Comparison
Feb 18, 2026
CEO and co-founder
Cold Email Service Provider ROI Calculator: Calculate Cost Savings & Time Impact
Updated February 9, 2026
TL;DR: Google Workspace costs scale linearly at $7-8.40 per inbox, meaning 50 inboxes run $350-420/month. Our flat-rate model charges $129/month for unlimited inboxes on dedicated IPs. For agencies managing 50+ domains, this translates to roughly $221-291/month in direct savings plus significant labor hours recovered from automated DNS configuration during setup. Most agencies break even within their first billing cycle. Use the calculator below to model your specific scenario.
Per-seat pricing creates what I call the "success tax." Every new client you land increases your infrastructure bill. At some point, winning business starts to feel like punishment because Google Workspace charges scale faster than your margins can absorb.
For agencies running 50-200 cold email domains, infrastructure costs can consume 1.5-2.5% of client billings when you factor in platform fees, domains, warmup tools, and the labor hours spent configuring DNS records manually. This article provides a transparent ROI calculator to compare your current per-seat setup against our flat-rate model, factoring in both hard costs and the value of your time.
The hidden mathematics of agency infrastructure costs
Most agency owners focus on the headline price ($7-8.40/user for Google Workspace Business Starter) without calculating Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The real number includes four components that compound as you scale:
Platform fees (the visible cost): Google Workspace Business Starter costs $8.40/user/month on monthly billing or $7/user/month with an annual commitment. For 50 inboxes, that works out to $350-420/month. Scale to 100 inboxes and you hit $700-840/month. At 200 inboxes, infrastructure alone runs $1,400-1,680/month.
Domain registration (the small cost that adds up): Cold email best practices call for 2-3 inboxes per domain to protect sender reputation. For 50 inboxes, you need roughly 17-25 domains. At $16.44/year per .com domain through registrars like Namecheap, that adds $238-400/year or approximately $27.40-34.25/month amortized.
Warmup tools (the hidden cost): We require external warmup tools since our platform focuses on infrastructure rather than deliverability services. Standalone warmup tools like Warmup Inbox run $15-19 per inbox monthly. However, sending platforms like Instantly include unlimited warmup in their $37/month Growth tier, making bundled options more economical at scale.
Labor cost (the invisible cost): Manual DNS configuration for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records takes 15-30 minutes of active work per domain, plus 24-48 hours of propagation time before you can test deliverability. At a conservative $75/hour agency owner rate, configuring 20 domains manually costs $375-750 in labor. This is where the real margin erosion happens.
Interactive ROI calculator: Estimate your monthly savings
Use the calculator below to model your specific scenario. The tool compares your current Google Workspace setup against our flat-rate infrastructure.
How to use the calculator:
Enter your current inbox count: Include all active sending accounts across all clients
Confirm your provider cost: Google Workspace Business Starter defaults to $8.40/month on monthly billing
Calculate domains needed: Use the formula (inbox count ÷ 2.5) rounded up
Input your time cost: Use your actual hourly rate for DNS configuration work
Review the output: Monthly savings, annual ROI, and estimated payback period
The default values reflect a typical agency managing 50 inboxes across 8-10 clients. Adjust each field to match your specific operation.
Calculator inputs (with defaults):
Input Field | Default Value | Your Value |
|---|---|---|
Current inbox count | 50 | ___ |
Current provider cost per inbox | $8.40/month | ___ |
Domains needed (inboxes ÷ 2.5) | 20 | ___ |
Domain cost per year | $16.44 | ___ |
Setup time per domain (minutes) | 25 | ___ |
Your hourly rate | $75 | ___ |
External warmup (if needed) | $0 (bundled) | ___ |
Use the interactive calculator to automatically populate your specific values, or download the spreadsheet to model custom scenarios.
Formula assumptions:
Google Workspace TCO = (Inbox count × Provider cost) + (Domains × Annual cost ÷ 12)
Inframail TCO = $129/month + (Domains × Annual cost ÷ 12) + External warmup (if any)
Monthly savings = Google Workspace TCO - Inframail TCO
For detailed guidance on calculating email sending capacity and choosing the right plan, check our help documentation on capacity planning.
