during , sending a few emails and making a few phone calls was enough to keep a sales pipeline flowing. Those days are gone. Buyers are bombarded with messages from all sides, their inboxes are overflowing, and simply getting them to pick up the phone has become a rarity. The result: single-channel prospecting no longer converts. Not enough.
What the most effective sales teams have realized is that, these days, you need to combine touchpoints to stay top of mind with a prospect. A LinkedIn message, followed by a personalized email, and then a follow-up phone call at the right time: it’s this multichannel consistency that makes all the difference. And to implement it without spending hours on it, there are now specialized software tools available that are becoming increasingly powerful.
This article reviews the best tools available in 2026, divided into three main categories: VoIP telephony, email outreach, and LinkedIn automation. For each category, you’ll find a detailed overview of the most relevant solutions, their strengths, their limitations, and, most importantly, a clear answer to the question that really matters: which one is right for you?
Whether you're a freelance business development professional, a sales manager at a startup, or a consultant leading a small team, there's bound to be a tool in this comparison that's right for you.
Business telephony has undergone a profound transformation. Physical switchboards have given way to fully cloud-based solutions that can be accessed from any device, integrated with your CRM, and capable of automatically recording, analyzing, and routing calls. We’re talking about VoIP solutions designed for sales teams and growing organizations.
You can find all of our discount telephony tools directly on Freelance Stack.
Aircall has established itself as one of the most widely adopted VoIP solutions among startups and small and medium-sized businesses in Europe. Its positioning is clear: to offer cloud-based phone service designed for sales teams, featuring a sleek interface and native integrations with the most widely used CRMs.
It’s quick and easy to get started. In just a few minutes, you can create a local number in over 100 countries, set up call queues, configure voice menus, and route calls according to custom rules. Every call is recorded, transcribed (on certain plans), and automatically linked to the contact record in tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive.
What really sets Aircall apart is its powerful analytics. Managers have access to a real-time dashboard to track team performance: handling time, missed calls, average call duration, and answer rate. For managing an SDR or customer success team, this is a real asset.
The tool also includes a click-to-call feature accessible directly from the browser, a system for tagging and adding post-call notes, and smart voicemail. The mobile version is fully functional, allowing sales reps to work on the go without any hassle.
Please note: A minimum of three users is generally required to access the standard plans.
Aircall is particularly well-suited for structured sales teams of 5 to 50 people who need detailed insight into their phone activity. It’s also an excellent choice for customer support teams that handle a high volume of calls and want to centralize their data in their CRM. However, for a freelancer or entrepreneur makes calls only occasionally, the value for money may be less clear.
Aircall is reliable, integrates well with existing SaaS ecosystems, and features an interface that’s easy to pick up without training. Its documentation and support are of high quality. The main drawback is the per-seat pricing, which can add up quickly for medium-sized teams. Some users also note that audio quality can vary depending on the internet connection.
CloudTalk is a Slovakian VoIP solution that has established itself in the European market thanks to pricing that is more competitive than Aircall’s, without sacrificing essential features.
The solution meets the standard telephony needs of sales and support teams: local numbers in over 160 countries, IVR (interactive voice response), intelligent call queues, call recording, and analytics. It offers native integration with CRMs such as HubSpot, Zoho, and Intercom.
What sets CloudTalk apart is its Power Dialer feature: sales reps can automatically generate contact lists without having to manually enter each number. The tool also includes a sentiment analysis system for recorded calls, which helps managers identify key conversations for coaching purposes.
14-day free trial available without a credit card.
CloudTalk is ideal for growing startups looking for a professional solution without the cost of Aircall. It’s also well-suited for international support teams thanks to its extensive geographic coverage. Agencies that manage multiple clients can take advantage of the multi-account features available on higher-tier plans.
Its main advantage remains its value for money. The interface is intuitive, and onboarding is quick. However, it offers fewer native integrations than Aircall, and its partner ecosystem is slightly less mature. Some advanced analytics features are only available on the most expensive plans.
Dialpad clearly stands out from its competitors thanks to its advanced integration of artificial intelligence. Real-time transcription, automatic suggestions during , and AI-generated post-call summaries: Dialpad committed to intelligent assistance as early as 2020, long before it became a trend.
