Mailshake and Woodpecker both come up when people look for a way to find prospects and reach them. Here is how they compare on price, data, sending, channels and AI, using facts from each vendor’s own site, last checked October 1, 2026.
Short answer. Mailshake is best for small teams that want a simple, low-cost cold email tool with an optional dialer. Woodpecker is best for teams that want predictable per-prospect pricing and strong deliverability controls, adding LinkedIn or agency tools only if needed.
At a glance
Pricing
| Mailshake | Woodpecker | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $29/month | $7 per 100 contacted prospects per month |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Trial | No free trial; payment is collected up front (with onboarding and deliverability support) | 14-day trial with all features, no credit card required |
| Plans | Starter: $29/month (monthly billing) ($25/month billed yearly) · 1 email address, 1,500 email sends/month, unlimited uploaded contacts, 50 Data Finder credits, unlimited warm-up and campaigns, unlimited email verification, AI email writing Email Outreach: $49/month (monthly billing) ($45/month billed yearly) · 2 email addresses, unlimited sends, 50 Data Finder credits, email rotation, unified inbox, Salesforce/Pipedrive/HubSpot integrations, Zapier Sales Engagement: $99/month (monthly billing) ($85/month billed yearly) · 10 email addresses, unlimited sends, 2,500 Data Finder credits, 5 phone numbers, unlimited dialer minutes in North America, power dialer, 1-on-1 onboarding Agency: Contact sales · All of Sales Engagement plus unlimited email addresses | Usage-based (Contacted Prospects): $7 per 100 contacted prospects per month (monthly billing); volume discounts at higher volumes (33% less when paying yearly (exact per-month figure depends on volume)) · Unlimited emails, unlimited email verification (catch-all included), 4 free warm-ups, 100 Lead Finder credits, unlimited team members, unlimited email accounts |
Features side by side
| Mailshake | Woodpecker | |
|---|---|---|
| Lead data | Data Finder: search decision makers by role, location or company; 50 credits on Starter and Email Outreach, 2,500 on Sales Engagement, add-on $19/month | Lead Finder, described as a 1 billion+ B2B database; 100 credits included, more from $10 per 500 credits |
| Warm-up | Unlimited email warm-up included | 4 free warm-ups included; additional warm-ups $5/month each |
| Sending inboxes | 1, 2 or 10 email addresses depending on plan; unlimited on Agency; Google Workspace, Outlook and SMTP | Unlimited email accounts with inbox rotation and adaptive sending; Google/Microsoft addresses sold at $6/month each, other providers $4/month, domains about $1/month, dedicated servers $59/month |
| Social media steps can be added to sequences ("incorporating social media into your outreach sequences"); dedicated LinkedIn automation not described | LinkedIn add-on at $29/month per connected account: invites, profile visits, DMs and InMails inside email campaigns | |
| Calls, SMS, WhatsApp | Phone dialer with unlimited VoIP calls to the US and Canada on Sales Engagement; SMS and WhatsApp not mentioned | Manual call tasks in combined email, LinkedIn and call sequences; SMS and WhatsApp not mentioned |
| AI writing | SHAKEspeare AI email writer (copy generation, spintax, A/B testing) | Not listed on its site |
| Replies / inbox | Lead Catcher: one view of the emails, social messages and calls each prospect received; AI reply handling not mentioned | Centralized inbox with built-in AI interest level detection that marks interested replies (English) |
| CRM | Salesforce, Pipedrive, HubSpot (Email Outreach plan and up); 1,000+ via Zapier | Native integrations with Pipedrive, HubSpot and others |
| API | Public API (api-docs.mailshake.com) | Integrations package at $20/month (API, webhooks, MCP, CLI) |
| Agencies | Agency plan (contact sales) with unlimited email addresses; white label not mentioned | Agency panel at $27/month per active client, plus $5/month white-label option |
Facts from each vendor’s own pricing and product pages, last checked October 1, 2026: Mailshake, Woodpecker. Prices change often, so check before you buy.
Where Mailshake stands out
- Low entry price ($25/month billed yearly)
- Unlimited warm-up and email verification included
- AI email writer included
- Built-in phone dialer on the Sales Engagement plan
Limitations
- No free plan and no free trial (payment up front)
- Starter is limited to 1 email address and 1,500 sends/month
- Priced per user
- Lead data limited to small credit allowances unless on Sales Engagement or the Data Finder add-on
Where Woodpecker stands out
- Pay for contacted prospects, with unlimited emails, team members and email accounts
- Unlimited email verification included
- Condition-based campaigns that branch on prospect behavior
- Adaptive sending that detects provider limits to avoid blocks
- 14-day trial with all features and no card
Limitations
- LinkedIn, API/integrations and agency panel are paid add-ons
- No free plan
- AI reply detection is described for English replies only
- AI email writing is not described on its pricing, home or features pages
And if you don’t have a list yet?
Both tools expect you to decide who to contact. If you sell to small or local businesses, or you want the targeting and the writing done for you, LeadGen.tools reads your website, finds the companies and the person who decides at each one, and writes a different email for every prospect. Free plan, no card.
FAQ
Is Mailshake cheaper than Woodpecker?
By listed starting price: Mailshake from $29/month, Woodpecker $7 per 100 contacted prospects per month. Limits per plan differ, so compare what each plan includes.
Does Mailshake or Woodpecker have a free plan?
Mailshake: no free plan listed. Woodpecker: no free plan listed.
What is the main difference between Mailshake and Woodpecker?
They differ most on: ai writing. Mailshake is best for small teams that want a simple, low-cost cold email tool with an optional dialer. Woodpecker is best for teams that want predictable per-prospect pricing and strong deliverability controls, adding LinkedIn or agency tools only if needed.
Related comparisons
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