Outbound automation is how high-performing sales teams scale their prospecting without burning out their reps. The right outbound tools eliminate manual tasks, accelerate prospecting, and bring consistency to your outreach efforts.
This guide breaks down the top sales automation tools you need to generate leads, build your sales pipeline, and close more deals in less time.
TL;DR – Best outbound sales automation tools
| Tool | Best for | Standout feature | Free trial | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhantomBuster | Automating outbound workflows | Workflow chaining and AI personalization | ✅ 14 days | $56/mo |
| LinkedIn Sales Navigator | LinkedIn-based prospecting | InMail analytics and search filters | ✅ 30-day | $99.9/mo |
| HubSpot Sales Hub | Sales automation CRM | Pipeline management and lead scoring | ✅ (limited features) | $100 |
| Apollo | Accurate B2B lead data | Intent data integration | ✅ (limited features) | $49/mo |
| Kaspr | B2B prospecting | One click contact enrichment | ✅ (limited features) | $49/mo |
| Outreach | Sales forecasting | Conversation intelligence | ❌ | Not public |
| Lemlist | Email automation | Automated email outreach | ✅ (limited features) | $55/year |
- PhantomBuster automates LinkedIn lead generation, enrichment, and personalized outreach across multiple channels. Start your 14-day free trial today.
What is outbound automation and why does it matter?
Outbound automation uses software to scale lead prospecting across email, LinkedIn, and phone calls without adding headcount.
Instead of manually sourcing leads or tracking follow-ups, automation handles prospecting sequences, engagement tracking, and administrative tasks. This frees your sales reps to focus on closing deals instead of chasing data.
What makes a great outbound automation tool?
With hundreds of sales tools on the market, focus on these criteria to simplify your decision:
- Ease of use: Clear navigation, guided setups, minimal training time
- Integrations: Seamless sync with your CRM, email, Slack, and enrichment tools
- Lead data accuracy: Contact details that are current, verified, and compliant
- Customer support: Real-time chat, comprehensive documentation, proven onboarding
How we tested and ranked these sales tools
We ran each tool through real outbound workflows including lead generation, multi-step email sequences, CRM syncs, and cold outreach campaigns.
Our evaluation focused on setup speed, time to first value, contact enrichment quality, and reduction in manual workload. We also analyzed user reviews from G2 and Capterra to understand how these tools perform across different team sizes and use cases.
Top outbound automation sales tools, ranked and reviewed
Here are the best outbound sales tools to help you connect with prospects and accelerate your sales cycle:
1. PhantomBuster – Best for automating repetitive tasks in lead generation
- ⭐️ G2: 4.4/5 [79 reviews]
- ⭐️ Capterra: 4.5/5 [63 reviews]
PhantomBuster is a sales prospecting automation platform built for multi-channel outbound workflows. It automates time-consuming tasks like lead generation, data enrichment, and personalized outreach across LinkedIn, Instagram, and Sales Navigator.
Sales teams use PhantomBuster to improve sales performance by eliminating manual prospecting tasks and building scalable outbound sequences.
Setup experience
Create an account, install the Chrome extension, and launch your first automation in under 10 minutes. Choose from 100+ pre-built workflows designed for specific outbound tasks.
As one user noted, PhantomBuster delivers “the best value-to-cost ratio” in the sales automation space.
Standout features that help with outbound sales automation
PhantomBuster’s automations work together to create complete prospecting workflows. Here’s how to use them:
LinkedIn lead generation: Build targeted prospect lists from LinkedIn searches, groups, event attendees, and competitor posts. Filter by job title, industry, location, and company size to find your ideal prospects.
Lead enrichment: Pull contact details, career history, job titles, education, and profile information from LinkedIn at scale. This gives you the context needed to qualify prospects and personalize your outreach.
Automated outreach sequences: Chain multiple automations into unified workflows that run on automatic schedules. For example, extract LinkedIn profiles, send connection requests, follow up with personalized messages when they accept, then export engaged leads to your outreach platform.
AI-powered personalization: The AI LinkedIn Message Writer analyzes prospect profiles and generates personalized connection requests and follow-up messages based on their background and activity.
CRM integration: Automatically sync clean prospect data to HubSpot and other CRMs, keeping your pipeline updated without manual data entry.
