Phantombuster Doesn’t Do the Trick for You? - Here Are Our Top 4 Alternatives for LinkedIn Automation

Let’s be honest - finding an automation tool that fits your needs like a glove is no easy task.

And Phantombuster, as nifty as it is, simply isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.

So here you are, wondering where to look for an automation tool that is right for you.

Thinking. Thinking. Thinking.

Questions running around your head.

Questions like

Is Phantombuster the right LinkedIn automation tool for me? 🤔

OR

How many leads can I get per month using Phantombuster? 🔢

OR

Which plan of Phantombuster gets the best results? 💲

And that’s where we step in because, luckily for you, we’ve tested and tried numerous automation tools and found as many as 4 awesome Phantombuster alternatives that are a perfect choice for several different use cases.

That way, we’ve made sure everyone - including you - can find something to their liking.

When deciding on the best Phantombuster alternatives, we’ve taken careful consideration of all the crucial elements, such as:

👉 Safety - since we wouldn’t want you to get banned from LinkedIn.

👉 Automating entire campaigns - as you need a tool that can automate an entire sequence of actions and not just do one thing at a time.

👉 Safe bypass of LinkedIn limits - something you’ll definitely want your LinkedIn automation tool to have.

👉 Personalization options - personalization has been one of the top trends in sales and outreach for quite some time now, so you cannot do without it if you aim to succeed.

👉 Data enrichment - options for scraping various data always come in handy.

👉 Aautomating activity on other web platforms - sometimes you need to cast a wider net other than focus on LinkedIn alone.

👉 Pricing - because your budget is a major factor in deciding on a tool.

👉 Best use case - each of these tools has a primary use case in which it outshines other similar tools in their range.

But, before we dig into our in-depth comparison, let’s briefly review Phantombuster to better understand how it compares to its alternatives.

What Is Phatombuster?

Phantombuster is a useful tool to have at hand when you need to automate various web-based activities.

It helps automate activities across different social media and platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Craigslist, Medium, and many more.

However, that can be seen as both a strength and a weakness.

It is more of an all-around automation tool. It is fair to say that it is a good LinkedIn automation tool but not a great tool.  

I'm saying this because I tried it and I found a few things I like and a few things I didn't like.

Let’s get into it.

What We Like About Phantombuster

• It can help automate entire campaigns on multiple web platforms – by connecting individual Phantoms (that is, activities, into a chain or a Flow), you effectively create a campaign that carries on working on auto-pilot.

• It scrapes data – it can extract almost any information that’s available online and store it for your further use.  You can scrape LinkedIn profiles and LinkedIn sales navigator for information.

• It’s cloud-based – you can schedule your workflows, set triggers, and leave the rest to the tool. The tool works 24/7 without having to keep your device running all the time.

What We Don’t Like About Phantombuster?

• It’s not designed for LinkedIn alone – The tool is not as fine-tuned to LinkedIn requirements and restrictions as some other tools are.

In fact, Phantombuster doesn’t even offer an option for working around the LinkedIn connection invite limitations, so you can send out just 100 invites per week by using this tool.

Source: PhantomBuster

• A limited number of Phantom slots – the number of slots you get in a plan determines the number of automated activities you can simultaneously have installed on your account.

This dramatically restricts your effective lead generation and outreach options, especially if you need more complicated, multi-step workflows for your campaigns.

• Time restriction – you get a limited number of hours per day during which Phantombuster performs. Of course, more expensive plans provide you with more working hours than the cheaper ones.
  
  
• Safety might be an issue - Phantombuster demands access to your cookies to log into LinkedIn as you. To be able to do that, you have to download a Chrome extension.

This increases your chances of getting banned by LinkedIn.

What’s The Price Tag?‍

Phantombuster offers several pricing plans that include different features:

• Trial – that comes with just 5 slot, 1k AI credits, which means you can automate 5  activity per day, with total execution time limit of measly 2 hours for 14 days.
• Starter - $69 per month,with 5 slots, 10k AI credits and execution time of 20h per month
• Pro - $159 per month, with 15 slots, 30k AI credits and execution time of 80h per month
• Team - $439 per month, with 50 slots, 50k AI credits, and execution time of 300h per month

Phantombuster also offers a 14-day free trial. They used to have a free plan but they’ve removed it now.

‍The bottom line

‍Basically, Phantombuster will get the job done when it comes to web automation, as well as LinkedIn automation, at least partially.

‍However, if you need a tool that can actually bypass LinkedIn limits and personalize your outreach to the greatest possible extent, then it would be wiser to check out some of the alternatives we have in store for you.

‍1. Best Phantombuster alternative for bulletproof LinkedIn automation: SalesRobot

‍SalesRobot is an automation software specifically designed for automating LinkedIn and email. Plus, the tool lets you find and enrich verified email addresses to your prospects. And helps users easily create elaborate cold outreach campaigns that run on total autopilot.

