Outreach vs Salesloft: What Really Matters in a Sales Engagement Platform
Sales engagement platforms have become essential for any business running outbound sales. Whether your outreach is delivered by SDRs, AEs or founders wearing multiple hats, platforms like Outreach and Salesloft help bring structure, consistency and insight to outbound efforts.
At first glance, Outreach and Salesloft do very similar things. And that is because they do. Both tools are built to help sales teams manage multistep prospecting workflows, track activity, and measure what is working. Outreach calls it a sequence, while Salesloft prefers cadence, but ultimately they are both talking about the same thing, structured repeatable outreach across email, phone, LinkedIn and other channels.
So if the differences are minor, what actually matters when choosing or using a platform like this?
The value of sales engagement platforms
The real power of platforms like Outreach and Salesloft comes down to a few key benefits:
Consistency of messaging
With sequences or cadences in place you can ensure that every rep delivers messaging that aligns with the brand. No more one off emails or disconnected calls. Every touchpoint follows a structured process which improves professionalism and helps your message land more clearly.Visibility and measurement
These platforms let you track performance across individuals and teams. You can see open rates, reply rates, call outcomes, and which messaging is converting. That means sales leaders can optimise based on real data and identify what works across different industries or personas.Time savings through automation
While outreach always needs a human touch, automation helps reps work more efficiently. Steps like email sending, follow up reminders and task creation are all handled automatically. That means more time spent speaking to the right people and less time on admin.Scalability
Once a high performing sequence has been built it can be rolled out to the whole team. That means new reps can hit the ground running with proven messaging, while experienced sellers can iterate. Sales engagement platforms create the foundation for repeatable scalable outbound activity.
Key differences between Outreach and Salesloft
While both tools deliver similar functionality there are a few subtle differences:
User experience
Salesloft is often praised for being slightly more intuitive and accessible particularly for newer users. Outreach is seen as more powerful for larger teams with more complex workflows though it has a marginally steeper learning curve.LinkedIn integration
Salesloft includes stronger native LinkedIn steps within its workflows. Outreach users often rely on third party tools or manual steps to replicate this functionality.AI and automation features
Both platforms are investing heavily in AI. Outreach has recently enhanced its Smart Email Assist and automated objection handling capabilities while Salesloft is doubling down on its Rhythm product which helps reps prioritise and execute daily tasks more effectively.Integration ecosystem
Outreach leans into deep integrations with Salesforce, Gong and Drift among others. Salesloft also integrates with many leading CRMs and tools but some teams find Outreach’s ecosystem slightly more flexible.
In reality most businesses would be well served by either platform. The better choice usually comes down to specific workflow, tech stack integration, and user preference.
My own experience
Having administered, and also used as a rep on both platforms, I have personally gravitated towards Outreach within the tech stacks I have used. This preference is largely down to the back‑end admin capabilities that feel cleaner and more intuitive to me. That said it is a personal preference and I appreciate that others might feel differently.
I also use HubSpot Sequences and really like the way it is set up and managed. However tracking and reporting in HubSpot are not quite there yet in comparison to these two leaders.
Honourable mention HubSpot and other alternatives
While Outreach and Salesloft are the go to choices for many outbound teams, it is worth noting that other CRMs have strong native sales engagement features.
HubSpot’s Sales Hub includes sequences task queues reporting and integrated calling all natively within the platform. For teams already on HubSpot this can be a strong cost effective option that avoids multiple platforms.
Salesforce has also expanded its sales enablement features through Sales Engagement (formerly High Velocity Sales), though many businesses still prefer using Outreach or Salesloft alongside Salesforce for a more focused experience.
There are also up‑and‑coming tools like Apollo Mixmax and Groove each offering their own take on sales engagement.
Latest stats that show the value of sales engagement platforms
Salesloft data shows embedding video in emails (4.5 million video emails analysed) led to a 16 percent uplift in open rates and a 26 percent increase in reply rates
Salesloft case studies report personalisation in cadences at Alteryx doubled reply rates, and Spendesk achieved a ten‑fold improvement in reply rates using Salesloft .
Industry benchmarks indicate average cold email open rates range from 15 to 25 percent, with reply rates typically between 3 and 5 percent, and top campaigns hitting 10‑15 percent.
Salesloft Revenue Benchmark Report 2023 found SDRs sending ~150 emails per week achieve only a 2.8 percent reply rate on average, showing volume alone is not enough.
Salesloft insights also show that prospects go through an average of 5 to 8 touchpoints (emails calls socials etc) before replying.
Additional industry guides show that many teams see a sequence of roughly ninth touches before an opportunity converts.
These statistics clearly demonstrate the impact of structured persistent outreach using the right platforms.
Final thoughts
Outreach and Salesloft remain the leaders for good reason. They help you bring structure consistency and measurable performance to outbound sales. Whether you call it a sequence or a cadence the outcome is the same, more reliable pipeline and improved messaging quality across the team.
Both platforms are excellent, and with my own leaning towards Outreach for its admin features I am confident either can serve you well. The most important thing is that you commit to implementing and embedding a sales engagement process that helps reps succeed.
Other tools like HubSpot Sales Hub and Salesforce Sales Engagement also offer credible alternatives particularly for teams that prefer an all‑in‑one stack.
If you are still relying on spreadsheets or one‑off emails it may be time to make a change.
For more information and support with any of these tools, please do get in touch.