What users are saying
Sales teams report building prospect lists three to four times faster than manual workflows. One user documented a “5000% ROI” within 30 days of using PhantomBuster.
“The pre-built Phantoms are simple to set up, even without technical skills, and they save me hours each week.” – Dav L. on G2
“PhantomBuster is the best tool for getting information for LinkedIn/SalesNav. It’s quick and accurate to the last number.” – Ayush S. on G2
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ 100+ pre-built automations for LinkedIn and outbound workflows | ❌ No visual workflow builder for custom sequences |
| ✅ Chrome extension for manual prospecting tasks | ❌ Learning curve for non-technical users |
| ✅ Enrich CSV or Google Sheet lead lists with LinkedIn data | ❌ Requires careful management of LinkedIn rate limits |
| ✅ 9% less expensive than average data enrichment tools | ❌ Limited native CRM integrations beyond major platforms |
| ✅ Chain automations to build complete outbound sequences | ❌ Not designed for real-time workflows or instant messaging |
Pricing
PhantomBuster’s pricing plan includes:
| Plan | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | * 1,000 AI credits for enrichment * 5 automation slots (concurrent runs) * 50 email credits and limited exports * Full platform access for 14 days | $0 |
| Starter | * 20 execution hours per month * 10,000 AI credits * 5 automation slots * 500 email credits and unlimited exports * Community access and documentation support | $56/month |
| Pro | * 80 execution hours per month * 30,000 AI credits * 50 automation slots * 2,500 email credits and unlimited exports * Priority support | $128/month |
| Team | * 300 execution hours per month * 90,000 AI credits * 50 automation slots * 10,000 email credits and unlimited exports * Team admin controls * Dedicated onboarding and success support | $352/month |
Final take: Is PhantomBuster good for outbound automation?
PhantomBuster excels at automating LinkedIn prospecting and lead enrichment without requiring a bloated tech stack. It’s lightweight, API-friendly, and designed specifically for sales teams that need to scale outbound workflows.
PhantomBuster won’t replace your CRM or email platform. Instead, it connects these tools and automates the data flow between them.
Use PhantomBuster if you:
- Need to automate LinkedIn or Sales Navigator prospecting while respecting platform limits
- Use CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce and want automated lead enrichment
- Run cold outreach campaigns and need personalization at scale
- Want to own your end-to-end outbound prospecting process without hiring additional staff
2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator – Best for LinkedIn based prospecting
- ⭐️ G2: 4.3/5 [1,978 reviews]
- ⭐️ Capterra: 4.5/5 [160 reviews]
LinkedIn Sales Navigator helps you find, qualify, and engage prospects through LinkedIn’s network of 1B+ professionals. It provides advanced search filters and messaging tools designed for targeted outbound campaigns.
Setup experience
Sales Navigator integrates directly with LinkedIn, so setup is quick if you’re already familiar with the platform. You can start saving leads and building lists within an hour.
CRM integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot work smoothly, though some users report that complex boolean searches can be difficult to configure.
Standout outbound automation features
- Advanced boolean search: Combine up to 15 filters including job titles, location, company size, and industry to identify high-intent decision-makers
- Smart alerts: Get real-time notifications about prospect job changes, company news, and engagement opportunities that create natural outreach moments
- Lead recommendations: AI-suggested prospects based on your saved search criteria and past interactions
- InMail analytics: Track open rates, response rates, and engagement metrics on your InMail communications to optimize messaging
What users are saying
“I find it all very clunky. It’s hard to navigate around the system and between linked in sales nav and googlemail. But the link up of emails are good.” – Gabby on G2
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Access to 2nd and 3rd-degree connections | ❌ Limited daily InMail credits |
| ✅ InMail messaging to reach prospects outside your network | ❌ No native email sequencing for follow-ups |
| ✅ Real-time buyer intent signals through job change alerts | ❌ Higher price point than alternatives |
Pricing
| Sales Navigator Plan | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Core | Lead recommendations, real-time alerts, 50 InMail messages per month | $99.99/month |
| Advanced | Core features plus AI account summaries, TeamLink, buyer intent signals | $149.99/month |
| Advanced Plus | Advanced features plus data validation and CRM integration | $1,600/month |
Final take: Is Sales Navigator good for outbound automation?
