Cold email is the category where ‘free’ is thinnest: the dedicated sequencers — lemlist, Instantly, Woodpecker, Mailshake, Saleshandy, Smartlead, Reply.io, GMass — all sell trials, not free plans. What is free indefinitely is small: Snov.io (100 recipients a month with warm-up), Hunter (50 credits and a 500-recipient sequence), Apollo (light sequencing from Gmail), Mailmeteor (50 a day), Mixmax (50 recipients a month) and tracking-only tools like Mailtrack and Streak. Prices are USD and were checked on 23 October 2026. How we score · All Kurums Free lists
TL;DR — the free outreach tool that fits
- Small-volume sequences with finder and warm-up included: Snov.io free — 100 recipients and 50 credits a month, warm-up for one account.
- Find emails and run one sequence: Hunter.io free — 50 credits a month, one mailbox, 500 recipients per sequence.
- Prospect database plus light sequencing: Apollo free — email campaigns from a Gmail mailbox; numeric caps are third-party this month.
- Mail merge from a Google Sheet: Mailmeteor free — 50 emails a day, 500 a month, no card, no follow-ups.
- Only need open tracking: Mailtrack or Streak free — unlimited tracking; Streak adds 50 merges a day.
Which cold email & outreach tools tools have a free plan in 2026?
Every tool below sends outreach from your own mailbox at no monthly cost with no end date. The caps are tight because the vendors earn on volume: Snov.io 100 recipients a month, Mixmax 50 a month, Yesware 10 a month, Mailmeteor 50 a day, Streak 50 merges a day, Hunter 500 recipients per sequence from one mailbox. Only Snov.io states warm-up on its free tier; nobody states more than one connected mailbox.
The exclusions are the whole specialist market: lemlist, Instantly, Woodpecker, Mailshake, Saleshandy, Smartlead, Gmelius and GMass offer trials of 7 to 30 days; Reply.io’s ‘free’ sign-up has no stated limits and third-party sources list no free plan; lemwarm has neither. If a cold-email tool is advertised as free, it is almost always a trial — the table below is what survives that test.
The table shows the binding send cap and the Free Score; Core job weights sequences and follow-ups, so tracking-only tools score low by design. Open a row for the full Scorecard.
| Company | Free as | Key limit | Card | Free Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S |
Free forever | 100 recipients/mo · 50 credits · warm-up 15/day | No | 82 | Scorecard ↓ |
| H |
Free forever | 50 credits/mo · 1 mailbox · 500/sequence | No | 76 | Scorecard ↓ |
| A |
Free forever | Free · Gmail only · caps third-party | No | 70 | Scorecard ↓ |
| M |
Free forever | 50/day · 500/mo · no follow-ups | No | 68 | Scorecard ↓ |
| S |
Free forever | 50 merges/day · tracking · no pipelines | No | 58 | Scorecard ↓ |
| M |
Free forever | 50 recipients/mo · limited features | No | 54 | Scorecard ↓ |
| H |
Free forever | 1-to-1 only · 3 templates · no sequences | No | 52 | Scorecard ↓ |
| M |
Free forever | Unlimited tracking · 100 mass sends | No | 46 | Scorecard ↓ |
| Y |
Free forever | 10 recipients/mo · 24-hour tracking | No | 36 | Scorecard ↓ |
Free tiers verified 23 October 2026 on each vendor’s pricing page (third-party sources named in the Scorecard where the vendor page was silent). Order is by Free Score only; sponsorship never changes it.
What do the free outreach tool plans actually include?
Open any row for the eight-field Scorecard. The “Why it ranks here” note under each row explains the score in plain terms.
