Why does the calculator add SuperSearch and placement costs?

Real Instantly stacks often pay for outreach volume, lead credits, inbox placement tests, domains, and inboxes separately. The model mirrors that full cost so Ken's included domains, inboxes, and AI are compared fairly - not only Instantly's headline send price.

Does Instantly have native LinkedIn multichannel?

Not the same way Ken does. Many Instantly users add a LinkedIn automation tool for multichannel parity. Ken includes LinkedIn seats on paid plans for visits, connection requests, and messages inside the same sequences.

When should I stay on Instantly?

Stay if you already have strong lists and copy and mainly need high-volume sending and inbox management. Switch or dual-run when list quality, AI personalization, and all-in cost of data plus infrastructure become the bottleneck.

Can I try Ken without canceling Instantly?

Yes. Book a call or buy Core, compare quality and projected cost on this page, then move volume when you are ready. Nothing forces a hard cutover on day one.

Ken vs Instantly

Instantly is for running outreach infrastructure.Ken is for closing the loop on pipeline.

Instantly sells sending, lead credits, placement tests, and mailboxes as separate products. Ken packages leads, AI, verification, domains, and inboxes in one plan. Use the calculator below to see both sides at the same volume.

Book a call See Ken pricing

Leads emailed per month5,000

1K100K+

Save $367/mo (38%)

Ken AI

Ken Core

Ken Core plan
Core at 5,000 leads / mo (VIP is $4,597/mo at the same software limits)
$597
Leads
5,000 included
Included
Emails per day
1,000/day included. Ken-provisioned mailboxes sized by type (Google/Outlook typically 25/day, Azure typically 5/day)
Included
Inboxes (mailboxes)
Included - Ken provisions and manages sending inboxes for your daily volume
Included
LinkedIn multichannel seats
5 seats included (connection requests, messages, profile visits + email in one sequence)
Included
Email verification
Included
Included
AI qualification
Included
Included
AI personalization
Included
Included
AI segmentation
Included
Included
AI quality check
Included
Included
Placement tests and monitoring
Included
Included
Email warmup
Included
Included

Total per month$597

Instantly

Hypergrowth + Supersonic credits 2

Email Outreach (Hypergrowth)
Hypergrowth: up to 25,000 uploaded contacts and 100,000 emails / mo at 5,000 leads and 20,000 emails
$97
Instantly Credits (Supersonic credits 2)
7,500 credits needed (5,000 leads x 1.5 credits/lead) covered by Supersonic credits 2 (7,500 credits)
$147
AI qualification (external API)
5,000 leads x $1 / 1k = $5, to match the AI Ken includes - external AI API cost, not billed by Instantly
$5
AI segmentation (external API)
5,000 leads x $1 / 1k = $5, to match the AI Ken includes - external AI API cost, not billed by Instantly
$5
AI personalization (external API)
20,000 emails x 3 lines x $5 / 1k lines = $300, to match the AI Ken includes - external AI API cost, not billed by Instantly
$300
AI quality check (external API)
20,000 emails x $6 / 1k = $120, to match the AI Ken includes - external AI API cost, not billed by Instantly
$120
Inbox Placementthey don't advertise this
$47 / mo (Growth Inbox Placement default; Hypergrowth Inbox Placement is $97/mo)
$47
Sending domainsthey don't advertise this
13 domains x $15 / yr = $16 / mo
$16
Inboxes (mailboxes)they don't advertise this
37 inboxes x $4 / mo = $148
$148
LinkedIn multichannel (HeyReach)
1 LinkedIn sender x $79 / mo (HeyReach Growth monthly - Instantly/Smartlead have no native LinkedIn outreach)
$79

Hypergrowth email cap uses the pricing-page figure of 100,000/mo (help docs list 125,000)

Total per month$964

See the full breakdown with every formula and source

Instantly prices Email Outreach and SuperSearch credits as separate subscriptions. This calculator adds the cheapest sending plan that covers both your lead upload and email volume, the cheapest credit tier for leads x 1.5 credits (Instantly's published average), Growth Inbox Placement at $47/mo (hidden), Instantly's own domain ($15/yr) plus AirMail DFY inbox ($4/mo) costs (hidden), and HeyReach at $79/LinkedIn sender/mo for multichannel parity (Instantly has no native LinkedIn outreach). Google DFY ($5) and pre-warmed ($10) mailboxes cost more. AI personalization is not modeled as a free inclusion - Instantly prices AI actions in credits; adjust credits per lead if you use heavy AI enrichment. Set LinkedIn seats to 0 if you only compare email.