Even with its entry-level plans, Dialpad automatically transcribes every call and generates a structured summary highlighting key points and identified actions. during , context cards appear in real time to suggest responses to objections or display relevant CRM information. This provides practical support for teams that need to build their skills quickly.
The solution also combines team messaging, video conferencing, and business text messaging into a single app, reducing the fragmentation of communication tools.
Dialpad is ideal for teams that prioritize ongoing training and want to leverage conversation data to improve their scripts and conversion rates. It’s also an excellent option for organizations looking to consolidate their communication tools (calls, messages, video) into a single platform.
Dialpad's value for money is hard to beat, especially for teams that are still getting established. The AI features are genuinely useful, not just cosmetic. The main drawback: the interface can seem a bit overwhelming at first, and some CRM integrations require higher-tier plans.
Cold emailing isn't dead. It remains one of the most cost-effective acquisition channels—provided you do it right. What has changed is the need for personalization and the sophistication of the tools required to land in inboxes rather than spam folders.
The software listed below is not traditional email marketing tools like Brevo or Mailchimp. They are specifically designed for outbound sales prospecting, with features to ensure deliverability, enable large-scale personalization, and automate follow-ups.
Lemlist is a French startup that has become a global leader in the field of personalized email outreach. Its core concept: every email should feel like it was handwritten, even when sent to thousands of prospects.
The platform allows you to insert dynamic variables not only into text, but also into images (such as a prospect’s logo in a screenshot or their first name in a personalized graphic) and into videos. This level of visual personalization is still rare among competitors and, according to user feedback, significantly increases open and response rates.
Lemlist also offers a built-in warm-up system (lemwarm) to warm up email domains before sending campaigns, an enriched contact database to find leads directly within the tool, and multichannel sequences that can combine emails, LinkedIn, and phone calls in a single workflow.
The interface was redesigned in 2024 to make it more accessible to teams without technical expertise, featuring ready-to-use campaign templates organized by industry.
14-day free trial available with no obligation.
Lemlist is designed for sales professionals and growth hackers who want to achieve standout results through advanced personalization. It’s also ideal for sales teams at small and medium-sized businesses looking for an all-in-one solution that includes email and LinkedIn prospecting. Agencies also appreciate the multi-client management features available on higher-tier plans.
Visual customization and multichannel workflows are truly unique strengths. The tool is feature-rich and regularly updated. The downside: the learning curve is steeper than with simpler competitors, and the per-user pricing can be a burden for small teams. The quality of the built-in contact database still varies by market.
Instantly made a name for itself in 2022 with a simple yet effective promise: to enable users to send cold email campaigns at a very large scale while maintaining optimal deliverability through automatic email account rotation.
The core value of Instantly lies in its email rotation system. In practice, you can connect dozens of email accounts, and the tool automatically distributes outgoing emails among them, allowing you to send large volumes without burning through your domains. A built-in automatic warm-up mechanism works to maintain the reputation of each address.
The sequence editor is intentionally simple, which helps ensure quick execution. The analytics are clear and actionable: open rates, response rates, bounce rates, and a real-time view of active campaigns.
In 2024, Instantly added a lightweight CRM feature that allows users to manage responses directly within the interface, without having to switch to another tool.
These rates are not per user, which is an advantage for organizations with multiple sales representatives.
Instantly is designed for growth marketers and agencies that handle high email volumes across multiple clients. It’s also an excellent choice for freelancers engaged in business development who want an effective solution without unnecessary complexity. Teams that conduct large-scale testing of different approaches and messages will also find it useful.
The rotation and warm-up system offers a real competitive advantage. The pricing model, which isn’t based on the number of seats, is attractive. The main limitation is that the tool remains focused on email: there’s no native LinkedIn integration, and no advanced contact enrichment features. To address these additional needs, you’ll need to integrate tools like Hunter or Apollo.
Launched in 2022, Smartlead quickly gained ground on Instantly by offering greater control over deliverability settings and a more comprehensive interface for teams managing multiple campaigns simultaneously.
