# Pipefire

> Pipefire (pipefire.ai) is cold email software for agencies. Pipefire buys and warms the mailboxes, finds prospects, writes the emails and sorts the replies.

Pipefire (pipefire.ai) is cold email software for marketing agencies and B2B service businesses. Unlike most cold email tools, Pipefire also does the work: it sets up the sending infrastructure and runs the outreach for the customer. Pipefire buys the sending domains, sets up the mailboxes and warms them for 14 days before any cold email goes out. Pipefire finds prospects fresh from maps listings and business websites, writes the emails, sends them at a safe daily pace and sorts the replies. Eight software agents do the work around the clock, and the customer approves every email before it is sent. Pipefire sends from its own domains, so the customer’s company domain never sends cold email. Pipefire costs $497 a month on the Standard plan, month to month with no minimum term. Pipefire was founded in 2026 by Mike Lovatt, an SEO and AI search specialist with more than 14 years of experience. Pipefire is operated by M&B Marketing SARL, a company registered in Paris, France (SIREN 837 729 300).

Founder: [Mike Lovatt](https://www.mikelovatt.com/about/). Operator: [M&B Marketing SARL](https://www.mandbmarketing.com/about).

## Plans

- Standard: $497/month
- Scale: $997/month

Domains and mailboxes are included in the monthly price.

## Pages

- [Pipefire](https://pipefire.ai/index.md): Done-for-you cold email software for agencies and service businesses: domains, mailboxes, warm-up, prospects, sequences and replies.
- [Pricing](https://pipefire.ai/pricing.md): Flat monthly plans. Domains and mailboxes are included, not billed on top.
- [Features](https://pipefire.ai/features.md): Domains and mailboxes, warm-up, prospect finding, email writing, bounce and spam protection, the reply inbox and 24/7 monitoring.
- [Cold email infrastructure](https://pipefire.ai/features/infrastructure.md): Pipefire builds, warms, monitors and maintains your cold email infrastructure: domains, DNS, mailboxes, warm-up, protection and recovery.
- [Your agent team](https://pipefire.ai/features/agents.md): Meet the eight Pipefire agents that find prospects, build and warm mailboxes, send, guard deliverability, sort replies and supervise the team.
- [Domains and mailboxes](https://pipefire.ai/features/setup.md): Pipefire buys 10 sending domains, creates 20 mailboxes and writes every DNS record for you, so your real domain never sends cold email.
- [Warm-up](https://pipefire.ai/features/warmup.md): An email warmup tool you never have to run: every Pipefire mailbox is warmed for 14 days, measured daily and released for cold email only when it is ready.
- [Prospect finding](https://pipefire.ai/features/prospects.md): Pipefire finds your B2B prospects fresh: the businesses in the area you pick, the decision-maker where published, and an email address verified before it is sent to. No bought lists.
- [Contact forms](https://pipefire.ai/features/contact-forms.md): Pipefire reaches businesses that publish no email address through the contact form on their own website: one approved message, once, and only when you switch it on.
- [Email writing](https://pipefire.ai/features/campaign-writing.md): Answer a short brief and Pipefire writes your cold email sequence for the prospects on your list, checks every line, and sends only what you approve.
- [A/B testing](https://pipefire.ai/features/ab-testing.md): Pipefire A/B tests your cold email subject lines on positive replies, not opens, and switches to the winner once the result is statistically real.
- [Bounce and spam protection](https://pipefire.ai/features/health-checks.md): Pipefire verifies every address before sending and pauses automatically if bounces pass 3% or spam complaints pass 0.1%, so one bad list never burns your setup.
- [Reply inbox](https://pipefire.ai/features/replies.md): Pipefire sorts every cold email reply, brings interested prospects and questions to the top, notifies you and drafts an answer for you to send. Unsubscribes honored automatically.
- [24/7 monitoring](https://pipefire.ai/features/autopilot.md): Pipefire monitors every sending mailbox and domain around the clock, pulls failing mailboxes automatically and recovers them, so your cold email keeps running.
- [Deliverability](https://pipefire.ai/deliverability.md): How Pipefire keeps cold email out of spam: warm-up, placement testing and automatic pause-and-replace thresholds.
- [Cold email guides](https://pipefire.ai/guides.md): Every Pipefire cold email guide, grouped: domains and setup, warm-up, deliverability, writing, and tools compared.
- [Free cold email tools](https://pipefire.ai/tools.md): Free checks for cold email senders, starting with an SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX domain checker.
- [Cold email domain checker: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX in one check](https://pipefire.ai/tools/domain-checker.md): Check a sending domain for cold email in one go: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX records, each with a plain-English fix. Free, no sign-up.
- [Free email deliverability test: send one email, see what servers see](https://pipefire.ai/tools/email-deliverability-test.md): Send one email to a one-off address and see what a receiving server sees: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, tracking, links and the words. Free, no sign-up, nothing kept.