The tool has plenty of options for automating various activities - and is compliant with all LinkedIn plans. SalesRobot’s a perfect LinkedIn + cold email automation tool for a wide range of users, from lead generation agencies to start-ups, sales teams, recruitment agencies, and individual small business owners.

‍What Does SalesRobot Excel In?

• Cold email and LinkedIn automation in one tool - SalesRobot allows you to create LinkedIn + cold email outreach campaigns in one place, so you can get leads from 2 channels without paying for 2 different tools.

• In addition to using email and LinkedIn connection requests + InMail, SalesRobot can also send bulk messages to group members.

By doing that, SalesRobot enables you to work around the LinkedIn 100 weekly limit in a way that’s both effective and completely safe, given that they’re not against LinkedIn policies.

• Create smart campaigns and message sequences – you can make them from scratch or use one of the ready-made templates that are fully customizable to fit every goal and purpose.
  
  The sequences are based on your lead’s behavior, so there’s no chance for embarrassing missteps, such as sending a follow-up even when the lead’s already answered your first message.

You can also set up triggers, delete pending invites, blacklist individuals and companies, skip duplicates, etc.

As SalesRobot’s interface is easy to use and navigate, you will have no problem creating your own campaigns in no time. And as an added help, there are ready-made campaign templates to help you start and learn the ropes on the go.

• Safety first - SalesRobot takes personal care of its users’ safety, as it mimics human activity almost to perfection.
  
  The tool achieves this by randomizing activity, skipping holidays and weekends, making delays between actions, and minding LinkedIn limits.
  
  You can even schedule and gradually increase your activity to avoid raising LinkedIn algorithm flags and set up daily limits for various activities.

In addition, SalesRobot’s cloud-based, which reduces the chances of your account getting banned by LinkedIn.

• Top-notch personalization options - you can effortlessly draft and send highly-personalized messages and connection requests in just a few clicks.

• SalesRobot’s latest generation AI can automatically find the things that stand out from a particular profile, such as experience with volunteering or top certifications, among others.

The tool uses that data for drafting a message so human-like that your leads will feel like they’re talking to an actual person rather than an AI generated message.

And if you decide to write your messages, rather than use the premade fully customizable templates, SalesRobot will calculate the probable response rate of those messages.

• Comes with an in-app analytics dashboard - You can track how your campaigns are performing, giving you insight into what parts of your strategy work well and what needs improvement.

But...

• There are no options for automating activity on any other web platform - since SalesRobot is primarily designed for LinkedIn outreach, all of its functionalities are fine-tuned to LinkedIn and its specifics.
  
  However, the tool also helps you automate cold emails. This lets users get a reply from their prospects via email if they didn't respond on LinkedIn.
  
  
• The price – SalesRobot comes with only 3 pricing plans.
  
  The pricing starts at $99/month. And before you say “Too expensive” let me tell you that the value for your money is more than enough to justify the cost.
  
  After all, you get options for fully automating practically every activity you might need for getting a steady stream of warm leads and plenty of features that enable you to personalize each step of your outreach way, all the while staying 100% safe.

‍What’s The Price Tag?

At the time being, SalesRobot have three pricing plans:

• Starter: Do it yourself at $99 per month
• Pro: We do it for you at $1000 per month
• Pro+: We do it with you at $1500 per month

Pro and Pro+ plans are agency-based options where our social selling experts handle everything for you—from list building and copywriting to campaign setup. You just attend the booked calls.
If you choose to be billed annually you get 20% discount on each plan.

And as it comes with a 14-day free trial, SalesRobot provides plenty of time to try everything out and decide for yourself whether SalesRobot’s the way to go.

‍When To Choose SalesRobot As The Rght Phantombuster Alternative?

‍Things seem pretty straightforward here - if you’re in need of a safe, easy to use automation tool that’s solely focused on LinkedIn (and cold email), the natural choice is SalesRobot.

Unlike Phantombuster, SalesRobot can not only bypass LinkedIn limits in as many as three different ways but also makes sure you stay safe at all times while doing it.

What’s more, SalesRobot has other ways of taking care of your safety, such as delaying and randomizing activity, skipping certain holidays and weekends, and having in-app activity limits you can easily set up.

That way, it effectively mimics regular human behavior so as not to alarm LinkedIn algorithms with suspicious activity.

The fact that SalesRobot is entirely cloud-based and provides its users with a Safe mode that’s available no matter what pricing plan you opt for is another huge plus.

In addition, SalesRobot can personalize your messages to the highest possible extent, making sure that your LinkedIn outreach strategy won’t fall through.

By personalizing your sales and marketing efforts, you’re bound to get a steady flow of SQLs and higher conversion rates,among other things, so don’t miss out on that opportunity.