Like Instantly, Smartlead uses a rotating email list system with automatic warm-up. But it goes a step further with features such as AI-powered email personalization (automatically generating personalized opening lines based on the prospect’s LinkedIn profile or website), a webhook system to trigger actions in other tools based on the prospect’s behavior, and a comprehensive API.
The tool also includes a unified inbox that consolidates all replies from all your email accounts, which saves a significant amount of time when managing dozens of inboxes at once.
Prices are not based on the number of seats.
Smartlead is particularly popular among growth and lead generation agencies that manage multiple clients with high customization requirements. It is also well-suited for sales teams at scale-ups that need advanced automation and fine-grained control over every aspect of their campaigns.
The depth of features and level of control offered are above average. The AI-powered customization is a real time-saver. On the other hand, the tool requires an initial time investment to set up properly, and the learning curve may discourage less tech-savvy users. Support, while available, may be less responsive than that offered by more established providers.
LinkedIn remains the most powerful professional network for B2B lead generation, especially in Europe. But manually prospecting on LinkedIn takes a considerable amount of time. Automation tools allow you to scale your efforts while maintaining a personalized approach, provided you follow the platform’s rules.
An important note: the use of these tools must remain within the limits set by LinkedIn to avoid any risk of account restrictions. The solutions below are designed to operate securely, with reasonable sending limits.
Waalaxy (formerly ProspectIn) is a rising star in the industry. Developed by Waapi, it is now one of the most widely used LinkedIn automation tools in France, with an active community and a solid reputation.
Waalaxy lets you create automated multichannel sequences that combine LinkedIn connection requests, LinkedIn messages, and emails within a single visual workflow. You define the logic (if accepted → send message 1 → wait 3 days → send message 2), and Waalaxy executes the sequence for you, step by step and securely.
The tool mimics human behavior to minimize the risk of detection by LinkedIn: it introduces random delays between actions, adheres to daily limits, and runs via a Chrome extension that uses your existing LinkedIn session.
Waalaxy also offers an integrated, AI-powered contact database to find leads without leaving the tool, as well as unified messaging to manage responses.
Waalaxy is perfect for entrepreneurs freelancers looking to systematically grow their LinkedIn network without spending hours on it. Solo salespeople and business development consultants use it every day. It’s easy to get started with, even without a technical background, making it a natural choice for those less familiar with complex lead generation tools.
The interface is intuitive, the tool is stable, and its team regularly publishes high-quality educational resources. The main limitation stems from the nature of the tool itself: LinkedIn quotas impose a cap on the volume of users you can reach, and Waalaxy is no exception. For large volumes, you’ll need to either create multiple LinkedIn accounts or opt for a more advanced solution.
Expandi positions itself as the most secure LinkedIn automation solution on the market, with a cloud-based approach that doesn't require you to keep your browser open.
Unlike Waalaxy, which operates via a Chrome extension, Expandi is a fully cloud-based application that manages actions from its own servers, with a dedicated IP address for each account. This significantly reduces the risk of detection, even for users with LinkedIn Sales Navigator subscriptions.
The customization features are advanced: dynamic variables in messages (first name, company, job title, and even contextual data such as a prospect’s recent posts), custom GIFs in messages, and conditional sequences based on the prospect’s interactions.
Expandi also offers event marketing campaigns (targeting attendees of specific LinkedIn events) and post-response campaigns, for more context-driven lead generation.
Expandi is designed for sales teams and agencies that manage LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator accounts and can’t afford to take risks with their accounts. It’s also the right choice for users who want to leverage more sophisticated LinkedIn prospecting strategies (event targeting, responding to posts, conditional sequences).
Security and feature richness are its real strengths. The level of customization clearly goes beyond what most competitors offer. The obvious drawback is the price: at $99 per seat per month, Expandi is one of the most expensive options on the market. For a freelancer or a lone salesperson, this is an investment that should be carefully weighed against the expected volume of deals.
Closely is a multi-channel lead generation platform that combines LinkedIn automation, email marketing, and data enrichment into a single interface.
