Dripify vs PhantomBuster vs Expandi vs HeyReach (and an AI Assistant)

Short answer: Dripify and Expandi run LinkedIn outreach campaigns in the cloud, with one LinkedIn account per seat. A campaign is a sequence of connection requests, messages and follow-ups. HeyReach runs campaigns from many LinkedIn sender accounts at once, so it suits agencies and sales teams. PhantomBuster is an automation platform: it extracts data from LinkedIn and other sites, and it also sends connection requests and messages. All four now have an MCP server for AI assistants (Expandi's is in beta). For work in your own LinkedIn account, one conversation at a time, use a LinkedIn MCP server such as LinkMCP: Claude or ChatGPT researches people and drafts messages, and you decide what it sends.

We make LinkMCP, one of the options. Prices and features as of October 2026, from each vendor's website; the sources are at the end of this page. LinkMCP is an independent product and is not affiliated with LinkedIn, Dripify, PhantomBuster, Expandi or HeyReach. We use their names only to identify their products.

The tools side by side

Last checked 2026-10-28. Yearly billing costs less than monthly billing at all four vendors.

Which is better?

Dripify or PhantomBuster?

Choose Dripify if your main job is LinkedIn outreach. You build a sequence of connection requests, messages and emails, and it runs on Dripify's servers. Choose PhantomBuster if you also need data: it exports LinkedIn and Sales Navigator searches and profiles, and it works on other sites, such as Instagram, X and Google Maps. Dripify Pro costs $79 a month per user. PhantomBuster Start costs $69 a month per workspace.

PhantomBuster or Expandi?

Choose Expandi for LinkedIn and email campaigns with conditions, for example a follow-up message only after someone accepts your connection request. Choose PhantomBuster for data from LinkedIn and other sites, and for single automations and ready-made workflows that chain them. Expandi Business costs $99 a month per LinkedIn account. PhantomBuster Start costs $69 a month per workspace.

Dripify or Expandi?

Both run LinkedIn and email sequences in the cloud, with one LinkedIn account per seat and a 7-day free trial. Dripify Pro costs less: $79 a month per user, and Expandi Business costs $99 a month per seat. Their MCP servers differ. Expandi's drafts campaigns and replies for you to approve, and Expandi lists Claude and ChatGPT. Dripify's help center says that Claude on the web and ChatGPT cannot connect to its MCP server yet.

Where does HeyReach fit?

HeyReach is for outreach from many LinkedIn accounts at once. It rotates sending between them and has one inbox for all of them. Growth costs $79 a month per sender, the same as Dripify Pro for one account. Agency costs $999 a month for 25 senders.

How they work with AI assistants

All four tools now have an MCP server. With it, an AI assistant such as Claude works inside that tool, with your campaigns, lead lists and results. PhantomBuster's MCP server also launches its automations, and Expandi's drafts campaigns and replies for you to approve.

LinkMCP gives the assistant LinkedIn tools of its own (36 in total). It reads profiles, companies and posts, searches people, reads your inbox, and sends a message or a connection request when you ask. Search, your inbox and everything it sends go through your own LinkedIn account, with no campaign tool in between.

When an AI assistant with LinkMCP fits better

• You work in your own LinkedIn account, one conversation at a time.
• You want the assistant to read a profile, the company and recent posts before it writes.
• You want to read each message or connection request before it goes out. Claude asks for your permission before a tool that sends; ChatGPT may ask, depending on its settings.
• You already use Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Gemini, Grok, n8n or Make.
• Your volume is small. The default Cautious tier allows 20 connection requests and 25 messages a day.

When a campaign tool fits better

• Outreach to hundreds of people a week. LinkMCP's daily limits are too low for that, on purpose.
• Sequences that run for weeks without you, with delays, conditions and A/B tests. LinkMCP has no campaigns: each action is one request from your assistant.
• Many LinkedIn sender accounts, for example in an agency. HeyReach is made for that.
• Exports of LinkedIn data, list after list, to a spreadsheet or CRM. PhantomBuster does this, also for other sites.

Account risk

Every tool on this page, LinkMCP included, acts through your LinkedIn account. LinkedIn's User Agreement limits automated access to LinkedIn, so any of them can put an account at risk. High volume is where accounts most often get restricted. Each vendor describes its own limits on its website.

LinkMCP is built for single requests from your AI assistant. It puts daily limits and pacing on every action, a warm-up limit on connection requests, and a hard monthly usage cap on every plan. As with any tool that acts on LinkedIn for you, a restriction cannot be ruled out completely; these limits keep the risk low. More in our guide on account risk.

Can you use them together?

You can. For example, run campaigns in one of these tools and use an AI assistant with LinkMCP to research people and answer replies. But LinkMCP's daily limits count only what goes through LinkMCP, and Dripify's help center advises against running several automation tools on the same account at the same time. If you combine them, keep the total for the day low.

FAQ

Sources

All pages checked on 2026-10-28.

• Dripify: pricing, MCP server, cloud and account protection, connecting LinkedIn, home
• PhantomBuster: pricing, plans, what PhantomBuster is, connecting LinkedIn, MCP server, MCP plans
• Expandi: pricing, home, MCP, MCP launch post, for agencies, seats
• HeyReach: pricing, home, MCP, connecting a LinkedIn account
• LinkedIn: User Agreement
• LinkMCP: pricing, limits and security, tool list

Something wrong or out of date? Tell us at info@linkmcp.io and we will fix it.