How much does an outbound sales stack cost?
Based on vendor pricing pages checked on 20 October 2026, a one-person outbound stack costs $82.75 to $104.75 a month if you lead with email, and $180.49 to $226.24 if you lead with LinkedIn. A three-person team pays $573.74 to $697.74. The lower figure assumes annual billing; the higher assumes you pay month to month.
| Stack | Monthly billing | Annual billing, per month |
|---|---|---|
| Email-first founder | $104.75 | $82.75 |
| LinkedIn-first founder | $226.24 | $180.49 |
| Three-person team | $697.74 ($232.58 a person) | $573.74 ($191.25 a person) |
Each stack is built line by line below, with the arithmetic shown. The totals leave out tax, which several vendors exclude from listed prices, and they assume you write your own messages.
What does each tool cost? Prices checked 20 October 2026
Every price below is in US dollars from the vendor's own pricing page, checked on 20 October 2026. "Annual" is the per-month price when billed yearly.
| Tool and plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Free | $0 | $0 | 75 credits a seat a month, 2 sequences |
| Apollo Basic | $65 a seat | $49 a seat | Data, unlimited sequences, 250 email sends a day |
| Apollo Professional | $99 a seat | $79 a seat | Adds AI lead scoring and unlimited daily sends |
| Clay Launch | $185 | $167 | 15,000 actions and 2,500 data credits a month; job change signals |
| Hunter Starter | $49 | $34 ($408 a year) | 2,000 credits a month; sequences from 3 connected mailboxes |
| Icypeas Basic | $19 + VAT | $190 a year + VAT ($15.83) | 1,000 found emails a month; credits roll over |
| Instantly Growth | $47 | $37.60 | 5,000 emails and 1,000 uploaded contacts a month |
| Smartlead Base | $39 | $32 | 6,000 sends and 2,000 contacts a month |
| Smartlead Pro | $94 | $78 | 90,000 sends and 30,000 contacts a month |
| lemlist Email | $69 | $55 | Unlimited users, 50,000 emails a month |
| lemlist Multichannel | $109 a user | $87 a user | Adds LinkedIn and SMS automation |
| HeyReach Growth | $79 a sender | $64 a sender ($759 a year) | LinkedIn automation; 100 enrichment credits a sender |
| Sales Navigator Core | $119.99 | $89.99 ($1,079.88 a year) | LinkedIn's lead search; LinkedIn calls these prices estimates |
| Calendly Standard / Teams | $12 / $20 a seat | $10 / $16 a seat | Free plan: one event type, one calendar |
| Cal.com Free | $0 | $0 | One user, unlimited event types and calendars |
| Typefully Creator | Not offered | $99 a year ($8.25) | Annual billing only; free plan allows 10 posts a month |
Stack 1: the email-first founder
An email-first founder pays $104.75 a month on monthly billing, or $82.75 on annual billing. This stack finds addresses with Hunter and sends through Smartlead from three Google mailboxes on three domains. Three mailboxes is our assumption; adjust it to your volume.
| Line | Monthly billing | Annual billing |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter Starter (find and verify emails) | $49.00 | $34.00 |
| Smartlead Base (sending) | $39.00 | $32.00 |
| 3 Google mailboxes bought in Smartlead (3 × $4.50) | $13.50 | $13.50 |
| 3 domains (3 × $13 a year ÷ 12) | $3.25 | $3.25 |
| Cal.com Free (booking page) | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Total | $104.75 | $82.75 |
Arithmetic: 49 + 39 + 13.50 + 3.25 = $104.75. On annual billing, 34 + 32 + 13.50 + 3.25 = $82.75, which saves $22 a month or $264 a year.
Two swaps to consider. Instantly Growth instead of Smartlead Base costs $8 more on monthly billing ($47 against $39) and gives 5,000 emails and 1,000 uploaded contacts a month, against Smartlead's 6,000 sends and 2,000 contacts. Or skip a separate sender: Hunter Starter includes sequences from up to three connected email accounts, and Hunter sells custom domains and email accounts from $6 a month per account.