The platform operates in the cloud (no Chrome extension required) and allows you to create combined LinkedIn and email sequences from a single tool. What really sets it apart is itscontact enrichment module: using a LinkedIn profile, Closely can retrieve a prospect’s work email address to trigger a parallel email sequence.
The campaign creation interface is visual and user-friendly, and the tool includes a lightweight CRM to track each prospect’s progress through the sequence. The analytics are clear, providing data on open, response, and conversion rates by campaign.
Each plan includes a certain number in credits .
Closely is an excellent choice for salespeople and entrepreneurs who want to streamline their LinkedIn and email activities without having to switch between multiple tools. It’s also ideal for small teams (2–5 people) looking for a comprehensive solution at an affordable price. Those who don’t yet have an email list but do have LinkedIn leads will find the data enrichment feature particularly valuable.
Combining LinkedIn, email, and data enrichment into a single tool offers a real convenience. The pricing is competitive given what it offers. On the other hand, the platform is less mature than that of older competitors like Expandi or Waalaxy, and some advanced features are still under active development.
This table summarizes the key features of each solution to help you make the right choice based on your specific situation and priorities.
| Tool | Category | Admission price | Multichannel | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircall | VoIP Telephony | ~$30 per user per month | No (voice) | Teams of 5–50 people |
| CloudTalk | VoIP Telephony | ~$25 per user per month | No (voice) | Startups, international support |
| Dialpad | VoIP Telephony | ~$15 per user per month | Voice + Video + Text | Teams looking for conversational AI |
| Lemlist | Outreach email | ~€59 per user per month | Email + LinkedIn | Advanced creative customization |
| Instantly | Outreach email | ~$37/month | Email only | High volume, branches, growth |
| Smartlead | Outreach email | ~$39/month | Email + webhooks | Agencies, tech scale-ups |
| Waalaxy | ~€56 per user per month | LinkedIn + email | Freelancers, independent salespeople | |
| Expandi | ~$99 per seat per month | Advanced LinkedIn | Demanding teams, agencies | |
| Closely | ~$49/month | LinkedIn + email + data enrichment | Teams of 2–5 people, unified prospecting |
Here are some frequently asked questions about multichannel lead generation tools, to supplement the information in this article.
An email marketing tool like Brevo or Mailjet is designed to send newsletters to a list of opt-in contacts. Cold email, on the other hand, targets prospects who have not yet expressed interest. Tools dedicated to cold email (Lemlist, Instantly, Smartlead) include features for warming up, domain rotation, and personalization that are not available in traditional marketing tools.
LinkedIn tolerates certain automated uses but explicitly prohibits behavior that mimics human activity on a large scale. The tools presented here (Waalaxy, Expandi, Closely) adhere to reasonable daily limits to stay within acceptable boundaries. That said, no tool can guarantee complete immunity: there is no such thing as zero risk, and misuse remains subject to penalties.
Absolutely. Many teams use tools like Hunter or Kaspr to find email addresses, Waalaxy for LinkedIn sequences, and Instantly for email campaigns at the same time. The key is to ensure that the tools integrate seamlessly (via APIs or automation tools like Make) to avoid duplicate data and data fragmentation.
A functional tech stack for a solo salesperson can cost around €100 to €200 per month, depending on the tools chosen. For a team of five with more comprehensive needs, expect to pay between €500 and €1,500 per month. The key is to balance expenses against the volume of deals that the prospecting is expected to generate.
For small businesses or freelancers, the lightweight CRM features built into some of these tools (Lemlist, Closely, Instantly) may be sufficient at first. As soon as the team grows or the sales cycle becomes more complex, a dedicated CRM like HubSpot or a tool from our selection of CRM software becomes essential to prevent data loss and effectively manage the sales pipeline.
Yes, all three solutions (Aircall, CloudTalk, and Dialpad) offer fully functional iOS and Android mobile apps. Dialpad is particularly well-rated on mobile, offering an experience very similar to the desktop app.
The expected email volume, the desired level of personalization, and the technical expertise available within the team are the three most critical factors. For high volume with limited technical resources, Instantly is a solid choice. For creative, standout personalization, Lemlist has few rivals. For technical teams that want complete control, Smartlead is the clear choice.
