7 Best Cleverly Alternatives for B2B Outbound [2026]

Cleverly is a done-for-you B2B lead generation agency that helps companies generate pipeline through managed LinkedIn outreach, cold email, and cold calling. For businesses without internal SDR teams, Cleverly's managed model provides an accessible entry point into outbound at $397/month.

But as your outbound needs grow, the managed agency model can become limiting. With 10-49 employees serving 10,000+ clients, Cleverly's team-to-client ratio produces inconsistent results. Campaigns take 3-4 months to gain momentum with no guaranteed lead count, and clients have little visibility into their campaigns.

For growing teams, the lack of campaign control, shallow data sources, and basic CRM integrations hold back your go-to-market strategy.

That's where this guide comes in. Whether you're looking to:

• Build a B2B data foundation to power in-house GTM execution

• Access omnichannel outreach with dedicated specialist teams

• Run self-serve multichannel campaigns with built-in personalization tools

• Launch outbound with free-to-start access and full data, sequencing, and analytics

• Scale high-volume cold email with unlimited accounts and flat-rate pricing

• Automate LinkedIn-specific outreach with behavioral sequences

• Eliminate financial risk with pay-per-qualified-lead pricing

We'll explore alternatives that excel in each area.

Some businesses will complement Cleverly with better tools for specific functions. Others will replace the agency model with software or a different provider. This isn't about finding a "better" solution. It's about finding the right fit for your outbound needs as your business grows.

Here are the Cleverly alternatives.

What is Cleverly?

Cleverly is a done-for-you B2B lead generation agency built around managed outbound campaigns across LinkedIn, cold email, and cold calling.

Rather than providing software tools for teams to run their own outreach, Cleverly handles the entire process: prospect list building, outreach copywriting, campaign execution, and follow-up sequences.

Its key features include:

• LinkedIn lead generation with human-written outreach copy, 4-touch automated sequences, and dedicated account management

• Cold email campaigns with Azure-hosted infrastructure, 100 Outlook accounts per client, and 98% deliverability

• Cold calling services with dedicated SDR placement making 300+ calls per day via parallel power dialer

• CRM integration through HubSpot natively and other platforms via Zapier webhooks

• Done-for-you prospect list building using LinkedIn Sales Navigator with exclusion filters

• A/B testing and ongoing optimization managed by Cleverly's team with monthly strategy calls

Source: Cleverly

When a client signs up, Cleverly assigns a dedicated account manager who coordinates campaign execution. The copywriting team writes all messages, and clients receive warm replies in their inbox without touching the campaigns themselves.

This managed approach works well for companies that lack outbound expertise or bandwidth. But as your go-to-market needs grow, you may need deeper data intelligence, more campaign control, better integrations, or specialized tools for specific outbound channels. That's why we're exploring alternatives that excel where a managed agency model falls short.

Looking for B2B data to power your outbound? Get started with ZoomInfo Lite for free and access 100M+ verified profiles, direct dials, and buyer intent signals.

How We Curated Our List of Cleverly Alternatives

After researching Cleverly and the broader B2B outbound market, we focused on tools and services that address specific gaps in the done-for-you agency model.

While Cleverly handles LinkedIn outreach and cold email execution for teams without internal resources, some businesses need more from their outbound:

• Building AI-powered GTM programs on a large B2B dataset

• Running omnichannel campaigns with dedicated specialist teams

• Maintaining full control over multichannel outreach campaigns and iteration speed

• Starting outbound with free-to-start platforms that bundle data, sequencing, and analytics

• Scaling high-volume cold email with unlimited accounts and transparent deliverability

• Automating LinkedIn-specific outreach with conditional, behavior-responsive sequences

• Eliminating retainer-based financial risk through pay-per-qualified-lead pricing

Each tool on this list leads in one of these areas. You might use them alongside other outbound tools or switch from an agency model entirely; it depends on what your growing business needs most.

1. ZoomInfo — Best Alternative for Comprehensive B2B Data Intelligence and In-House GTM Execution

ZoomInfo is an AI GTM platform built on the largest B2B data foundation in the industry: 500M contacts, 100M companies, 135M+ verified phone numbers, 120M direct-dial phone numbers, and 200M+ verified business email addresses, verified by 300+ human researchers with up to 95% accuracy.

ZoomInfo's GTM Context Graph fuses this data with your CRM records, conversation transcripts, and behavioral signals (processing 1.5B+ data points daily) to reveal the full context of your accounts.