- [Email blacklist checker: is your domain or IP on a blocklist?](https://pipefire.ai/tools/blacklist-checker.md): Check a domain or IP against SpamCop, Barracuda, UCEPROTECT, PSBL and Mailspike. For a domain, every sending IP is checked. Free, no sign-up, nothing stored.
- [BIMI checker: test your BIMI record and logo setup](https://pipefire.ai/tools/bimi-checker.md): Check a domain’s BIMI record: is it published, is the logo an SVG over HTTPS, is there a mark certificate, and is DMARC strict enough for the logo to show. Free, no sign-up.
- [MTA-STS checker: test your MTA-STS policy and TLS-RPT](https://pipefire.ai/tools/mta-sts-checker.md): Check a domain’s MTA-STS setup: the _mta-sts record, the policy file over HTTPS, whether it covers every mail server, its mode, and TLS-RPT reporting. Free, no sign-up.
- [SPF checker: test your SPF record for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/tools/spf-checker.md): Check a domain’s SPF record: is there exactly one, does it end correctly, and how many of the 10 DNS lookups does it use. Plain-English fix for each problem. Free, no sign-up.
- [DMARC checker: test your DMARC record for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/tools/dmarc-checker.md): Check a domain’s DMARC record: is it published at _dmarc, what policy it sets, and whether reports are going anywhere. Plain-English fix for each problem. Free, no sign-up.
- [DKIM checker: find and test your DKIM key for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/tools/dkim-checker.md): Look up a domain’s DKIM key at the common selectors or your own, and check it is live and long enough. Plain-English fix for each problem. Free, no sign-up.
- [MX lookup: check where a cold email domain receives mail](https://pipefire.ai/tools/mx-lookup.md): Look up a domain’s MX records and see where its email goes, in priority order, and whether it can receive replies at all. Free, no sign-up.
- [Free lead list: 50 businesses in your niche and city, fresh today](https://pipefire.ai/tools/free-leads.md): Tell us who you sell to and which city, and get 50 businesses with email addresses, owners, ratings and Google rank, found fresh today and emailed as a PDF and spreadsheet. Free.
- [Free AI cold email generator: short emails that get replies](https://pipefire.ai/tools/cold-email-generator.md): Describe your business, offer and audience and get a short cold email written to the rules that get replies, scored by our cold email checker. First email free, no sign-up.
- [Cold email checker: score your email before you send it](https://pipefire.ai/tools/cold-email-checker.md): Paste a cold email and its subject line and get a score out of 10 against the rules Pipefire checks its own emails with: length, subject line, reading level, the ask, and the phrases that cost meetings. Free, nothing stored.
- [Email header analyzer: read SPF, DKIM and DMARC results for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/tools/email-header-analyzer.md): Paste the headers of an email you received and see what the receiving server decided: SPF, DKIM and DMARC, alignment with the From domain, and the route with delays. Free, nothing stored.
- [Cold email subject line tester: score your subject before you send](https://pipefire.ai/tools/subject-line-tester.md): Type a cold email subject line and get a score out of 10 against the rules Pipefire writes its own subjects to: length, case, sales language and whether it gives the pitch away. Free, nothing stored.
- [Email spam checker: find the spam words in your cold email](https://pipefire.ai/tools/email-spam-checker.md): Paste a cold email and see which words and habits look like bulk promotion to a spam filter: money and urgency language, capitals, extra links and shorteners, plus our writing rules. Free, nothing stored.
- [Email verifier: check an address exists before your cold email](https://pipefire.ai/tools/email-verifier.md): Type an email address and find out if it exists before you send: valid, invalid, catch-all, shared inbox or disposable, explained in plain English. First check free each day.
- [Cold email sending domain generator: lookalike domains, checked](https://pipefire.ai/tools/sending-domain-generator.md): Type your business name or website and get lookalike sending domains for cold email, such as getyourbrand.com, checked against the registry so you see which are free to register.
- [Email permutator: every likely business email for a name](https://pipefire.ai/tools/email-permutator.md): Type a name and a company domain and get every common business email format, most likely first, ready to copy and verify. Free, runs in your browser.
- [SPF record generator for cold email domains](https://pipefire.ai/tools/spf-record-generator.md): Build a valid SPF record for your sending domain: pick your mail host, add other senders, and copy the TXT record with the 10-lookup limit checked. Free, runs in your browser.
- [DMARC record generator for cold email domains](https://pipefire.ai/tools/dmarc-record-generator.md): Build a DMARC record to the current standard (RFC 9989): pick a policy, add a reports address, and copy the TXT record for _dmarc. Free, runs in your browser.
- [DKIM record generator: turn a public key into a DNS record](https://pipefire.ai/tools/dkim-record-generator.md): Paste a DKIM public key and selector and get the exact TXT record and host name to publish, with key length checked. Free, runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
- [Use cases](https://pipefire.ai/use-cases.md): How an SEO agency, a law firm and a B2B service business would each use Pipefire, with the numbers worked through.