1S
Snov.ioUS/Ukraine · a perpetual free tier that renews monthly: 100 campaign recipients, 50 finder and verifier credits, unlimited senders and follow-ups, warm-up for one accountFree forever100 recipients/mo · 50 credits · warm-up 15/dayNo card82⌄
- What’s free
- A ‘Trial’ plan that does not end and renews every month: 50 credits, 25 enrichment tokens, 100 campaign recipients a month, unlimited senders, unlimited campaigns and follow-ups, warm-up for one account at 15 emails a day
- Hard limits
- 50 credits a month · 100 recipients a month · warm-up one account at a time, 15 a day · no integrations, bulk search, teamwork, A/B tests, API or export
- Time limit
- None — renews every 30 days
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A 101st recipient, bulk work or the API
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter $29.25/month annual ($39 monthly)
- Best free for
- A founder sending a few dozen personalised sequences a month from one mailbox
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · snov.io/pricing
2H
Hunter.ioFrance · 50 finder and verifier credits a month, Sequences for 500 recipients each from one connected mailbox, unlimited team membersFree forever50 credits/mo · 1 mailbox · 500/sequenceNo card76⌄
- What’s free
- Free: 50 credits a month (verification costs half a credit), Sequences with 500 recipients per sequence, one connected email account, unlimited team members, 30 AI searches and 15 suggestions a month in Discover
- Hard limits
- 50 credits a month · 1 email account · 500 recipients per sequence · number of sequences, daily send cap and warm-up not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- More credits or a second mailbox
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter $34/month billed yearly ($408) or $49 monthly
- Best free for
- Finding the right addresses and running one sequence to them
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · hunter.io/pricing
Why it ranks here. The best free finder paired with a usable sequencer; 500 recipients per sequence is generous but 50 credits a month is where it bites, and warm-up is not mentioned.
3A
Apollo.ioUS · a prospecting database with email campaigns on a free plan that ‘stays free with no time limit’; the numbers come from a third party this monthFree foreverFree · Gmail only · caps third-partyNo card70⌄
- What’s free
- Free plan for exploring or very light use: database access, email campaigns, Gmail connection, no time limit
- Hard limits
- The vendor page states no numbers · third-party: about 75 credits, 2 active sequences, roughly 250 sends a day on a corporate domain and 100 a month on a personal one — reported inconsistently · Gmail only on free
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A third sequence, a non-Gmail mailbox or more credits
- Cheapest paid step
- Basic — no price on the vendor page; third-party $49/user/month annual, $65 monthly
- Best free for
- Prospecting from the database with a couple of light sequences from Gmail
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · apollo.io/pricing; numeric limits from herohunt.ai, 4 Aug 2026
Why it ranks here. The database is the draw and the free tier was cut in 2026; Apollo’s own page now states no caps at all. Scored on third-party figures and marked for re-verification.
4M
MailmeteorFrance · mail merge from Google Sheets and Docs, entirely free: 50 emails a day, templates, tracking and scheduled send, no cardFree forever50/day · 500/mo · no follow-upsNo card68⌄
- What’s free
- Entirely free, no card: 50 emails a day and 500 a month, mail merge from Sheets and Docs, templates, email tracker, schedule send
- Hard limits
- 50 a day, 500 a month · follow-ups and sequences are Premium and above · mailbox cap and warm-up not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. ‘No credit card required’ is stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A 51st email in a day, or automated follow-ups
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter $5.99/user/month (yearly gives three months free; the page’s meta text says from $4)
- Best free for
- A Gmail user merging a spreadsheet into personalised one-off emails
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · mailmeteor.com/pricing (Starter price stated two ways)
Why it ranks here. The simplest tool here and the cheapest upgrade; without follow-ups it is a merge, not a sequence, which is what core job measures.
5S
StreakUS · Gmail email and link tracking free forever with 50 mail-merge sends a day; the pipelines are now paidFree forever50 merges/day · tracking · no pipelinesNo card58⌄
- What’s free
- Email power tools free forever: email and link tracking, mail merge at 50 sends a day
- Hard limits
- 50 mail-merge sends a day · no pipelines · no automations · no sequences or follow-ups stated · user cap not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Pipelines or automations
- Cheapest paid step
- Pro $49/user/month annual, $59 monthly
- Best free for
- Tracked Gmail with a daily merge, inside the inbox
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · streak.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Still the smoothest Gmail integration, now a tracking-and-merge tool rather than a CRM. Fifty a day is more than Mixmax’s fifty a month; no follow-ups keeps core job low.
