vs Comparison6 minApr 6, 2026· Updated Aug 8, 2026

Cold Email Reply Rates Dropped Below 2% in 2026. Should You Switch to LinkedIn?

Lemlist is one of the best email tools out there. But with email reply rates declining and LinkedIn engagement rising, the channel question matters more than the tool question.

What is the difference between Lemlist and Gelee?

Lemlist is a cold email platform, and one of the best there is. Unlimited sending, Lemwarm for deliverability, strong personalisation, and LinkedIn features on the $99 Multi-Channel plan. Gelee is built only for LinkedIn. The real question is not which tool is better. It is which channel your buyers actually answer.

Lemlist is primarily a cold email platform, and one of the best. Unlimited email sending, Lemwarm for deliverability, and strong personalization. LinkedIn features are available on the $99/mo Multi-Channel Expert plan.

Gelee is built from the ground up for LinkedIn. AI-powered outreach, reply handling in your voice, content creation, and meeting booking.

The real question is not "which tool is better", it is "which channel is right for your buyers?"

How much do Lemlist and Gelee cost?

Lemlist Email Pro is $69 per user a month and Multi-Channel is $99 per user a month, both with unlimited sending and Lemwarm included. Gelee is $2,497 a month for 3 LinkedIn accounts. They are priced differently because they are doing different amounts of the work.

	Lemlist Email Pro	Lemlist Multi-Channel	Gelee AI Starter
Price	$69/user/mo	$99/user/mo	$2,497/mo (3 accounts)
Primary channel	Email	Email + LinkedIn	LinkedIn
LinkedIn automation	No	Yes (visits, invites, messages)	Full AI SDR
AI reply drafting	No	No	Yes
Email sending	Unlimited	Unlimited	No
Deliverability tools	Lemwarm included	Lemwarm included	N/A
Content creation	No	No	Yes
Meeting booking	Via integrations	Via integrations	Built-in

What is Lemlist good at?

Email, properly. Unlimited sending on every plan, and Lemwarm for deliverability is included rather than sold as an add-on, which is a real advantage when most competitors charge for it. Personalisation covers images and video, and the CRM integrations and community around it are well established.

+Unlimited email sending on all plans.

+Lemwarm for deliverability is included, not a paid add-on. This is a real advantage.

+Good personalization including image and video.

+Multi-channel on the Expert plan. LinkedIn visits, connection requests, and messages alongside email.

+Established ecosystem with CRM integrations and a large community.

Should you be on email or LinkedIn?

This is the most important question here, and it has nothing to do with either tool. Cold email open rates have fallen from 44% in 2022 to under 25%, with replies below 2% on most campaigns. LinkedIn connection accepts run 20 to 30%, and replies after connecting run 12 to 18%.

This is the most important part of the comparison. The LinkedIn numbers below come from the sequence we run across 50+ campaigns(opens in a new tab). The tool matters less than where your buyers actually respond.

Cold email trends (2026):

+Open rates have declined from 44% (2022) to under 25%

+Reply rates are below 2% for most campaigns

+Deliverability is harder every quarter as Google and Microsoft tighten filters

LinkedIn trends (2026):

+Connection accept rates: 20 to 30%

+Reply rates after connecting: 12 to 18%

+No spam filters or deliverability concerns

+Prospects see your profile, content, and mutual connections

For many B2B buyers, especially founders, executives, and decision-makers: LinkedIn is now the higher-performing channel. That said, email still works well for certain audiences (developers, enterprise procurement, etc.).

Should you choose Lemlist or Gelee?

Follow your buyers rather than the feature list. Developers and enterprise procurement still answer email, and Lemlist is excellent at email. Founders and executives increasingly answer on LinkedIn, where there are no spam filters and they can see your profile before they reply. Plenty of teams run both.

Choose Lemlist if cold email is your primary channel and LinkedIn is supplementary. Lemlist is excellent at email and gives you decent LinkedIn capabilities.

Choose Gelee if LinkedIn is where your buyers respond and you want AI to handle the full workflow. You will not get email, but you will get significantly more done on LinkedIn with less time.

Use both if you want the best of each channel. Lemlist for email sequences, Gelee for LinkedIn AI SDR. They complement each other well, many of our clients run both.

So which one is better?

Neither, because they are not really competing. Lemlist is one of the best email tools available and Gelee is a LinkedIn AI SDR. The right choice depends on your channel rather than the tool, and if your buyers answer in both places, the right answer is both.

Lemlist is one of the best email tools available. Gelee is the best LinkedIn AI SDR. The right choice depends on your channel, not the tool. If your buyers respond to email, use Lemlist. If they respond on LinkedIn, use Gelee. If they respond to both, use both.

Lemlist and Gelee both appear in our ranking of the seven best LinkedIn outreach tools(opens in a new tab), alongside the other options worth knowing about.