# 8 Best Dux-Soup Alternatives in 2026 (After the STACKED Move)

The best Dux-Soup alternatives in 2026 after the move to STACKED – where each tool runs, what it holds of your LinkedIn account, and what its API can do.

Most lists of Dux-Soup alternatives still describe a Chrome extension that no longer exists. This one starts from the product you have now, and compares the tools on the three things that actually differ. For Dux-Soup's own profile, see our [roundup of LinkedIn automation tools](/blog/top-10-linkedin-automation-tools#dux-soup); this page is the guide for switching.

> **The short version.** In 2026 Dux-Soup retired its Chrome extensions and became STACKED, a desktop app with a local version (your computer must stay on) and a cloud version. Three things separate the alternatives:
> - **where the automation runs** – your machine or a vendor's cloud;
> - **what the tool holds of your LinkedIn account** – your password, your session cookie, or a browser you sign in to yourself;
> - **how much of LinkedIn you can drive from code or an AI agent.** Several tools now offer an API or an MCP server, STACKED included, and their coverage varies from campaign and lead-data control to direct LinkedIn actions.
>
> The answer by need:
> - **Lowest price, on your own machine** – Linked Helper, from $15 a month or $8.25 a month on a 12-month term.
> - **A simple hosted sequence in a clean UI** – Waalaxy or Dripify; Skylead if you also need email.
> - **An agency running many sender accounts on a hosted platform** – HeyReach.
> - **LinkedIn built into your own product or CRM, or run by an AI agent** – Linked API.
> - **Stay on STACKED** – if its local or cloud version already fits your accounts and team; STACKED cloud runs with your computer off.

## Dux-Soup is now STACKED – what changed

Dux-Soup's own help center is explicit: "The previous Dux-Soup Pro, Turbo, and Cloud Chrome extensions have been deprecated." In their place is STACKED, "a new desktop-first LinkedIn lead generation and automation experience", installed with a desktop installer rather than from the Chrome Web Store. It comes in two versions:

- **STACKED local** runs on your own computer – "your computer must remain switched on and not go to sleep".
- **STACKED cloud** keeps running with your computer off; it works by copying your current local LinkedIn session to Dux-Soup's cloud.

Both include an API and an MCP server, and both support teams and agencies. Prices per seat, per Dux-Soup's pricing page: STACKED local $55 a month or $41.25 billed annually, STACKED cloud $99 a month or $74.17 billed annually.

If the move is why you are looking, here is what to take with you before you switch:

- pause running campaigns so nothing fires during the move;
- export your prospects with their tags and statuses;
- write down each campaign's steps and delays;
- keep your suppression list of people not to contact;
- connect the new tool and ramp activity up gradually instead of resuming at full volume.

## The 8 alternatives compared

| Tool | Runs where | What it holds of your LinkedIn account | API | MCP | What the API/MCP can drive | Starting price |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| STACKED local (baseline) | Your computer (must stay on) | Your session, in the desktop app you sign in to | Yes | Yes | Queue visits, invitations, messages, InMail, follows, likes; read conversations; no people search in the published docs | $55/seat/mo; $41.25 billed annually |
| STACKED cloud (baseline) | Dux-Soup's cloud | Your local session, copied to its cloud | Yes | Yes | Same as local | $99/seat/mo; $74.17 billed annually |
| Linked API | A dedicated cloud browser per account | You sign in yourself, in your own cloud browser; Linked API never stores your password | Yes | Yes | Search, profiles, invitations, messages and inbox, reactions, comments, posts, profile viewers, analytics | $69/seat/mo; $49 billed annually |
| HeyReach | Its cloud, a residential proxy per sender | Your session cookie (li_at), or email + password + 2FA key | Growth plan and up | Growth plan and up | Campaigns, lists, leads, inbox read and reply in thread; no documented direct invite or search endpoint; MCP tools not published | $79/sender/mo; $63 billed yearly |
| Expandi | Its cloud, a dedicated country IP | Your email + password, stored by Expandi | Yes | Private beta (drafts only) | Schedule invitations, messages, InMail, visits, comments, likes, posts and email; read conversations | $99/account/mo; $79 billed annually |
| Waalaxy | Its cloud | Your email + password + 2FA secret | Advanced plan and up | Advanced plan and up | Read lists and campaigns, import prospects | €19/user/mo billed annually (€39 monthly); API on Advanced, €49 billed annually (€99 monthly) |
| Dripify | Its cloud | Your email + password (encrypted), or an optional Chrome extension | Pro plan and up | Pro plan and up | Campaign and lead data, upload leads; no direct LinkedIn-action endpoint in the published docs | $59/user/mo or $39 billed annually; API on Pro, $79 or $59 billed annually |
| Skylead | Its cloud, a proxy by country | Your email + password (+ 2FA), or a manual login it detects | Yes | Not published | Campaigns, leads, conversations, reply in existing threads, email | $100/seat/mo |
| Linked Helper | Your computer or your own VPS (must stay on) | Your session, in the desktop app on your machine | Not published (webhooks) | Not published | – | Local storage $15/mo or $8.25/mo on a 12-month term; cloud data storage $29.9 or $16.5 |
| PhantomBuster | Its cloud | Browser extension, your li_at cookie, or email + password | Yes | Yes | Launch, schedule and stop Phantoms, fetch their results | €69/mo; €56 billed annually |