- [Pipefire MCP server](https://pipefire.ai/mcp-server.md): Free email deliverability tools for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, blacklist and header checks over MCP at https://pipefire.ai/mcp.
- [About](https://pipefire.ai/about.md): Who builds Pipefire and why.
- [Contact](https://pipefire.ai/contact.md): Questions go straight to the founder.
- [Terms of service](https://pipefire.ai/legal/terms.md): The terms for using Pipefire, including cancellation.
- [Privacy policy](https://pipefire.ai/legal/privacy.md): What personal data Pipefire collects and why.
- [Data processing agreement](https://pipefire.ai/legal/data-processing.md): How Pipefire processes prospect data for customers.
- [Mentions légales](https://pipefire.ai/legal/mentions-legales.md): Informations légales sur M&B Marketing SARL.

## Guides

- [Cold email agencies: what they do, what they charge, and how to choose one](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/agencies.md): An honest buyer's guide to hiring a cold email agency in 2026: pricing models and real ranges, questions to ask before signing, red flags, and how an agency compares to software and a done-for-you platform.
- [AI cold email: what AI writing gets right, where it fails, and how to use it](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/ai-cold-email.md): What AI does well in cold email, where AI-written cold outreach fails, a workflow that keeps a human in control, a checklist for reviewing an AI draft, and how AI copy relates to deliverability.
- [AI SDR for cold email: what an AI sales development rep does, and where a human still decides](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/ai-sdr.md): What an AI SDR actually does for cold email: which tasks AI handles today, where it fails on hallucinated personalization, deliverability risk and judgment on replies, and the human-in-the-loop model that keeps a person in control.
- [Apollo alternatives for cold email: Pipefire, Instantly, Smartlead and what each one actually covers](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/apollo-alternatives.md): Apollo alternatives for cold email, starting with how Pipefire's done-for-you model compares feature by feature against Apollo's own pricing, then Instantly, Smartlead, lemlist, Saleshandy and Hunter. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
- [Apollo pricing for cold email: plans, credit costs and the real monthly total](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/apollo-pricing.md): Apollo.io pricing for cold email broken down plan by plan, with the credit costs for domains and mailboxes the pricing page doesn't total up for you, a worked monthly example, and how it compares with Pipefire. Checked on apollo.io, October 2026.
- [Apollo vs Instantly: which cold email tool fits you?](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/apollo-vs-instantly.md): A neutral, October 2026 price-and-feature comparison of Apollo and Instantly for cold email, plus where Pipefire fits as a third option.
- [Best time to send a cold email: day, hour and time zone](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/best-time-to-send-cold-email.md): When is the best time to send a cold email: the day-of-week and time-of-day data from Belkins, Instantly and Woodpecker, why the studies disagree, recipient time zones, weekends, holidays, and why spreading sends beats one blast.
- [Email bounce rate: what it is, hard vs soft, and safe thresholds for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/bounce-rate.md): What email bounce rate means, the formula, hard bounce vs soft bounce, what bounce rate is too high for cold email, and what to do when bounces spike.
- [Burned cold email domain: how to tell, and how to recover it](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/burned-domain-recovery.md): How to tell a cold email domain is burned, whether to recover or replace it, the actual recovery steps, realistic timelines, why Microsoft blocks senders, and what Google Postmaster Tools shows.
- [Should you buy a B2B email list for cold email? The risks and the better options](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/buy-b2b-email-list.md): Is buying a B2B email list for cold email legal and safe? What CAN-SPAM and GDPR/PECR actually require, why ESPs ban purchased lists, static lists vs data subscriptions, how to vet a provider, and building your own list instead.
- [The CAN-SPAM Act and cold email: the rules, penalties and a compliance checklist](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/can-spam-act.md): What the CAN-SPAM Act requires for cold email, whether it covers B2B messages, the 7 requirements, penalties, what it does not require, and a compliance checklist. Not legal advice.
- [Catch-all email addresses in cold email: what they are and how to handle them](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/catch-all-email.md): What a catch-all email address is, why verification can't confirm one, the real risk for a cold sender, how to decide whether to send to one, and whether to set one up on your own domain.
- [How to check if your cold emails are going to spam](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/check-if-cold-emails-go-to-spam.md): Five checks you can run in minutes to see whether your cold email is landing in spam: reading headers in Gmail and Outlook, the number signs to watch, a blocklist lookup, and what Google Postmaster Tools can and cannot tell you.
- [Clay alternatives for building a cold email prospect list: pricing, features and done-for-you options](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/clay-alternatives.md): Clay alternatives for building and enriching a cold email prospect list, with Clay's own pricing checked today, other enrichment tools, and where a done-for-you prospecting service like Pipefire fits instead of a credit-metered tool.
