Updated: October 12, 2026
25 min read
Linked Helper is the best choice of the four on price, features and control. It costs $15 per account per month against $59 to $99 for Expandi, HeyReach and Dripify, and your LinkedIn session stays on a machine you control. The three cloud tools are quicker to start, and that speed suits people who accept the security and detection risks of a vendor holding their login.
We make Linked Helper, so you should know whose guide this is. In October 2026 we signed up for Expandi, HeyReach and Dripify, checked and cross-checked everything, and talked to their support teams to get the details straight. The screenshots below come from those tests.
The four tools are built in two opposite ways. Linked Helper is a desktop app that runs on your own computer or VPS. Expandi, HeyReach and Dripify are cloud platforms that run your LinkedIn account from the vendor's servers. That one difference decides who holds your session, which IP LinkedIn sees and what you pay per account.
Key takeaways
- Linked Helper starts at $15 per month per account (Pro $45). Dripify starts at $59, HeyReach at $79 and Expandi at $99. On annual billing Linked Helper is $8.25 and $24.75.
- At 20 accounts, hosting and proxies included, Linked Helper costs about $420 a month. The same setup costs from $999 on HeyReach to $1,980 on Expandi and $2,655 on Dripify, before tax and extras.
- All three cloud tools hold your login or your session. In our tests the HeyReach and Dripify accounts ran from data-center addresses that IPQualityScore scored 100 and 94 out of 100 for risk, and one of the two Expandi addresses scored 100.
- At the start of October the ratings on the three review sites we checked put Linked Helper first, at 4.78 across 893 reviews. Dripify has 4.61 across 1,362, HeyReach 4.36 across 124 and Expandi 4.33 across 420.
- Each rival has a real edge. Expandi and Dripify build email steps into the sequence, and HeyReach rotates senders and has a public API.
- Linked Helper runs on a VPS or VDS as well as on your computer, which gives you a cloud-like setup with the benefits of both worlds.
Which Is Better: Linked Helper, Expandi, HeyReach or Dripify?
Linked Helper leads on price, ratings, richness of features and, above all, control. The cloud tools lead on speed to start and on a few agency conveniences.
| Linked Helper | Expandi | HeyReach | Dripify | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Desktop app | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud |
| Session lives on | Your machine | Their servers | Their servers | Their servers |
| Cheapest plan that does real work | $15 | $99 | $79 | $79 (Basic $59 has no CSV export) |
| Same plan, billed annually | $8.25 | $79 | $63 | $59 |
| Free trial | 14 days, full functionality, no card | 7 days, card | 14 days, no card, 3 accounts | 7 days, full functionality, no card |
| Email steps | Via integration | Built in | Via integration | Built in |
| G2 | 4.5 (149) | 4.2 (153) | 4.6 (71) | 4.5 (353) |
| Capterra | 4.9 (278) | 4.4 (31) | 5.0 (2) | 4.7 (477) |
| Trustpilot | 4.8 (466) | 4.4 (236) | 4.0 (51) | 4.6 (532) |
| All three, weighted | 4.78 (893 reviews) | 4.33 (420 reviews) | 4.36 (124 reviews) | 4.61 (1,362 reviews) |
Prices checked October 2026, per account per month on monthly billing. Ratings from G2, Capterra and Trustpilot.
The weighted average multiplies each site's score by its number of reviews and divides by the total. The sites have different audiences and review rules, and HeyReach has only two reviews on Capterra, so treat it as a summary and not as an official score.
Which Tool Has the Most Features?
Linked Helper has more built in. That means 30+ features, 15 native integrations (with Zapier, Make and webhooks on top) and deeper AI features. The cloud tools each win a few rows, mostly around email steps, branching and agency tooling.
| Feature | Linked Helper | Expandi | HeyReach | Dripify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture and session | Local (desktop) | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud |
| Your own proxy | Yes, per account | Partial | Yes, on the connect form | No |
| Proxy quality checker | Yes | No | No | No |
| Email in the same sequence | No, handoff to Snov.io or Instantly | Yes | No, via Instantly, Smartlead or EmailBison | Yes, Gmail and Outlook |
| Branching | Routing by outcome and if/then in text | Conditional flows | 3 conditions | 4 conditions |
| Sender rotation inside a campaign | No | No | Yes | No |
| AI message generation | Yes | Yes | No | Not yet |
| AI comments | Yes | No | No | Not found |
| Data enricher | 620 credits a month on Standard, never expire | No | 100 credits per sender, one time | 100 credits a month, do not roll over |
| Message history export | Pro plan | No | No, only to a CRM | No |
| Unified inbox | Yes, on the Cloud storage version | Yes | Yes, every plan | No, one inbox per account |
| Native CRM integrations | 15 connectors | HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive | HubSpot, plus Zapier and Make | None, via Zapier or Make |
| Webhooks | In and out | In and out | Yes, plus a public API | Out only, from Pro |
| Workspaces | Yes, free seats | Partial | Yes, isolated per client | Yes, on Advanced, every seat paid |
Feature comparison from each vendor's help center, product pages and our tests, October 2026.