Stack 2: the LinkedIn-first founder
A LinkedIn-first founder pays $226.24 a month on monthly billing, or $180.49 on annual billing. This stack searches with Sales Navigator, automates LinkedIn outreach with HeyReach, finds emails for follow-up with Icypeas and schedules posts with Typefully.
| Line | Monthly billing | Annual billing |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Navigator Core | $119.99 | $89.99 |
| HeyReach Growth, one sender | $79.00 | $63.25 |
| Icypeas Basic (emails for follow-up) | $19.00 | $19.00 |
| Calendly Free | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Typefully Creator ($99 a year ÷ 12) | $8.25 | $8.25 |
| Total | $226.24 | $180.49 |
Arithmetic: 119.99 + 79 + 19 + 8.25 = $226.24. On annual billing, 89.99 + 63.25 + 19 + 8.25 = $180.49. HeyReach's annual card says $64 a seat, but $759 billed yearly works out to $63.25 a month, so we used $63.25. Icypeas is shown at its monthly price in both columns, plus VAT where it applies.
The alternative is lemlist Multichannel at $109 a user a month, which puts LinkedIn automation and email in one tool, plus its $20 data add-on for 2,000 credits (400 emails or 100 phone numbers). That replaces HeyReach and Icypeas at $129 against $98, or $31 more a month. Before automating LinkedIn at all, read our guide on whether LinkedIn automation is safe.
Stack 3: a three-person team
A three-person team pays $697.74 a month on monthly billing, or $573.74 on annual billing. The team shares one data tool, one enrichment and signals tool, one sender and a team booking tool, and one person runs LinkedIn with Sales Navigator.
| Line | Monthly billing | Annual billing |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo Basic, 3 seats | $195.00 | $147.00 |
| Clay Launch (shared) | $185.00 | $167.00 |
| Smartlead Pro | $94.00 | $78.00 |
| 9 mailboxes (3 each × $4.50) | $40.50 | $40.50 |
| 3 domains (3 × $13 a year ÷ 12) | $3.25 | $3.25 |
| Sales Navigator Core, 1 seat | $119.99 | $89.99 |
| Calendly Teams, 3 seats (round-robin) | $60.00 | $48.00 |
| Total | $697.74 | $573.74 |
Arithmetic: 195 + 185 + 94 + 40.50 + 3.25 + 119.99 + 60 = $697.74. On annual billing, 147 + 167 + 78 + 40.50 + 3.25 + 89.99 + 48 = $573.74. Annual billing saves $124 a month, or $1,488 a year, in exchange for 12-month commitments.
Apollo puts every seat on the same plan, so moving one person to Professional ($79 annual, $99 monthly) moves all three: $90 more a month on annual billing. Apollo's FAQ also says that switching from annual to monthly means cancelling and waiting for the annual term to end.
Where do vendor pricing pages contradict themselves?
Five of the pages we checked disagree with themselves or need a second look:
- Clay. The plan cards show Launch at $167 and Growth at $446 a month, while the FAQ on the same page says Launch starts at $185 and Growth at $495. The page opens on annual billing (10% off) and the FAQ quotes monthly prices, so check which toggle is selected. Rollover also depends on the toggle: on monthly billing the comparison table says Launch and Growth roll over up to one month's credits, which matches the FAQ's cap of twice the monthly amount, but on annual billing it says 15% of annual credits, which the FAQ ties only to Enterprise customers who renew.
- Apollo. Organization costs $119 a seat billed annually, with a three-seat minimum. Switch the page to monthly and the same plan shows $149, marked "Annual Only". The FAQ describes the plans as Free, Basic, Professional and Custom, with no Organization.
- Instantly. The Hypergrowth card lists 125,000 emails a month; the comparison table below it says 100,000, and the FAQ talks about upgrading once you send more than 100,000.
- HeyReach. The headline reads "Unlimited senders, one flat monthly fee", yet the Growth plan is priced per sender. Only the Unlimited plan, $2,999 a month on monthly billing, covers unlimited senders, and its fair-use policy caps it at 300.