So, if you’re keen on getting personalized LinkedIn outreach that works on total autopilot without having to worry about your safety or the LinkedIn limits, then SalesRobot is the best Phantombuster alternative for you.

‍2. Best Phantombuster alternative for all-around web automation: TexAu

Similar to Phantombuster, TexAu is a tool that comes with features that enable users to automate practically any activity on 10+ web platforms, including LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Quora, Slack, and others.Moreover, it has options for extracting relevant data and storing it for further use.

‍What Does TexAu Excel In?

• It has plenty of different functionalities - you can automate single activities by using “Spices”, or you can connect them into entire sequences or “Recipes”.

‍

• It comes with a rich template base of different workflows - that way, you don’t have to create campaigns from scratch but can use some of the ready-made ones.

• It scrapes data from various places on the web.
• It’s more affordable than Phantombuster since it offers more for basically the same amount of money.

But…

• It has a terribly steep learning curve - you’ll have to go over all the use case documentation and manuals for hours without end, and it’s still no guarantee that you’ll understand everything you need to use the tool to the fullest of its capabilities.

• There are no options for safe workaround LinkedIn limits.
• It has a limited number of email finder credits, as well as restrictions on file storage and total execution timeper day. Plus it has terrible support.

• It comes as both a desktop and a cloud-based app - although this might seem like a strong point, it’s actually not, and here’s why.

If you go for the desktop version, you’ll be safer because there’s no proxy, and no need for a browser extension that can copy and mimic your cookies, so there’s a slim chance LinkedIn algorithms can detect and ban you.

If you’re a team or an agency, you’ll have to opt for the cloud version that requires the installation of a Chrome extension for everything to work properly.‍

What’s The Price Tag?‍

TexAu pricingTexAu comes with 3 pricing plans:

• Starter at $79 per month.
• Teams at $199 per month.
• Agency at $459 per month.

If you opt for annual billing, you get 2 months for free.

Also, TexAu provides a 14-day free trial.If you want more Data and Email Enrichment

Credits once you’ve spent existing credits, you’ll have to pay extra to get more credits:

• $0.9 / profile for Data Enrichment.
• $0.02 / email for Email Enrichment.

When To Choose TexAu As The Right Phantombuster Alternative?

Although Phantombuster and TexAu have very similar features and functionalities since they’re both designed for automation of overall web activity on various platforms, there are some points in which TexAu is one step ahead.

With TexAu, you get more single activity automation you can run simultaneously per day, at the same or a slightly higher price than is the case with Phantombuster.

Moreover, you get more data and email finder credits, as well as more total working time in a day.

So, when you’d like a Phantombuster alternative that has pretty much the same basic functionalities but with a better price-value ratio, then TexAu is the way to go.

3. Best Phantombuster alternative for automating email campaigns: Lemlist

‍Lemlist is an all-in-one outbound marketing platform with a focus on cold email outreach.

This software offers solutions for creating automated email drip campaigns, personalizing email copy, providing high email deliverability, and has options for cold calls.

‍What Does Lemlist Excel In?

• Email domain warm-up – Lemlist gives you a slow start and progressively increases the number of emails they send to prospects. Moreover, its algorithms make sure that everything flows smoothly and keep you out of spam by maintaining conversation threads and pulling your mail back to the primary inbox if it does end up in spam.

• Scheduling emails and setting up daily team limits - that way Lemlist prevents sending more than the desired number of emails and mimics human behavior.

• Cold email templates database.
• Custom landing pages for every prospect.

But...

• Lemlist significantly lacks in LinkedIn outreach – Lemlist was not primarily intended for LinkedIn outreach. However, some time ago, Lemlist devised a LinkedIn Chrome extension.

• The interface often glitches and is pretty unintuitive, making it hard for new users to get around.

• It doesn’t have an in-app email finder - it finds emails only through integration with other apps such as Dropcontact, meaning more costs for you.

What’s The Price Tag?

Other than the free plan, ‍Lemlist has 4 pricing plans:

• Email starter at $39 per month.
• Email pro  at $69 per month.
• Multi channel expert at $99 per month.
• Outreach sales at $159 per month.

If you opt for quarterly billing you get a 10% discount and a 20% discount with annual billing.

There’s also a special offer for lead gen agencies with more than 10 seats, but the exact pricing is not disclosed on the official website.

If you are serious about acing your email outreach game, you’ll have to go for one of the two pricier plans. The basic one will leave you with next to nothing since all the vital tools for conducting a successful email campaign are omitted from it.

Moreover, if LinkedIn outreach is your primary intent, you’ll have to cash out the most expensive plan.

Since it’s the only one that includes the Chrome extension you need for Lemlist’s LinkedIn automation, you're left with no other choice.