What Instantly is

Instantly is a cold email platform built around high-volume sending. Paid Email Outreach plans (Growth, Hypergrowth, Light Speed) cover campaign sending, unlimited connected accounts, and warmup, with separate Instantly Credits for SuperSearch lead data and enrichment. Domains, done-for-you mailboxes (AirMail from $4/account/mo), Inbox Placement tests, CRM, and website-visitor tracking are sold as add-ons or sibling products rather than a single bundled seat.

When they are the right call: Instantly is a strong fit when you already have lead lists or a data stack, want fine-grained control over sending infrastructure, and prefer to buy only the products you need (sending alone, credits alone, or a bundle). Agencies and operators who manage many inboxes and care about warmup limits, SISR on Light Speed, and a mature outreach UI often prefer Instantly.

Where Ken fits

Ken is a better fit when you want one subscription that includes a large B2B database, AI qualification and personalization, verification, domains, and inboxes without assembling credit packs and DFY mailbox invoices. Teams that want transparent all-in cost at a lead volume - not a menu of line items - tend to land on Ken.

The honest tradeoffs.

Instantly

Strengths

Mature cold-email sending stack with unlimited accounts and warmup on paid outreach plans
Separate SuperSearch credit packs so you can scale lead data independently of sending
Competitive DFY mailbox options, including AirMail at $4 per account per month
Inbox Placement product and Light Speed SISR for teams serious about deliverability

Tradeoffs

True cost stacks multiple subscriptions: Email Outreach, credits, Inbox Placement, domains, and mailboxes
AI features (enrichment, reply agent, Copilot) consume Instantly Credits rather than sitting inside a flat plan
Hypergrowth monthly email cap differs between the public pricing page (100k) and help docs (125k)

Ken AI

Strengths

Single plan price covers leads, AI workflows, verification, domains, inboxes, and LinkedIn multichannel seats
300M+ lead database and AI qualification/segmentation without a separate credit ladder
LinkedIn included (5 seats on Core and VIP) - no $79/sender HeyReach stitch on top of Instantly
Monthly or quarterly billing (16% off on Core) with no multi-product assembly

Tradeoffs

No Instantly-style unlimited connected email accounts on every tier - sending is sized to your plan volume and managed infrastructure

At a glance.

	Instantly	Ken AI
Sending plan	Growth $47/mo (1k contacts, 5k emails); Hypergrowth $97; Light Speed $358	Core $597/mo, VIP $4,597/mo at the same software limits
Lead data	Instantly Credits / SuperSearch - from $47/mo for 1,500 credits (~1.5 credits per verified email on average)	300M+ database included in plan lead allotment
Email verification	0.25 credits per lead verified (priced in Instantly Credits)	Included
Domains and inboxes	Domains $15/yr; AirMail DFY $4/account/mo (Google DFY $5, pre-warmed $10)	Domains and inboxes included
Warmup	Unlimited email warmup on paid Email Outreach plans	Included
Inbox placement tests	Inbox Placement add-on $47-$97/mo (2 free one-time tests)	Included
AI personalization	Credit-priced (AI enrichment ~0.5 credits/row; AI Reply Agent 5 credits/reply; Copilot actions from 0.05 credits)	AI personalization, qualification, segmentation, and quality check included
Billing options	Monthly and annual (no quarterly); annual effective on outreach listed on pricing page	Monthly or quarterly (16% off on Core; no public annual)
LinkedIn multichannel	Not native - teams typically add HeyReach at $79/LinkedIn sender/mo (Growth) via Automations	5 seats included; extra seats $30–$15/mo by volume

The math, in full.

Worked at 10,000 leads / month, monthly billing. Every figure below is editable in the calculator above.