Its key features include:

• Buyer Intent data tracking signals from 210 million IP-to-Organization pairings and 6 trillion+ keyword-to-device pairings sourced monthly, including Guided Intent (exclusive to ZoomInfo)

• GTM Context Graph that fuses first-party CRM data, conversation intelligence, and third-party signals into a single layer capturing why deals move or stall

• GTM Workspace for sellers: an AI execution engine with specialized AI agents that handle account research, outreach drafting, and CRM updates

• GTM Studio for marketers and RevOps: an orchestration tool for designing, enriching, and activating GTM plays

• Universal access through APIs and MCP that expose the same intelligence to any tool, AI agent, or partner platform

For B2B companies that have outgrown a done-for-you agency, ZoomInfo provides the data and AI tools to build an in-house GTM program. Where Cleverly relies on LinkedIn Sales Navigator and a small team to build prospect lists, ZoomInfo gives your team direct access to the largest B2B dataset available, enriched with buyer intent signals, org charts, technographics, and AI-driven insights.

Why Choose ZoomInfo Over Cleverly for B2B Data Intelligence and GTM Execution

While Cleverly handles outbound execution on your behalf, ZoomInfo gives your team the data foundation and AI tools to run a smarter, more targeted GTM strategy.

Here's where ZoomInfo steps up.

B2B Data at Scale: Access the Industry's Largest Contact and Company Database

Cleverly builds prospect lists primarily through LinkedIn Sales Navigator filters, targeting by company size, title, industry, and other criteria available within LinkedIn.

This works for LinkedIn-native outreach, but it limits your prospect universe to what LinkedIn's database exposes. For cold email, Cleverly verifies prospect data through a six-provider waterfall, but clients have no direct access to the underlying data or control over list quality.

ZoomInfo's data platform operates at a larger scale: 500M contacts, 100M companies, 135M+ verified phone numbers, 120M direct dials, and 200M+ verified business email addresses.

Data flows through a proprietary verification pipeline that includes automated ML scanning of 28 million site domains daily, third-party partner data covering 95 million businesses, and an in-house Data Training Lab of 300+ human researchers.

Beyond basic contact information, ZoomInfo provides 300+ company attributes for market segmentation, department org charts with decision-makers' direct dials, technographics tracking 30,000+ technologies across 30+ million companies, and company hierarchy data including parent-child relationships. This data depth enables precise targeting that a LinkedIn-filtered list cannot match.

The data advantage is externally validated. In a Fortune 500 competitive RFP analyzing 25 million contacts across vendors, an independent consultant concluded that "no other competitor came even close."

ZoomInfo in Action: Instead of waiting for Cleverly's team to build a prospect list from LinkedIn filters, your sales rep searches ZoomInfo for VP-level decision makers at mid-market SaaS companies using 50-500 employee headcount, specific technology stacks, and recent funding activity.

Within seconds, they have verified direct dials, org charts showing the full buying committee, and technographic data revealing which competitors the target already uses. No account manager needed, no monthly strategy call required.

SpringDB used ZoomInfo's enriched data to achieve 2x-3x increases in campaign conversions, a 300% increase in database usability, and 30-50% uplift in average deal size. (SpringDB)

Buyer Intent and GTM Intelligence: Know Which Accounts Are In-Market Before You Reach Out

Cleverly's cold email service incorporates 10+ intent signals (hiring activity, funding rounds, market expansion) to surface prospects showing buying behavior. These signals help prioritize outreach timing, but they represent a fraction of what a dedicated intelligence platform provides.

ZoomInfo's Buyer Intent data tracks signals from 210 million IP-to-Organization pairings and 6 trillion+ new keyword-to-device pairings sourced monthly.

Source: ZoomInfo

Guided Intent, exclusive to ZoomInfo, identifies topics historically correlated with deal success rather than requiring manual topic selection. WebSights resolves anonymous website traffic to companies, including buying team identification and direct contact info, with Automatic Traffic Filtering that distinguishes real visitors from bots.

The GTM Context Graph goes further by unifying these signals with your CRM records, conversation intelligence, and behavioral data to capture not just what happened in a deal, but why it happened. As

ZoomInfo's CPO Dominik Facher writes: "The CRM recorded the state change. It has no record of why it happened." The GTM Context Graph makes this decision context machine-readable, connecting signals and outcomes across thousands of deals.

ZoomInfo in Action: While Cleverly's intent signals might flag that a company is hiring, ZoomInfo's Guided Intent reveals that the same company is actively researching your product category, visiting competitor pricing pages, and has a VP who just moved into a decision-making role. Your outreach addresses their specific situation rather than sending a generic connection request.

Seismic attributed 39% of active pipeline to opportunities identified or influenced by ZoomInfo signals, with the sales team becoming 54% more productive. (Seismic)

AI-Powered GTM Workspace: Execute Outbound with AI Agents, Not Monthly Agency Calls

Cleverly's operational model centers on a dedicated account manager who runs monthly strategy calls and coordinates campaign adjustments. If you want to test a new messaging angle or pivot targeting, you request changes through the account manager and wait. With 10-49 employees serving 10,000+ clients, individual campaigns may not get the attention they need.