"Not published" means the vendor's own pages say nothing either way – not that the feature is missing. Every cell comes from the vendor's own pricing, help or API pages on the date in the footer.

## The 8 best Dux-Soup alternatives

The table holds the facts; these are the positioning calls it can't make.

### 1. Linked API – best for putting LinkedIn inside your own tools or an AI agent

Linked API is not a campaign tool. It exposes LinkedIn as actions you compose into your own workflow – the opposite of a fixed sequence builder. Build it into your backend or CRM with the REST API, the [Node and Python SDKs](/sdks) or the [CLI](/cli); or have an AI agent run it out of the box through the [MCP server](/mcp/available-tools), the agent-friendly CLI or a ready-made [skill](/skills). **Not for you if** you want a ready-made campaign builder with a unified inbox and templates – Linked API offers none of those, and it returns no email addresses or phone numbers.

### 2. HeyReach – best for agencies on a hosted platform

Built around campaigns across many sender accounts with a unified inbox, and priced per sender – the natural pick if you want agency work hosted rather than in a desktop app. For the wider field, see our [HeyReach alternatives](/blog/heyreach-alternatives).

### 3. Expandi – best for managed cloud outreach with a dedicated country IP

A hosted sequencer that leans on its infrastructure – a dedicated IP in your country – and an Open API that schedules actions into its campaigns. Its MCP server is still a private beta. More in [Linked API vs Expandi](/vs/expandi).

### 4. Waalaxy – best for the easiest cloud start

The quickest to get going with in a browser, with LinkedIn and email sequences on higher plans. Mind the billing period: its headline prices are the annual rates. See our [Waalaxy alternatives](/blog/waalaxy-alternatives).

### 5. Dripify – best for simple drip sequences

A straightforward hosted drip-campaign builder for people who want a sequence running today, not a platform. More in [Linked API vs Dripify](/vs/dripify) and our [Dripify alternatives](/blog/dripify-alternatives).

### 6. Skylead – best for LinkedIn plus email in one seat

Bundles LinkedIn and email outreach in one seat, so you do not run a separate email tool. Its MCP server is not published.

### 7. Linked Helper – best if you want to stay on your own machine

The closest in spirit to STACKED local: desktop software that runs on your computer or a VPS you rent – its pricing page answers "Does it run while my computer is off? No". The cheapest option here; its local and cloud editions differ only in where your workspace data is stored, not in where the automation runs.

### 8. PhantomBuster – best for extraction workflows rather than sequences

Pre-built automations ("Phantoms") that you launch and schedule – stronger for pulling data than for running outreach sequences. See our [PhantomBuster alternatives](/blog/phantombuster-alternatives).

Unipile belongs in a different bracket: a developer API for teams building their own product on top of LinkedIn and other messaging channels, not a replacement for a sequencer. It is covered in [Linked API vs Unipile](/vs/unipile).

## Campaign API or action API – what an agent can actually do

"Has an API" says little on its own. The APIs and MCP servers in the table fall into three kinds, and the kind decides what your code or an AI agent can do:

- **Campaign APIs** let an agent manage the tool's own sequences – add leads, read campaign status and statistics, sometimes read the inbox and reply in an existing thread. HeyReach, Waalaxy, Dripify and Skylead work this way: the LinkedIn actions still happen inside the campaign you built. An agent can feed and monitor your sequences, but the outreach logic stays in the tool.
- **Action-queue APIs** let an agent schedule specific actions – visit this profile, send this invitation, send this message – which the tool then executes at its own pace. STACKED and Expandi's Open API work this way. That is closer to driving LinkedIn directly, but the published docs show no people search in STACKED's API or MCP, so the agent needs its list from somewhere else.
- **Action APIs** let an agent work on LinkedIn directly: find people, read their profiles and posts, then invite or message them, with no campaign object in between. Linked API works this way, and so does Unipile for teams building their own product.

