Instantly vs Form Orbits
Cold-email automation versus large-scale contact-form outreach
1. TL;DR — key differences
| Factor | Instantly | Form Orbits |
|---|---|---|
| Primary channel | Cold email sequences | Website contact-form submissions |
| Typical inbox hurdles | Spam filters, sender-reputation, domain warm-up | None — message rides the site’s own server to the owner’s inbox |
| Benchmarked performance | Instantly targets 50 % open / 5 % reply for well-tuned campaigns help.instantly.ai | Reply rates vary by niche; mid-single digits are common when list quality is high Form Orbits |
| Deliverability tools | Unlimited warm-up accounts, deliverability dashboard, automated domain rotation Instantly | IP pools, A/B copy & link rotation handled for you Form Orbits |
| Compliance burden | CAN-SPAM, GDPR, DKIM/SPF, opt-out management | Must add sender details + unsubscribe line, but no personal data is stored Form Orbits |
| Pricing starter point* | US $37/mo Growth plan, unlimited mailboxes (sending + warm-up) Woodpecker | £29 one-off for 100 k submissions (pay-per-volume) Form Orbits |
*List prices checked 21 May 2025; currency conversions excluded.
2. What each platform actually does
Instantly in 90 seconds
Instantly is an all-in-one cold-email platform:
- Unlimited sending and warm-up inboxes on every plan
- AI-assisted copy, liquid variables, and sequence logic
- Deliverability dashboard to spot spam-folder placement before you blast Instantly
- Native lead-finder, Zapier webhooks, and multi-domain rotation for scale Instantly
It’s built for growth teams that own or can buy opt-out-compliant email lists and want granular control over cadence.
Form Orbits in 90 seconds
Form Orbits skips email completely. Your message is injected into the public “Contact Us” form of each target domain:
- Automated submission engine that can hit millions of sites per order
- Custom copy with spintax & field personalisation, plus built-in A/B (A/Z) testing Form Orbits
- Detailed delivery + click analytics; replies arrive in your chosen mailbox Form Orbits
- Flat, pay-per-volume pricing with packages from 100Kto 80M sites Form Orbits
Think of it as an outreach service more than a SaaS: give criteria + copy, receive leads.
3. Deliverability & engagement
| Aspect | Instantly (cold email) | Form Orbits (contact forms) |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox-placement risks | Blacklists, DMARC fails, ISP throttling; warm-up mandatory help.instantly.ai | Virtually none — form mail originates from the recipient’s own site |
| Engagement visibility | Pixel opens (inflated by Apple MPP), link clicks, replies | No open data, but delivery confirmations + replies are unambiguous |
| Benchmarks | 50 % open / 5 % reply is Instantly’s public goal | Reply rates of 5–8 % reported on tightly-targeted lists |
4. Compliance & risk
- Instantly: you must source emails lawfully, include physical address & 1-click opt-out, authenticate domains, and honour GDPR deletion requests. Violations can be punished per email under CAN-SPAM.
- Form Orbits: because only URLs are stored, personal-data exposure is low. You still add sender identity + unsubscribe text, but you aren’t scraping private inboxes, so GDPR/CCPA risk is lighter.
5. Setup, learning curve & scale
| Features | Instantly | Form Orbits |
|---|---|---|
| Data prep | Need verified email list or enrichment tool | Need list of domains/URLs (FO can source) |
| Technical lift | DNS records, list cleaning, warm-up schedule | Minimal — FO handles IPs, CAPTCHA, throttling |
| Daily send ceiling | Starts at ≈50 per inbox; can reach 2 000+ after warm-up | Millions per day potential |
| Analytics depth | Opens, clicks, thread health, mailbox rotation | Submission status, link clicks, replies only |
6. Pricing & ROI scenarios
- Instantly: US $37/mo (Growth) to US $77.6/mo (Supersonic). Unlimited mailboxes keep marginal cost/extra inbox low. Instantly Pricing Woodpecker
- Form Orbits: £29 per 100 k submissions; volume breaks push per-touch cost below £0.0003 at 1M+. Form Orbits Pricing
Illustrative payback
If one closed deal is worth US $1 000 and your cold-email reply-to-close conversion is 10 %, you might need:
- ~2000 Instantly emails (5 % replies → 100 conversations → 10 deals)
- ~100K Form-Orbits submissions (0.3 % replies → 300 conversations → ≈30 deals)
The cheaper cost per touch often tips ROI toward contact-form campaigns when lead value is high and email saturation is fierce.
7. When to choose which
| Pick Instantly if… | Pick Form Orbits if… |
|---|---|
| • You already own permission-safe email data. | • You only have domain lists, no inboxes. |
| • Multi-step cadences (email + LinkedIn + calls) are core to your playbook. | • You want scale today without domain warm-up. |
| • You need deep CRM sync and granular metrics. | • Message is short, text-only, and compliance-sensitive. |
| • Clickable assets (case studies, decks) matter. | • You value a flat, one-time cost over SaaS fees. |
8. Can they work together?
Absolutely. Many teams front-load Form Orbits to surface low-hanging replies, then drop non-responders into Instantly once email addresses are discovered, using hyper-personalised follow-ups. The combo hedges deliverability risk and squeezes more value from every domain on your list.
Conclusion
Instantly perfects the nuts-and-bolts of cold email at scale, but it can’t dodge crowded inboxes and authentication headaches. Form Orbits sidesteps those hurdles by going straight through website contact forms—trading granular analytics for near-guaranteed inboxing and rock-bottom per-touch costs.
If your growth engine hinges on multi-channel cadences and you possess clean email data, Instantly is a powerhouse.
If you lack inboxes, need rapid scale, or just want a second arrow in your outbound quiver, Form Orbits delivers.
Savviest teams blend the two: blast the form first, nurture by email second, and let reply data—not channel loyalty—dictate where you double-down next.