ZoomInfo's GTM Workspace replaces this dependency with specialized AI agents that automate account research, generate follow-ups, monitor signals, draft outreach, update CRM fields, and surface next best actions.

Source: ZoomInfo

The AI Assistant delivers 1-click account briefs pulling CRM history, company news, ZoomInfo signals, and stakeholder context into a 10-second summary. The Action Feed provides a live stream of in-market buyers matched to your target criteria, with pre-drafted actions on every signal.

For marketers and RevOps teams, GTM Studio enables audience definition, campaign orchestration, and pipeline measurement in natural language rather than engineering tickets. Expansion plays that used to take 3 weeks now launch in 30 minutes without technical support.

ZoomInfo in Action: Your seller opens GTM Workspace to find a prioritized account feed where AI-drafted outreach already addresses the specific objection identified as the deal-moving moment. They update CRM without leaving the page.

Meanwhile, your marketing team in GTM Studio describes an audience in plain language, launches a multi-channel play targeting accounts that match proven win patterns, and watches pipeline impact in real time. No engineering ticket required.

Spekit saw opportunities at higher-scoring accounts 43% more likely to turn into qualified pipeline, moving 58% faster through qualification. "Anything that minimizes our team's need to switch contexts is beneficial. ZoomInfo offers a unified view, eliminating the need to navigate between systems." (Spekit)

Universal Access: Use ZoomInfo Intelligence in Any Tool, Not Just One Dashboard

Cleverly's integration options are limited: HubSpot is natively supported, but Salesforce and Pipedrive integrations are currently non-functional due to API changes. Other platforms require Zapier webhooks. No public API is available.

ZoomInfo delivers intelligence through three channels.

APIs and MCP expose ZoomInfo's data and GTM Context Graph to any custom agent, internal tool, or partner platform.

The ZoomInfo App Marketplace lists 120+ partner integrations across CRM, Marketing Automation, Sales Engagement, Revenue Intelligence, and more, with featured integrations including Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Snowflake. API access is included in all relevant plans.

The MCP server connects AI models directly to ZoomInfo's B2B data as a native tool. It's listed in the Claude directory and supports Claude and ChatGPT, with additional MCP-compatible tools noted as coming soon.

Source: ZoomInfo

BDO Canada achieved an 87% reduction in time spent on data dashboard updates thanks to the ZoomInfo API. "The plug-and-play aspect of the API means I can integrate it very easily into any process and get information at a moment's notice." (BDO Canada)

ZoomInfo Pricing

ZoomInfo uses a custom-quoted, consumption-based pricing model with no publicly listed prices.

Pricing scales around enterprise license agreements, data access, API consumption, and AI activity, so customers pay for what they use. Costs depend on usage patterns, number of users, monthly credit volume, features, and contract length.

ZoomInfo's pricing page organizes plans into Sales tiers (Professional, Advanced, Enterprise) and Marketing tiers (Marketing Demand, ABM Lite, ABM Enterprise), each progressively adding capabilities like buyer intent signals, AI features, advanced integrations, and dedicated support.

ZoomInfo Lite is a permanent free tier (not a trial) that includes access to the B2B database with 100M+ verified profiles, 10 monthly export credits, individual and company searches, the ReachOut Chrome Extension, and WebSights Lite (up to 10 website visitor reveals per day). No credit card or annual commitment required.

A separate 7-day free trial provides access to core platform features including contact and company search, sales intelligence tools, intent signals, and email outreach.

Who Should Use ZoomInfo?

Choose ZoomInfo if:

• You want to move beyond a done-for-you agency and build an in-house, data-driven GTM program with direct access to the largest B2B dataset and AI tools that automate account research, outreach, and deal execution.

• Your team needs verified direct dials, org charts, technographics, and buyer intent signals to target the right accounts at the right time, rather than relying on prospect lists built from LinkedIn Sales Navigator filters.

• You need integrations with your existing CRM, marketing automation, and sales engagement tools, with API and MCP access that delivers ZoomInfo intelligence into any workflow or AI agent.

Ready to power your outbound with B2B data? Get started with ZoomInfo Lite for free or request a demo to see how the GTM Context Graph can improve your go-to-market execution.

2. Belkins — Best Alternative for Enterprise-Grade Omnichannel Outreach with Dedicated Teams

Belkins is a B2B lead generation agency that delivers managed omnichannel outbound through five-person specialist teams.

Unlike Cleverly's thin-team model, Belkins assigns each client an Account Manager, SDR, Lead Research Specialist, Content Writer, and Email Deliverability Specialist.