Yes means the feature is there and works. Partial means it works, with strings attached. No means we tested the tool and did not find it.
What Do the Cloud Tools Do Better?
Three things, and we say so plainly. Expandi and Dripify put LinkedIn and email steps in one sequence, with conditions to branch on. HeyReach rotates several senders inside one campaign and ships a public API and an MCP server. Linked Helper has no native email channel, no rotation and no public API, so email goes through Snov.io or Instantly. If one of those three is central to your outreach, that counts for the tool that has it.
How Much Do the Four Tools Cost?
Linked Helper is cheaper at every size, and the gap widens with every account you add. It applies bulk discounts automatically, 10% off at 10 accounts and 20% off at 20, and they go up to 50% off for larger teams. HeyReach lowers its Growth price to $59 per sender from 10 senders. Dripify publishes no volume discount, and Expandi moves you to an Agency plan priced on request from 10 seats.
| Accounts | Linked Helper Standard | Expandi Business | HeyReach | Dripify Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15 per month | $99 per month | $79 per month | $79 per month |
| 10 | $135 per month | $990 per month | $590 per month | $790 per month |
| 20 | $240 per month | $1,980 per month | $999 per month | $1,580 per month |
List prices in USD billed monthly, checked October 2026, excluding taxes, add-ons and hosting. Linked Helper prices include the 10% and 20% volume discounts. HeyReach at 20 accounts is the 25-sender Agency pack.
Linked Helper sells licences for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months instead of an auto-renewing subscription. The $8.25 figure is a 12-month licence billed once at $99. One licence runs one LinkedIn account at a time, so we quote prices per account. Duration and bulk discounts stack, and bulk discounts apply when the licences are on one invoice (licensing and discounts).
What Does a 20-Account Team Really Pay?
A 20-account team pays about $420 a month with Linked Helper and from $999 to $2,655 with the others, even after counting the hosting we added for Linked Helper. List prices are only part of the bill, so we costed one scenario. Five managers, 20 LinkedIn accounts, outreach feeding HubSpot, campaigns running 24/7, 400 email lookups per account and 850 follow-ups. Linked Helper lives on your own machines, so we added the hosting it needs. The cloud tools need none.
| Cost line | Linked Helper Standard | Expandi Business | HeyReach Agency | Dripify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licences | $240 (20 × $15, 20% volume discount) | $1,980 (20 × $99) | $999 (25 senders, 5 unused) | $1,580 (20 × Pro $79) |
| Five managers | $0, free workspace seats | No separate charge found | Free seats | $495 (5 × Advanced $99) |
| Servers | $100 (5 Windows VPS at about $20, assumption) | Included | Included | Included |
| Proxies | $80 (20 at about $4, assumption) | Included | Included on Growth, help pages disagree for Agency | Included, you cannot bring your own |
| Email finder, 8,000 lookups | Included (12,400 credits a month that never expire) | Not available, needs a third-party tool | 1,000 credits in the plan, the rest in bundles with no public price | $580 in packs of 1,000 |
| Total per month | $420 | $1,980 plus VAT and an email finder | $999 plus VAT, credits and any proxies | $2,655 plus tax |
| Total per month, annual billing | $312 | $1,580 plus the same extras | $799 plus the same extras | $2,155 plus tax |
Monthly cost for 20 accounts, USD, October 2026. VPS and proxy prices are our assumptions, not vendor prices. Cloud-tool figures exclude VAT or sales tax.
Annual billing does not close the gap. Even at the best annual rate the cheapest cloud total is HeyReach at $799, about two and a half times the Linked Helper bill. Part of the Linked Helper figure is your own work, because you run the servers and proxies, and a heavier setup with fewer accounts per VPS would raise our server line.
Three costs do not show on the pricing pages. Expandi adds VAT, charges extra for image personalization and does not refund annual prepay. HeyReach's Unlimited plan is capped at a shared pool of 300 seats and its enrichment credits are small and unpriced. Dripify's $39 banner is the annual price of Basic, a plan with one campaign and no CSV export, so the plan that does real work is Pro at $79.
