Smartlead

Run small permission-based email sequences with reply and suppression handling

NOT REALLY · consider alternatives
price $39/mosubscription / year $468estimated build time closest consolation build: one sittingreplaced by 0 people

A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Smartlead, run small permission-based email sequences with reply and suppression handling. The hard boundary is multi-inbox scale, warm-up, deliverability infrastructure, routing, and agency features, plus proprietary data, deliverability, and network effects.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • multi-inbox scale, warm-up, deliverability infrastructure, routing, and agency features
  • proprietary contact database
  • inbox warm-up network
  • deliverability reputation
  • large-scale enrichment and compliance tooling

Why people still pay

People still pay for Smartlead because the durable value is accurate contact data and deliverability infrastructure; a sequence editor alone is not the product. The recurring cost buys consent records, suppression lists, DNS, bounces, reputation, abuse complaints, provider limits, and changing email rules, not just the visible interface.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • legally obtained contact list
  • sending-domain authentication
  • email provider credentials
  • PostgreSQL
  • public HTTPS endpoint
01
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a user-chosen transactional email provider.
02
Model contacts, companies, activities, stages, and follow-up history; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
03
Interface for this lead discovery and outbound sequences workflow: a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views.
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1, architecture and data

Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a user-chosen transactional email provider. Model contacts, companies, activities, stages, and follow-up history; store source IDs and timestamps for each.

2

Phase 2, implement

Show deliverability warnings, daily send totals, and a mandatory preview before activation.

3

Phase 3, implement

Import a permissioned lead list, personalize a modest email sequence, enforce sending limits and suppression handling, and track replies without supplying proprietary contact data.

4

Phase 4, review and output

Run small permission-based email sequences with reply and suppression handling.

5

Phase 5, recovery and acceptance

Record delivery failures and retries by message ID; never duplicate a send after restart. Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: An opt-out suppresses every future step; retrying a timed-out send cannot silently duplicate it. State the practical limit: multi-inbox scale, warm-up, deliverability infrastructure, routing, and agency features.

the pro prompt
Build me a focused lead discovery and outbound sequences workflow for the personal core of Smartlead. Requirements:

- Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and a user-chosen transactional email provider. Model contacts, companies, activities, stages, and follow-up history; store source IDs and timestamps for each.
- Paid product context: Run small permission-based email sequences with reply and suppression handling. Build only this DIY scope: Import a permissioned lead list, personalize a modest email sequence, enforce sending limits and suppression handling, and track replies without supplying proprietary contact data.
- Show deliverability warnings, daily send totals, and a mandatory preview before activation.
- Import a permissioned lead list, personalize a modest email sequence, enforce sending limits and suppression handling, and track replies without supplying proprietary contact data.
- Run small permission-based email sequences with reply and suppression handling.
- Use a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views. Required input or access: legally obtained contact list; sending-domain authentication.
- Recovery: Record delivery failures and retries by message ID; never duplicate a send after restart.
- Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: An opt-out suppresses every future step; retrying a timed-out send cannot silently duplicate it.
- Out of scope: multi-inbox scale, warm-up, deliverability infrastructure, routing, and agency features; proprietary contact database. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow.
- Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan

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Alternatives to building your own

MauticA campaign engine with reply, bounce and unsubscribe handling; mailbox rotation and warm-up are deliberately absent.10kaug 2026open source↗

no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real

Smartlead pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
base$39/workspace$32.50/workspace2,000 contacts, 6,000 email sends/month, 2,000 verified emails, unlimited email accounts.All plans have free trial; no credit card required.
pro$94/workspace$78.30/workspace30,000 contacts, 90,000 email sends/month, 30,000 verified emails, unlimited email accounts.Annual saves 17%.
unlimited smart$174/workspace$144.50/workspaceUnlimited contacts, 150,000 email sends/month, 50,000 verified emails, unlimited email accounts.Most popular; annual saves 17%.
unlimited prime$379/workspace$314.60/workspaceUnlimited contacts, 500,000 email sends/month, 170,000 verified emails, 3 SmartServers + OAuth, 3+ clients/workspaces included.Annual saves 17%.

free tierno free tier; free trial with no credit card, but no ongoing free caps published.

billingmonthly + annual (-17%); no lock-in contracts

hidden costsWhitelabeling add-on $29/mo per client workspace; SmartServer $39/server/month; SmartSenders domains/mailboxes add cost; verification credits one-time or monthly; SmartDelivery and SmartDialer are separate products.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-10 · pricing source ↗

Questions about Smartlead

Can you build your own Smartlead with AI?

A full replacement is not the recommended project. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Smartlead, run small permission-based email sequences with reply and suppression handling. The hard boundary is multi-inbox scale, warm-up, deliverability infrastructure, routing, and agency features, plus proprietary data, deliverability, and network effects.

What does the Smartlead build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Import a permissioned lead list, personalize a modest email sequence, enforce sending limits and suppression handling, and track replies without supplying proprietary contact data. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: multi-inbox scale, warm-up, deliverability infrastructure, routing, and agency features; proprietary contact database; inbox warm-up network. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Smartlead prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Smartlead project take?

The catalogue estimate is closest consolation build: one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Smartlead?

multi-inbox scale, warm-up, deliverability infrastructure, routing, and agency features; proprietary contact database; inbox warm-up network; deliverability reputation; large-scale enrichment and compliance tooling. People still pay for Smartlead because the durable value is accurate contact data and deliverability infrastructure; a sequence editor alone is not the product. The recurring cost buys consent records, suppression lists, DNS, bounces, reputation, abuse complaints, provider limits, and changing email rules, not just the visible interface.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Basic plan is $39/mo (monthly), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building Smartlead?

Mautic: A campaign engine with reply, bounce and unsubscribe handling; mailbox rotation and warm-up are deliberately absent. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.

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