Sales Navigator works well as a prospecting tool if your outbound strategy focuses on LinkedIn and social selling. It excels at targeting and lead identification.
However, it lacks built-in sequencing, multichannel workflows, and deep automation capabilities. Pair it with automation tools like PhantomBuster to build complete outbound workflows that extend beyond LinkedIn.
3. HubSpot Sales Hub – Best for pipeline management
- ⭐️ G2: 4.4/5 [12,290 reviews]
- ⭐️ Capterra: 4.5/5 [478 reviews]
HubSpot Sales Hub combines CRM functionality with sales automation features including email sequencing, call tracking, task queues, and lead scoring. It’s designed for teams that want unified pipeline management and outbound prospecting in one platform.
Setup experience
Setup is straightforward if you already use HubSpot CRM. Connect your email inbox, import contacts, and activate Sales Hub features within your existing account.
Most users complete setup in under an hour using built-in onboarding guides. Teams new to HubSpot may need more time to configure advanced features.
Standout features that help with outbound sales
- Visual sales playbooks: Standardize outbound scripts, objection handling, and CTAs for your SDR team
- Meeting scheduler with proposal integration: Combine scheduling with document sharing so prospects can review materials before meetings
- Website visitor identification: See which companies visit your site before they fill out forms, creating opportunities for timely outreach
- Lead scoring: Automatically rank and prioritize leads based on behavior, profile data, and historical conversion patterns
What users are saying
“They insist on charging for onboarding support, but don’t really give you the support you need and completely lack ownership over the process.” – Simon on Capterra
“Not user-friendly, the UI is clunky, and no live support for users” – G2 review
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Unified platform for LinkedIn, call, and email outreach | ❌ Email send limits even at Enterprise tier |
| ✅ Engagement tracking across all touchpoints | ❌ Higher price point than standalone tools |
| ✅ Website visitor alerts for timely outreach | ❌ Sequence automation limited to emails and tasks |
Pricing
| Plan | Key features | Price |
| Sales Hub Professional | Sales automation, call transcription, ABM support | $100/seat/month |
| Sales Hub Enterprise | Professional features plus AI-powered lead scoring, advanced user roles, predictive analytics | $150/seat/month |
| Setup fee | One-time onboarding fee for both tiers | $3,500 |
Final take: Is HubSpot Sales Hub good for outbound automation?
HubSpot Sales Hub works best for sales operations teams that want email automation, task sequencing, and CRM functionality in one unified platform.
If you’re already using HubSpot for marketing or service, Sales Hub integrates seamlessly. However, the learning curve for advanced features and reliance on paid upgrades can slow down fast-moving teams.
4. Apollo – Best for B2B contact database
- ⭐️ G2: 4.7/5 [8,566 reviews]
- ⭐️ Capterra: 4.6/5 [366 reviews]
Apollo combines a B2B contact database of 210M+ professionals across 35M+ companies with email sequencing and CRM integration. It’s designed for teams that need verified contact data and automated follow-ups in one platform.
Setup experience
Most teams launch Apollo in about 45 minutes. Users highlight intuitive integrations and pre-configured field mappings as reasons for quick onboarding.
Lead scoring, CRM sync, and dialer configuration require more manual setup than expected, creating a learning curve for first-time users.
Standout features
- Automated call tasks: Integrate cold calling into email sequences with built-in scripts and dialers
- Dynamic fields in sequences: Pull job-specific or tech-stack data into messages for hyper-personalization
- Intent data integration: Track buying signals across the web to identify prospects actively researching solutions
- Email deliverability suite: IP warming, spam testing, and domain reputation monitoring to protect inbox placement
What users are saying
“The basic features are hard to learn. Phone numbers do not call how to eliminate which lowers the amount of information that can be used.” – Susan on G2
“Contact info is frequently missing or incorrect. The credit system for unlocking mobiles / emails is clonky and time consuming and interrupts sales flow.” – G2 reviewer
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Direct-dial phone numbers for immediate calling | ❌ Contact credit model becomes expensive at scale |
| ✅ Automatic contact data enrichment | ❌ Less granular reporting than enterprise platforms |
Pricing
| Plans | Key features | Price |
| Free | 2 active sequences, unlimited email credits, 60 mobile credits per year, 120 export credits per year | $0 |
| Basic | Unlimited email credits, 900 mobile credits per year, 12,000 export credits per year, AI-assisted email writing | $49/user/month |
| Professional | Unlimited email credits, 1,200 mobile credits per year, 24,000 export credits per year, AI-assisted email writing | $79/month |
| Organization | Unlimited email credits, 2,400 mobile credits per year, 48,000 export credits per year, AI-assisted email writing, SSO, advanced reporting, bi-directional CRM integrations | $119/month |
Final take: Is Apollo good for outbound automation?
