5 underrated tools that actually save a lot of time
In this article, we’ll introduce you to 5 seriously underrated tools, along with an honest review of each one: this…
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For a long time, sales prospecting relied on a single channel: the phone, and later email. These approaches worked: until inboxes became saturated and response rates dropped. Today, a cold email gets an average response rate of around 2 to 5%. That’s low. Very low.
Multichannel prospecting is a direct response to this problem. The idea is simple: instead of knocking on a single door, you multiply the points of contact to reach your prospect where they are actually active. LinkedIn for visibility and professional connection, email for a more structured message, and SMS for urgent follow-ups or for prospects who are difficult to reach otherwise.
It’s not a matter of harassment, but of contextual relevance. A prospect who doesn’t respond to an email may do so after seeing your LinkedIn profile. Another, contacted first on LinkedIn, may be more receptive to an email two days later. This is what we call a multichannel sequence: a series of coordinated touchpoints, at carefully considered intervals, across complementary channels.
Data from several B2B studies show that sequences combining at least two channels generate between 30 and 50% more responses compared to single-channel campaigns. And with the rise of dedicated tools, setting up this type of sequence is no longer reserved for large sales teams equipped with complex CRMs.
This is precisely where the platforms presented in this article come in. Each offers a different approach, with its own strengths, pricing logic, and ideal user profile. Whether you are a solo freelancer, an SDR in a startup, or a sales manager in an SME, there is probably a tool that fits your reality.
Before diving into comparisons, it is useful to clarify a few criteria that will influence your choice.
Not all tools cover the same combinations. Some focus on LinkedIn + email, while others also integrate SMS, Twitter/X, or even phone calls. The more channels you need, the more limited your choices become.
Some solutions are designed for beginners, with a clear interface and preconfigured sequences. Others target more technical users who want to customize everything. Your team’s skill level matters just as much as the budget.
This is a sensitive issue. LinkedIn actively monitors automated behavior and may restrict or close accounts in cases of misuse. Cloud-based tools that simulate human behavior are generally safer than browser extensions.
Most tools charge per seat, which can quickly become expensive for a small team. Always make sure to calculate the total cost, not just the price listed on the landing page.
If you use HubSpot, Pipedrive, or Salesforce, check that your chosen tool connects to them natively. Otherwise, you risk time-consuming double entry and scattered data.
You can also find our complete selection of tools in the Automated Prospecting category on Freelance Stack.
La Growth Machine, often called LGM, has established itself as the French benchmark for multichannel prospecting. Launched in 2020 by Toinon Georget, the solution quickly attracted sales teams looking to go beyond simple email sending. Its positioning is clear from the first use: everything is built around the multichannel sequence, not around a single channel with secondary options tacked on.
The system is based on visual sequences that you build by dragging and dropping actions: LinkedIn profile visit, connection request, LinkedIn message, email, LinkedIn voicemail, then email follow-up. Each step can be conditioned on the prospect’s behavior: if the connection is accepted, move to the next step; if not, try via email. This conditional logic provides real flexibility without requiring technical knowledge.
Another notable advantage is that data enrichment is built in. LGM can find a contact's work email address from their LinkedIn profile, saving you the hassle of juggling third-party tools like Hunter or Dropcontact.
LGM’s sequence editor is one of the most comprehensive on the market. The available channels cover all aspects of LinkedIn (visits, connections, messages, InMails, voice messages), email, and Twitter/X. The tool also offers a unified inbox to manage all responses from a single place and integrates natively with major CRMs (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive).
The analytics are precise: acceptance rates, response rates per step, and performance comparisons between sequences. For a team looking to continuously optimize their campaigns, this is a real advantage.
LGM is primarily aimed at SDRs, B2B salespeople, and growth marketers who prospect in volume and want a centralized tool. Startups in the commercial development phase and sales teams of 2 to 20 people are its main users.
The flexibility of conditional sequences is what users mention most often. Not having to leave the tool to enrich contacts greatly simplifies workflows. And for a French solution, the support is renowned for being responsive and high-quality.
The price is the main obstacle for freelancers or solopreneurs. At a minimum of €80 per month, it's an investment that needs to be justified. It also takes a little time to get to grips with: conditional sequences, although visual, require an understanding of prospecting logic before they can be configured effectively.