- LinkedIn. Sales Navigator prices are labelled estimates that may exclude VAT or GST, with the FAQ updated on 27 September 2026. Your checkout price is the one that counts.
What costs don't show on the plan card?
Four costs sit outside the plan prices above: mailboxes, credits, tax and a CRM.
- Mailboxes and domains. Instantly and Smartlead let you connect unlimited email accounts, but you buy the accounts yourself. Smartlead's SmartSenders add-on lists Google mailboxes at $4.50 a month each plus $13 a year per domain; Hunter sells domains and accounts from $6 a month per account.
- Credits. Apollo credits reset each billing cycle and don't roll over, and its add-on credits renew automatically until you remove them. Clay charges a 30% premium for credit top-ups on Launch and Growth. Icypeas credits never expire, and lemlist's roll over while you stay subscribed.
- Tax. Apollo says its prices exclude applicable taxes, and Icypeas lists prices plus VAT.
- CRM and booking. None of the stacks includes a separate CRM; in Stack 3, Apollo Basic covers lead and deal management. Siela includes a built-in CRM and booking pages that check every connected calendar and send reminders, so if you use its agents you don't need a separate CRM or booking tool.
How to cut your outbound stack cost this week
You can cut the bill in an afternoon by removing overlap and choosing carefully when to switch to annual billing.
List every tool and renewal date
One sheet: tool, plan, seats, billing cycle, next renewal date and who uses it.
Remove overlap
Apollo Basic and Hunter Starter both include email sequences. If you also pay for Smartlead or Instantly, check that you need both: Apollo Basic caps email sends at 250 a day, which is why Stack 3 adds Smartlead Pro.
Go annual only on proven tools
Stay monthly for two or three months, then switch the tools you used every week. Apollo lets you move from monthly to annual at any time, with payments already made prorated.
Cancel credit add-ons before renewal
Apollo add-on credits renew each cycle until you drag the slider back to zero.
Compare against an AI SDR
Put your stack total next to an AI SDR price. Our breakdown of what an AI SDR costs covers vendor pricing models and cost per booked meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an outbound sales stack cost per month?
Using vendor prices checked 20 October 2026, an email-first founder pays about $83 to $105 a month, a LinkedIn-first founder about $180 to $226, and a three-person team about $574 to $698. The lower figures assume annual billing. Tax, extra credits and extra mailboxes come on top.
Is annual billing worth it for sales tools?
It saves money once you know you will keep the tool. On the three stacks in this guide, annual billing saves $22 to $124 a month. The catch is commitment: Apollo, for example, only lets you move from annual to monthly by cancelling and waiting for the annual term to end. Try a tool monthly first.
Why does Clay show two different prices for the same plan?
Clay's pricing page opens on annual billing, which is 10% cheaper, so the Launch card shows $167 a month. The FAQ on the same page quotes the monthly price of $185. Growth is $446 on annual billing against $495 monthly. Check which billing toggle is selected before comparing Clay with other tools.
What is the cheapest way to send cold email in 2026?
Among the tools checked on 20 October 2026, Smartlead Base costs $39 a month, or $32 billed yearly, for 6,000 sends and 2,000 contacts, and Instantly Growth costs $47, or $37.60 yearly, for 5,000 emails. Apollo's free plan includes two sequences with Gmail sending. Dedicated senders need mailboxes and domains on top.
How much is LinkedIn Sales Navigator in 2026?
LinkedIn lists Sales Navigator Core at US$119.99 a month or US$1,079.88 a year per licence, and Advanced at US$159.99 a month or US$1,799.88 a year. LinkedIn calls these prices estimates that may exclude VAT or GST, and its FAQ was last updated on 27 September 2026.
Sources
- Apollo.io pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- Clay pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- Hunter pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- Icypeas pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- Instantly pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- Smartlead pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- lemlist pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- HeyReach pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: compare plans (checked 20 Oct 2026 (page updated 27 Sep 2026))
- Calendly pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- Cal.com pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- Typefully pricing (checked 20 Oct 2026)