Total noob question: how many inboxes do I actually need to start?
newbienick · 2026-03-04 · 640 views
Just got my first SDR job. Company wants me to set up cold email from scratch. Zero experience. Target: 15 meetings per month.
From the community: For 15 meetings per month, you need roughly 300-400 cold emails per day (assuming 3-4% reply rate and 40% meeting conversion from positive replies). At 20 emails per inbox per day, that means 15-20 inboxes.
Recommended starter stack: 15 PuzzleInbox pre-warmed Google Workspace inboxes (~$67/month). Instantly starter plan ($30/month). Apollo free tier for data ($0). Total: under $100/month.
Warm up for 2 weeks before sending. Start at 10 emails per inbox per day, ramp to 20 over the first month. Test 2-3 different cold email sequences. Optimize based on data. You should hit your 15 meeting target within 60-90 days.
Comments (7)
outboundowen · 2026-03-05
15 inboxes is the right starting point for 15 meetings/month. don't overthink it. get the inboxes, warm for 2 weeks, start sending at 10/day per inbox, ramp to 20. you'll hit your target within 2 months
sdrgirl · 2026-03-05
The under $100/month total cost is real and honestly mind-blowing! When I started 2 years ago I was spending $400/month on a worse setup. The tools have gotten so much better and cheaper.
coldkingdom · 2026-03-05
one thing id add: get pre-warmed inboxes if your provider offers them. saves you 2-3 weeks of warmup time which means you start generating pipeline sooner. at a new job that matters a lot
copycarl · 2026-03-06
spend your first week writing 3 different cold email sequences before you even start sending. test all 3, kill the losers, double down on the winner. most new SDRs skip this step and wonder why results are mediocre
noobsender · 2026-03-06
I was in your exact position 6 months ago. the stack recommendation in the OP is spot on. just follow it exactly and don't try to get creative with the infrastructure. save creativity for your copy
warmup_wiz · 2026-03-07
important: 15-20 emails per inbox per day is the SAFE limit for cold email. don't let anyone tell you to send 50+ per inbox. Google Workspace allows 2000/day but that limit is for regular business email, not cold outreach. huge difference
newbienick · 2026-03-08
thank you all so much. ordered 15 inboxes yesterday, signing up for Instantly today. will report back in 60 days with results