Lemlist: The Complete Guide to Cold Email Automation That Actually Works

What Is Lemlist and Who Is It For?

Lemlist is a sales engagement platform designed to help you automate outreach across email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and calls while maintaining a personalized, human touch. Founded in 2018, the platform has grown from a simple cold email tool into a comprehensive multichannel outreach solution used by over 37,000 businesses worldwide.

The platform is primarily built for:

• Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) who need to reach prospects across multiple channels without drowning in manual tasks
• Account Executives looking to run personalized outreach at scale
• Sales Leaders and Managers who want visibility into team performance and standardized processes
• Solo founders and small agencies who need an all-in-one prospecting workspace
• Recruiters running candidate outreach campaigns

If your outreach strategy involves more than just sending a few emails per day, Lemlist offers the automation and personalization features to help you scale without sacrificing quality.

Lemlist's Core Features: What You're Actually Getting

Lead Database and Email Finding

Lemlist includes access to a 450+ million contact lead database with smart filters to find companies and people matching your ideal customer profile. The platform uses "waterfall enrichment" — pulling contact data from multiple top providers rather than just one — which typically results in more accurate email addresses and phone numbers.

However, here's what many users don't realize: the email finder credits are limited based on your plan (1,000-2,500 per month depending on tier), and you'll pay per credit for additional lookups. If you're running high-volume campaigns, these credits can burn quickly.

Pro tip: Before committing your Lemlist credits, use a free tool like our Email Finder to locate prospect emails, then verify them with our Email Verifier before importing to Lemlist. This approach lets you stretch your Lemlist credits further while ensuring you're only loading verified addresses into your sequences.

Email Personalization That Actually Stands Out

This is where Lemlist genuinely differentiates itself. The platform offers multiple personalization layers:

• Custom text variables: Standard merge fields like first name, company name, and job title
• AI-powered intro lines: Generate personalized icebreakers for up to 1,000 prospects at once based on their LinkedIn profiles
• Dynamic images: Add prospect-specific details to images (like their company logo or name on a whiteboard)
• Personalized videos: Create custom video thumbnails for each recipient
• Liquid syntax: Build conditional logic into your emails based on prospect attributes

The AI personalization feature can generate surprisingly effective icebreakers that only need minor editing, saving significant time when crafting hundreds of campaigns.

Multichannel Sequences

Lemlist's sequence builder lets you combine:

• Email follow-ups with custom delays
• LinkedIn actions (profile visits, connection requests, messages, voice messages)
• Cold calling through the built-in dialer
• WhatsApp messages (available as an add-on at $20/seat/month)
• Manual tasks for your sales team

The LinkedIn automation runs natively within the platform — you're not installing a risky Chrome extension. When a prospect responds on any channel, you can track all interactions in a unified inbox thread without switching platforms.

Deliverability Tools

Every Lemlist seat includes free access to lemwarm, their built-in warm-up and deliverability booster. The tool automates warm-up emails with smart sending logic and provides tips to protect your sender reputation.

You also get inbox rotation across your connected email addresses (3 on Email Pro, 5 on Multichannel Expert) to spread sending volume and improve deliverability. However, users should note that all connected addresses must belong to the same person — violating this policy can result in account termination.

Lemlist Pricing: What You'll Actually Pay

Lemlist offers three main pricing tiers, all billed per user:

Email Pro Plan

$69/month (monthly) or $55/month (annual)

This plan focuses on email-only outreach and includes:

• Unlimited email sequences and follow-ups
• 3 sending email addresses per user
• 1,000 free credits for lead enrichment and email verification
• A/B testing
• Email warm-up (lemwarm)
• Access to the 450M+ lead database
• CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive)

Best for: Solo operators or small teams focused purely on cold email without needing LinkedIn or calling features.

Multichannel Expert Plan

$99/month (monthly) or $79/month (annual)

Adds everything in Email Pro plus:

• 5 sending email addresses
• 1,500 free credits
• LinkedIn automation (profile visits, connection requests, messages)
• LinkedIn voice messages
• Built-in cold calling dialer
• Custom landing pages
• Trigger-based campaign automation

Best for: Sales teams running coordinated outreach across email and LinkedIn who want everything in one platform.

Enterprise Plan

Custom pricing (minimum 5 seats)

Includes everything in Multichannel Expert plus advanced team management, dedicated support, SSO/SAML security, and 2,500 credits per user. Contact Lemlist for a quote.

