Apollo.io
Apollo.io · B2B Sales Platform: Prospecting Data, Sequencing, and AI Agents
Apollo.io's sales platform combines a B2B database of 240M+ contacts with email sequencing, a dialer, and AI agents for prospecting. Free plan; paid plans from $49/seat/month billed annually.
Best for
Sales teams that want one self-serve platform for prospecting data, sequencing, and AI agents with human checkpoints
Not ideal for
Teams that want a dedicated, fully managed AI digital worker, or teams that need highly custom GTM enrichment workflows
Who it's for
Sales teams and SDRs that want an all-in-one prospecting, sequencing, and AI-assist platform
Capabilities
- B2B database of 240M+ contacts and 30M+ companies (per Apollo)
- AI agents for research, list building, outreach, follow-up, and meeting booking, with human checkpoints (Professional plan and above)
- Email and multi-channel sequencing built into the platform
- AI Assistant for email drafting, account summaries, and next-action suggestions
- Apollo Anywhere and Apollo MCP for working from ChatGPT, Claude, Gmail, or your CRM
- Parallel dialer and waterfall enrichment
- Engagement tracking and pipeline reporting in one workspace
- CRM sync with Salesforce, HubSpot, and others
Limitations
- Agents run inside a human-plus-AI workspace with checkpoints, rather than as a standalone digital worker
- AI agents, A/Z testing, open/click tracking, and unlimited daily email sends require Professional ($79/seat/month billed annually) or higher
- Credits are pooled per team, reset each billing cycle, and do not roll over; a mobile number costs 8 credits versus 1 for an email
- Less flexible than dedicated enrichment platforms like Clay for custom GTM workflows
- Quality of outreach still depends on team-defined ICP, targeting, and messaging
- Data accuracy and coverage vary across regions and industries — verify on a relevant sample
- Compliance and deliverability still require the team's discipline regardless of platform
Use cases
- Sourcing and enriching B2B prospects without a separate data vendor
- Running outbound sequences with AI-assisted email drafting
- Centralizing prospecting, sequencing, and CRM sync in one tool
- Reducing tool sprawl across database, sequencer, and AI assist
- Supporting SDR and AE teams with shared contact data and engagement records
Our take
Apollo's value is mostly about consolidation rather than any single capability. The B2B database, sequencer, and AI assists are each reasonable on their own; what makes Apollo distinct is putting them in one workspace with self-serve pricing. That fits well for solo sellers, small sales teams, and SDRs who would otherwise stitch together a database, a sequencer, and a separate AI tool — three contracts and three integrations instead of one. Apollo's agents can now run much of the prospecting loop — research, lists, outreach, follow-up, and booking — but they do it inside a broader workspace that keeps humans at key checkpoints. Teams that want a dedicated, standalone AI digital worker may still prefer 11x or Artisan. Teams that need fine-grained enrichment across many data providers are usually a better fit for Clay running upstream of Apollo or another sequencer.
Who should use it
SDRs, AEs, and small-to-mid-market sales teams who want one platform for prospecting data, sequencing, and AI assists — with self-serve pricing and a working free tier for evaluation.
Who should skip it
Teams that want a dedicated, standalone AI digital worker running outbound (11x or Artisan), or teams that need custom enrichment workflows across many data providers (Clay).
Strengths
- Bundles a large B2B contact database with sequencing and AI assists in one platform
- Self-serve plans make it accessible to small teams and individuals
- Reduces stack complexity vs separate database + sequencer + AI tool
Weaknesses
- Agents keep humans at checkpoints — less hands-off than a dedicated AI digital worker
- Less flexible than Clay for custom enrichment and GTM workflow design
- Data accuracy varies by region and industry — worth verifying on a sample
Apollo.io pricing
Free
$0
- 75 credits per seat per month
- 2 sequences per team, 250 email sends a day
- Basic search filters; select up to 25 records at a time
- AI Assistant limited to 5 chats; no AI agents
Basic
$49/seat/mo
Billed annual
- $65/seat/month if billed monthly
- 2,500 credits per seat per month
- Unlimited sequences, 250 email sends a day
- Advanced filters, waterfall enrichment, US dialer (credits apply)
Professional
$79/seat/mo
Billed annual
- $99/seat/month if billed monthly
- 4,000 credits per seat per month
- AI agents, A/Z testing, unlimited daily email sends
- Open/click tracking and advanced reports
Organization
$119/seat/mo
Billed annual
- Annual billing only, 3-seat minimum
- 6,000 credits per seat per month
- SSO, SCIM, custom permissions, Salesforce custom objects
- Custom volumes and higher API limits through Apollo sales
Free tier limits: The Free plan has no time limit, and its credit allowance is 75 credits per seat per month. Separately, Apollo's fair-use policy caps non-paying accounts at 100 credits per account per month without a verified company email domain, or 10,000 with one. The cap is a ceiling, not a second allowance, and Apollo does not say how it interacts with the per-seat allowance on multi-seat teams. The ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity connectors on Free also require a company domain. Basic and Professional start with a 14-day trial limited to 50 lead credits per user; the Professional trial does not include mobile numbers.
