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Salesforge vs Octopus CRM: Outreach Automation Tool Comparison

Choosing a cold outreach platform means balancing deliverability, personalization, safety, pricing, and how well a tool fits into your lead generation funnel and CRM systems. Salesforge and Octopus CRM are two tools that approach that same problem, but from different angles. Salesforge presents itself as a multichannel outbound stack (email + LinkedIn) built around deliverability, AI hyper-personalized messages, and the tightly integrated Forge Stack, while Octopus CRM is a LinkedIn automation tool delivered mainly as a browser/extension-first product for standard LinkedIn actions. Both tools promise to generate leads and simplify outreach, but their strengths and constraints diverge.
Let's compare:
Pricing
Starts at $48/month
Starts at $9.99/month
Free Trials
14-day free trial
7-day free trial
Multichannel Outreach
Outreach Channels
Email + LinkedIn (phone planned in the future)
LinkedIn
Team Features
Unlimited LinkedIn senders, mailboxes, workspaces & seats (Growth plan)
Automated Messaging
Automated LinkedIn and email sequences, A/B testing, multi-source AI hyper-personalization, automatic AI writing
Automated LinkedIn sequences, templates, scheduled follow-ups, A/B testing
Analytics & Reporting
Advanced analytics (real-time, channel-specific reporting, A/B tests, campaign metrics, reply tracking)
Standard analytics (built-in dashboard with campaign metrics, sent/accepted requests, reply rates, profile views)
Email Deliverability
Free proprietary premium warm-up via Warmforge, dynamic IPs, mailbox rotation, ESP matching
Integrations
Forge Stack, major CRMs, API, Zapier, webhooks, Make, Clay
Some CRMs, Zapier, webhooks
Whitelabel
No Chrome Extension Required
Support
24/7 email and live chat support, extensive knowledge base, large Slack community, weekly AMA sessions
Email support, contact form, tutorials, blogs

For a thorough understanding of what each option offers, a simplified comparison table isn't enough to grasp all intricacies that come with each tool, so let's dive deeper into what makes Octopus CRM and Salesforge unique.

Salesforge vs Octopus CRM: Email & LinkedIn Automation Software Overview

  • Octopus CRM positions itself squarely as a LinkedIn automation tool and Chrome extension that helps you create campaigns, send automated connection requests, run bulk messaging, and export data for use in other tools.

It’s marketed to people who want to run outreach campaigns directly from browser extension workflows and connect easily to Zapier, Google Sheets, or other CRM systems.

  • Salesforge, by contrast, markets a broader outbound stack: AI hyper-personalization for messages in bulk, free email warm-up (via Warmforge) and multichannel sequencing (email + LinkedIn).

If your outreach relies as much on email as on LinkedIn outreach, Salesforge is pitched as the more complete solution.

Pricing Structure & Free Trials

Octopus CRM provides 4 plans and a free trial as well (with an annual billing discount available):

  • $9.99/mo for Starter plan (you get: access to the Octopus CRM Chrome extension, core LinkedIn automation, personal CRM, basic stats, personalized connection requests)
  • $14.99/mo for Pro plan (you get: everything in Starter + bulk messaging, automated follow-ups, ability to auto view profiles, auto endorse skills)
  • $21.99/mo for Advanced plan (you get: everything in Pro + ability to create campaigns, to export/import data, more detailed campaign performance reporting, increased scheduling and automation flexibility)
  • $39.99/mo for Unlimited plan (you get: everything in Advanced + bigger campaign capacity, priority access to advanced features, integration with Zapier/HubSpot, more LinkedIn account safety controls)

Salesforge provides 2 plans oriented around outreach scale and a 14-day free trial as well (with 2 free months granted when using annual billing):

  • $48/mo for Pro plan (you get: 1000 active contacts in sequence, 5000 messages/mo, 100 email validation credits/mo, 100 personalization credits/mo, unlimited mailboxes, unlimited contact storage, free premium warm up via Warmforge, unlimited workspaces, connect unlimited mailboxes, a unified inbox (Primebox), mailbox rotation, dynamic IPs, live chat support and more)
  • $96/mo for Growth plan (you get: 10x the credits from the Pro plan, unlimited seats, A/B testing, personal onboarding, API access, 100 social action credits/month, multi-language sequences, Primebox AI reply crafting, ESP matching, access to a massive knowledge base and more)

Core Capabilities

  • Octopus CRM automates standard LinkedIn-specific actions: connection requests, automated outreach, campaign stats, auto endorse skills, and bulk messaging across multiple campaigns.
  • Octopus CRM bundles these automation features in a browser extension and offers plans that scale from Starter to Unlimited, making it simple to create multiple profiles and track LinkedIn campaigns with immediate notifications.
  • Salesforge automates cold email sequences, response tracking, AI-powered writing and personalization of emails, safe LinkedIn sending, deliverability workflows and much more.
  • Salesforge explicitly calls out unlimited free warm-up powered by Warmforge + many more deliverability capabilities to keep sending healthy at scale.