Dripify upgrade screen in our trial account. Basic has one campaign and limited quotas, with personal inbox, webhooks and CSV export crossed out.
Which Plan Is the Cheapest Way In?
At Linked Helper the cheapest plan is also the real minimum. At Dripify it is not, and Expandi and HeyReach have no cheaper tier than the plan below. Here is what each entry plan gives you.
| What you need | Linked Helper Standard, $15 | Expandi Business, $99 | HeyReach Growth, $79 | Dripify Pro, $79 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multistep sequences | Yes, no step limit | Yes, with email steps | Yes, no step limit | Yes, unlimited campaigns |
| If/then branching | Routing by outcome and in text | Conditional flows | 3 conditions | 4 conditions |
| Stop when a lead replies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Lead export to CSV | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Email finder credits | 620 a month, never expire | None | 100 per sender, one time | 100 a month, expire |
Entry plans that do real work, October 2026. Linked Helper from its licensing page, the others from their help centers, pricing pages and our trials.
Standard is the real minimum at Linked Helper. It has the multistep sequences, reply stop and safety settings that most solo outreach needs, for $15. The cloud tools charge 5 to 6.6 times as much for the same core, plus the convenience of running in their cloud. Move up to Pro only if you need message export, bigger credit pools or more than 20 CRM sends a day.
Which Is Safest: Linked Helper, Expandi, HeyReach or Dripify?
We believe Linked Helper is the safest of the four, and we have worked on this problem for almost ten years. It keeps your session and IP on your side, while the three cloud tools hold your login or session and choose the IP LinkedIn sees. This is where the tools differ most, so we tested it instead of describing it.
What Does Each Cloud Tool Take From You?
| Linked Helper | Expandi | HeyReach | Dripify | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How you connect | Sign in inside the app on your machine | Cloud login, or the Cloud Bridge extension | Password and 2FA secret key, or an extension | LinkedIn email and password |
| What the vendor holds | Nothing for campaign execution | The session, in its cloud | The login, or the full cookie jar | The login and the session |
| IP LinkedIn sees | Your own or a proxy you control | Assigned by the vendor, a custom proxy is optional | Assigned by the vendor, your own proxy allowed | Assigned by the vendor, you cannot bring your own |
| What we measured | Proxy checker built in | French cloud IPs, one scored 100 of 100 | Two accounts in one data-center block, all scored 100 | Two accounts in one subnet, both scored 94 |
How an account is connected, and what we saw in our own tests, October 2026.
In October 2026 we unpacked the Expandi Connector extension (version 1.1) and the HeyReach login extension (version 1.0.6). In the packages we reviewed, the Expandi extension read the li_at cookie and sent session data to app.expandi.io. The HeyReach extension read the whole LinkedIn cookie jar, sent it to api.heyreach.io and blocked the LinkedIn logout page.
Our diagram of what the Expandi Connector extension reads and sends, based on the package we unpacked.
HeyReach goes further on credentials. Its best-choice connection method, Infinite Login, asks for your LinkedIn password and your 2FA secret key. That key is not the six-digit code from your authenticator. It is the seed behind the codes, so with it HeyReach can generate every future code itself.
HeyReach's Connect LinkedIn account panel in our trial. Infinite Login is marked as the best choice.
Dripify takes your LinkedIn email and password, says they are encrypted, and keeps the session in its cloud.
Dripify's connection screen in our trial account.
What IPs Did the Cloud Tools Give Us?
Every vendor promises a good IP, and our tests did not always agree. Expandi says each account gets a dedicated IP, and support described a data-center IP in the country you choose. HeyReach's help center promises a dedicated static residential proxy. Dripify says every account gets a unique, local, high-quality proxy.
Then we looked at what LinkedIn recorded. The two Expandi accounts got different kinds of address, one a French IPv4 address from Scaleway cloud hosting and the other an IPv6 address from Orange. The two HeyReach accounts got neighbouring addresses in one block (45.146.212.x, Paris), and all three addresses we saw were data center with a fraud score of 100. The two Dripify accounts sat in one /24 subnet at one hosting provider (HostRoyale), both flagged as proxy and VPN with a fraud score of 94.
LinkedIn's active-sessions page during our Expandi test. It shows the IP that LinkedIn recorded for the session.
IPQualityScore lookup for one of the HeyReach addresses from our test. Fraud score 100, data center. This is an independent IP-quality signal, not LinkedIn's verdict.
