Instantly vs Smartlead on the same 15k-send campaign

Instantly vs Smartlead on the same 15k-send campaign

An outbound lead-gen shop ran the identical list and copy through both for one month, 8 mailboxes each, same warm-up duration.

Results
— Instantly: 62% inbox placement (seed test), 38% open, 6.2% reply
— Smartlead: 58% placement, 35% open, 6.8% reply

Close enough that placement noise explained most of it. The real split was workflow.

Pros (Instantly): cleaner deliverability dashboard, faster list cleaning via built-in verification.
Pros (Smartlead): unlimited mailboxes per plan, better API for their custom CRM sync.
Cons (Instantly): per-mailbox pricing punishes scale.
Cons (Smartlead): support response measured in days.

Verdict: 4/5 both. Tie on output, different bills.

Who it's for: pick Instantly under 10 mailboxes, Smartlead past 20. The agency moved to Smartlead purely on per-seat math.