Its key capabilities include:

• Five-person specialist teams for each engagement, with SDRs who stay 3-5 years versus a 12-month industry average

• Omnichannel execution across cold email, LinkedIn, cold calling, intent-based calling, ABM, and paid advertising from a single agency relationship

• Proprietary Folderly deliverability platform for domain warm-up, spam testing, and ongoing monitoring

• Detailed reporting with 24/7 dashboard access and recorded calls

Source: Belkins

Why Choose Belkins Over Cleverly for Enterprise-Grade Outreach?

Belkins stands out in the following areas:

• Dedicated Specialist Teams vs. Shared Account Management

Belkins assigns a five-person team to each engagement with clearly separated roles, including a Lead Research Specialist who applies a 3-level screening process and an Email Deliverability Specialist who joins the client's project from Day 1.

• Omnichannel Coordination

Belkins orchestrates campaigns in three phases: awareness building, audience activation (where it selects the highest-performing channels based on behavioral data), and conversion.

Cleverly offers LinkedIn, cold email, and cold calling as three separate service lines without documented cross-channel orchestration.

Source: Belkins

• Proprietary Deliverability Infrastructure

Belkins built Folderly (which received Google funding) for domain warm-up, spam testing, and ongoing monitoring. Belkins campaigns claim 99% inbox placement and achieved BIMI certification, displaying brand logos in supported email clients, a trust signal achieved by only 0.14% of global domains.

Cleverly's Azure-hosted infrastructure with 98% deliverability is strong but relies on third-party infrastructure rather than owning the deliverability layer end-to-end.

NOTE: We also evaluated CIENCE and SalesRoads for the enterprise agency archetype. Belkins offers the deepest omnichannel service stack, the strongest verified review footprint on Clutch at 230+ reviews, and its own deliverability tool (Folderly), a technical moat competitors cannot easily replicate.

Belkins Pricing

Belkins operates on a monthly retainer model with custom pricing requiring a discovery call.

Plans include Small Business (30+ guaranteed appointments/year through partner agencies), Growth (100+ guaranteed appointments/year, typically $10,000-$15,000/month), Growth Plus (200+ guaranteed appointments/year, typically $20,000-$35,000/month), and Enterprise (custom).

All plans include proprietary tools (Folderly, Frostbite, and Charge) at no extra cost. Standard commitments are 6-12 months.

Who Should Use Belkins?

Choose Belkins if:

• Your average deal size justifies a premium agency retainer and you need omnichannel execution coordinated by a single team across email, LinkedIn, calling, ABM, and paid ads.

• Deliverability and sender reputation are mission-critical, and you want proprietary infrastructure and BIMI certification rather than third-party tools managing your email reputation.

• You've experienced inconsistent results from high-volume agencies and want a specialist team that adapts campaigns based on performance data.

3. lemlist — Best Alternative for Self-Serve Multichannel Campaign Control with Built-In Personalization

lemlist is a sales engagement platform that gives B2B outbound teams full control over multichannel prospecting campaigns from a single dashboard.

Source: lemlist

Unlike Cleverly's managed agency model, lemlist provides the infrastructure for teams to build, launch, and optimize their own outbound.

Its key capabilities include:

• Multichannel sequences combining email, LinkedIn, phone, WhatsApp, and SMS in unified workflows

• Image and video personalization at scale, including dynamic images with prospect names and AI-cloned LinkedIn voice messages

• 650M+ B2B contact database with waterfall enrichment across 10+ email providers and 14 phone providers, achieving approximately 80% email coverage and 77%+ phone coverage

• AI Copilot powered by Claude (Anthropic) for personalized email copy and sequence generation

Why Choose lemlist Over Cleverly for Self-Serve Multichannel Outbound?

lemlist stands out in the following areas:

• Full Campaign Control vs. Agency Dependency

lemlist puts your team in direct control of targeting, messaging, and sequence optimization. When a sequence underperforms, you adjust messaging, test new angles, or shift targeting immediately without waiting for a monthly strategy call.

lemlist's AI Copilot generates complete sequences in seconds, compared to Cleverly's multi-week onboarding and revision cycles.

• Native Deliverability Infrastructure

lemlist includes lemwarm (automated email warm-up exchanging real emails across real inboxes), inbox rotation (spreading volume across multiple mailboxes), provider-matched sending (Gmail-to-Gmail, Outlook-to-Outlook), and a Deliverability Hub showing warm-up health, bounce rates, and spam placement across all connected accounts.

Source: lemlist

Cleverly manages deliverability as a service without client-facing visibility; lemlist exposes the full technical stack for teams that want transparency and control.

• All-in-One Stack at a Per-Seat Price

lemlist consolidates lead database, enrichment, multichannel sequencing, deliverability, AI personalization, unified inbox, and CRM sync into a single subscription. At $109/user/month for the Multichannel plan, it replaces what historically required five to ten separate tools.

Mindee, a lemlist customer, reported saving 70% on sales stack costs by replacing multiple point tools with lemlist alone. Cleverly requires purchasing separate service lines for LinkedIn ($397-$997/mo), cold email, and cold calling, each with independent pricing.