IPQualityScore lookup for one of the Dripify addresses from our test. Fraud score 94, data center, flagged as proxy and VPN.
A dedicated IP is not a clean IP. In a cloud tool you get whatever address the vendor hands out, and nobody is insured against a bad one. These were small tests with two accounts each, so they are no verdict on every account, but they are the addresses LinkedIn saw. We have met bad IPs many times, and one is enough to ruin the whole automation. Whichever tool you use, check the reputation of the IP your account runs from, ideally through the IPQualityScore API or a similar service. Only HeyReach and Expandi let you bring your own proxy, and Dripify does not.
Dripify support chat from our trial account. No bring-your-own proxy.
How Does Linked Helper Keep You in Control?
Unlike classic cloud tools, we have no servers that run your campaigns. Linked Helper works from your own IP or a proxy you control, and the proxy checker shows what you would otherwise discover after a restriction. For each proxy it reports the country, a fraud score from IPQualityScore and whether the IP has been used by bots, crawlers or VPN services. A proxy is marked Good or Bad, and the app recommends replacing a Bad one. It warns rather than blocks, so the decision stays yours.
Linked Helper proxy checker on a test proxy. A fraud score of 75 triggers the high-risk warning.
Pacing is set in the same app. The default daily limit is 150 actions, with a Smart Daily Limit Adjustment that varies the daily count and separate limits per action type. The password is used for auto-login only, so if you do not add it you log in manually. Linked Helper was not part of the cloud test, because it does not run from vendor infrastructure.
The cloud tools have real controls too. Expandi lists 96 locations and timezone selection, HeyReach has a weekly cooldown and automatic freezes at 200 actions a day, and Dripify documents daily caps, random delays and an automatic cooling-down pause. None of that changes who holds the login.
Do Linked Helper Campaigns Stop When the Computer Is Off?
Only if you leave Linked Helper on a laptop you close (the help center says so too). Run it on a VPS you rent and campaigns stay online around the clock, from an environment you control. Expandi's own guide for switching from Linked Helper names this as our pain point, and HeyReach's review of Linked Helper lists it too.
Which Tool Is Best for Agencies?
Linked Helper wins on cost, and HeyReach positions itself as the agency tool. The seat model decides most of it. Dripify charges a full subscription for every account and every manager, and a client added to the team takes a paid seat. Linked Helper workspace seats are free, and a client joins as a view-only Guest.
| What an agency needs | Linked Helper | Expandi | HeyReach | Dripify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats for managers and clients | Free seats, clients as view-only Guests | Roles and permissions | Free seats for managers and clients | Paid, every seat |
| Workspaces per client | Yes | Partial | Yes, isolated, with a Master View | Yes, on Advanced |
| Inbox across accounts | Unified inbox on the Cloud storage version | Yes | Unified inbox on every plan | None |
| White-label | Your own logo and name in the app | Not found | Included on Agency | None |
| Proxy per client account | Separate proxy per account, with a quality checker | Optional custom proxy | Allowed on the connect form | No |
| Volume pricing | 10% off at 10 accounts, 20% at 20 | Agency plan on request from 10 seats | Fixed packs of 25 or 50 senders | No public discount |
What an agency looks for in a client setup, from vendor help centers, product pages and our trials, October 2026.
What Do You Get With Each Tool?
What Do You Get With Linked Helper?
Linked Helper home page, October 2026.
Linked Helper has been built around one network, LinkedIn, for ten years. Invitations, messages, profile visits, endorsements and post engagement are actions you chain into one campaign, with reply detection, a built-in CRM, data enrichment credits, AI messages and Sales Navigator and Recruiter support.
| Plan | Monthly price | Annual equivalent | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trial | Free for 14 days | Free for 14 days | Testing the app before paying |
| Standard | $15 per month | $8.25 per month | Core automation, campaigns, CRM and export |
| Pro | $45 per month | $24.75 per month | Higher limits, advanced actions, enrichment |
You install it wherever you choose, on a laptop or on a VPS you rent, and that is where the control comes from. Your cookies, session, IP and lead data stay on that machine, and on a VPS a teammate can work in the same instance. It is LinkedIn-first, so teams that need native cold-email sequencing pair it with a dedicated email tool.
What Do You Get With Expandi?
Expandi positions itself as a cloud LinkedIn outreach platform for teams that want conditional campaign logic and LinkedIn plus email follow-up in one place. It has smart sequences with conditional flows, dynamic placeholders, profile auto warm-up and a native HubSpot, Salesforce and Pipedrive connection. Business is $99 per month ($79 annually) with a 7-day trial that asks for a card, and Agency is priced on request from 10 seats. G2 reviewers note slowdowns, delays and credit limits as recurring cons.