Apollo works well for small to mid-sized teams that want a prospecting database and email automation in one platform. It eliminates the need to connect multiple tools for contact data and outreach.
Enterprise teams running high-volume cold email campaigns may face deliverability challenges and need additional tools to manage inbox reputation.
5. Kaspr – Best for small businesses
- ⭐️ G2: 4.4/5 [823 reviews]
- ⭐️ Product Hunt: 3/5 [40 reviews]
- ⭐️ Capterra: 4.5/5 [2 reviews]
Kaspr is a B2B prospecting tool that extracts phone numbers and emails directly from LinkedIn profiles as you browse. With a database of 500M+ verified contacts, it helps sales reps build prospect lists without manual research.
Setup experience
Install the Chrome extension, log in to LinkedIn, and start collecting contact data immediately. Users highlight this real-time access as a key benefit.
Phone number accuracy varies, and bulk actions can freeze on slower machines. There’s no guided onboarding for CRM integration or spreadsheet workflows.
Standout features
- One-click contact enrichment: Extract phone numbers and emails from LinkedIn profiles in real time
- Drip email sequences: Native automated follow-ups and email campaigns
- Sequential search patterns: Build complex prospecting workflows that follow relationship paths
- Lead scoring: Score contact quality using recency and activity data
- Dashboard analytics: Track quota attainment and ICP segment performance
What users are saying
“It’s not cheap, and with 20-25% errors, you would expect some kind rebate. Well, there is none. No account management with a very French customer service.” – Jerome on G2
“It was difficult to cancel the monthly plan. The pricing is confusing. I wasn’t sure what I was paying for, and what needed upgrades.” – G2 review
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Real-time contact verification | ❌ No workflow automation or call tasks |
| ✅ Fast LinkedIn to CRM enrichment | ❌ No built-in sales analytics |
Pricing
| Plan | Key features | Price |
| Chrome extension, 5 mobile credits per month, 15 B2B email credits per month | $0 | |
| Starter | 1,200 phone credits per year, 60 direct email credits per year, 10 lead lists, API access, Sales Navigator integration | $49/month |
| Business | 2,400 phone credits per year, 2,400 email credits per year, custom member permissions, advanced CRM integrations | $79/month |
| Organization | 24,000 phone credits per year, 5 admin seats, API access, SSO, dedicated account support | $99/month |
Final take: Is Kaspr good for outbound automation?
Kaspr works well for fast lead capture and contact enrichment. However, it lacks sequencing, deep CRM sync, and workflow automation capabilities.
Without user roles or access controls, team collaboration is limited. You’ll need additional tools to handle outreach beyond solo prospecting.
6. Outreach – Best for sales forecasting
- ⭐️ G2: 4.3/5 [3,462 reviews]
- ⭐️ Capterra: 4.5/5 [303 reviews]
Outreach is an enterprise sales engagement platform that automates outreach tasks across email, phone calls, and LinkedIn from a unified inbox. It’s designed for sales managers who need visibility into rep activity and pipeline health.
Setup experience
Onboarding takes three to five days, with full rollout often taking longer. Email sync and data imports require manual configuration and support.
The interface can feel complex for new users. User reviews note that pricing may be prohibitive for smaller teams.
