Written by the maker of OutreachSheet, so read it with that in mind. Competitor prices come from each company’s own pricing page on 26 October 2026, in the currency it showed a UK visitor. Prices change and vary by country, so check before you buy.
Two-year cost, with follow-ups included
| Option | Plan | Year 1 | Year 2 | Two years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps Script (build it yourself) | Your own code | £0 | £0 | £0, plus your time |
| OutreachSheet | Do it yourself | £29 at launch, £49 after | £0 | £29 to £49 |
| YAMM | Pro, gmail.com or Workspace | US$72 to US$144 | US$72 to US$144 | US$144 to US$288 |
| Mailmeteor | Premium, billed annually | US$161.99 | US$161.99 | US$323.98 |
| GMass | Premium, billed annually | £265 | £265 | £530 |
| Instantly | Growth, US$47 a month | US$564 | US$564 | US$1,128 |
| lemlist | Email, US$55 a month billed yearly | US$660 | US$660 | US$1,320 |
Figures are per sender, in the currency each vendor showed a UK visitor, without tax and without currency conversion. Instantly and lemlist include features the Gmail tools don’t, such as many mailboxes and warm-up.
When the cheapest isn’t the right one
If you send from several mailboxes, need inbox warm-up or send tens of thousands of emails a month, Instantly or lemlist is built for that; the price buys capacity. If you are one person writing from one Gmail account, you are paying for capacity you won’t use, and a Gmail-based tool is enough.
The free route: Apps Script
Google publishes a free mail merge sample that sends from a Google Sheet and a Gmail draft. It sends one batch. Follow-ups, unsubscribe handling, reply detection and daily pacing are yours to build and maintain. Three ways to send mail merge from Google Sheets compares it with Gmail’s built-in merge and OutreachSheet.
Costs nobody lists
- Your own domain. Email from a business domain on Google Workspace is trusted more than a free Gmail address. That is a Workspace subscription, whichever tool you choose.
- Writing time. Every language you sell in needs its own version of each email.
- Gmail’s daily limits. No tool lifts them. See how many emails Gmail can send per day.
Questions
Is there a free way to send cold email from Gmail with follow-ups?
Yes, if you build it yourself. Google publishes a free Apps Script mail merge sample; you add follow-ups, unsubscribe handling and reply checks. YAMM’s free plan allows 20 recipients a day.
What is a cheaper alternative to Instantly for one Gmail account?
Instantly is built for many mailboxes; its Growth plan is US$47 a month. For one Gmail account, a Gmail-based tool costs less: Mailmeteor Premium is US$161.99 a year and OutreachSheet is £29 to £49 once.
Do I need Google Workspace to send cold email from Gmail?
No. A free Gmail account works. Google lets a script send to about 100 recipients a day on free Gmail and about 1,500 on Google Workspace, and email from your own business domain is trusted more.
Pricing pages: GMass · Mailmeteor · YAMM · Instantly · lemlist. Checked 26 October 2026.
Next
The best Gmail mail merge tools with follow-ups · OutreachSheet vs Instantly · OutreachSheet vs lemlist · OutreachSheet packages