- [Cold email automation: what can be automated, and what should not be](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-automation.md): What cold email automation actually covers: finding and verifying prospects, writing, scheduling, follow-ups, stopping on reply, bounce handling and reply sorting, versus the parts that still need a person, plus the tool categories involved.
- [Cold email benchmarks: what is a good open rate and reply rate?](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-benchmarks.md): Published cold email benchmarks for open rate and reply rate, why open rate is unreliable since Apple Mail Privacy Protection, and how to calculate your own rates.
- [Cold email follow up: how many, how far apart, and what to say](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-follow-up.md): How to follow up on a cold email: how many follow-ups to send, how far apart to space them, what each one should say instead of bumping the thread, the breakup email, and common mistakes.
- [How long should a cold email be? Ideal length and what the data says](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-length.md): How long a cold email should be, what the Boomerang and Gong data say and where they disagree, length by email in a sequence, subject line length, mobile reading, and how to cut a long email down.
- [Cold email list quality: how to verify a list and avoid spam traps](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-list-quality.md): How to build and clean a cold email list: catch-all and role-based addresses, spam traps, why verified emails still bounce, how to verify an email list, and what bounce rate is safe.
- [Cold email personalization: levels, what's real, and how to scale it](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-personalization.md): How to personalize a cold email beyond a merge field: the four levels of personalization, how to spot fake research, where to find a true detail, and the risk of AI that invents facts.
- [Cold email sequence: how to design the full chain of emails](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-sequence.md): How a cold email sequence works: how many steps, how to space them, what each step's job is, a full example sequence, when to stop, A/B testing within a sequence, and what sequence software actually does.
- [Cold email service: software, agency or managed platform, and how to pick](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-service.md): The three ways to buy a cold email service in 2026: software you run yourself, a done-for-you agency, or a managed platform. What each includes, what you still do, and the questions to ask any provider before you sign.
- [Cold email software: the categories, what each one does, and how to choose](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-software.md): A category-by-category buyer's guide to cold email software: sending tools, lead databases, verification, warm-up, deliverability testing, and done-for-you platforms, with October 2026 pricing from each vendor's own site.
- [Cold email templates: 9 examples you can adapt by situation](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-templates.md): 9 cold email templates by situation: referral, trigger event, case study, re-engagement, breakup follow-up and more, each with a subject line, a boxed example, and what to swap in.
- [Cold email vs cold calling: cost, time, legal rules and which to use](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-vs-cold-calling.md): Cold email vs cold calling compared on cost per conversation, time per day, legal rules: CAN-SPAM vs TCPA and Do Not Call, rejection, and which suits your business, plus what a cold call email is with two examples.
- [Cold email vs LinkedIn: limits, cost, risk and when to combine them](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cold-email-vs-linkedin.md): Cold email vs LinkedIn outreach compared honestly on connection and InMail limits, Sales Navigator cost, reach, reply dynamics, automation risk under LinkedIn's User Agreement, and when to combine the two.
- [Cold email for agencies: how it works, what it costs, and how to keep it out of spam](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email.md): How cold email outreach works for an agency in 2026: the domains, mailboxes and warm-up it needs, the real monthly cost, the timeline, and the rules that keep it out of spam.
- [Cold email cost in 2026: doing it yourself vs agency pricing vs done-for-you](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/cost.md): What cold email really costs per month in 2026: a line-by-line DIY bill at live prices, what cold email agencies charge, what a done-for-you platform costs, and which option is cheapest for you.
- [Dedicated IP vs shared IP for cold email: which one actually matters for deliverability](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/dedicated-vs-shared-ip.md): Dedicated IP vs shared IP for cold email: the volume thresholds vendors use to recommend a dedicated IP, how IP warm-up works, and why domain reputation matters more than IP choice when cold email sends from Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 mailboxes.
- [What is a good email deliverability rate for cold email?](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/deliverability-rate.md): What counts as a good email deliverability rate, the real difference between delivery rate and inbox placement rate, and the published benchmarks for each, explained for cold outreach.
- [Cold email deliverability: why emails go to spam and how to fix it](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/deliverability.md): Why cold emails land in spam, the Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook rules for cold outreach, the four numbers to watch, how to test cold email inbox placement, and how to fix a slipping domain.
- [DMARC fail in cold email: why it happens and how to fix it](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/dmarc-fail.md): Why DMARC fails on a cold email sending domain, how to read a failing Authentication-Results header, a step-by-step fix checklist, and what the \"DMARC policy not enabled\" scanner warning actually means.
- [Which DMARC policy should you use? p=none, quarantine and reject for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/dmarc-policy.md): What p=none, p=quarantine and p=reject actually do to failing mail, the other DMARC tags explained, a safe rollout path for a cold email sending domain, and what Google and Yahoo require.
- [Does email warm-up work for cold email?](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/does-email-warmup-work.md): What email warm-up can and cannot do for cold email: the criticism that engagement is artificial, Google's sender guidelines, and how to check if your warm-up is working.
