by mkdirKriyo and Instantly, on the things you can check.
Instantly is a large, well-known outbound platform with a wide feature set. This page does not argue about breadth. It compares three specific behaviours — who approves a reply, what a scheduled job may do, and how an unknown number is shown — against what Instantly publishes about its own product.
How to read this page. The left column is what Kriyo does. The right column is what Instantly’s own site or documentation stated when we read it on 2026-09-23, with the page it was read on. Where their site does not state something, the cell says so. Their product changes; if a row is out of date, tell us and it will be corrected or removed.
AI replies without approval
Every reply is drafted, then waits in a queue until a person approves, edits, schedules or skips it. There is no mode in which a reply goes out unapproved.
Instantly’s reply agent offers an autopilot mode in which the agent handles replies and flags only when it wants a second opinion, alongside a human-in-the-loop mode.
“flip to Autopilot and let the agent handle everything, flagging only when it needs a second opinion” — instantly.ai/ai-agents/reply-agent, checked 2026-09-23Approval mode
Approval is the only mode. It cannot be switched off.
Offered as an option: approve replies before they send.
“Run on Human-in-the-Loop and approve replies before they send” — instantly.ai/ai-agents/reply-agent, checked 2026-09-23What runs on a timer
Scheduled jobs are read-only syncs. One may pause a losing variant. The only automated send is the delivery of a reply a person already approved. A test fails the build if a scheduled job gains a send path.
Not stated on their site when checked.
Unknown numbers
A number that has not been measured renders as a dash and says why. Open rate is absent when tracking is off. A reply is one distinct person with a genuine inbound; automated replies are counted separately.
Not stated on their site when checked.
Data isolation
Each client workspace is a separate database, not a client column in a shared one.
Not stated on their site when checked.
Getting started
Invite-only for now. Prices are not yet published; a plan is agreed in writing before a workspace is charged.
Their pricing page states no card is required to start. Plans and prices are published there.
instantly.ai/pricing, checked 2026-09-23Left out on purpose: lead database size, mailbox limits, integrations and price. Instantly publishes all of these and they change; read them on their site.
Ask for the one with a person on every send.
Invite-only for now. Tell us about your outbound and we’ll set you up.