NOTE: We also evaluated Reply.io and Instantly for this category. While Reply.io offers multichannel sequences at a comparable price point and Instantly excels at email-first automation, lemlist's combination of a native 650M+ database, image and voice personalization, and AI Copilot creates the most self-contained outbound platform at the mid-market price range.

For a head-to-head comparison of Instantly.ai and lemlist, see our Instantly.ai vs lemlist breakdown.

lemlist Pricing

lemlist offers three tiers billed monthly, quarterly (10% discount), or annually (20% discount): Email Plan ($39/month, $31 annually), Multichannel Plan ($109/user/month, $87 annually, most popular; includes unlimited emails, LinkedIn automation, SMS, built-in call dialer, and lemwarm), and Enterprise (custom for 5+ users, with SSO, dedicated account manager, and priority support).

Enrichment credits are pay-per-success at $0.01 per credit. lemlist offers a 14-day free trial with full Multichannel plan access and no credit card required.

Who Should Use lemlist?

Choose lemlist if:

• Your team wants to run outbound campaigns in-house with full control over targeting, messaging, and optimization, and you have SDRs or RevOps members who can manage the platform directly.

• You need multichannel outreach (email + LinkedIn + phone) coordinated in unified sequences with conditional branching logic based on prospect engagement.

• You want to own your deliverability infrastructure with full visibility into warm-up progress, inbox placement, and domain health rather than trusting a managed agency process.

4. Apollo.io — Best Alternative for Free-to-Start Self-Serve Outbound with Built-In Data

Apollo.io is a B2B sales intelligence and engagement platform that bundles contact data, multichannel sequencing, conversation intelligence, and CRM enrichment into a single self-serve product.

While Cleverly operates as a done-for-you agency, Apollo hands you the complete toolset to run campaigns yourself.

Its key capabilities include:

• Permanent free plan with 75 monthly credits, access to 270M+ contacts and 70M companies, two active sequences, and a Chrome Extension

• 270M+ contact database searchable via 65+ data attributes with a claimed 91% email accuracy rate

• Multi-step sequences combining email, phone, and LinkedIn tasks with conditional logic and A/B testing

• AI-powered email writing built on Google Gemini and native CRM integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot

Source: Apollo.io

Why Choose Apollo.io Over Cleverly for Self-Serve Outbound?

Apollo.io stands out in the following areas:

• Own Your Campaigns and Data

Apollo inverts Cleverly's model entirely. You build your own prospect lists, write copy (or use Apollo AI), configure multichannel sequences, and execute campaigns directly.

You see real-time analytics on open rates, reply rates, and conversions at the sequence, step, and message variant level. You can pause, rewrite, and resume within minutes, without requesting changes through an account manager.

• Free-to-Start Access vs. $397/Month Minimum

Apollo's free Starter plan is permanent, includes the full database, and allows two active email sequences with no credit card required. Cleverly starts at $397/month with a 90-day minimum commitment, and all payments are non-refundable. The minimum financial commitment to test Cleverly is $1,191.

• Built-In Dialer and Conversation Intelligence

Apollo includes a built-in dialer with Power Dialer and Parallel Dialer, enabling reps to connect with 100+ prospects per hour. It also bundles call recording, transcription, AI summaries, and deal management. Cleverly's cold calling is a separate engagement with dedicated SDR placement and undisclosed pricing.

Source: Apollo.io

NOTE: We also evaluated Instantly.ai and Lemlist. While Instantly specializes in cold email deliverability at scale and Lemlist offers strong multichannel sequencing with advanced personalization, Apollo.io offers the most complete bundled platform for teams needing B2B data, multichannel sequences, conversation intelligence, and CRM enrichment in a single product, with the strongest free tier in the category.

For a deeper look at Apollo.io's platform and how it stacks up, see our full Apollo.io review.

Apollo.io Pricing

Apollo uses a per-seat plus credit-consumption model: Free Starter ($0, 75 credits/month, permanent), Basic ($49/seat/month annual, 2,500 credits/month), Professional ($79/seat/month annual, 4,000 credits/month, most popular), and Organization ($119/seat/month annual only, minimum 3 seats).

Advanced Dialer add-on: $149/month. A 14-day free trial of paid plans is available.

Who Should Use Apollo.io?

Choose Apollo.io if:

• You want to build and own an in-house outbound function with the database, sequences, dialer, and analytics to run campaigns yourself, and you have (or plan to hire) someone who will manage the platform daily.

• You want free-to-start access to validate the platform before committing, with a permanent free plan that includes the full 270M+ contact database.

• You need native bidirectional CRM integration with Salesforce and HubSpot rather than Cleverly's Zapier-based approach with broken Salesforce integration.