Breakdown: Where your infrastructure budget actually goes
Platform fees vs. domain costs
Here is the math for 50 inboxes across different providers:
Cost Component | Google Workspace | Inframail |
|---|---|---|
Platform fee | $420/month (50 × $8.40) | $129/month (flat rate) |
Domain costs | $24/month (20 domains × $16.44/yr ÷ 12) | $27.40/month (same) |
Monthly total | $447.40/month | $156.40/month |
Annual total | $5,368.80/year | $1,876.80/year |
The $291/month savings compounds quickly. Over 12 months, that represents $3,492 in recovered margin for a 50-inbox operation.
For agencies scaling to 200 inboxes, the gap widens dramatically:
Scale | Google Workspace | Inframail | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
50 inboxes | $447.40/mo | $156.40/mo | $3,492 |
100 inboxes | $977/mo | $266/mo | $8,532 |
200 inboxes | $1,954/mo | $403/mo | $18,612 |
This is why flat-rate pricing protects margin as you grow. Watch how we handle scale without per-seat charges in our unlimited inbox creation demo.
The hidden cost of warmup tools
We focus on infrastructure and DNS automation, not warmup. This is a transparent trade-off. You need an external warmup solution or a sending platform with bundled warmup.
Sensitivity analysis (50 inboxes):
Scenario | Google Workspace | Inframail |
|---|---|---|
No warmup (platform + domains only) | $447.40/mo | $156.40/mo |
Bundled warmup (Instantly $37/mo) | $484.40/mo | $193.40/mo |
Standalone warmup ($15/inbox) | $1,197.40/mo | $906.40/mo |
Even in the worst-case scenario with standalone warmup, our infrastructure saves $291/month. Most agencies use sending platforms with bundled warmup, making the savings even more substantial.
"So affordable that it will make your unit economics work, even for lower ticket b2b businesses like ours." - Verified user review of Inframail
Our warmup documentation walks through post-migration inbox warming step-by-step.
The labor tax: Quantifying the cost of manual DNS setup
Manual configuration vs. automated provisioning
The manual workflow looks like this:
Purchase domain: Log into Namecheap or GoDaddy (5 minutes)
Access DNS panel: Navigate to DNS management (2 minutes)
Create SPF record: Add TXT record with correct syntax (5 minutes)
Generate DKIM keys: Configure through email provider (10 minutes)
Add DMARC record: Set policy and reporting addresses (5 minutes)
Wait for propagation: 24-48 hours before testing
Verify with Mail-Tester: Test deliverability score (10 minutes)
Total active work: approximately 37 minutes per domain. For 20 domains, that means 12+ hours of configuration before you send a single campaign email.
Our automated workflow:
Purchase or transfer domain: Through our platform (1 minute)
Auto-configure DNS: We handle SPF, DKIM, DMARC automatically
Create inboxes: Bulk provision with one click (30 seconds)
Export credentials: Download CSV for Instantly or Smartlead (30 seconds)
Total time: approximately 2 minutes per domain. Watch our 2-minute setup process showing real-time SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configuration for 10+ inboxes.
"I personally have over 1,000 email accounts with Inframail for one flat price. Adding all those records would have probably taken dozens of hours. Instead all records were added within 10 minutes." - Verified user review of Inframail
Labor cost calculation (20 domains):
Method | Time Required | Labor Cost ($75/hr) |
|---|---|---|
Manual DNS | 12.3 hours | $923 |
Our automation | 40 minutes | $50 |
Time savings | 11.6 hours | $873 |
Our video on dedicated IPs vs shared IP pools explains why infrastructure choice affects both setup time and long-term deliverability.
Payback period analysis: When switching becomes profitable
The payback period represents how quickly your savings exceed the cost of switching. For most agencies with 50+ inboxes, this happens within the first billing cycle.
Cost to switch (50 inboxes):
Switching Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
New domain purchase (if needed) | $0-400 (often $0 if transferring) |
Time to migrate and configure | 2-4 hours ($150-300 labor) |
Warmup period (reduced sending) | 2-4 weeks |
Total switching cost | $150-700 |
Monthly savings calculation:
Platform + domain savings: $291/month (Google Workspace vs Inframail)
Initial labor savings: $873 one-time (for 20-domain setup)
Monthly recurring benefit: $291/month
Break-even timeline:
Conservative scenario ($700 switching cost): 2.4 months
Typical scenario ($300 switching cost): 1.0 month
Best case ($150 switching cost): 0.5 months
One user documented signing a $50,000 whale client using cold email infrastructure set up through our platform.