6M
MixmaxUS · a $0 plan with limited features and 50 automated-outreach recipients a month; your data stays if you drop to it after the trialFree forever50 recipients/mo · limited featuresNo card54⌄
- What’s free
- $0 a month with limited features: 50 recipients a month for automated outreach; workspace and data retained after a 14-day trial at 1,500 recipients
- Hard limits
- 50 recipients a month · unlimited tracking listed only under paid · templates and user cap not stated · no warm-up mentioned
- Time limit
- None; 14-day trial, no card
- Card required
- No for the trial; not stated for the free plan.
- Upgrade trigger
- A 51st recipient in a month
- Cheapest paid step
- The 100-recipient tier $29/user/month billed yearly (monthly not stated)
- Best free for
- Occasional small sequences from Gmail with a polished editor
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · mixmax.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Recipient-based pricing makes the free tier easy to understand and very small: 50 people a month is one list. Sequences work, which is more than Streak gives.
7H
HubSpot Sales HubUS · free tracked one-to-one email, three templates and snippets, a meetings link and live chat inside the free CRM — no sequencesFree forever1-to-1 only · 3 templates · no sequencesNo card52⌄
- What’s free
- Free tools: 1-to-1 email with HubSpot branding, email tracking, 3 templates, 3 snippets, 1 meetings link, live chat
- Hard limits
- 2 users · 3 templates and 3 snippets · branding on email · sequences and send-frequency controls are not free · daily cap and mailbox cap not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- No. ‘No credit card required’ is stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Sequences and automation, or more templates
- Cheapest paid step
- Sales Hub Starter ‘starts at $7/month/seat’ (struck through from $20; period not labelled)
- Best free for
- Tracked sales email logged to a free CRM — not bulk cold outreach
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · hubspot.com/pricing/sales
Why it ranks here. Listed because readers will ask, scored low because it is not an outreach tool until you pay: no sequences, three templates, branding on every send.
8M
MailtrackSpain · now Mailsuite: unlimited first-open tracking in Gmail, a daily report and a 100-email mass-send limitFree foreverUnlimited tracking · 100 mass sendsNo card46⌄
- What’s free
- Unlimited tracked emails (first open only), daily activity report, basic alerts, link tracking for 10 emails, 100-email mass sending, 5 tracked PDFs, 5 signature requests, 5 video messages
- Hard limits
- Mass sending 100 (period not stated) · link tracking for 10 emails · first-open-only history · the free plan likely adds a promotional signature · mailbox cap not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Removing the promotional signature, full history or campaigns
- Cheapest paid step
- Mailtrack $6.99/user/month
- Best free for
- A Gmail user who wants to know when a proposal was opened
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · mailsuite.com/en/pricing (mailtrack.io redirects here)
Why it ranks here. Tracking, not outreach. Included because it is what many people mean by ‘free cold email tool’; scored for what it actually does.
9Y
YeswareUS · ‘Free Forever’: basic tracking that only covers the last 24 hours, 10 campaign recipients a month and a meeting schedulerFree forever10 recipients/mo · 24-hour trackingNo card36⌄
- What’s free
- Free Forever: basic open and attachment tracking for emails sent in the last 24 hours, 10 campaign recipients a month, meeting scheduler with 2 event types and 2 colleague calendars, email support
- Hard limits
- 10 campaign recipients a month · tracking limited to the last 24 hours · no Zoom integration · template limit not stated
- Time limit
- None
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- Real tracking history or an 11th recipient
- Cheapest paid step
- Pro $15/seat/month billed annually ($19 monthly)
- Best free for
- The scheduler, and a token of tracking
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · yesware.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Ten recipients a month and tracking that expires after a day is a demo, not a plan. Listed for completeness and scored accordingly.