5. Instantly.ai — Best Alternative for High-Volume Cold Email Infrastructure

Instantly.ai is a sales engagement platform built around cold email infrastructure, designed to let small teams scale email volume across unlimited accounts under a flat monthly subscription.

Source: Instantly.ai

Unlike Cleverly's managed agency model, Instantly.ai delivers a self-serve software stack: sending infrastructure, a deliverability network, a lead database, and AI-powered campaign creation.

Its key capabilities include:

• Unlimited email accounts on every paid plan with no per-seat or per-mailbox fees

• Built-in warm-up network with 1,000,000+ real accounts for building sender reputation

• 450M+ lead database with waterfall enrichment across 5+ providers and user-configurable custom flows

• AI Sales Agent and AI Reply Agent for automated prospecting and response handling

• Done-for-you email account provisioning with domain registration and DNS configuration inside the platform

Why Choose Instantly.ai Over Cleverly for High-Volume Cold Email?

Instantly.ai stands out in the following areas:

• Full DIY Control Without Account Manager Dependency

Instantly.ai puts you in control of copy, targeting, send schedules, A/Z variant testing, and real-time campaign adjustments. The AI Sequence Generator drafts complete sequences in seconds, and the AI Spintax Writer creates hundreds of unique message variations.

Source: Instantly.ai

For agencies, the Agency View feature lets you manage dozens of client campaigns from a single workspace with role-based permissions.

• Unlimited Email Accounts at Flat-Rate Pricing

Every plan includes unlimited connected email accounts and unlimited warmup. A company paying $97/month for Hypergrowth can connect 10, 50, or 200 accounts without the fee changing. Cleverly's per-campaign retainer means adding campaigns requires separate subscriptions or custom contracts.

• Transparent Deliverability Infrastructure

Instantly.ai's Deliverability Network includes warmup pools segmented into Standard, Premium (aged Google and Microsoft accounts), and Private tiers.

The Inbox Placement feature sends test emails to seed addresses at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other providers, then reports exact folder placement and monitors 94 blacklists. Users diagnose deliverability issues in real time through a transparent dashboard rather than waiting for an account manager to escalate.

Source: Instantly ai

NOTE: We also evaluated Smartlead and Mailshake for this category. Smartlead offers a similar unlimited accounts model starting at $39/month, and Mailshake provides simpler multichannel sequences.

Instantly.ai was chosen for its combination of unlimited accounts, a 450M+ database, AI campaign creation, done-for-you account provisioning, and the largest warmup network in the category (1M+ accounts).

For a deeper look at Instantly.ai's features and deliverability tools, see our Instantly.ai review.

Instantly.ai Pricing

Instantly.ai uses modular subscriptions: Email Outreach: Growth ($47/month, 5,000 emails/month), Hypergrowth ($97/month, 125,000 emails/month), Light Speed ($358/month, 500,000 emails/month). All outreach plans include unlimited email accounts and warmup.

Credits for lead database start at $9/month for 150 credits. CRM starts at $47/month with unlimited seats. Full-featured stack (outreach + credits + CRM) starts around $141/month.

Who Should Use Instantly.ai?

Choose Instantly.ai if:

• You want to build cold email as an internal capability with full control over infrastructure, and you have someone who can handle targeting, copywriting, and ongoing optimization.

• You are a lead generation agency managing multiple client campaigns and need unlimited email accounts at a flat monthly cost that doesn't scale with client count.

• You need transparent, real-time deliverability monitoring with inbox placement testing and blacklist tracking rather than relying on a managed agency process.

6. Expandi — Best Alternative for LinkedIn-Specific Automation with Hands-On Control

Expandi is a cloud-based LinkedIn automation platform that lets B2B teams build and execute multi-touch outreach sequences without relying on a done-for-you agency.

Unlike Cleverly's managed service, Expandi provides a self-serve platform where you control campaign strategy, messaging, and execution directly.

Its key capabilities include:

• Smart sequences with conditional logic combining 10 actions and 10 conditions in branching workflows

• Dedicated country-based IP addresses for account safety

• Cloud-based 24/7 automation with no Chrome extensions or browser dependency

• Post engagement, event, and InMail campaigns for reaching prospects outside your network

• Agency-friendly workspaces with unlimited client invites and teammate invites at no extra charge

Source: Expandi

Why Choose Expandi Over Cleverly for LinkedIn Automation?

Expandi stands out in the following areas:

• Behavioral Branching vs. Linear Sequences

Cleverly executes a structured 4-touch sequence (connection request plus up to three follow-ups) that sends the same cadence to every prospect.

Expandi's Smart Sequences enable behavior-responsive branching through 9 conditional triggers: if connected, if profile visited by prospect, if post liked, if email opened, and more. Follow-ups adapt based on how each prospect engages, creating sequences that feel contextual rather than robotic.