Salesforge’s automation reaches across the LinkedIn funnel into email capture, sequence personalization, validation, and analytics. Octopus CRM focuses on LinkedIn account activity and LinkedIn message automation.

Both provide tracking and campaign statistics, but Salesforge’s stack is designed to reduce delivery friction across channels while Octopus CRM excels at standard individual-user LinkedIn outreach.

Email Deliverability

A cold outreach campaign’s best-laid plans fail if messages never reach your email recipients’ primary tab.

  • Octopus CRM, being LinkedIn-first, doesn’t provide proprietary email warm-up. Its deliverability conversation centers on safe LinkedIn behavior (timing and human behavior simulation) to avoid LinkedIn restrictions.

Salesforge also offers such LinkedIn account safety measures, but also addresses email deliverability with:

  • Unlimited free warm-up via Warmforge
  • Dynamic IPs
  • Mailbox rotation
  • ESP matching
  • Email validation
  • Spam checker
  • Deliverability monitoring

And many more features meant to manage sending reputation and improve inbox placement.

So if your outreach strategy depends heavily on email follow-ups, bounce control, and inbox placement inside a full lead generation funnel, the Salesforge approach gives concrete advantages for email deliverability that Octopus doesn’t address.

Personalization & AI

Octopus CRM supports personalized connection requests and message templates you can use at scale - personalized messages to LinkedIn profiles often work better than generic blasts. It’s also easy to create campaigns that target LinkedIn contacts, leverage LinkedIn Sales Navigator filters, and send personalized connection requests and follow-ups.

Salesforge layers in AI-powered multi-source hyper-personalization for both email and LinkedIn messages: AI-generated customized emails, A/B testing, personalization credits and more, so each prospect gets a tailored approach without manual copy changes.

Because Salesforge integrates personalization with email validation and campaign analytics, the AI output can be fed into sequences that respect send limits and warm-up rules, preserving the “human behavior” feel while scaling.

Octopus CRM is perfectly capable of creating personalized LinkedIn messages using placeholders and scripts inside campaigns, but Salesforge’s point of differentiation is the AI assist combined with a delivery-first stack, which tends to produce more positive results and easier scaling across both LinkedIn and email channels.

LinkedIn Automated Messages

Automation on LinkedIn is powerful but risky if not governed by human-like behavior.

  • Octopus CRM emphasizes safe sending volumes and offers features to automate connection requests, automated connection requests and follow-ups, and campaign stats to monitor campaign performance. It supports Sales Navigator and recruiter integrations in workflow guidance and is often used by teams with premium LinkedIn users.
  • Salesforge also automates LinkedIn outreach but places more emphasis on sequencing across channels and on safe scheduling to keep LinkedIn accounts compliant. Salesforge also highlights safe sending volumes and scheduling to preserve LinkedIn account health.

If you run many outreach campaigns and need multiple profiles or multiple campaigns per account, Octopus CRM is attractive for quick setup and immediate results, but Salesforge is a better fit when you want to combine LinkedIn outreach with validated email follow-ups for higher conversions.

Integrations

Both platforms understand the need to integrate with CRM systems and external workflows, though to different extents.

  • Octopus CRM calls out a Zapier integration, the ability to export data as CSV files, and connectors to push LinkedIn leads into HubSpot, Zoho, Asana - good for teams that want to feed LinkedIn leads into a lead generation funnel or a personal CRM quickly.

Salesforge supports many more native integrations, but one important distinction is the proprietary Forge Stack, which keeps prospect data, campaign history, and inbox conversations aligned so that when a lead moves to opportunity stage the handover is seamless. Notable Salesforge integrations include:

  • Major CRMs
  • SMTP
  • API
  • Webhooks
  • Slack
  • Zapier
  • Clay
  • Whitelabel
  • The Forge Stack (Salesforge + Mailforge, Infraforge, Primeforge, Warmforge, Leadsforge)

And many more. If your priority is to keep the team aligned and ensure prospects are tracked consistently in your CRM, Salesforge covers the essentials while emphasizing consolidated data and comprehensive campaign tracking.

Campaign Stats & Reports

  • Octopus CRM provides campaign stats, reporting on LinkedIn connections, sent messages, replies, and campaign performance so you can iterate on your LinkedIn outreach.

It’s useful for recruiters and sales professionals who need quick, albeit basic insight into which LinkedIn message templates are working.

  • Salesforge offers robust analytics and A/B testing for emails, response tracking across multichannel sequences, and deliverability dashboards tied into its warm-up and validation systems - enabling optimization not just of message content but of inbox placement and sending patterns.

Where Octopus gives immediate metrics and a basic dashboard, Salesforge offers a more sophisticated analytics set that ties campaign stats to deliverability and inbox metrics. Salesforge’s analytics help diagnose whether a low reply rate stems from message copy, targeting, or poor inbox placement.

