Mailshake
The cold email tool that used to be king before Instantly showed up — still solid but increasingly feels like paying premium for standard features
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The Verdict
“Mailshake is the simplest cold email outreach tool on the market. Perfect for small teams and agencies wanting fast, effective outbound without a learning curve. Lacks the depth of larger platforms.”
Best For
Teams already on Mailshake who have working campaigns and don't want the friction of migrating — if it ain't broke, don't fix it
Not Great For
New buyers choosing a cold email tool — Instantly or Smartlead offer objectively better value per dollar
Overview
Mailshake is an email outreach platform built for speed and simplicity. It offers personalized cold email campaigns, LinkedIn automation, phone dialer, AI email writing (SHAKEspeare), built-in warm-up, list cleaning, and a Data Finder for prospect discovery. Known for being easy to set up — reps can send campaigns on their first day.
SDRs, founders, agencies, small sales teams
1-50
Capabilities
Key Features
- Personalized cold email at scale
- LinkedIn automation
- Phone dialer
- SHAKEspeare AI email writer
- Built-in email warm-up (SMTP)
- List cleaning tool
- Data Finder for prospects
- Lead Catcher for engaged leads
- A/B testing with Spintax
- Pipeline-focused analytics
Benefits
- Fastest time to first campaign — reps send on day one
- Purpose-built deliverability tools
- Multi-channel outreach (email, phone, social)
- AI writing eliminates blank page syndrome
Pros & Cons
Pros
- +Extremely easy to use — reps productive on day one
- +Built-in deliverability tools (warm-up, list cleaning, copy analyzer)
- +AI email writer included
- +Good for agencies (multi-team support)
Cons
- -No free trial — payment required upfront
- -Pricing not transparent on website
- -Less feature-rich than competitors like Apollo or Lemlist
- -LinkedIn automation less mature than dedicated tools
Outbound Use Cases
Financials & Scale
Mailshake starts at $58/user/mo. Instantly is $37/mo with unlimited email accounts. Smartlead is $39/mo. The math is brutal for Mailshake — you pay more per user for fewer sending accounts. Reddit's r/coldemail consensus has shifted firmly to Instantly.
The Reddit Pulse
Community Pros
- +Established player with good deliverability features
- +Phone dialer included in higher tiers
- +Good for smaller, quality-over-quantity campaigns
- +Solid reporting and analytics
Community Cons
- -Perceived as outdated - r/coldemail users recommend Instantly instead
- -Pricing seen as high vs newer competitors
- -Lacks multi-inbox rotation that competitors offer
- -UI feels dated compared to modern cold email tools
Reddit Questions
- ? Is Mailshake still a good cold email option in 2025?
- ? Has Mailshake fallen behind Instantly and Smartlead?
- ? Is Mailshake worth it for smaller campaigns under 1000 sends?
Thinking of Switching?
Competitive Landscape
Technical Stack
Integrations
Head-to-Head Comparisons
Company Intel
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