Lemlist is one of the best-known cold email tools in Europe. Founded in France in 2018 by Guillaume Moubeche, it first built its reputation a simple yet effective idea: visual personalization in emails. Embedding the prospect’s name, logo, or a personalized screenshot directly into an email image was a small revolution at the time.
Since then, the platform has evolved toward a more comprehensive approach. Lemlist now offers sequences that combine emails, LinkedIn actions (profile visits, connection requests, messages), and phone calls. All of this comes through a clean interface, with an email editor that remains one of the most user-friendly on the market.
The tool also includes Lemwarm, an email warming feature to improve campaign deliverability. This is a detail that matters a lot: sending 500 emails from a cold address can be enough to end up in spam. Lemwarm addresses this problem automatically.
The multichannel sequences cover email, LinkedIn, and calls. An integrated prospect database (Lemlist Database) allows you to import leads directly from the platform. Integrations include HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zapier, and Make. Reporting is clear and enables tracking of key metrics at each step.
Lemlist is particularly suited for founders, salespeople, and marketers who use email as their main channel, with LinkedIn as a complement. It’s also a good choice for agencies thanks to its dedicated multi-client offering.
Email customization is a real strength. Dynamic images and advanced variables enable campaigns that stand out from the crowd. The interface is intuitive, and Lemwarm removes a lot of complexity when getting started. The community around the tool is also a valuable resource for new users.
The LinkedIn component remains secondary compared to email. If your prospecting mainly relies on LinkedIn, Lemlist will lag behind more specialized solutions. Data enrichment is not native and requires third-party integrations. Finally, the plans tend to change frequently in terms of included features.
Waalaxy, formerly ProspectIn, is a very popular tool in France, particularly among freelancers and independent professionals who are starting out with LinkedIn prospecting automation. Its interface is clearly the most accessible in this comparison: in less than an hour, you can launch your first sequence.
Waalaxy’s value proposition can be summed up in a few words: automate repetitive LinkedIn actions (profile visits, connection requests, messages) and combine them with emails, all from a lightweight Chrome extension. Over time, the platform has added an email module with a built-in finder, allowing users to move from LinkedIn to email without leaving the tool.
One feature that sets Waalaxy apart is its freemium model. It’s possible to run LinkedIn campaigns for free, with volume limits, allowing users to test the tool before investing. For many users, this low-friction entry point is what drove adoption.
The available sequences cover classic LinkedIn actions and email. A lightweight CRM is integrated to manage contacts and conversation status. The tool also offers an AI assistant to draft prospecting messages. Integrations include HubSpot, Salesforce, and no-code connectors via Make.
Waalaxy is designed for freelancers, consultants, solopreneurs, and small teams who want to automate their LinkedIn prospecting without technical complexity. It's also a good option for those who are new to automated outreach and want to learn gradually.
Simplicity is Waalaxy's greatest strength. You don't need to be an expert in prospecting to launch your first campaign. The freemium model allows you to test the tool's usefulness before upgrading to a paid plan. For freelancers who want to automate part of their business development without spending too much time or money, this is often the most relevant option.
Dependence on the Chrome extension is something to watch out for. This architecture exposes users to a greater risk of LinkedIn restrictions than cloud solutions. The email component, although improved, remains less sophisticated than Lemlist's in terms of customization. And for high-volume campaigns with complex sequences, the previous tools will be more suitable.
Reply.io is one of the few platforms to offer truly comprehensive coverage of prospecting channels: email, LinkedIn, SMS, phone calls, and even WhatsApp. For sales teams looking to centralize all their activities in a single tool, it is probably the current benchmark.
The platform is American, founded in 2014, and has gradually been enhanced with AI features. Jason AI, the built-in assistant, can generate entire prospecting sequences from a description of your target, draft messages, and even automatically respond to initial exchanges based on rules you set. This is what is now called a partial SDR agent.
The SMS module deserves special attention. Unlike other tools that list SMS as a feature but offer it only incidentally, Reply.io allows you to truly integrate SMS messages into sequences, with connectors for telephony services. For salespeople prospecting in sectors where SMS still achieves open rates above 90%, this is a tangible advantage.