None of these is better in general. If your outreach lives in a sequence you are happy with, a campaign API is enough. If you want an agent to research and act – "find heads of RevOps at these companies, read their recent posts, invite the ones who wrote about X" – you need an action API.

## What each tool holds of your LinkedIn account

The table names the connection method; the practical difference comes down to four arrangements:

- **The session stays on your machine** – STACKED local and Linked Helper. The LinkedIn session stays on the machine running the app, and that computer or VPS must remain on.
- **Your session runs in the vendor's cloud** – STACKED cloud copies your local session there; PhantomBuster and HeyReach can run on a session cookie you supply.
- **You provide credentials to the vendor:**
  - Expandi stores your password;
  - Dripify stores your password encrypted, unless you connect through its optional extension;
  - Waalaxy takes your email, password and 2FA secret;
  - HeyReach and Skylead can take your password and 2FA as an alternative to a cookie or a manual login.
- **A browser you sign in to yourself** – Linked API: "You sign in to LinkedIn yourself, directly in your isolated cloud browser. We never see, intercept, or store your password" ([how it works](/safety)).

None of these makes a tool risk-free. Automating a real account always carries restriction risk, and pace matters more than the tool: stay within [LinkedIn's practical limits](/guides/understanding-linkedin-limits), and know [what to do if an account gets restricted](/guides/linkedin-account-restricted).

## When to stay on STACKED

For many Dux-Soup users, staying is the right call. STACKED covers single users and teams – shared campaigns, duplicate prevention, team activity in an admin dashboard – and agencies, with an Agency Admin dashboard for client accounts. STACKED cloud removes the old "computer must be on" problem without switching vendors, and its API and MCP server can queue actions for you.

Move when there is a specific thing it does not do for you:

- you want outreach without installing a desktop app;
- you want an AI agent to search LinkedIn for people and act on the results – there is no people-search endpoint in its published API or MCP docs;
- you want LinkedIn wired into your own product or CRM as more than queued actions.

## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

#### Is Dux-Soup still a Chrome extension?

No. Dux-Soup deprecated its Pro, Turbo and Cloud Chrome extensions in 2026 and replaced them with STACKED, a desktop app installed from a desktop installer, in local and cloud versions.

#### Does Dux-Soup have an API?

Yes. STACKED includes an API and an MCP server that can queue LinkedIn actions such as visits, invitations and messages and read conversations. No LinkedIn people-search endpoint appears in its published API or MCP docs.

#### Which Dux-Soup alternative runs when my computer is off?

Any cloud tool: HeyReach, Expandi, Waalaxy, Dripify, Skylead, PhantomBuster and Linked API all run without your computer, and so does STACKED cloud. STACKED local and Linked Helper need your machine (or your own VPS) on.

#### Can an AI agent run my LinkedIn outreach?

Yes, through an MCP server – but what it can do depends on the kind of API behind it. A campaign tool lets an agent manage its sequences and data. An action API such as Linked API lets an agent search, read profiles, invite and message directly, within limits you set.

#### What is the cheapest Dux-Soup alternative?

Linked Helper: its Standard licence with local storage is $15 a month, or $8.25 a month on a 12-month term ($99 upfront), per its pricing page. Like STACKED local, it needs your computer or a VPS running.

## Build it in, or hand it to an agent

If what you want from leaving Dux-Soup is LinkedIn inside your own systems, use it both ways. Build it into your backend or CRM with the REST API, the [Node and Python SDKs](/sdks) or the [CLI](/cli). Or hand the same work to an AI agent through the [MCP server](/mcp/available-tools), the agent-friendly CLI or a ready-made [skill](/skills). Each account runs in its own cloud browser at a human pace. Plans start at $49 a seat a month billed annually, or $69 month to month – see [pricing](/pricing).

*Facts verified 30 September 2026 – Dux-Soup/STACKED, HeyReach, Expandi, Waalaxy, Dripify, Skylead, Linked Helper, PhantomBuster and Unipile pricing, account-connection methods and API/MCP coverage checked against their live pages on that date; re-checked on 5 October 2026: Dripify's MCP server and extension connection, Waalaxy's billing period, Linked Helper's local and cloud pricing, and STACKED's team and agency support.*