What Do You Get With HeyReach?
HeyReach positions itself as a cloud platform for agencies and sales teams. Its strongest ideas are sender rotation inside one campaign, one inbox for every sender, a clean workspace per client, a public API and an MCP server. Growth is $79 per sender ($63 annually), Agency $999 for 25 senders and Unlimited $2,999, capped at 300 seats, with a 14-day trial for 3 accounts. Reviewers praise rotation and the shared inbox and complain about bugs, slow support and seat billing, and its terms say fees are generally non-refundable once a billing period starts.
What Do You Get With Dripify?
Dripify positions itself as a cloud LinkedIn and email outreach platform built for fast setup. Campaigns run with the browser closed, sequences mix LinkedIn steps, email steps and four conditions, and the 7-day trial gives the full Advanced plan with no card. Basic is $59, Pro $79 and Advanced $99 per user per month, and the daily limits start low and rise on their own, so our trial account began at 5 invitations a day against the 75 on the pricing page. Reviewers praise ease of use and complain about billing, with auto-renewal without a reminder the most repeated. Monthly purchases are not refundable.
What Do Users Say About Each Tool?
Users rate Linked Helper highest on the three review sites combined. Counting every review together, Linked Helper has 893 reviews at a weighted average of 4.78 out of 5, Dripify 1,362 at 4.61, HeyReach 124 at 4.36 and Expandi 420 at 4.33.
| Site | Linked Helper | Expandi | HeyReach | Dripify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G2 | 4.5 (149 reviews) | 4.2 (153 reviews) | 4.6 (71 reviews) | 4.5 (353 reviews) |
| Capterra | 4.9 (278 reviews) | 4.4 (31 reviews) | 5.0 (2 reviews) | 4.7 (477 reviews) |
| Trustpilot | 4.8 (466 reviews) | 4.4 (236 reviews) | 4.0 (51 reviews) | 4.6 (532 reviews) |
| All three, weighted | 4.78 (893 reviews) | 4.33 (420 reviews) | 4.36 (124 reviews) | 4.61 (1,362 reviews) |
Linked Helper reviewers mention time savings, campaign control and value for money, and complain about a learning curve. Expandi reviewers praise personalization depth and support. One pattern is worth knowing on HeyReach. In our October 2026 snapshot of its Trustpilot profile, 19 reviews arrived between 10 and 24 July 2025, which is 73% of that year's volume, and 18 of them were five stars. We cannot tell you why the reviews came in one wave, but a single wave moves the average.
Which One Should You Choose?
Pick Linked Helper for price, features and control. Pick a cloud tool only if you want a ready-made setup and accept the security and detection risks that come with it.
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Lowest cost per account | Linked Helper |
| Your own IP and session stay with you | Linked Helper |
| Many accounts, volume discounts, free manager seats | Linked Helper |
| LinkedIn and email steps with deep branching in one sequence | Expandi |
| Several client accounts rotating in one campaign, plus an API | HeyReach |
| The fastest start for one account, nothing to install | Dripify |
How Do You Switch to Linked Helper?
In six steps, using the 14-day Linked Helper trial that needs no card.
- Write down what you actually use in your current tool, such as email steps, conditions, rotation or the API. Email steps are handled in Linked Helper through an integration, and rotation and a public API have no equivalent.
- Export your leads to CSV before your subscription ends. Message history cannot be exported from Expandi, HeyReach or Dripify, and HeyReach and Dripify keep your data until you ask support to delete it.
- Download the Linked Helper desktop app for Windows, macOS or Ubuntu and start the 14-day trial. No credit card is needed. The first-campaign guide walks you through it.
- Sign in to LinkedIn inside the app. A proxy is optional if you run only your own account. For several accounts on one machine, assign each its own HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS or SOCKS5 proxy (IPv4 only) and run the built-in proxy checker. Residential, ISP and mobile proxies are the better choice, because datacenter IPs are the ones most often flagged.
- Rebuild one campaign in the campaign builder. Set daily limits, working hours and delays, and turn on reply detection. Run a small batch and compare replies in the built-in CRM. We recommend not running both tools on the same LinkedIn account at the same time.
- Cancel the old tool when you are satisfied, and time it. Monthly Dripify payments are not refundable, Expandi annual prepay is not refundable, and HeyReach fees are generally non-refundable once a billing period starts.