Standout features that help with outbound automation
- AI-powered deal inspection: Identifies at-risk deals and suggests next actions using AI
- Rep coaching via conversation intelligence: Surfaces call transcripts with real-time battlecards, competitive intel, and objection handling guidance
- Buyer sentiment analysis: Identifies prospect emotional states and buying signals from email responses and call transcripts
What users are saying
“I’ve had a lot of glitchy experiences where imports, mail merges, sequences fail and there is not a clear explanation as to why.” – Capterra review
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Built-in phone dialer with local presence | ❌ No native prospecting database |
| ✅ AI-driven sequence optimization | ❌ Limited flexibility for quick workflow changes |
Pricing
Outreach uses custom pricing based on team size and needs. Contact their sales team for a quote. Plans include:
| Plan | Features |
|---|---|
| Engage | Sequencing, CRM sync, smart assist, automation templates |
| Call | Integrated sales dialer, voice capabilities, real-time coaching, live call monitoring, AI-powered recap tools |
| Meet | Meeting automation, conversation analysis, automated summaries, follow-up action tracking |
Final take: Is Outreach good for outbound automation?
Outreach works well for mature sales teams with dedicated ops support. It provides strong control over sequences, rep activity tracking, and coaching workflows.
AI-powered suggestions and conversation intelligence make it valuable for teams focused on continuous improvement and sales forecasting.
7. Lemlist – Best for cold email outreach
- ⭐️ G2: 4.5/5 [274 reviews]
- ⭐️ Capterra: 4.6/5 [388 reviews]
Lemlist specializes in cold email automation with personalized visuals, smart sequences, and built-in deliverability features. It’s designed for teams that rely heavily on email outreach.
Setup experience
The interface is beginner-friendly, and Lemwarm starts warming your inbox immediately to protect deliverability. Most users launch their first campaign quickly.
Managing large campaigns across multiple inboxes can be clunky. Lemwarm takes three to five weeks to fully activate, which may delay outreach timelines.
Standout features
- Lemwarm: Gradually warms email addresses and builds sender reputation to avoid spam folders
- Personalized image and video emails: Add dynamic variables to videos and images for personalization at scale
- Inbox rotation: Use multiple sender inboxes to scale outreach while staying under email provider limits
- Behavior-based workflow branching: Create separate follow-up paths based on email opens, link clicks, or reply sentiment
What users are saying
Lemlist receives positive feedback for quick setup, responsive support, and email warm-up features. However, scaling presents challenges.
CRM integrations are limited, and users often rely on Zapier workarounds or manual CSV uploads to sync data.
“My main complaint is a lack of native integrations. I would to have a direct connection with my CRM. Right now Lemlist does offer Zapier access, but that can get expensive quickly.” – Dave on Capterra
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✅ Easy A/B testing for outbound messages | ❌ Limited CRM sync capabilities |
| ✅ Dedicated email warm-up feature | ❌ No built-in prospecting database |
Pricing
| Plan | Key features | Price |
| Free | Up to 100 lead emails or 25 phone numbers per month via Chrome extension | $0 |
| Email Pro | 200 emails per year, access to 450M+ lead database, unlimited LinkedIn exports | $55/year |
| Multichannel Expert | 300 emails or 75 phone numbers per month, automated LinkedIn actions | $79/month |
| Enterprise | 500 emails or 125 phone numbers per month, unlimited guest seats, custom user roles, activity logs | Custom pricing |
Final take: Is Lemlist good for outbound automation?
Lemlist works well for email-heavy outbound strategies. It’s quick to set up, offers strong personalization features, and includes automatic email warm-up.
However, it doesn’t handle lead sourcing or LinkedIn automation. Pair it with tools like PhantomBuster for complete outbound workflows.
FAQs about outbound sales automation tools
What is an outbound sales automation tool?
An outbound sales automation tool automates repetitive tasks in your sales process including lead management, enriching contact data, sending personalized messages, and scheduling follow-ups. This allows sales reps to focus on conversations and closing deals instead of administrative work.
Are there any free outbound automation tools I can use?
Tools like Gmass, YAMM, and Hunter offer free plans with limited volume and features. PhantomBuster and Clay provide 14-day trials with full access to LinkedIn automation, CRM integration, and AI-powered personalization, letting you test before committing to a paid plan.
What’s the best outbound automation tool for sales teams?
PhantomBuster is one of the best outbound automation tools for sales teams, especially those focused on LinkedIn prospecting. It lets you source leads, enrich profiles, and launch automated sequences that scale without increasing manual workload.