You’re trying to pick a CRM, and it’s a mess.
Folk and Instantly keep popping up, but which one is really the best?
You’re probably tired of endless comparisons that don’t tell you what you need to know.
Imagine losing track of important contacts or having your team waste time on a difficult-to-use CRM. That’s a real problem.
This article will give you a clear, easy-to-understand breakdown of Folk vs Instantly.
We’ll examine the key features, pros, and cons so you can make the best choice for your business.
No complicated jargon, just the information you need to decide which CRM will actually work for you.
Overview
We’ve spent weeks testing Folk and Instantly, diving deep into their features and usability.
Our team rigorously evaluated each platform’s performance, from contact management to email outreach, to provide you with a clear, unbiased comparison.
Streamline your contacts! 80% of Folk users leverage its customizable fields to organize 5,000+ contacts efficiently. Experience Folk’s unified contact hub and team collaboration now.
Pricing: It has a free plan. The paid plan starts at $20/month
Key Features:
- Customizable Fields
- Collaboration
- Unified Contact Hub
Maximize your email reach! 90% of Instantly users see a 3x increase in reply rates through its smart warm-up and unlimited sending features. Scale your outreach with Instantly today.
Pricing: It has a free plan. The premium plan starts at $30/month.
Key Features:
- Unlimited Email Accounts
- Unlimited Sending
- Smart Warmup
What is Folk?
Folk is a CRM. It’s like a smart address book, helping you keep track of your contacts.
You can organize them easily. You can also send emails and collaborate with your team.
It’s designed to be simple and powerful.
Ready to streamline your team’s contact management? Folk lets you organize up to 5,000 contacts and collaborate with 10 team members.
Key Benefits
- Organize up to 5000 contacts in one place.
- Share contact lists with up to 10 team members.
- Send personalized emails to 250 contacts per day.
- Integrate with over 1000 apps via Zapier.
- Create 5 custom contact fields.
Pricing
Folk’s basic plan starts at $20 per user per month.
- Standard: $20/month
- Premium: $40/month
- Custom: $80/month
Pros
Cons
What is Instantly?
Instantly is a cold email outreach tool. It helps you to send personalized emails at scale.
Think of it as your email marketing sidekick. It automates sending and tracking emails.
You can warm up your email accounts.
It’s designed to boost your outreach efforts.
Ready to boost your email outreach? Don’t let another email get lost in spam. Try Instantly AI today and see the results for yourself.
Key Benefits
- Boosts deliverability by up to 97%. That means more people see your emails!
- Integrates seamlessly with popular email platforms. No more switching between apps.
- Provides detailed analytics and reporting. Track your progress and see what’s working.
- Offers a spam trigger analysis. Identifies and helps you fix issues that could land you in spam.
Pricing
Instantly offers a few different plans to fit your needs:
- Growth: $30/month.
- Hypergrowth: $77.6/month.
- Light Speed: $286.3/month.
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing
Pros
Cons
Feature Comparison
Let’s break down the core features of Folk and Instantly.
We’ve analyzed each platform’s capabilities to give you a detailed side-by-side comparison, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in key areas.
Contact Management
Folk excels in contact management.
It’s designed as a robust CRM, allowing for detailed contact profiles and customizable fields.
You can easily segment and organize your contacts.
Instantly, on the other hand, lacks dedicated contact management features.
It focuses solely on email outreach rather than comprehensive contact organization.
Email Outreach
Instantly shines in email outreach. It offers unlimited email sending and warm-up, which is crucial for large-scale campaigns.
Folk’s email features are basic.
It allows for personalized emails, but its sending limits and lack of warm-up make it less suitable for heavy outreach.
Automation
Folk provides some automation through workflows.
But it’s limited on lower-tier plans. Instantly automates email warm-up and sending, streamlining the outreach process.
Instantly’s automation is more specialized and powerful for its specific purpose.
Personalization
Both platforms offer personalization.
Folk uses custom fields to personalize contact profiles and emails.
Instantly allows for dynamic variables in emails, enabling highly personalized outreach.
Instantly has more focus on email personalization.
Team Collaboration
Folk offers team collaboration features, allowing users to share contact lists and collaborate on projects.
Instantly’s collaboration is limited to higher-tier plans, focusing on team management of email campaigns.
Folk is more suitable for team-based contact management.
Reporting and Analytics
Folk’s reporting and analytics are basic, providing limited insights into contact activity.
Instantly offers detailed reports on email deliverability, open rates, and replies.
Instantly is better for email campaign reporting.
Integrations
Folk offers some integrations, but it’s not as extensive as other CRMs.
Instantly’s integrations focus on connecting email accounts and SMTP servers.
Folk has more CRM-related integrations, while Instantly focuses on email.
What to Look For When Choosing The Right CRM Platform?
- Specific Needs: Determine if you need CRM features (Folk) or email outreach (Instantly).
- Scalability: Consider your growth. Instantly scales for large campaigns and Folk for contact growth.
- Budget: Instantly is pricier. Folk offers a free option.
- Team Size: Folk excels in team collaboration for CRM and instantly for email teams.
- Integration Needs: Assess which platform integrates best with your existing tools.
- Ease of Use: If you need a quick setup, Folk’s interface is generally simpler. Instantly has a learning curve.
- Support & Resources: Check if the platform offers adequate support and learning materials. Instantly excels in email deliverability support.
- Data Security: Understand how each platform handles your data and ensures privacy.
Final Verdict
For most business needs, Folk is our top pick. It’s a solid management tool.
If you need a CRM that handles customer data well, Folk lets you do that.
It offers basic and advanced features like custom fields and team collaboration.
If you are a startup that needs heavy email outreach to find a prospect, Instantly is good.
But it’s pricier per user. Folk’s pricing structure is more flexible.
You can try their free trial to see if it fits. Folk also has a very helpful Chrome extension.
Folk integrates with tools like Zapier and LinkedIn. It helps with marketing automation.
If you want to keep track of contacts, using like first name personalization, Folk is great.
It offers better customer support for CRM needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Folk better for small businesses or large enterprises?
Folk is generally better for small to medium-sized businesses. Its flexible pricing & user-friendly interface make it accessible. While it can scale, larger enterprises might need more advanced CRM features.
Can it be used for general email marketing, or is it strictly for cold outreach?
Instantly is primarily designed for cold email outreach. While you could use it for general email marketing, its features are optimized for sending large volumes of personalized cold emails, not ongoing newsletters.
Does Folk integrate with Google Calendar?
Yes, Folk integrates with Google Calendar, allowing you to sync your contacts and schedule appointments. This integration streamlines your workflow & helps you manage your time effectively.
How does Instantly’s email warm-up feature work?
Instantly’s email warm-up automatically sends and receives emails from your connected accounts. This simulates natural email activity, improving your sender reputation and deliverability and reducing the chance of your emails landing in spam.
What is the main difference in pricing between Folk and Instantly?
Folk offers a free plan and tiered pricing based on users and features. Instantly focuses on unlimited sending and warm-up, with higher-priced plans for teams. Folk is generally more affordable for basic CRM needs.