On the upside, there’s a 14-day free trial, and you don’t have to provide your credit card information during that period. Essentially, you get a free ride for two weeks to test everything out and see for yourself whether Lemlist gets the job done for you.

When To Choose Lemlist As The Right Phantombuster Alternative?

Phantombuster can automate plenty of things but email campaigns are not one of its many functionalities.

And if you consider cold email outreach to be one of the staple points of your sales and marketing strategy, then it would be wise to enlist a tool such as Lemlist to your aid.

On the other hand, Lemlist cannot extract data on its own, so you’ll need a separate data scraper to make the most of its possibilities.

Moreover, Lemlist would make a poor choice for LinkedIn automation alone since that is one of its weakest points.

Overall, if you need a tool that can automate cold email campaigns - and give you a hand with cold calling and sales teams' cooperation - then Lemlist is the go-to Phantombuster alternative.

4. Best Phantombuster alternative for automating multichannel campaigns: Meet Alfred

Meet Alfred, previously known as Meet Leonard, is a tool that’s supposed to ease your lead generation process through automation.

Meet Alfred is different from other tools because it can tackle several social media at once, so it’s an excellent option for multi-channel campaigns.

What Does Meet Alfred Excel In?

• Excellent management of multi-channel campaigns, mainly if you aim to target several social media at once – it saves you valuable time it would take you to create each post manually. This way, you use one concept for everything from LinkedIn to Facebook, Instagram, and even Twitter.
  
  
• Optimizing posts for different social media – Meet Alfred takes notice of the needs and prerequisites of each of these media when creating a post and makes sure to show you a preview before posting it.

• Warm-up feature for both LinkedIn and email.
• Safety – it’s cloud-based, and it has options for setting up limits and mimicking human activity.

But..

• It’s prone to crashing mid-task.
• Unsatisfactory user experience, as the interface is far too complex – moreover, there’s been a report of false reviews on certain platforms, which raises additional flags when it comes to UX and UI.

• It has multiple bugs with campaigns that render many of its neat features practically useless.

What’s The Price Tag?‍

Meet Alfred comes with 3 different pricing plans:

• Basicat $59 per month.
• Pro at $99 per month.
• Teams: $79 per month (5+ white label users)

When billed annually, you get a discount.

Recently, Meet Alfred included an offer for obtaining Sales Navigator “at a price you can afford”, which comes at $39 per month. However, it’s hard to say just how legitimate – and safe – this offer really is.

There’s also a 14-day free trial – no credit card info required.

When To Choose Meet Alfred As The Right Phantombuster Alternative?

Meet Alfred is a fantastic tool when you need a multi-channel campaign with the main focus on social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Creating versatile posts for every media is easy-peasy with but a few clicks, which saves you a lot of time, and that’s a feature Phantombuster doesn’t offer.

However, other than optimizing posts for various social media, there’s nothing that particularly stands out when it comes to this tool’s features.

Just like Phantombuster, Meet Alfred has options for creating smart sequences and full-fledged campaigns on different platforms, but it’s neither better nor worse at doing it.

All in all, if your primary goal is creating a presence on multiple social media at once and optimizing a single post for several different platforms with as little time and effort put into it, then Meet Alfred is the suitable Phantombuster alternative for you.

Final thoughts

There you have it, dear reader - all you need for making the right choice laid right in front of you.

But since it’s been quite a read, and we’ve bombarded you with all sorts of information, here’s a quick recap of all the vitals:

💥 When you’re on the lookout for a Phantombuster alternative that can automate pretty much any activity on numerous web platforms, while offering more working hours and more overall automation per day, then TexAu will do the job just fine.

💥 If you need a tool that will give you a hand with automating email campaigns and cold calling, then Lemlist is the optimal Phantombuster alternative for you.

💥 When you want a Phantombuster alternative that can not only automate multi-channel campaigns but also repurpose and optimize one piece of content for various platforms, then Meet Alfred will do the trick.

💥 And if you're seeking a Phantombuster alternative to boost your LinkedIn sales efforts with automation and personalization for both LinkedIn and cold email outreach, while safely navigating LinkedIn's limits for better results, then SalesRobot is your answer.

And why take just our word for it? Sign up for a free 14-day trial right now and see for yourself whether SalesRobot’s a match. You don’t even have to provide your credit card info – just buckle up and enjoy the ride. 🚀

And who knows, you may even end up with $20k in new business, like Jack Z. did.

‍

^{Disclaimer: The content of this blog post reflects our own opinions and judgements based on our research and experience as of 19.05.2024. Comparisons made to other software or tools are for informational purposes only and are based on publicly available information and our own analysis. We do not claim absolute accuracy and encourage readers to conduct their own research to form their own opinions. While we may discuss competitor offerings, our primary focus is to showcase the features and benefits of SalesRobot. SalesRobot is not affiliated with any other software or tool mentioned in this blog post.}