I ran Saleshandy and Instantly side by side for 60 days with identical PuzzleInbox inboxes. Here is what the data actually shows
saleshandy_nina · 2026-08-08 · 1,040 views
I run a two-person cold email agency serving mid-market B2B SaaS clients. I wanted a real answer on sending platform performance so I set up a controlled test. Same PuzzleInbox Google Workspace inboxes, same lists, same copy, same ICP. Saleshandy on half the inboxes. Instantly on the other half. 60 days.
Reply rates: Instantly averaged 4.1 percent. Saleshandy averaged 3.8 percent. Small difference, probably noise at this sample size. Not a meaningful gap for most operations.
Bounce rates: Essentially identical. Both under 1.1 percent. Both platforms handle bounce detection and list suppression reliably at this sending volume.
Where they actually diverge:
Saleshandy wins on sequence flexibility. Their conditional logic within sequences is more powerful than Instantly's current implementation. I can branch sequences based on reply behavior in ways Instantly does not yet support. If your sequences are complex, this matters significantly for how sophisticated your follow-up can get.
Instantly wins on UI and reporting. I pull client-ready reports from Instantly in about 4 minutes. Pulling equivalent data from Saleshandy took 15 to 20 minutes to get into a format clients could read without questions. Over 60 days with weekly client check-ins, that time adds up to real hours.
Saleshandy also wins on inbox rotation. Their algorithm distributes sends across inboxes more evenly. On campaigns with 8-plus inboxes, Saleshandy kept variance between inboxes under 6 percent. Instantly varied by up to 14 percent in some weeks. For large inbox counts, that matters for keeping each inbox's sending history clean.
Support: both were responsive. Instantly typically under 2 hours. Saleshandy 4 to 8 hours. Both acceptable for production use.
My conclusion: neither is a clear winner for every use case. Saleshandy fits agencies running complex conditional sequences who need precise inbox rotation at scale. Instantly fits agencies with multiple clients who need clean reports fast. The sending platform matters far less than your infrastructure. If your PuzzleInbox inboxes are properly warmed and your DNS is set correctly, both will deliver. Pick based on your workflow, not on which one sounds more impressive.