Multi-channel sequences cover email, LinkedIn, SMS, calls, and WhatsApp. The email warming module is included in the most comprehensive plans. AI can generate message variations and automate responses to common objections. Native integrations cover HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and Zapier.
Reply.io is suitable for mid-sized sales teams, experienced SDRs, and organizations that need to orchestrate multiple channels, including SMS. It is also a good option for teams that want to experiment with AI agents in their prospecting without switching to even more complex solutions.
The multichannel coverage is the widest on the market in this price range. Jason AI truly speeds up campaign creation, especially for teams managing multiple ideal customer profiles in parallel. The SMS module is a real differentiator for industries where this channel is still highly effective.
The interface may seem complex at first, especially compared to Waalaxy or Lemlist. The functional richness has a downside: it takes time to use the tool to its full potential. Support, while available, is less localized than with French solutions. Activating SMS also requires a technical setup with a third-party provider.
Expandi occupies a unique position in this comparison: it is primarily a LinkedIn tool, but it has integrated an email component robust enough to be featured in an article on multichannel prospecting. Founded in 2019 in the Netherlands, it quickly became a go-to solution for teams conducting large-scale recruitment or sales prospecting on LinkedIn.
What sets Expandi apart technically is its fully cloud-based architecture. Unlike browser extensions, the tool runs on dedicated servers that simulate human behavior, with configurable daily volume limits. This reduces the risk of LinkedIn restrictions and allows the tool to operate 24/7 without your computer being on.
In terms of features, Expandi offers personalized images and GIFs in connection requests and direct messages. This visual personalization LinkedIn, similar to what Lemlist does with email, generates significantly higher response rates than standard text messages.
Complete LinkedIn sequences (visits, connections, messages, InMails), customization with images and GIFs, email integration for mixed sequences, multi-account management, webhooks for custom integrations. A unified inbox allows you to manage all LinkedIn conversations from the Expandi interface.
Expandi is the natural choice for recruiters, growth hackers, and sales teams who use LinkedIn as their primary channel. Recruitment and lead generation agencies that manage multiple accounts simultaneously will also find it extremely useful.
The cloud architecture is a real advantage in terms of LinkedIn account security. The visual customization options are unique on this channel. For recruiters or salespeople who generate high volumes on LinkedIn, Expandi offers a level of sophistication that is hard to find elsewhere at this price point.
The price of €99 per user is fixed, with no lower tier, making it less accessible for those on a tight budget. The email feature lags behind those of Lemlist and Reply.io. If your strategy places as much emphasis on email as it does on LinkedIn, you’ll likely need to supplement it with a dedicated tool.
MeetAlfred positions itself in a specific niche: managing multi-channel prospecting as a team. Whereas most of the tools in this comparison are designed for individual users, MeetAlfred has developed centralized management features that are more relevant to teams of five or more salespeople.
The tool supports LinkedIn, email, and Twitter/X. Campaigns can be customized with timeframes and conditions, and the team dashboard allows managers to track the performance of each account in real time. This level of visibility is rare in this price range, and it’s often what tips the scales in favor of MeetAlfred for sales managers.
A simplified CRM is natively integrated, which means that small teams don't have to purchase a full-featured CRM such as HubSpot or Pipedrive to manage the follow-up of leads generated by their campaigns.
Multi-channel sequences on LinkedIn, email, and Twitter/X, integrated CRM, multi-account team dashboard, unified inbox, A/B testing of messages, integrations via Zapier and Make.
MeetAlfred is particularly relevant for medium-sized sales teams (5 to 20 people), prospecting agencies, and sales managers who need centralized supervision. Less suitable for solopreneurs or freelancers looking for simplicity.
Multi-account management and the team dashboard are clearly the standout features. For a sales manager looking for a comprehensive overview of their team’s prospecting activities, it’s hard to find a better option at this price point. The integrated CRM also eliminates the need for an additional software layer for organizations that don’t yet have a dedicated CRM system.
The interface isn't the most modern and may seem a bit outdated compared to Lemlist or LGM. Twitter/X remains a minor channel in most French B2B strategies. Support is in English, which can be a barrier for French-speaking teams.
