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

Let’s be honest from the start - 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 will be just right for you.

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;

👉 Options for 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;

👉 Options for automating 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.

Phantombuster - Overview

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

It covers many 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.

Since Phantombuster isn’t designed for LinkedIn automation alone but is more of an all-around automation tool, it is fair to say that it isn’t as good for LinkedIn automation as we’d like, as we’ll see later.

What we like about Phantombuster

• It can help automate entire campaigns on many different 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;

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

Where Phantombuster disappoints

• It’s not devised for LinkedIn alone – as such, it’s 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;

• 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. That 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. That raises the question of safety and probably increases the risk of being detected by LinkedIn bots that do not look very favorably upon such tricks.

What’s the price tag?

Phantombuster offers several pricing plans that include different features:

• Free forever – that comes with just 1 slot, which means you can automate just one activity per day, with a time limit of measly 10 minutes per day;
• Growth Hacker - $30 per month, with 5 slots and 1h per day;
• Business - $70 per month, with 10 slots and 3h per day;
• Enterprise - $200 per month, with 20 slots and 10h per day;
• Premium - $900 per month, 40 slots, and 60h per day.

The pricier plans also include priority support and a dedicated expert in some instances.

In addition, each of these plans, except for the free one, comes with a number of email credits per day, which is essentially the number of email addresses you can scrape in a day.

Phantombuster also offers a 14-day free trial.

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: Sales Robot

Just a teeny tiny disclaimer before we dive in – although Sales Robot is our baby, we were as unbiased and honest in rating it as we were with all the other software on our list. Our goal is to help you find the right tool for you, even when it’s not us. After all, our clients’ success is as important to us as our own, so we would never promise something we can’t deliver.

Sales Robot is an automation software specifically designed for automating LinkedIn, as it enables users to easily create elaborate campaigns that run on total autopilot.

As it has plenty of options for automating various activities - and is compliant with all LinkedIn plans - Sales Robot’s a perfect LinkedIn 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 Sales Robot excel in?

• Several foolproof methods of safely bypassing LinkedIn limits - which allow you to send more than 200 messages and connection requests per day. In addition to using email and InMail, Sales Robot can also send bulk messages to group members.

By doing that, Sales Robot 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;

• Creating smart campaign 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 Sales Robot’s interface is very intuitive, 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;

• Email enrichment option - this means that the tool will find and verify your prospects’ business email addresses effortlessly. Since Sales Robot has integrated data from a verified email address provider, the chances for a mismatch or difficulties in verification are reduced to minimum;

• Safety first - Sales Robot takes personal care of its users’ safety, as it mimics human activity almost to perfection. It 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, Sales Robot’s cloud-based, which makes it practically undetectable by LinkedIn;

• Top-notch personalization options - with this software, you can effortlessly draft and send highly-personalized messages and connection requests in just a few clicks. Sales Robot’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 a software.

And if you decide to write your messages, rather than use the pre-made fully customizable templates, Sales Robot will calculate the probable response rate of those messages.

• Comes with an in-app analytics dashboard - tracking stats and checking how your content and profile perform on LinkedIn give you insight into what parts of your strategy work well and what needs some improvement.

But...

• There are no options for automating activity on any other web platform - since Sales Robot is primarily designed for LinkedIn outreach, all of its functionalities are fine-tuned to LinkedIn and its specifics. However, since this tool works flawlessly when it comes to the one thing it was made to do - that is highly-personalized LinkedIn automation - if LinkedIn is your primary business channel, then this won’t be an issue;
• The price – Sales Robot comes with only one pricing plan for now. However, 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.

Moreover, Sales Robot’s team intends to include another plan at $99 per month in the near future to add some more versatility.

What’s the price tag?

At the time being, Sales Robot have two pricing plans:

• Advance at $99 per month.
• Professional at $179 per month.

Even though there are only two plans, it includes everything you may ever need from a LinkedIn automation tool and more.

Better yet - it’s perfect for teams of all sizes, as it allows easy integration and team collaboration.

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

What’s more, the folks at Sales Robot will include another pricing plan at $99 per month sometime soon, so make sure you stay tuned. 😎

Get more sales on LinkedIn. Start a free 14-day trial today.

When to choose Sales Robot as the right Phantombuster alternative?

Things seem pretty straightforward here - if you’re in need of an automation tool that’s solely focused on LinkedIn, the choice will naturally be Sales Robot.

Unlike Phantombuster, Sales Robot 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, Sales Robot 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 Sales Robot 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, Sales Robot 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 Sales Robot 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 pour over all the use case documentation and manuals for hours without end, and it’s still no guarantee you’ll understand everything you need for using it 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 time per day;
• 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 slight chance LinkedIn algorithms can detect and ban you.

On the other hand, the app can work only when your device is running, and it’s suitable for only one user.

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 comes with 3 pricing plans:

• Cloud Starter at $29 per month;
• Cloud Growth at $79 per month;
• Cloud Agency at $199 per month.

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

TexAu has a 14-day free trial.

If you want more Data and Email Enrichment Credits once you’ve spent those you get in your package, you’ll have to pay extra:

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

Given that it’s a browser extension, its use exposes you to a considerable risk of being detected and banned by LinkedIn. Moreover, you only get the extension if you opt for the most expensive pricing plan;

• 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?

Lemlist has three pricing plans:

• Email warm-up at $29 per month;
• Email outreach at $59 per month;
• Sales engagement at $99 per month.

The prices are somewhat lower should you opt for annual billing. There’s also a special offer for lead gen agencies, but the exact amount 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?

Although Phantombuster can automate plenty of things, 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 two different pricing plans:

• Personal at $49 per month;
• Business at $89 per month;

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 need a Phantombuster alternative that will help you rock your LinkedIn sales game by automating and personalizing every step of your LinkedIn outreach and that can safely work around LinkedIn limits for optimal results, then look no further than Sales Robot.

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