How to interpret your results
Download the calculator:
Export your inputs and results to a Google Sheet for your own P&L modeling. The spreadsheet includes sensitivity analysis tabs for different inbox counts and warmup scenarios.
What the numbers tell you:
Monthly savings under $100: Consider staying with current provider unless labor savings justify the switch
Monthly savings $100-300: Strong ROI case. Switch makes sense for cost reduction alone
Monthly savings over $300: Immediate priority. Infrastructure costs are eroding margin significantly
Red flags in your current setup:
Infrastructure costs exceed 20% of client billings
Spending 5+ hours on DNS configuration when onboarding new clients
Adding clients feels like a cost burden rather than revenue gain
Our getting started documentation provides step-by-step migration guidance for the complete setup process.
Strategic impact: Reinvesting infrastructure savings into growth
What can you do with an extra $3,500/year and 12 hours of recovered setup time per client onboarding?
Financial reallocation options:
Hire a junior VA: Part-time assistance at $15-20/hour for 15 hours/month
Invest in better data: Upgrade lead sources or verification tools
Increase ad spend: Fund LinkedIn or Google ads for inbound leads
Build cash reserves: Improve runway and reduce financial stress
Time reallocation options:
Sales calls: 12 hours saved = 24+ discovery calls at 30 minutes each
Client strategy: Deeper engagement with existing accounts
Content creation: Build thought leadership that generates inbound
System building: Create SOPs that enable future delegation
"Rock-solid infrastructure, sharp support, genuinely dependable." - Verified user review of Inframail
Another user reported booking 6 calls per day using our infrastructure, demonstrating how time savings translate to pipeline growth.
Our Ultimate Cold Email Infrastructure Guide for 2025 covers the complete system for scaling outreach while maintaining deliverability.
Start saving on infrastructure today Inframail has 38 5-star reviews on Trustpilot.
Flat-rate pricing wins at scale because infrastructure becomes a fixed cost rather than a variable one. For agencies managing 50+ inboxes, the math consistently favors switching from per-seat providers to flat-rate alternatives.
The calculator above shows your specific savings. For most agencies, the break-even point falls within the first billing cycle, making the switch profitable almost immediately.
Sign up to Inframail and get started today.
Frequently asked questions about cold email infrastructure costs
Does the $129/month plan include domain costs?
No. Domains cost $16.44/year depending on TLD. For .com domains, expect $16.44/year through our platform or your preferred registrar.
Do I need to pay for external warmup?
Yes. We recommend dedicated warmup tools or sending platforms with bundled warmup like Instantly ($37/month) for best deliverability results.
How does dedicated IP impact cost?
Dedicated IPs are included in the flat rate. Our Unlimited Plan includes 1 dedicated US-based IP. The Agency Pack ($327/month) includes 3 dedicated IPs for agencies managing larger volumes.
What sending platforms work with Inframail?
We export IMAP/SMTP credentials to CSV format compatible with Instantly, Smartlead, and other cold email tools. Our platform compatibility documentation lists all supported email platforms.
How long does migration take?
Most agencies complete migration in 2-4 hours. We auto-configure DNS records, significantly reducing setup time compared to manual configuration. Note that DNS propagation still requires 24-48 hours before domains are fully operational.
Key terminology for infrastructure planning
TCO (Total Cost of Ownership): The sum of platform fees, domain registration, warmup tools, and labor costs required to maintain cold email infrastructure.
Cost-per-inbox: Total monthly infrastructure spend divided by active email accounts. Used to benchmark efficiency against industry standards.
DNS propagation: The time required for DNS record changes (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to update across global servers. Typically requires 24-48 hours regardless of configuration method.
Dedicated IP: A unique IP address assigned exclusively to your sending infrastructure. Your behavior alone determines reputation, unlike shared IP pools where other users' actions affect deliverability.
Infrastructure spend as % of billings: Monthly infrastructure costs divided by total client revenue. Industry benchmark is under 2.0% for healthy unit economics.
