Methodology
How the Cold Email Index scores vendors
We do not score reviews or opinions. We score conditions that a vendor publishes on its own site and is accountable for. Each condition is yes or no, and points go only to what is confirmed. For inbox providers, 25 of the 100 points reflect the cost of a working setup, calculated from published prices.
Rules
- Only the vendor's own site counts. Home page, pricing, features, FAQ, help center, API docs and terms. We do not use third-party reviews, ratings or social media.
- Three values. Confirmed — the condition is stated on the site, and we keep the link and a short quote. Not offered — the site says it is not available or costs extra where the condition requires it to be included. Not found — no confirmation. Points go only to confirmed conditions.
- A position needs at least 55% of conditions checked. Otherwise the vendor is listed as not ranked yet, so missing data does not look like a low score.
- Equal scores share a position. The order inside a tie is alphabetical and means nothing.
- Same rules for everyone. The author works with Outreach2day, one of the inbox providers ranked here. Outreach2day is scored under the same rules and from the same kind of public pages as every other vendor (disclosure).
- Monthly re-checks. The date of the last check is on every review page.
Conditions and weights
Inbox providers · 20 conditions
| Condition | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Deliverability | 27 | |
| Ongoing warm-up included in the priceWarm-up keeps running for the life of the inbox without a separate subscription or add-on. | 6 | |
| Pre-warmed inboxesInboxes or domains are warmed up before you get them, so you can start sending sooner. | 2 | |
| Automatic SPF, DKIM and DMARC setupDNS authentication records are configured for you. | 5 | |
| Inbox placement or spam testsBuilt-in tests that show whether mail lands in the inbox, the Promotions tab or spam. | 5 | |
| Replacement of burned inboxes or domainsThe provider replaces or restores inboxes and domains that lose reputation. | 5 | |
| Dedicated IP optionYou can get IP addresses not shared with other senders. | 4 | |
| Inbox choice | 16 | |
| Google Workspace inboxesSells inboxes on Google Workspace. | 5 | |
| Microsoft 365 / Outlook inboxesSells inboxes on Microsoft 365, Outlook or Azure. | 5 | |
| Private SMTP/IMAP inboxesSells inboxes on its own mail servers (not Google or Microsoft). | 3 | |
| Domain purchase inside the productYou can buy sending domains without going to a registrar. | 3 | |
| Sending and workflow | 15 | |
| Built-in campaign sequencerYou can run multi-step cold email campaigns without another tool. | 5 | |
| Unified inbox for repliesReplies from all inboxes in one place. | 4 | |
| Export to other sending toolsOne-click connection of inboxes to Instantly, Smartlead or other sequencers. | 4 | |
| Multi-client workspaces or white-labelSeparate client workspaces or a white-label option for agencies. | 2 | |
| API and AI agents | 7 | |
| Public APIDocumented API to manage inboxes, campaigns or data. | 4 | |
| Official MCP serverOfficial connector for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other AI assistants. | 3 | |
| Buying terms | 10 | |
| Prices published on the siteYou can see the price without booking a call. | 4 | |
| Free plan, free trial or money-back guaranteeA way to try the product before paying in full, or to get money back. | 4 | |
| Monthly billing availableYou can pay month to month without an annual contract. | 2 | |
| Cost of a working setup | 25 | |
| Cost of a working setup (30 inboxes)Monthly cost of 30 inboxes plus warm-up and a sequencer, compared with every provider that publishes a per-inbox price: the cheapest gets 25 points, the most expensive 0. | 25 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Cold email software · 16 conditions
| Condition | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Deliverability | 40 | |
| Ongoing warm-up included in the priceWarm-up keeps running for the life of the inbox without a separate subscription or add-on. | 9 | |
| Inbox placement or spam testsBuilt-in tests that show whether mail lands in the inbox, the Promotions tab or spam. | 7 | |
| Sells inboxes inside the productGoogle, Microsoft or private SMTP inboxes can be bought inside the tool. | 7 | |
| Dedicated IP optionYou can get IP addresses not shared with other senders. | 5 | |
| Automatic SPF, DKIM and DMARC setupDNS authentication records are configured for you. | 5 | |
| Replacement of burned inboxes or domainsThe provider replaces or restores inboxes and domains that lose reputation. | 4 | |
| Pre-warmed inboxesInboxes or domains are warmed up before you get them, so you can start sending sooner. | 3 | |
| Workflow | 30 | |
| Unified inbox for repliesReplies from all inboxes in one place. | 8 | |
| AI writing or AI reply handlingAI writes emails, personalizes them or handles replies. | 8 | |
| Built-in lead databaseContacts to email are available inside the product. | 7 | |
| Multi-client workspaces or white-labelSeparate client workspaces or a white-label option for agencies. | 7 | |
| API and AI agents | 15 | |
| Public APIDocumented API to manage inboxes, campaigns or data. | 9 | |
| Official MCP serverOfficial connector for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and other AI assistants. | 6 | |
| Buying terms | 15 | |
| Prices published on the siteYou can see the price without booking a call. | 5 | |
| Free plan, free trial or money-back guaranteeA way to try the product before paying in full, or to get money back. | 6 | |
| Monthly billing availableYou can pay month to month without an annual contract. | 4 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Cost of a working setup
For inbox providers, 25 of 100 points reflect what a buyer actually pays to start sending. We take 30 inboxes at the provider's smallest-package price (or its minimum order, if larger) and add warm-up and a sequencer when they are not included in the inbox price: the provider's own plan where it sells one, otherwise Instantly Hypergrowth at $97 a month, which covers warm-up and roughly the volume 30 inboxes send. The cheapest setup gets 25 points, the most expensive gets 0, and everyone in between is placed by rank. Providers without a published per-inbox price get no points here. The other 75 points are the conditions above, scaled proportionally. Every calculation is shown on the vendor's review page.
Why these weights
For inbox providers, a quarter of the score is the cost of a working setup, because price is the second thing a buyer compares after deliverability. Among the conditions, the biggest group is deliverability: ongoing warm-up, DNS setup, placement tests and replacement of burned inboxes affect whether mail reaches the inbox and how much work is left on your side. Inbox choice matters next, because many senders mix Google, Microsoft and private SMTP. Buying terms reflect how much you risk before you know a setup works.
For cold email software, the weight sits on deliverability and on what you can do in one product (a unified inbox, AI, lead data, client workspaces). Buying terms count for less, because almost every tool publishes prices and offers a trial.
What we do not measure yet
The index shows what a vendor publicly offers, not how its inboxes perform on a given day. Inbox placement rates, reply rates and support quality cannot be verified from a website. We plan placement tests with an open method for the top of the ranking and will publish them as a separate column. Software is scored without price; for inbox providers, only the setup cost above counts, because vendors price per inbox, slot, domain, seat or credit and a single list price would mislead. See the price table.
Corrections
Email data@coldemailindex.com with a link to the page on the vendor's site that confirms a condition. We check it, recalculate the score and update the date.