- [Cold email domains: how many you need, how to name them, and what they cost](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/domains.md): How to set up secondary domains for cold email: how many to buy for your volume, naming rules, which extension, the four DNS records, first-year and renewal costs, and what to do when one burns.
- [How to check if your email is blacklisted: domain, IP and spam trap guide for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/email-blacklist-check.md): How to check if a cold email sending domain or IP is on an email blacklist, how to read a DNSBL result without mistaking an error code for a listing, how delisting works on the major lists, and how spam traps cause a listing in the first place.
- [Email bounce backs in cold email: what each bounce message means and what to do](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/email-bounce-back.md): How to read an email bounce back message: SMTP codes vs RFC 3463 enhanced status codes, a table of common bounce messages and fixes, hard vs soft in practice, and what Gmail and Microsoft bounce text looks like.
- [Email deliverability checklist: a step-by-step cold email checklist](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/email-deliverability-checklist.md): A practical, numbered email deliverability checklist in phases: domains, DNS, mailboxes and warm-up, list, copy, sending and monitoring, with a link to the full cold email guide for every item.
- [Email deliverability test for cold email: how to check inbox placement](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/email-deliverability-test.md): How to run an email deliverability test for cold outreach: seed list placement tests, header checks, warm-up placement rate, Google Postmaster Tools, how to calculate inbox placement rate, and how often to test.
- [Cold email deliverability tools and services: what each type does and when you need one](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/email-deliverability-tools.md): A category map of cold email deliverability tools: authentication checkers, placement testers, warm-up tools, verification, blocklist monitors, Postmaster dashboards, DMARC processors and consultants, what each costs, and whether a small sender needs it.
- [Email open tracking: how it works, and why it hurts cold email](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/email-open-tracking.md): How email open tracking and the tracking pixel work, why opens are unreliable since Apple Mail Privacy Protection, the deliverability cost of tracking pixels and link-tracking domains for cold email, and what to measure instead.
- [Cold email outreach: how email outreach works, with examples and a process](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/email-outreach.md): Cold email outreach explained: what counts as outreach email versus email marketing, the end-to-end outreach process, four invented example emails, length guidance, and the do-it-yourself versus done-for-you choice.
- [Email verification for cold email: how it works and which addresses to drop](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/email-verification.md): How email verification actually works: syntax, MX, SMTP, catch-all, role and disposable detection, what it can and cannot tell you, what to do with each result, how often to re-verify, and what a verification service costs.
- [How to find someone's email address for cold email: methods, formats and verification](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/find-email-address.md): How to find a decision-maker's work email address for cold outreach: company websites, LinkedIn, pattern guessing, common email format patterns, verifying without sending, catch-all domains and what not to do.
- [Follow up email after no response: what to say in cold email](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/follow-up-email-after-no-response.md): Why prospects go silent on a cold email, how long to wait, what to say in follow-up 1, 2 and 3, polite wording versus guilt phrasing, and what to send after a meeting no-show or a quiet proposal.
- [Gmail sending limit for cold email: Google Workspace limits and the 'you have reached a limit' error](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/gmail-sending-limits.md): Gmail and Google Workspace sending limits for cold email: free vs. paid vs. trial accounts, the per-message recipient cap, Outlook's limits, the 'you have reached a limit for sending mail' error, and the safe cold email volume to use instead.
- [How does Gmail's spam filter decide? What Google publishes for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/gmail-spam-filter.md): How Gmail's spam filter works for cold email, based on Google's own sender guidelines: authentication, the 0.1% and 0.3% spam rate thresholds, the engagement signals Google describes, one-click unsubscribe, and Postmaster Tools.
- [Google Postmaster Tools for cold email: setup, the dashboards, and what the numbers mean](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/google-postmaster-tools.md): How to set up Google Postmaster Tools for a cold email sending domain, what each current dashboard shows, Google's 0.3% and 0.1% spam rate thresholds, and why low-volume domains often show no data.
- [Google Workspace for cold email: cost, sending limits and setup](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/google-workspace-for-cold-email.md): Is Google Workspace good for cold email? Cost per mailbox in 2026, Gmail's daily sending limits, Google's bulk sender rules, the Acceptable Use Policy on unsolicited mail, and how to set up a mailbox.
- [Greylisting in cold email: what it is, why it delays a first message, and email throttling explained](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/greylisting.md): Greylisting explained for cold email: the 4xx temporary deferral, how a legitimate sending server retries automatically, why it delays first-touch cold outreach, and how it differs from throttling and rate limits.
- [How to warm up an email domain for cold email: step by step](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/how-to-warm-up-an-email-domain.md): How to warm up a new email domain for cold email in seven steps: the setup before warm-up, whether to warm the domain or each mailbox, manual versus tool warm-up, and how to tell it is ready.
- [How to write a cold email: structure, examples and what to avoid](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/how-to-write-a-cold-email.md): How to write a cold email that gets replies: the five-part structure, how to start and end it, how long it should be, subject lines, a worked cold email example, and the follow-ups.