Instantly: line by line

Email Outreach (Hypergrowth)
Hypergrowth: up to 25,000 uploaded contacts and 100,000 emails / mo at 10,000 leads and 40,000 emails
Instantly Credits (Hyper credits 2)
15,000 credits needed (10,000 leads x 1.5 credits/lead) covered by Hyper credits 2 (20,000 credits)
AI qualification (external API)
10,000 leads x $1 / 1k = $10, to match the AI Ken includes - external AI API cost, not billed by Instantly
AI segmentation (external API)
10,000 leads x $1 / 1k = $10, to match the AI Ken includes - external AI API cost, not billed by Instantly
AI personalization (external API)
40,000 emails x 3 lines x $5 / 1k lines = $600, to match the AI Ken includes - external AI API cost, not billed by Instantly
AI quality check (external API)
40,000 emails x $6 / 1k = $240, to match the AI Ken includes - external AI API cost, not billed by Instantly
Inbox Placement
$47 / mo (Growth Inbox Placement default; Hypergrowth Inbox Placement is $97/mo)
Sending domains
25 domains x $15 / yr = $31 / mo
Inboxes (mailboxes)
73 inboxes x $4 / mo = $292
LinkedIn multichannel (HeyReach)
1 LinkedIn sender x $79 / mo (HeyReach Growth monthly - Instantly/Smartlead have no native LinkedIn outreach)

Hypergrowth email cap uses the pricing-page figure of 100,000/mo (help docs list 125,000)

Ken: line by line

Ken Core plan
Core at 10,000 leads / mo (VIP is $4,597/mo at the same software limits)
Leads
5,000 included, plus 5k extra
Emails per day
1,000/day included. Ken-provisioned mailboxes sized by type (Google/Outlook typically 25/day, Azure typically 5/day)
Inboxes (mailboxes)
Included - Ken provisions and manages sending inboxes for your daily volume
LinkedIn multichannel seats
5 seats included (connection requests, messages, profile visits + email in one sequence)
Email verification
Included
AI qualification
Included
AI personalization
Included
AI segmentation
Included
AI quality check
Included
Placement tests and monitoring
Included
Email warmup
Included

Assumptions and sources

Emails per lead4 emailsKen standard 4-step cold-email sequence
Emails per inbox per day25 emails / inbox / dayConservative deliverability-safe send rate per mailbox
Inboxes per domain3 inboxes / domainCommon cold-email setup (3 inboxes per sending domain)
Domain price15 $ / domain / yrTypical registrar cost for a sending domain (e.g. Instantly sells domains at $15 / yr)
Inbox price4 $ / inbox / moTypical mailbox cost (e.g. Google Workspace seat)
Sending days per month22 daysWeekdays only (no weekend sends)
Credits per verified lead1.5 credits / leadInstantly SuperSearch averages ~1.5 credits per verified work email (verification already in that average)
Inbox Placement47 $ / moInstantly Inbox Placement Growth $47/mo; Hypergrowth is $97/mo with automated tests
LinkedIn seats (HeyReach)1 seatsHeyReach Growth $79/sender/mo ($63 annual) - typical stitch for Instantly/Smartlead multichannel (verified 2026-07-24)
AI qualification1 $ / 1k leadsExternal AI API cost to match the AI Ken includes - not billed by the platform
AI segmentation1 $ / 1k leadsExternal AI API cost to match the AI Ken includes - not billed by the platform
AI personalization5 $ / 1k linesExternal AI API cost to match the AI Ken includes - not billed by the platform
Personalized lines per email3 lines / emailKen default, editable
AI quality check6 $ / 1k emailsExternal AI API cost to match the AI Ken includes - not billed by the platform

Instantly pricing sources

Instantly pricing page
Instantly plans overview
Instantly credit system
AirMail DFY email setup
HeyReach pricing (LinkedIn multichannel stitch) - Instantly has no native LinkedIn outreach; $79/sender Growth monthly

Pricing verified 2026-07-24.

Frequently Asked Questions

Straight answers on Instantly vs Ken - fit, pricing, and when each wins.

Yes if you want sending plus leads, AI personalization, verification, and LinkedIn in one product. Instantly is a strong sequencer and infrastructure tool; Ken is built so you do not also buy data, enrichment, and a LinkedIn tool on the side.

See the real cost for yourself.

Book a call, or buy Core ($597/mo) or VIP ($4,597/mo) on the pricing page.

Book a call See Ken pricing