Sending
In short
What counts towards Reply's active contacts limit?
A contact counts once in a billing period the first time any outreach step reaches them, on any channel. Follow-ups to the same person are free. The count resets on your subscription renewal date, not on the first of the month, which is why it often runs out earlier than people expect.
Quick fix
- Check the sequence's Logs tab: a monthly contact-limit error names this explicitly rather than leaving you guessing.
- Find your renewal date. The allowance resets then, not at the start of the calendar month.
- Until it resets, nothing reaches a new contact. Contacts already reached this period continue through their steps normally.
- If you need capacity now, upgrade; the allowance is set by your plan.
- For the next period, stagger new contacts across the month rather than launching everything at once.
Didn't work? Contact Reply support; the team can check your account directly.
Symptom
Sequences stop reaching new people. Existing conversations continue. A limit message appears in the sequence's Logs tab or when hovering over the sequence toggle, and it mentions contacts rather than emails.
What counts, and what does not
| Counts towards the allowance | |
|---|---|
| The first outreach step that reaches a person in this period | Yes, once |
| Follow-up steps to the same person | No |
| The same person reached on a second channel in the same period | No – the person counts once, not once per channel |
| The same person in a second sequence in the same period | No |
| The same person in a new billing period | Yes, again |
| Contacts sitting in your account and never contacted | No |
| Contacts imported but not started | No |
The unit is a person per period, not a message and not a sequence membership. Importing a large list costs nothing; starting outreach to it is what consumes the allowance.
Most likely causes
| Cause | How to recognize it |
|---|---|
| A large launch early in the period | The allowance emptied in the first week |
| Several sequences drawing on the same allowance | No single sequence looks large, but together they exhausted it |
| Re-running the same audience in a new period | Familiar contacts count again because the period rolled over |
| The period boundary is not where you assumed | The count reset mid-month and you were planning by calendar month |
| Autopilot sourcing on top of your own imports | An AI SDR sequence adds contacts continuously and quietly consumes the same allowance |
Diagnostic checklist
- Read the Logs tab. It distinguishes a contact-allowance stop from a daily sending limit, and they need completely different responses.
- Find your renewal date and count from there, not from the 1st.
- Add up every active sequence, not just the one that stopped. They share one allowance.
- Check whether any sequence is sourcing its own contacts. Autopilot keeps adding people, and each new person draws on the same pool.
- Confirm it is the contact limit, not the daily limit – see Why was the daily limit not reached? for the other one.
Resolution
Wait for the reset
The allowance restores on your renewal date. Contacts already reached this period keep running in the meantime, so sequences do not stop entirely; they stop taking on new people.
Upgrade
The allowance is set by your plan. If you consistently run out before the period ends, the plan is the constraint rather than anything in your setup.
Spread the load
Use the sequence's daily contact intake so a launch draws down the allowance over weeks rather than days. Contacts that wait show as throttled, which is queueing rather than a fault.
Stop sourcing you did not intend
If an AI SDR sequence is adding contacts on its own, either cap its intake or pause it while you prioritize a manual list.
Verification
After the reset, check that new contacts start moving again and that the Logs tab no longer shows the limit message. Then watch the burn rate over the first week; if you are a third of the way through the allowance in the first few days, the same thing happens again.
Prevention
- Plan against your renewal date, not the calendar month.
- Use daily contact intake on large launches so the allowance lasts the period.
- Count all active sequences together when planning, including any that source their own contacts.
- Review the burn rate in the first week rather than discovering it in the last.
FAQ
Does every email count towards the limit?
No. The person counts once per period, however many steps they receive.
Does a LinkedIn message count?
Yes. The first outreach that reaches a person counts, whichever channel it uses. It is one count per person, not one per channel.
When exactly does it reset?
On your subscription renewal date. That is rarely the 1st, and it is the most common reason the timing surprises people.
Do imported contacts count?
Not until outreach reaches them. Importing is free.
Still stuck? Contact Reply support
If these steps didn't solve the problem, the Reply support team can look at your account directly. Open the Reply Help Center and send the team a message.
To get an answer faster, include:
- the message from the sequence's Logs tab
- your renewal date, and how many sequences are active
- roughly how many new contacts you started this period
- whether any sequence sources contacts on its own
Don't send passwords, API keys, or access tokens.
Related
- Limits – every limit and where to find yours
- Why was the daily limit not reached? – the other limit that stops sending
- Why did Autopilot stop adding contacts?
Build with Reply
- REST API: Account – read current usage against the allowance
- MCP: docs.reply.io/mcp – check remaining allowance from an assistant