When it comes to B2B outreach, marketers and founders are often torn between two powerhouse channels: LinkedIn and cold email. So which one actually works better? We asked several experts from different industries to share their take—based on results, not just opinions.
Cold email: Still the workhorse for conversions
“In my experience, cold email tends to outperform LinkedIn for B2B outreach, especially in terms of scalability and conversions,” says Arzu Ozkan, Marketing Manager at Retable.
She backs it up with data:
“When we ran a campaign targeting mid-sized SaaS companies, cold emails achieved a 12% reply rate and a 5% meeting booking rate, while LinkedIn outreach for the same audience delivered only a 7% reply rate and 2% meeting rate.”
But Arzu doesn’t rule out LinkedIn entirely. In fact, she found that combining both channels yielded the best results:
“We’ve seen that starting with light LinkedIn engagement (viewing profiles, liking posts) before sending cold emails lifted our reply rates to 15%.”
Her verdict? Cold emails still lead in direct outreach, but LinkedIn helps warm up leads for better results when used together.
LinkedIn-first approach: Build trust, then pitch
Sweta Panigrahi, CMO at Autolayout, strongly believes in building context before cold outreach.
“I would bet on LinkedIn outreach first, followed by cold email. A random email in someone’s inbox might feel intrusive, but when you’ve already engaged with them by liking, commenting, visiting their profile, or following them, it makes a huge difference in sales.”
Sweta’s team used this strategy during Autolayout’s launch:
“We gained over 1,000 users in just six weeks without a big budget. Our strategy? Posting on our LinkedIn page and reaching out to prospects, asking for their emails for early access. The response was even better than expected—nearly 43% of LinkedIn prospects engaged with us via cold email because we had already built a connection with them on LinkedIn.”
In other words, LinkedIn didn’t just warm up leads—it made cold email feel less cold.
Clear win for LinkedIn? Not so fast
Some leaders are firmly in the LinkedIn camp.
Arnaud Belinga, CEO at Breakcold, puts it plainly:
“LinkedIn is hands down better for B2B outreach. At Breakcold, we have customers who added anywhere between $10K to $60K MRR in under 6 months through that channel.”
For Arnaud, the platform’s ability to foster trust and visibility early in the buyer journey is hard to beat—especially for subscription-driven SaaS companies.
Hybrid strategies and the role of cold calling
Sam Ahmad, SEO expert at Spacebring, sees the cold email vs. LinkedIn debate as part of a larger shift in how recruiters and B2B sellers approach outbound.
“The debate between LinkedIn vs. cold email is relevant in recruitment too. Just like cold calling, messages see better results when you’ve already built some familiarity. A well-researched LinkedIn connection or email can warm up a prospect before the call, making them more receptive.”
His advice?
“Don’t start cold. Use LinkedIn or email first, and follow up with a call only when there’s some existing context. That’s how you move from resistance to relationship.”
Check out Sam’s full post on the topic: Cold calling in recruitment
But cold email still wins—if you get it right
Radek Kaczyński, CEO at Bouncer, reminds us that cold email performance hinges on one critical factor: list quality.
“Cold email can be very good if you have clean email lists. Deliverability is everything—if your emails don’t land in the inbox, the channel doesn’t stand a chance. Clean, verified data is the foundation of any effective cold email strategy.”
And Radek would know—his company specializes in keeping email outreach off the spam radar.
Final thoughts: not either/or, but when and how
The consensus? There’s no one-size-fits-all. Cold email wins on scale and conversions. LinkedIn wins on trust and context. But when used together—strategically—they’re even stronger.
Think of it like this:
- Use LinkedIn to warm up prospects.
- Use cold email to close the gap.
- Use tools to keep your data and timing sharp.
Want to get the best of both? Don’t pick a side—pick a sequence.