- [Ideal customer profile for cold email: how to define one, with a template](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/ideal-customer-profile.md): What an ideal customer profile is for cold email, the firmographics and trigger events that define it, how it differs from a buyer persona, a fill-in ICP template, two invented examples, and how an ICP becomes a lead list and a message.
- [Inbox placement for cold email: what it is, how to measure it, and how to raise it](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/inbox-placement.md): What inbox placement means for cold email, the formula with a worked example, why seed tests are only an estimate, Gmail tabs versus Microsoft Focused/Other, and what actually moves placement.
- [Instantly alternatives for cold email: Pipefire, done-for-you domains, and other sending tools](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/instantly-alternatives.md): Instantly alternatives for cold email, starting with how Pipefire's done-for-you model compares feature by feature against Instantly's own pricing, then Smartlead, lemlist, Apollo, Saleshandy and Reply.io. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
- [Instantly pricing for cold email: every plan, add-on and the real monthly total](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/instantly-pricing.md): What Instantly actually costs for cold email: the Outreach plan, the separate Instantly Credits product, done-for-you domains and mailboxes, and a worked total for a 10-domain, 20-mailbox setup. Checked on instantly.ai, October 2026.
- [Is cold email legal? Cold email laws in the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/is-cold-email-legal.md): Is cold email legal or illegal? What CAN-SPAM, PECR, UK GDPR, EU GDPR, CASL and the Australian Spam Act actually require, with a country comparison table and a compliance checklist.
- [How to build a lead list for cold email: sources, fields and verification](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/lead-list.md): How to build a B2B lead list for cold email: the fields a list needs, where to find businesses, how big a list to build for your sending volume, verification and catch-alls, and list hygiene.
- [Lemlist alternatives for cold email: Pipefire, Smartlead, Instantly and what each one actually covers](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/lemlist-alternatives.md): Lemlist alternatives for cold email, starting with how Pipefire's done-for-you model compares feature by feature, then cheaper senders, bundled data, and multichannel tools. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
- [lemlist pricing in 2026: what lemlist actually costs for cold email, plan by plan](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/lemlist-pricing.md): lemlist pricing for cold email broken down plan by plan, with the data credit, mailbox and domain costs lemlist's own pricing page doesn't total up for you, plus a worked monthly example. Checked live in October 2026.
- [lemlist vs Instantly: which cold email tool fits you?](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/lemlist-vs-instantly.md): A neutral, October 2026 price-and-feature comparison of lemlist and Instantly for cold email, plus where Pipefire fits as a third option. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
- [ListKit alternatives for cold email: Pipefire, Instantly, Smartlead and other options](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/listkit-alternatives.md): ListKit alternatives for cold email, starting with what ListKit's one $597 plan includes, then how Pipefire compares feature by feature, then Instantly, Smartlead, lemlist, Apollo, Saleshandy and Reply.io. Prices checked on each vendor's own site, October 2026.
- [Mail Delivery Subsystem: what it is, what the common cold email bounce messages mean, and when it is fake](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/mail-delivery-subsystem.md): Mail Delivery Subsystem explained for cold email: who it is, Gmail's bounce sender, what address not found, message blocked, rate limited and mailbox full mean, what to do, and how to spot a backscatter or phishing fake.
- [How many mailboxes do you need for cold email, and how many emails per day](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/mailboxes.md): How many mailboxes and domains a cold email campaign needs, the real daily send limit per mailbox, Google Workspace vs Microsoft 365 vs SMTP for cold email, and why more mailboxes beats more volume.
- [Mailshake alternatives for cold email: pricing, dialer, LinkedIn and what each one does](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/mailshake-alternatives.md): Mailshake alternatives for cold email, starting with how Pipefire's done-for-you model compares feature by feature against Mailshake's own pricing, then Saleshandy, Instantly and lemlist. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
- [Microsoft 365 for cold email: cost, sending limits and setup](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/microsoft-365-for-cold-email.md): Is Microsoft 365 good for cold email? Plan prices in 2026, Exchange Online's sending limits, Outlook.com's inbox rules and high-volume sender requirements, and how to set up a mailbox.
- [What is MTA-STS? TLS-RPT, DNS setup, and why it rarely matters for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/mta-sts.md): MTA-STS and TLS-RPT explained: RFC 8461 and RFC 8460, the DNS TXT record and HTTPS policy file, testing vs enforce mode, why MTA-STS protects inbound mail to your domain rather than your cold email sending, and when it is actually worth setting up.
- [One-click unsubscribe and the List-Unsubscribe header for cold email: RFC 8058, Gmail and Yahoo rules](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/one-click-unsubscribe.md): One-click unsubscribe for cold email explained: RFC 8058, the List-Unsubscribe header with mailto vs https, List-Unsubscribe-Post, Gmail and Yahoo's 5,000/day bulk sender requirement, the 2-day processing rule, and whether cold emailers need it.