Hidden Costs to Watch

• Additional email addresses: $9/month per extra address beyond your plan limit
• Extra credits: $50 for 5,000 additional credits
• WhatsApp outreach: $20/seat/month add-on
• Local phone numbers for calling: $15/month/user

Many users on review sites note that Lemlist pricing "grows quickly" with add-ons. If you're comparing options, tools like Instantly or Smartlead may offer better value for high-volume email-first campaigns.

Real User Feedback: Pros and Cons

What Users Love

• Intuitive campaign setup: Users consistently praise how "quick and fluid" it is to create campaigns with the step-by-step wizard
• Personalization depth: The dynamic images and AI-powered icebreakers genuinely help emails stand out
• Community and education: Active Slack channel and Facebook group where users share templates, strategies, and best practices
• Responsive support: Multiple reviews highlight proactive customer success managers who offer concrete suggestions rather than generic advice
• CRM workflow integration: The "work from CRM" feature lets reps use Lemlist without leaving HubSpot or Salesforce

Common Complaints

• Interface complexity: While setup is easy, power users report the platform gets "less intuitive" when using advanced features
• Credit limitations: The per-credit pricing model for email finding can get expensive at scale
• Pipedrive integration issues: Multiple users report bugs appearing "every 3-6 months"
• Analytics limitations: Some users find reporting less comprehensive than competing tools
• Email tracking accuracy: Some reports suggest the platform counts user clicks as "opens," potentially skewing metrics

Despite these issues, Lemlist maintains a 4.5/5 rating on G2, with users finding it valuable for scaling outreach efforts.

Getting Maximum Results from Lemlist: Practical Tips

1. Build Your Lead List Outside Lemlist First

Don't burn your included credits on prospecting. Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to identify targets, then find and verify their emails using free tools before importing. Our Email Finder can locate professional emails from names and companies, while the Email Verifier ensures you're not loading bad addresses that will tank your deliverability.

2. Warm Up New Sending Domains Properly

Lemwarm is included, but don't rush it. Give new email accounts at least 2-3 weeks of warm-up before launching campaigns. Start with low volume (10-20 emails per day per address) and gradually increase based on engagement metrics.

3. Use Conditions to Create Smart Sequences

Lemlist's trigger-based automation (on Multichannel Expert and higher) lets you branch sequences based on prospect behavior. For example:

• If they open but don't reply → send a different follow-up angle
• If they click a link → trigger a LinkedIn connection request
• If no engagement after 3 emails → move to a re-engagement sequence

4. A/B Test Everything (But Methodically)

The platform includes A/B testing for subject lines, content, and CTAs. Test one variable at a time with statistically significant sample sizes. Most users see the biggest lift from subject line testing, followed by opening line personalization.

5. Combine LinkedIn Touchpoints Strategically

Don't just automate LinkedIn actions — time them with your email sequences. A common high-converting pattern:

1. Day 1: View prospect's LinkedIn profile
2. Day 2: Send personalized email
3. Day 4: Send LinkedIn connection request with a note
4. Day 6: Email follow-up referencing shared connections or content

6. Supplement with Phone Outreach for High-Value Targets

Lemlist's built-in dialer works well for US prospects, but coverage varies internationally. For contacts where you need mobile numbers, you can use tools like our Mobile Number Finder to supplement the data in your sequences.

Is Lemlist Right for Your Team?

Choose Lemlist if:

• You need genuine multichannel automation (email + LinkedIn + calls) in one platform
• Personalization at scale is critical to your outreach strategy
• You're running small to medium volume campaigns (not 1,000+ emails daily)
• Your team values education and community support
• You want native CRM integration without Zapier workarounds

Consider alternatives if:

• You're running extremely high-volume email-only campaigns (tools like Instantly offer unlimited sending)
• Budget is tight — Lemlist's per-user pricing adds up quickly for larger teams
• You need advanced analytics and reporting capabilities
• LinkedIn automation is your primary focus (dedicated LinkedIn tools may offer more features)

The Bottom Line

Lemlist has earned its reputation as a powerful sales engagement platform, particularly for teams that value personalization and multichannel coordination. The learning curve is manageable, the personalization features are genuinely best-in-class, and the community provides real value through shared templates and strategies.

That said, the pricing model requires careful consideration. The per-credit system for lead finding, combined with add-on costs for features like WhatsApp outreach, means your actual monthly spend can exceed the advertised plan prices quickly.

For most sales teams doing daily prospecting across email and LinkedIn, Lemlist delivers solid value. Just make sure you're maximizing your included features and supplementing with free tools where possible to keep costs manageable while scaling your outreach efforts.