Ballast - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

Ballast is a cloud-based cold email platform hosted in the EU, priced solely by the number of emails sent per month, starting at $19. Every plan includes the full feature set with no tiered gates: unlimited mailboxes (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or any SMTP/IMAP host), unlimited seats, warmup, a unified reply inbox, multi-step sequences, a built-in deliverability network, domain monitoring, CSV import presets, a full REST API, and MCP support. Active contact counts exclude leads that have finished a sequence, replied, bounced, or unsubscribed, so the contact limit reflects only leads actively awaiting an email. Ballast targets B2B sales teams, outbound agencies managing multiple clients, and individual senders running direct outreach from their own mailboxes.

Deliverability controls are built into every layer of the platform. Sending is paced with randomized 4-10 minute gaps between emails, matched by email service provider (Gmail to Gmail, Outlook to Outlook), and restricted to each lead's configured working hours. Campaigns pause automatically when bounce rates exceed a set threshold, with a reason logged. SMTP mailboxes route through static, mail-only IPs isolated from application traffic, with dedicated IPs available. Nightly and on-demand domain checks cover SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX records, and nine blacklists, with fix guidance provided for every detected issue. Pre-launch placement tests verify inbox positioning at major providers, with ten tests per day included on every plan.

Ballast exposes every application action as a REST endpoint with signed webhooks and as an MCP tool, allowing AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor to check domains, draft sequences, preview campaigns, and queue launches pending user confirmation. AI reply labeling in the unified inbox (Unibox) categorizes incoming replies as Interested, Out of Office, or other categories. Agencies benefit from isolated client workspaces, each with its own mailboxes, leads, campaigns, Unibox, and billing plan. CSV import presets mapped to Instantly, Smartlead, Lemlist, Apollo, and Clay exports allow migration of 10,000 rows in approximately four seconds. Lead data, copy, and replies remain within the user's workspace and are not sold, shared, or used for model training.