• LinkedIn-Specific Targeting Depth

Expandi supports Post Engagement URL lead lists (prospects who liked or commented on specific posts), Event Attendees, Group Members, and Company Followers lead lists. These LinkedIn-native targeting methods provide precision that multi-channel agencies don't prioritize, allowing outreach to warm audiences rather than cold lists.

Source: Expandi

• DIY Control at $99/Month vs. $397/Month Agency Retainer

With Expandi, you build prospect lists, write copy, and design sequences using the visual Campaign Builder. You test message variants immediately and iterate based on real-time reply rates. Cleverly's model requires all changes to flow through the account manager on a monthly call schedule.

NOTE: We also evaluated Dripify ($39/month) and LinkedFusion. Expandi was chosen for its smart conditional sequences with 9 behavioral triggers, dedicated country-based IP infrastructure, and agency-friendly Workspaces with unlimited team invites at no extra cost and 110+ granular permission settings.

For a head-to-head breakdown of how Dripify and Expandi compare, see our Dripify vs Expandi comparison.

Expandi Pricing

Expandi offers a single Business Plan at $99/month (monthly) or $79/month (annual) per LinkedIn account, including all features: cloud-based infrastructure, dedicated IP, smart sequences, unlimited campaigns, lead generation across 11 source types, CRM integrations (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce), and analytics.

The Agency Plan offers custom pricing for 10+ seats with volume discounts and white-label branding. A 14-day free trial is available with no credit card required.

Who Should Use Expandi?

Choose Expandi if:

• You have in-house sales or marketing resources who want direct control over LinkedIn campaign strategy and need behavioral branching in sequences rather than fixed 4-touch cadences.

• LinkedIn is your primary prospecting channel and you want to use every engagement touchpoint (posts, events, groups, InMail) that multi-channel agencies overlook.

• You're an agency managing LinkedIn campaigns for multiple clients and need centralized multi-account management without per-seat fees.

7. Kular — Best Alternative for Risk-Free, Pay-Per-Lead Outbound

Kular is an AI-powered outbound sales platform that charges only when it delivers qualified conversations. Rather than paying monthly retainers for uncertain results, you pay per qualified lead.

Its key capabilities include:

• Pay-per-qualified-lead pricing at $250 per positive reply, with no monthly retainer and the first lead free

• AI-driven prospect identification from a 450M+ contact database across 23M+ businesses

• Voice cloning for personalized multilingual outreach via LinkedIn voice notes, website voice agents, and automated phone calls

• Managed email infrastructure with dedicated sending domains, warmup, and rotation handled entirely by the platform

Source: Kular

Why Choose Kular Over Cleverly for Risk-Free Outbound?

Kular stands out in the following areas:

• Performance-Based Pricing Eliminates Financial Risk

Cleverly operates on a $397-$997/month retainer with a mandatory 90-day commitment and no refunds. The minimum commitment to test Cleverly is $1,191. Kular charges $250 per qualified lead, with no retainers or platform fees, and the first lead free. Unqualified leads are replaced at no charge.

• AI Voice Cloning for Multilingual Personalization

Kular clones the user's actual voice from approximately 15 seconds of audio and deploys it across LinkedIn voice notes, website voice agents, and outbound phone calls in the prospect's native language.

Source: Kular

This enables personalized voice outreach at a scale Cleverly's human-staffed model cannot economically replicate. The website voice agent engages visitors and books calendar appointments directly, functioning as a 24/7 inbound qualification layer.

• Zero-Commitment Entry with Immediate Validation

Setup takes five minutes, with campaigns going live immediately. Kular's AI reads the customer's website to auto-generate messaging context, eliminating the briefing cycles that extend agency onboarding.

NOTE: We also evaluated Vector Agents and Amplemarket for this category. Kular was chosen because its Y Combinator backing, performance-based pricing, and AI voice cloning represent a novel approach that eliminates the retainer-based risk model. Kular's "first lead free, cancel anytime" structure is the clearest answer for buyers who want outbound without financial downside.

Kular Pricing

Kular operates on pay-per-qualified-lead pricing for core services, with no annual contracts.

• Email and LinkedIn Campaigns: $250 per qualified lead, first lead free, no retainer.

• Voice Campaigns: $500/month including 1 website voice agent, 1 sales agent phone number, and up to 1,000 conversation minutes.

• Website Visitors: $0.30 per identified visitor, first 20 free.

All plans are month-to-month with no minimum commitment.

Who Should Use Kular?

Choose Kular if:

• The retainer-based agency model is the frustration driving your search, and you want to pay only when pipeline is delivered, with the first lead free to validate fit before any spend.

• You need voice-based outreach at scale (LinkedIn voice notes, phone calls, website voice agents) without hiring multilingual SDRs.