To get a clearer picture at a glance, here are all the tools side by side, based on the criteria that really matter when making your choice.
| Tool | text message | Other channels | Starting price | Architecture | Ideal for | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Growth Machine | ✅ Complete | ✅ Complete | ❌ | Twitter/X, voice | ~€80/month | Cloud | SDR, sales teams |
| Lemlist | ✅ Partial | ✅ Expert | ❌ | Calls | ~€59/month | Cloud | Email-first, founders |
| Waalaxy | ✅ Complete | ✅ Basic | ❌ | No | Free / ~€30/month | Chrome extension | Freelancers, beginners |
| Reply.io | ✅ Complete | ✅ Complete | ✅ Integrated | Calls, WhatsApp | ~€49/month | Cloud | Multi-channel teams |
| Expandi | ✅ Expert | ✅ Partial | ❌ | No | ~$99/month | Cloud | LinkedIn power users |
| MeetAlfred | ✅ Complete | ✅ Complete | ❌ | Twitter/X | ~$49/month | Cloud | Teams, agencies |
Features and prices are one thing. But the best tool is the one that fits your everyday reality. Here's how to tailor your choice to your situation.
Waalaxy is the most logical starting point. Its freemium model lets you get started without any financial risk, and its quick setup is ideal for users who don’t want to spend hours configuring complex sequences. If you have more advanced email needs, Lemlist becomes a relevant option, either as a complement or a replacement.
La Growth Machine is often the best long-term investment. Its rich conditional sequencing and built-in enrichment allow you to build structured prospecting workflows with reliable data. If your budget is tighter, Reply.io offers a similar solution at a slightly lower price, with the added benefit of SMS integration.
The key question is: is your team focused on LinkedIn, or does it have a truly multi-channel approach? For a LinkedIn-focused team, Expandi or MeetAlfred provide good centralized visibility. For all-channel prospecting (email, LinkedIn, SMS, calls), Reply.io or LGM are more appropriate.
Reply.io stands out in this comparison with no direct competitor. It’s the only platform that offers SMS as a fully integrated channel within prospecting sequences. However, you’ll still need to set up a third-party SMS provider such as Twilio or, for the French market, SmsMode.
Expandi is likely the best tool for the job. Its secure cloud architecture and visual customization capabilities on LinkedIn make it the top choice for recruiters who handle high volumes and can’t afford to have their LinkedIn accounts restricted.
A few questions come up regularly when you start multi-channel prospecting. Here are the direct, straightforward answers.
LinkedIn tolerates automation within certain limits, but officially prohibits tools that mimic human behavior for mass commercial purposes. In practice, cloud tools that comply with daily volume limits (fewer than 80 to 100 actions per day) and simulate human delays are much less exposed than browser extensions. No tool is immune to the risk of restriction, but some expose it much more than others.
The first indicators (connection request acceptance rate, email open rate) are visible within the first week. The first qualified responses generally appear between 2 and 4 weeks, depending on the volume sent and the quality of the targeting. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to obtain enough data to reliably optimize a sequence.
It is not mandatory, especially with tools such as Waalaxy or MeetAlfred, which include a mini-CRM. That said, for teams with several people or large volumes, a dedicated CRM such as HubSpot, Pipedrive, or Folk is still recommended for structuring long-term sales follow-up.
Yes, for the vast majority of features. A standard LinkedIn account is sufficient for basic connection and messaging sequences. LinkedIn Sales Navigator becomes useful when you need advanced search filters or access to InMails on a large scale, but it is not a prerequisite to get started.
Volumes depend on both LinkedIn’s limits and the settings of each tool. In practice, a reasonable approach on LinkedIn involves around 80 to 100 new connections per week. With email, volumes are higher but depend on the quality of your deliverability. Most tools allow you to manage between 200 and 1,000 active leads simultaneously without any technical issues.
Several tools in this comparison include native enrichment (LGM in particular). For others, dedicated solutions such as DropContact, Kaspr, or Hunter allow you to find email addresses from LinkedIn profiles or company domain names.
They are primarily designed for B2B, where LinkedIn is a central channel. For B2C targets, email and SMS remain relevant via Reply.io or specialized tools such as Brevo, but LinkedIn loses much of its relevance in this context.
Several of these tools offer promo codes available through Freelance Stack, including La Growth Machine, Lemlist, Waalaxy, Reply.io, Expandi, and MeetAlfred. The savings can reach several hundred euros during the first months of subscription, which is significant when you’re testing multiple tools before settling one.
