Mailshake

Pricing and budget

Mailshake’s pricing is straightforward and offered on a per-user basis with monthly or discounted annual billing. The Starter plan costs about €25–€29 each month and covers basic sequencing for one sending account with a limit of 1,500 emails. The Email Outreach tier, at roughly €45–€49, supports two sender addresses, provides unlimited sending, and adds team-oriented features such as CRM integration, template sharing and email rotation across multiple accounts. At the top, the Sales Engagement plan, priced around €85–€99, lifts capacity to ten sender inboxes and introduces multi-channel touches, including an integrated phone dialler and automated LinkedIn tasks, creating a more comprehensive cadence. All plans include unlimited warm-up and list verification to safeguard deliverability.

Core outreach features

Email outreach is the centrepiece of the platform. Users can schedule personalised sequences with automated follow-ups, inserting merge fields for names, companies and any custom data they choose. Even the Starter tier includes A / B testing and the SHAKEspeare AI assistant to help draft copy quickly, making it easier to maximise performance without hiring a specialist copywriter.

Deliverability focus

Mailshake places strong emphasis on deliverability: its built-in warm-up service improves sender reputation by gradually increasing send volume, while automatic removal of risky addresses and throttle controls help avoid spam filters. These safeguards let new users scale outreach safely and increase the likelihood that messages reach primary inboxes.

Integration with your stack

The platform connects with major email providers such as Gmail, Outlook and SMTP, so messages send directly from a familiar address. Native two-way sync exists for Pipedrive, HubSpot and Salesforce, ensuring lead and activity data remain current. Additional integrations with tools like Calendly, Zapier, Twilio and LinkedIn lead forms enable automated triggers, for example pausing a sequence once a meeting is booked, keeping outreach aligned with the wider sales process.

Simplicity versus complexity

Mailshake’s clean, approachable interface shortens the learning curve for teams that simply need to send cold emails, automate follow-ups and track replies. Many users note that the platform “just works” without overcomplicating things, making it well suited to small or mid-sized businesses seeking quick wins. Conversely, its basic social and phone steps, limited LinkedIn analytics and lack of a built-in prospect database mean sophisticated multi-channel strategies or highly tailored campaigns may outgrow the tool. For those scenarios, larger or more specialised platforms could prove a better long-term fit.

Overall suitability

Prospective buyers should weigh their desired level of outreach sophistication against Mailshake’s strengths in usability, deliverability and cost. The platform excels at launching an outbound email programme swiftly and affordably; however, teams that expect to expand into richer personalisation or complex multi-channel sequences might eventually require a more feature-dense solution.

I adopted Mailshake in 2016 and valued its uncluttered approach. Uploading a CSV, mapping fields and scheduling emails took minutes, not hours. Automated stop rules prevented those awkward follow-ups after a prospect replied, so early campaigns felt polished with little effort.

As my outreach matured, I wanted richer personal touches and extra channels. Mailshake then lacked personalised images and deeper LinkedIn automation, which led me to switch to Lemlist in 2017. Lemlist’s creative features delivered higher reply rates but came with greater complexity and cost, making me appreciate Mailshake’s clean workflow whenever I revisited it.

Today Mailshake still excels at the fundamentals: reliable sending, integrated warm-up and straightforward A / B testing. For lean teams focused on email first, it remains a dependable choice that keeps things simple while covering deliverability and CRM sync. If your strategy revolves around plain-text cold emails and you prefer a tool that just works, Mailshake earns its place; if you need multi-channel artistry, you may look elsewhere.

Onboarding and setup

Sign up and connect email

Create your account, link Gmail, Outlook or SMTP, then run the deliverability checklist. Verify SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and enable warm-up so your domain ramps safely.

Configure sending limits

Set daily and hourly caps, choose work-day windows and define the action that pauses follow-ups, such as a reply or meeting booked.

Campaign building process

Import prospects

Upload a CSV or pull leads from your CRM. Map columns to built-in and custom fields, then run Mailshake’s validation to remove risky emails before sending.

Design sequences

Use the visual builder to draft an initial cold email and timed follow-ups. Thread follow-ups in the same conversation, add conditions for opens or clicks and schedule in the prospect’s timezone.
On Sales Engagement, insert dialler calls or LinkedIn tasks between emails for a light multi-channel cadence.

Personalisation tools

Merge tags and conditional text

Insert placeholders for name, company and custom data. Add if / then logic to adjust lines for different roles or industries, ensuring each email feels hand-written.

Templates, snippets and AI

Start with library templates, adapt wording and save high-performing versions for the team. Use snippets for reusable blocks and SHAKEspeare to draft copy when time is tight.

Deliverability features

Automated warm-up

Enable warm-up to send low-volume, interaction-rich emails that build domain reputation over a fortnight, then scale live campaigns.

List cleaning and rotation

Validate contacts on import, drop bad addresses and rotate multiple inboxes to spread volume while keeping each account under safe limits.

CRM and integrations

Two-way sync

Connect HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive so emails, opens and replies log automatically.
Use Calendly or meeting tool hooks to pause sequences once a call is booked, preventing duplicate outreach.

Zapier and API

For apps without native links, trigger zaps such as posting replies to Slack or adding new sheet rows to a campaign, keeping workflows cohesive.

Comparing Mailshake to advanced tools

Strength in simplicity

Mailshake offers solid email automation, deliverability and CRM sync at modest cost, suiting small-to-mid B2B teams that prioritise speed over bells and whistles.

Limitations to note

It lacks deep multi-channel cadence, visual personalisation and enterprise analytics found in platforms like Outreach or Lemlist. When your outreach demands those extras, be ready to graduate to a richer toolset.

Conclusion

Mailshake delivers a streamlined route from list to inbox. Follow the warm-up routine, use validation, craft concise personalised copy and integrate with your CRM. For teams that want dependable cold email outreach without unnecessary complexity, Mailshake remains a practical, budget-friendly choice that converts prospects into meetings.