Which free outreach tool has no credit-card requirement?
Mailmeteor and HubSpot state no card for their free plans; Mixmax says so for its trial. Snov.io, Hunter, Apollo, Streak, Mailtrack and Yesware do not state it. None of the nine auto-converts; Mixmax and Snov.io explicitly keep your data on the free tier.
The trials we excluded mostly do not ask for a card either (lemlist, Instantly, Woodpecker, Saleshandy, Smartlead, GMass) — but they end, and Mailshake collects payment up front. The distinction this list draws is not card versus no card; it is a tier that ends versus one that does not.
When does the free plan stop being enough?
Kurums Match: which free outreach tool fits your situation?
Founder, 30 prospects a week
Snov.io free.
Need addresses first
Hunter.io free.
Want the database
Apollo free, from Gmail.
Spreadsheet of 200 contacts, one email each
Mailmeteor free.
Live in Gmail, want tracking and a daily merge
Streak free.
Occasional polished sequence
Mixmax free.
Already on HubSpot, one-to-one email
HubSpot free tools.
How we score free tiers
Duration (30): free forever scores 30, a 30-day-plus trial 15, a trial of 14 days or less 8, credit-based tiers 12. Capacity (30): whether the limits carry a team of three for twelve months. Core job (25): whether the free tier does the category’s main work — here, sending a personalised multi-step sequence to a list of prospects from your own mailbox, with tracking and follow-ups. Friction (15): no card 15; card but no auto-charge 8; auto-charge 0; self-hosting deducts for setup and maintenance.
Each free tier was checked on the vendor’s pricing page on 23 October 2026; where the vendor page was silent, the Scorecard names the third-party source used. Free tiers change, so this list is re-verified every quarter and a discontinued free plan stays listed for one month with a notice. Order is by Free Score only. Kurums Free sells no placement; sponsorship, affiliate links and vendor requests never change a score, a rank or a label. Vendors can submit corrections to the Kurums editorial team.
How did we verify these free tiers?
We opened each vendor’s pricing page and recorded monthly and daily send caps, sequence and recipient limits, mailbox and warm-up inclusion, card requirement and the paid step. Apollo’s pricing page states no numeric limits, so its row uses a third-party source dated August 2026 and is marked unverified. Mailtrack’s pricing now lives on mailsuite.com; its free-plan signature column could not be read. lemlist, Instantly, Woodpecker, Mailshake, Saleshandy, Smartlead, GMass and Gmelius were checked and excluded as trial-only; Reply.io as unverifiable; lemwarm as having no free plan.
Prices are USD.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a completely free cold email tool?
Snov.io’s free tier (100 recipients and 50 credits a month, with warm-up) is the most complete; Hunter.io (50 credits, 500 recipients per sequence) and Mailmeteor (50 emails a day) are free indefinitely with smaller scope.
Is lemlist free?
No. lemlist offers a trial — 14 days by its FAQ, 30 by its banner — with 200 credits; the Email plan is $55 a month yearly or $69 monthly.
Does Instantly have a free plan?
No. ‘Start free’ on Instantly’s page is a trial with no card; Growth is $37.60 a month yearly or $47 monthly. A September 2026 third-party guide confirms no permanent free plan.
Which free tool includes email warm-up?
Only Snov.io states it: one account at 15 emails a day on the free tier. lemwarm has no free plan.
How many emails can I send free with Mailmeteor?
50 a day and 500 a month, with templates, tracking and scheduling; automated follow-ups require Premium.
Is Apollo’s free plan still useful?
It still includes database access and email campaigns from a Gmail mailbox with no time limit, but Apollo’s own page no longer states the caps and third-party reports say they were cut in 2026 to about two active sequences.
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