- [Outbound sales: what it is and how cold email fits in](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/outbound-sales.md): What outbound sales means, how it differs from inbound sales, what cold email, cold calling and LinkedIn each cost in time, a step-by-step outbound process, and when outbound sales makes sense for a small business.
- [Pipefire vs Apollo for cold email: done for you or do it yourself](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/pipefire-vs-apollo.md): Pipefire vs Apollo for cold email, feature by feature: Pipefire runs the domains, mailboxes, prospecting, writing and sending as one service; Apollo is a sales intelligence tool you run yourself, with domains and mailboxes bundled into its paid seats. Checked on apollo.io, October 2026.
- [Pipefire vs Clay for cold email: done for you, or a toolkit you build yourself](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/pipefire-vs-clay.md): Pipefire vs Clay for cold email, feature by feature: price, who builds the list, who writes and approves the emails, domains, warm-up and safety rules. Clay pricing checked on clay.com, October 2026.
- [Pipefire vs Instantly for cold email: done for you or do it yourself](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/pipefire-vs-instantly.md): Pipefire vs Instantly for cold email, feature by feature: Pipefire is cold email software that runs the domains, mailboxes, prospecting, writing and sending for you; Instantly is cold email software you connect and run yourself. Checked on instantly.ai, October 2026.
- [Pipefire vs lemlist for cold email: done for you or do it yourself](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/pipefire-vs-lemlist.md): Pipefire vs lemlist for cold email, feature by feature: Pipefire runs the domains, mailboxes, prospecting, writing and sending as one service; lemlist is a tool you connect and run yourself. Checked on lemlist.com, October 2026.
- [Pipefire vs ListKit for cold email: fresh prospects and approval, or a built-in database](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/pipefire-vs-listkit.md): Pipefire vs ListKit for cold email, feature by feature: price, where prospects come from, who writes and approves the emails, auto-pause and burned domains. ListKit pricing checked on listkit.io, October 2026.
- [Pipefire vs Smartlead for cold email: done for you or do it yourself](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/pipefire-vs-smartlead.md): Pipefire vs Smartlead for cold email, feature by feature: Pipefire runs the domains, mailboxes, prospecting, writing and sending as one service; Smartlead is a tool you connect and run yourself. Checked on smartlead.ai, October 2026.
- [What is a PTR record? Reverse DNS explained for cold email senders](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/ptr-record.md): What a PTR record and reverse DNS are, how forward-confirmed reverse DNS works, why receiving mail servers check it for cold email, who actually controls a PTR record, and why it is the mailbox provider's job on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
- [How to read DMARC reports for a cold email domain](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/read-dmarc-reports.md): What a DMARC aggregate report is, who sends it, which XML fields matter for a cold email domain, a worked example, and when to move from p=none to quarantine.
- [Reply.io alternatives for cold email: Pipefire, Woodpecker, Saleshandy and what each one actually covers](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/reply-io-alternatives.md): Reply.io alternatives for cold email, starting with how Pipefire's done-for-you model compares feature by feature, then Woodpecker and Saleshandy. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
- [Sales email templates for cold outreach: how to write a short sales email that gets replies](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/sales-email-templates.md): Sales email templates for the situations a cold email template does not cover: inbound lead replies, after a demo, pricing emails, re-engaging past customers, upsells and referral asks, plus how to cut a sales email under 100 words.
- [Sales engagement platforms vs cold email tools: what each does and which you need](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/sales-engagement-platform.md): What a sales engagement platform is, named examples with pricing checked on each vendor's own site, how it differs from cold email sending tools and done-for-you cold email, and a comparison table including Pipefire. Checked October 2026.
- [Sales prospecting: what it is and how to prospect for cold email](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/sales-prospecting.md): What sales prospecting means, how it differs from lead generation and qualifying, the prospecting process step by step for a small business running cold email, prospecting by channel, and how many prospects a cold email program needs a month.
- [Saleshandy alternatives for cold email: pricing, features and what each one does](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/saleshandy-alternatives.md): Saleshandy alternatives for cold email, starting with how Pipefire's done-for-you model compares feature by feature against Saleshandy's own pricing, then Instantly, Smartlead and Apollo. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
- [Sender reputation for cold email: domain vs IP reputation, how it is scored, and how to protect it](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/sender-reputation.md): What sender reputation means for cold email, domain reputation vs IP reputation, what moves your score, how to check it with Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS and Sender Score, and how to protect and recover it.
- [Small business email security statistics 2026: 83% can be impersonated](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/small-business-email-security-statistics.md): Original research: we checked the email records of 9,338 small businesses in the UK and US. 83% have no DMARC enforcement, so anyone can send email in their name. Data by trade and city.
- [Smartlead alternatives for cold email: Pipefire, Saleshandy, lemlist and what each one actually covers](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/smartlead-alternatives.md): Smartlead alternatives for cold email, starting with how Pipefire's done-for-you model compares feature by feature, then Saleshandy, SmartReach, lemlist, Instantly and Apollo. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.