• You want to test outbound without a long-term commitment, with no financial risk and the ability to cancel anytime.

The Final Verdict

While Cleverly provides accessible done-for-you outbound for companies without internal SDR teams, growing B2B businesses often need more specialized or controlled solutions.

Based on our research, here are the best alternatives:

• ZoomInfo for B2B data intelligence, AI-powered GTM execution, and building in-house outbound programs on the largest dataset in the industry

• Belkins for omnichannel outreach with five-person specialist teams and proprietary deliverability infrastructure

• lemlist for self-serve multichannel campaign control with built-in personalization, a 650M+ database, and transparent deliverability tools

• Apollo.io for free-to-start self-serve outbound with bundled data, multichannel sequences, conversation intelligence, and native CRM integrations

• Instantly.ai for high-volume cold email with unlimited accounts, flat-rate pricing, and the largest warmup network in the category

• Expandi for LinkedIn-specific automation with behavioral sequences, dedicated IPs, and agency-friendly multi-account management

• Kular for risk-free, pay-per-lead outbound with AI voice cloning and zero-commitment entry

You don't have to choose between Cleverly and these alternatives exclusively. Many businesses use a combination of data intelligence, engagement tools, and specialized services to build their outbound stack. Consider your team's capabilities, budget, and growth trajectory when deciding which solution fits.

Ready to power your outbound with B2B data? Get started with ZoomInfo Lite for free or request a demo to see how ZoomInfo's data intelligence and AI-powered GTM tools can improve your go-to-market execution.

Cleverly Alternatives FAQ

Why do businesses look for Cleverly alternatives?

Cleverly works well as an affordable entry point to done-for-you outbound, but businesses often outgrow its model.

Common reasons include the 3-4 month ramp time before campaigns gain momentum, limited visibility into campaign performance, inconsistent lead quality documented in G2 reviews (3.8/5 stars versus 4.5 on Trustpilot), the team-to-client ratio (10-49 employees serving 10,000+ clients), and limited CRM integrations with broken Salesforce and Pipedrive connectors.

What is the best overall Cleverly alternative?

There is no single best alternative because it depends on your needs. ZoomInfo is the top choice for B2B data intelligence and AI-powered GTM execution.

Belkins leads for omnichannel agency services with dedicated teams.

Apollo.io offers the strongest free-to-start self-serve platform. The right answer depends on whether you want a managed service, a self-serve tool, or a data intelligence platform.

Is there a free alternative to Cleverly?

Yes. Apollo.io offers a permanent free plan with 75 monthly credits, access to 270M+ contacts, two active sequences, and a Chrome Extension.

ZoomInfo offers ZoomInfo Lite, a permanent free tier with access to 100M+ verified profiles and 10 monthly export credits.

Kular offers the first qualified lead free with no commitment required.

lemlist and Expandi both offer 14-day free trials.

Which Cleverly alternative is best for agencies managing multiple clients?

Expandi offers agency-friendly workspaces with unlimited client and teammate invites at no extra charge and 110+ granular permission settings, starting at $99/month per LinkedIn account.

Instantly.ai provides an Agency View for managing dozens of client campaigns under a single subscription with unlimited email accounts. Both are more cost-effective for multi-client operations than purchasing separate Cleverly subscriptions for each client.

How does Cleverly's pricing compare to self-serve alternatives?

Cleverly's LinkedIn service starts at $397/month with a 90-day minimum commitment ($1,191 minimum spend).

Self-serve alternatives cost less: Instantly.ai starts at $47/month, lemlist starts at $39/month, Expandi starts at $79/month (annual billing), and Apollo.io is free to start. However, self-serve platforms require your team to manage campaigns rather than outsourcing execution.

Which alternative is best for companies that want to keep outsourcing but need better results?

Belkins is the premium agency alternative, offering five-person specialist teams and omnichannel execution, with Growth plans typically ranging from $10,000-$15,000/month.

Kular offers a lower-risk alternative with pay-per-qualified-lead pricing at $250 per lead, eliminating the retainer-based risk that makes underperforming agencies costly.

Can I use ZoomInfo alongside Cleverly or other outbound tools?

Yes. ZoomInfo's data and intelligence platform works alongside any outbound tool or agency. You can use ZoomInfo to build higher-quality prospect lists, identify in-market accounts with buyer intent data, enrich your CRM, and power AI-driven GTM plays. ZoomInfo's APIs and MCP enable integration with virtually any tool in your stack.

What is the fastest way to start generating leads if I'm leaving Cleverly?

Apollo.io and Kular offer the quickest paths. Apollo's free plan is available immediately with no setup delay, giving you access to 270M+ contacts and email sequences within minutes.

Kular's setup takes five minutes with campaigns going live immediately and the first qualified lead delivered at no cost. Both eliminate the multi-week onboarding cycles typical of agency services.