurate email database for sending out emails.
Mailstand
Mailstand offers a range of features designed to enhance your cold email campaigns. Key features include A/B testing, which allows you to test different versions of your emails to see what works best, and mailbox merging, which combines multiple inboxes for easier management.
The tool also includes timezone detection to ensure your emails are sent at optimal times and a unified view for managing all your inboxes. Importantly, Mailstand imposes no contact limits for campaigns, giving you the freedom to reach as many prospects as you need.
Pricing for Mailstand is competitive, starting at $12 per month per synced mailbox. A 7-day free trial is available, allowing you to test its features before committing to a subscription. There are five different packages to choose from, catering to various needs and budgets.
Mailstand does have some weaknesses. Users have reported a confusing user experience (UX) and occasional glitches. The tool is not as robust as some competitors and lacks additional features such as deliverability capabilities, email templates, and AI support.
User reviews are scarce on popular review platforms like G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot.
One user noted, “The UX is a bit frustrating on different levels,” while another commented, “The features and offering are great for the price, but I feel like it’s that kind of tool that once you land a couple of customers and can afford better sales engagement solutions.”
Breakcold
Breakcold’s cold email software is designed to enhance your cold email outreach with a suite of powerful features. It offers unlimited email accounts and campaigns, allowing you to reach as many prospects as needed without restrictions.
The tool’s advanced personalization capabilities help create tailored emails, improving engagement rates.
A unified CRM email inbox consolidates all communications, making it easier to manage interactions. The automatic rotation of email domains helps maintain high deliverability rates.
Pricing for this cold email software starts at $29 per user per month, with two packages available. A free trial is offered, allowing users to explore its features, though there is no free plan.
Breakcold has some flaws, though. Users report a steep learning curve and integration issues. The tool lacks add-ons, and the upgrade options could be more robust.
Breakcold is not as specialized in cold emailing as some other tools.
User reviews highlight both strengths and areas for improvement. One user noted, “There are a few bugs here and there,” while another mentioned, “Several features are absent and need time to be developed.”
The software currently lacks advanced analytics, which can limit insights into campaign performance. Filtering contacts can be cumbersome if not done correctly from the start.
Wrapping up
Finding the right cold email software requires a good balance of features, pricing, deliverability and compliance with the law. The great news is that cold email outreach works and most of these tools can help with personalized email campaigns at a very low price per month.
At Woodpecker, we have all the cold email marketing tools you need in one platform. And you don’t even have to pay anything you can grab your free trial and get started with Woodpecker today.
Frequently asked questions on cold emailing
What is the best cold email tool for deliverability?
It depends. However, any cold email marketing software that has features for email warm up, inbox rotation, personalization, and targeted follow ups should be a good choice. The cold email automation tool you choose should let you warm up and prepare your email inbox before sending out any cold outreach campaigns.
Is cold email illegal?
If you do it the right way, cold email outreach is perfectly legal. However, before filing up your cold emailing tool, make sure to get familiar with the laws in your area. In the United States, this is CAN-SPAM, and for the EU, it’s GDPR. There could also be individual rules for cold email campaigns in your state or municipality. The bottom line: do your research first.
Do cold email campaigns still work in 2024?
Absolutely. Cold email marketing still works in 2024,how provided that you do it the right way. Even the best cold email platform won’t save you if you send the same email to thousands of addresses at once. Instead, choose a cold email platform that offers segmentation, personalization, automated follow ups and other features that will make your sales outreach feel more human.