User Experience & Customer Support

  • Octopus CRM’s browser extension model makes setup fairly fast: install the extension, connect the LinkedIn account, and create campaigns from the interface.
  • The Chrome extension model is convenient for teams already working in the browser, though if issues arise, Octopus CRM's support is fairly linear (standard email / contact form support).
  • Salesforge is a platform which, despite offering a plethora of unique features (such as multi-mailbox setup, deliverability settings, sequence configuration and more), has an almost non-existent learning curve.
  • It also supplies templates, the Salesforge Academy, 24/7 email and live chat supprt, an active Slack community, and even weekly AMA sessions.

If integrated multi-channel control and long-term inbox health matter to your team, Salesforge’s centralized UX pays off.

Use Cases: Who Should Pick Which Tool

Octopus CRM is a fit for individual sales professionals and small teams who need a low-cost LinkedIn outreach tool, quick campaign creation, or just the ability to do more unique LinkedIn actions such as auto-endorsing skills.

Its starter plan and cheap tiers make it attractive for outreach experiments and for teams wanting a personal CRM layer over LinkedIn, though the features are fairly limited to reflect the pricing.

Salesforge is suited for sales teams and agencies of all sizes that require multi-channel outreach, advanced deliverability (including unlimited free warm-up), prioritized 24/7 support, proprietary infrastructure, and AI hyper-personalization at scale.

If your outreach is following the meta of mixing LinkedIn outreach with email sequences, Salesforge’s stack is a great fit.

Octopus CRM vs Salesforge: Final Verdict

Both Octopus CRM and Salesforge are strong in their niches:

  • Octopus CRM is an affordable LinkedIn automation software with a Chrome extension that makes LinkedIn outreach easy to start
  • Salesforge is a fully-fledged outbound stack built to protect LinkedIn accounts and preserve sender reputation, hyper-personalize at scale, and operate as an integrated lead generation funnel with warm-up, validation, and mailbox management.

If your priority is low-cost LinkedIn automation and quick campaign setup, though with questionable outreach results, Octopus CRM is a decent choice.

If your priority is a reliable, scalable, deliverability-first multi-channel pipeline that connects LinkedIn outreach to validated email sequences and reduces the risk of bounces and poor inbox placement, Salesforge is the superior option.

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Frequently asked questions

If we don’t answer your question below, please contact us via chat

How does Salesforge compare to Octopus CRM for LinkedIn automation tools?

Salesforge is a deliverability-first, multi-channel stack (email + LinkedIn) with AI hyper-personalization; Octopus CRM is a lightweight Chrome extension focused on LinkedIn automation and bulk messaging. Octopus CRM extension is great for quick LinkedIn lead generation and profile actions, while Salesforge ties LinkedIn profiles and connections into validated email follow-ups, warm-up, and campaign analytics. Try both with their free trial windows to see which fits your outreach efforts.

Can Salesforge integrate seamlessly with LinkedIn Sales Navigator and other automation tools?

Yes - Salesforge is designed to ingest LinkedIn leads (including Sales Navigator results), enrich profiles, and push contacts to sequences. It integrates with automation tools via API, webhooks and native CRM connectors, making it easier to turn LinkedIn leads into multichannel outreach. Compared to simple CSV exports from Octopus CRM, Salesforge aims to automate enrichment and delivery so leads are ready for follow-up.

Is Salesforge a good fit for people using LinkedIn free vs LinkedIn Premium?

Salesforge supports both: LinkedIn free users can still benefit from lead capture and sequences, while LinkedIn Premium/Sales Navigator users unlock richer targeting and higher-quality LinkedIn lead generation. Salesforge also emphasizes account safety to comply with LinkedIn corporation rules so automation behaves human-like. Ideal target audience: teams/agencies who want to scale outreach while protecting accounts and improving meeting conversion.

How does Salesforge move LinkedIn leads into my marketing funnel compared to Octopus CRM extension?

Salesforge enriches LinkedIn leads, validates emails, warms mailboxes, and automates multi-step sequences so LinkedIn leads flow into a tracked marketing funnel. Octopus CRM extension focuses on LinkedIn connections and exports; Salesforge adds deliverability, analytics and unified inbox features to convert LinkedIn leads into meetings and pipeline with less manual handoff.

Can Salesforge replace multiple LinkedIn automation tools and centralize outreach efforts?

Yes - Salesforge consolidates LinkedIn automation, email deliverability (Warmforge), lead enrichment, and analytics into one stack, reducing the need for patching multiple automation tools. For low-cost experiments or single-user LinkedIn automation, Octopus and other free tools work; for scaling outreach, Salesforge’s unified approach, integrations, and free trial make it easier to centralize LinkedIn leads, profiles, messages, and campaign reporting.