---
title: "How to pause a lead?"
description: "Manage Leads Easily: Learn to unsubscribe or pause a lead in Smartlead for improved lead management and communication."
url: https://helpcenter.smartlead.ai/en/articles/89-how-to-pause-a-lead
collection: "Creating Email Campaigns"
updated: 2026-11-06
language: en
---

# How to pause a lead?

Manage Leads Easily: Learn to unsubscribe or pause a lead in Smartlead for improved lead management and communication.

**How to pause a lead**

**Overview**  
Pause a contact so they stop receiving the remaining emails in a specific campaign sequence. You can pause from the campaign’s Lead List or from Master Inbox if the lead has already received at least one email.

**When to use**  
Use Pause when a lead replied via another channel, booked a meeting, or should not receive further follow-ups in that campaign.

**Method 1: Pause from Lead List (works whether or not the lead received an email)**

1.  Go to **Email Campaigns** > **Lead List**.
    
2.  Find the lead using search or filters.
    
3.  Hover the lead name or email and click the **pencil** icon.
    
4.  Click **Pause Lead** and confirm.
    

![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/ghelparticle/1p46OUaD5Pbhtxye3TvzZi741vkpIyunQIsPXeTpDYECeNbDNlRaeLk1gmcwV5GiHvFHUdSnK7b.png)

**Method 2: Pause from Master Inbox (for leads who already received an email)**

1.  Open **Master Inbox**.
    
2.  Search by **email address**, **first name**, or **domain** and open the conversation.
    
3.  Click the **three dots** menu.
    
4.  Click **Pause Lead**.
    
    -   Shortcut: type **PL** to pause quickly.
        

![](https://staticfiles.gleap.io/ghelparticle/MkBNoyPshdOrVq0EzWQn7CnW7TvrKOfAGcrCm9VNJFshrPDasC5zKl1iXT8vn3NrUMGQN7FdeVQ.png)

**What happens after you pause**

-   The lead’s status in that campaign changes to **Paused**.
    
-   Future steps in that campaign stop for that lead.
    
-   An email already queued may still send if it’s paused later or around the time of followup to be sent; everything after that is stopped.
    
-   Pause affects only the selected campaign. Other campaigns with the same lead are not paused.
    

**Limitations**

-   Bulk pause is not available.
    
-   Pause does not unsubscribe the lead across all campaigns.
    

**Unpause later**  
Email Campaigns > Lead List > open the paused lead > **Resume Lead**.  
Master Inbox > Select the email > Click on three dots > Click on resume  
Tip: When resuming, you can add a **delay**. Leaving the delay blank resumes immediately; a delay is useful for OOO replies(Only when being resumed from Master Inbox)

**FAQs**

-   **Does Pause Lead unsubscribe the contact**  
    No. Use **Unsubscribe** to stop emails across all campaigns.
    
-   **Can I pause a lead in all campaigns at once**  
    No. Pause is campaign specific.
    
-   **How do I find paused leads**  
    Filter the campaign’s Lead List by **Status = Paused**.