Looking for a straight answer on how Instantly stacks up against other B2B go-to-market (GTM) sales tools? You’re in the right place. This guide’s for sales leaders, ops folks, and founders who need to decide today which tools actually work and which are all hat, no cattle.
Here’s how to get a clear, honest comparison—without getting sucked into hours of marketing fluff or misleading “top 10” lists.
Step 1: Get Your Criteria Straight
Before you Google anything, take five minutes and write down what actually matters for your team. Forget the feature bloat—you’re not shopping for a Swiss Army knife. Most teams need:
- Core functionality: What’s the job you need done? (Lead gen, outreach, analytics, etc.)
- Integrations: Does it work with your CRM, email, or whatever you already use?
- Usability: Can your team figure it out in an afternoon, or will it take a week of training?
- Deliverability: Will your emails actually land, or do they end up flagged as spam?
- Support: Is there someone to help when (not if) something breaks?
- Price: Is it month-to-month, or do you need to call for a “custom quote”?
- Data Ownership & Privacy: Who owns the data, and what happens if you leave?
Pro tip: Don’t fall for “AI-powered” claims unless you know what that actually means for your daily workflow.
Step 2: Make a Shortlist (and Skip the Hype)
There are dozens of B2B GTM tools. Most are variations on the same five ideas. Here’s how to avoid rabbit holes:
- Skip G2 and Capterra leaderboards. They’re useful for names, but the rankings are pay-to-play.
- Ask your network. Five minutes on LinkedIn or in a Slack group will surface real opinions—good, bad, and ugly.
- Look for recent reviews. Anything older than 12-18 months could be way off. SaaS tools change fast.
- Ignore “all-in-one” promises. Focus on what the tool does best, not what it claims it can do.
Your shortlist might look like: - Instantly - Apollo - Outreach - Salesloft - Reply.io - Lemlist
If you’re comparing Instantly, Apollo, and Lemlist, you’re already covering 80% of what most smaller B2B teams need.
Step 3: Compare Features That Actually Matter
It’s tempting to build a monster spreadsheet with 50 columns. Don’t. Focus on the stuff that will move the needle for your sales team.
Outreach Automation
- Instantly: Known for easy-to-use, high-volume cold email sends. Not bloated with unnecessary steps.
- Others: Some focus on multi-channel (LinkedIn, SMS, calls), but that’s only useful if you’ll actually use them.
Deliverability
- Instantly: Strong reputation for getting emails in inboxes, thanks to built-in deliverability features.
- Apollo/Reply.io: Good, but may require more manual setup or tweaks for best results.
- Lemlist: Focuses on personalization, but deliverability can be hit or miss if you don’t set things up right.
Integrations
- Instantly: Integrates with major CRMs and supports Zapier. Simple, not endless.
- Outreach/Salesloft: Deep integration with Salesforce and big CRMs—great for enterprise, overkill for many.
- Apollo: Has its own built-in data and enrichment, but not always the cleanest sync with outside tools.
Usability
- Instantly: Clean interface. Most teams are up and running in a day.
- Salesloft/Outreach: Powerful, but can be overwhelming for small teams.
- Lemlist: Fun UI, but sometimes feels like style over substance.
Pricing
- Instantly: Transparent, straightforward. No “call for enterprise pricing” nonsense.
- Outreach/Salesloft: Expensive, annual contracts, sales calls required.
- Apollo/Lemlist: Mid-tier, but watch for add-on fees once you scale.
Pro tip: If you can’t figure out pricing in two clicks, expect sticker shock later.
Step 4: Run a Hands-On Test (Don’t Trust Demos)
Forget “personalized demos” where a rep shares their screen and shows you five features you don’t care about. Sign up for a trial or free plan and put the tool through its paces.
What to Test
- How fast can you upload a list and send a campaign?
- Are there deliverability tools (like warm-up or spam testing) you can actually use?
- Can you segment leads or personalize messages easily?
- Does it play nice with your CRM or spreadsheet exports?
- If you get stuck, how fast does support respond?
Pro tip: Run the same campaign in two tools. Compare open/reply rates side by side.
Step 5: Watch Out for Gotchas
Every tool has trade-offs. Here’s what to keep an eye on:
Common Traps
- Hidden quotas: Some tools throttle sending or charge more for “premium” inboxes.
- Deliverability smoke and mirrors: Just because a tool says “high deliverability” doesn’t mean your emails won’t hit spam. Test with your own lists.
- Locked-in contracts: Annual commitments are a pain if the tool doesn’t work out.
- Feature bloat: More features = more complexity = more things to break.
What Actually Doesn’t Matter (Most of the Time)
- AI “magic.” Unless you’re sending thousands of emails a day, basic automation is usually enough.
- Fancy reporting dashboards. Simple CSV exports often do the trick.
- Endless integration lists. If it hooks into your core stack, that’s enough.
Step 6: Make the Call and Move On
Pick the tool that covers your top 2-3 needs, fits your budget, and doesn’t slow your team down. Don’t agonize. Most of these tools are easy to swap out later if you outgrow them or they start nickel-and-diming you.
Pro tip: If you’re stuck between two, pick the one your reps want to use. Adoption beats fancy features every time.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t get paralyzed by choice. The “best” GTM tool is the one your team actually uses, not the one with the shiniest feature set. Start simple, review results after a few weeks, and don’t be afraid to switch if it’s not working.
When in doubt, go with what’s easy to start, doesn’t lock you in, and gets you sending fast. You can always get fancier later—sales loves speed more than perfection.