- [Smartlead pricing for cold email: every plan, add-on and the real monthly cost](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/smartlead-pricing.md): Smartlead pricing for cold email broken down plan by plan, with SmartSenders domain and mailbox add-on rates, SmartProspect and SmartAgents costs, a worked monthly total, and how it compares with Pipefire. Checked on smartlead.ai, October 2026.
- [Smartlead vs Instantly: which cold email tool fits you?](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/smartlead-vs-instantly.md): A neutral, October 2026 price-and-feature comparison of Smartlead and Instantly for cold email, with a worked cost example at one sending volume, straight from each vendor's own pricing page.
- [What is an SMTP relay? Relay vs mailbox sending, and why cold email avoids transactional ESPs](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/smtp-relay.md): What an SMTP relay is and how it differs from sending through a real mailbox, what SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark and Amazon SES say in their own acceptable use policies about unsolicited email, and why most cold email goes through real mailboxes instead of a relay.
- [What is a spam trap in cold email, and how do you avoid one?](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/spam-traps.md): What a spam trap is, the pristine, recycled and typo trap types, how a cold email list picks one up, what happens after a hit, how to avoid them, and how to tell if you've hit one.
- [Spam trigger words in cold email: the truth, and safer rewrites for risky phrasing](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/spam-trigger-words.md): Spam trigger words in cold email, honestly: why modern filters weight reputation and authentication far more than individual words, a categorized table of risky phrasing with safer rewrites, and plain text vs HTML.
- [SPF, DKIM and DMARC for cold email: the exact records and setup order](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/spf-dkim-dmarc.md): What SPF, DKIM and DMARC do for a cold email domain, the exact Google Workspace records to add, which DMARC policy to use, how to check all three pass, and the mistakes that break them.
- [SPF record for cold email: format, examples, and the Google Workspace record](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/spf-record.md): What an SPF record is, every mechanism and qualifier explained in a table, copy-paste records for Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, the 10 DNS lookup limit, and common SPF errors.
- [Spintax in cold email: syntax, examples, and whether it still helps deliverability](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/spintax.md): Spintax for cold email explained: the {a|b|c} syntax with nested examples, how cold email tools render it, the honest debate on whether it still helps deliverability, common mistakes, and a worked example.
- [Cold email subject lines: what works, and the examples](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/subject-lines.md): What makes a good cold email subject line: the right length, whether to use a question or a number, examples grouped by type, and what to never put in one.
- [Best email warmup tools for cold email: how to choose one](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/warmup-tools.md): How to choose an email warmup tool for cold email: what warmup tools actually do, what to look for, what warmup cannot fix, and built-in versus standalone options with current pricing.
- [Email warm-up for cold email: how long it takes and the day-by-day schedule](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/warmup.md): How long to warm up a new email domain before a cold email campaign, how warm-up works, a day-by-day schedule, how to tell when it is finished, and what to do when it is not working.
- [What is a sending domain? And how it protects your main domain](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/what-is-a-sending-domain.md): What a cold email sending domain is, how it differs from a main domain and a subdomain, and how it protects your main domain's reputation.
- [What is BIMI? The DNS record, VMC vs CMC certificates, and whether cold email needs it](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/what-is-bimi.md): What BIMI is and how the DNS record works using the v, l and a tags, why it requires DMARC at quarantine or reject, VMC vs CMC certificate costs from DigiCert, Entrust and Sectigo, which inboxes show the logo, and the honest verdict for cold email sending domains.
- [What is cold email? Meaning, examples and how it differs from spam](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/what-is-cold-email.md): What cold email means, how cold email differs from spam, email marketing and warm email, what cold outreach is, whether cold email marketing is legal, and whether it still works.
- [What is DKIM? How it works for cold email, with selector and record examples](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/what-is-dkim.md): DKIM explained for cold email: what it stands for, how signing and verification work, the DKIM-Signature header and DNS record tags with labeled examples, selectors, key length, rotation and common failures.
- [What is DMARC? How it works for cold email, with record tags and examples](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/what-is-dmarc.md): DMARC explained for cold email: what it stands for, how alignment works with a labeled example, the full record tag table, DMARC vs SPF vs DKIM, and why Gmail and Yahoo require it.
- [Why are my cold emails going to spam? Causes and fixes](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/why-cold-emails-go-to-spam.md): Why cold emails land in spam, how to find the cause in six checks, why it can start all of a sudden, whether spam words matter, and how to stop cold emails going to spam.
- [Woodpecker alternatives for cold email: pricing, features and what each one does](https://pipefire.ai/cold-email/woodpecker-alternatives.md): Woodpecker alternatives for cold email, starting with how Pipefire's done-for-you model compares feature by feature against Woodpecker's own pricing, then Saleshandy, Instantly and Smartlead. Every price checked on the vendor's own site in October 2026.