Note: Prices are per seat, exclude taxes, and every seat on an account must be on the same plan. Annual billing is paid upfront for 12 months and its full credit allowance is granted upfront; you can switch from monthly to annual at any time, but not from annual to monthly mid-term. Credits are pooled across the team, reset each billing cycle, and do not roll over. An email costs 1 credit and a mobile number 8. Extra credits cost $0.015–$0.025 each depending on volume, are charged immediately, and renew every cycle until removed. Plans are for internal use only; reselling Apollo data or using it in your own product needs a separate agreement.
Where Apollo.io excels
Sourcing and sequencing prospects without a separate data vendor
Apollo's built-in B2B database removes the need to maintain a ZoomInfo or similar contract alongside a sequencer — one tool covers data and outreach.
AI-assisted email drafting inside an SDR workflow
Apollo AI handles the draft layer for outbound emails and follow-ups while humans review and approve — useful for teams that want capacity gains without removing human judgment.
Account research and rep prep
Account summaries and next-action suggestions help reps walk into calls and emails with context they did not have to assemble manually.
Self-serve prospecting for solo sellers and small teams
A working free tier and self-serve plans make Apollo accessible to teams below the size where AI SDR platforms make commercial sense.
Apollo.io vs. competitors
Apollo.io vs. Clay
Replaces Apollo.io's list-building and enrichment workflow. Choose Clay when one data source is not enough: its tables pull from 200+ data providers (Apollo among them) and AI research agents, then push results to a CRM or sequencer, and a native email sequencer can cover basic outreach. Its listed features do not include a dialer, call recording, or deal management, so it does not replace those parts of Apollo. The free plan includes 500 actions and 100 data credits a month, but CRM auto-sync and HTTP API/webhooks start at Growth. Many teams run Clay upstream of Apollo rather than instead of it.
Apollo.io vs. Artisan
Replaces Apollo.io's rep-run outbound prospecting workflow: finding leads, writing and sequencing outreach, and booking meetings. Choose Artisan when you want an AI BDR (Ava) to do that work instead of reps. It has its own contact database, waterfall enrichment, email and LinkedIn sequences, and a dialer for reps, but its listed features do not include call recording or deal management. It costs more and has no free plan: Artisan's comparison page lists entry pricing from $250/month, Team and Scale plans (roughly 2,500 and 6,000 leads contacted a month) are sold through sales, and a free trial is available.
Apollo.io vs. 11x
Replaces the outbound execution work reps do in Apollo.io's sequencer and dialer: researching accounts, sending outreach, and following up. Choose 11x when that execution, not data access, is the bottleneck and the budget covers an AI SDR. Alice works across email, LinkedIn, and phone from 11x's own lead database, and Julian handles inbound callbacks. Its listed features do not include call recording or deal management. 11x has no free or self-serve plan: Alice Growth starts at $3,750/month billed annually for 2,000 prospects a month. Apollo.io's agents need a human at key checkpoints, but small teams can start them on Professional at $79/seat/month billed annually.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Apollo.io cost?
Apollo.io has a Free plan, then Basic at $49, Professional at $79, and Organization at $119 per seat per month billed annually. Monthly billing costs $65 for Basic and $99 for Professional; Organization is annual-only with a 3-seat minimum. Each plan includes a monthly credit allowance per seat (75, 2,500, 4,000, and 6,000), and extra credits cost $0.015–$0.025 each.
Does Apollo.io have a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan has no time limit and includes 75 credits per seat per month, 2 sequences per team, 250 email sends a day, basic search filters, and 5 AI Assistant chats. It does not include AI agents, advanced filters, waterfall enrichment, or the dialer. Apollo's fair-use policy also caps free accounts at 100 credits per account per month without a verified company email domain (10,000 with one). That cap is a ceiling, not extra credits, and Apollo does not say how it interacts with the 75-credit allowance on multi-seat teams. Free accounts without a company domain also cannot use the ChatGPT or Claude connector.
How do Apollo credits work?
Credits pay for data and some actions: 1 credit reveals an email and 8 credits reveal a mobile number, and enrichment, AI research, dialer minutes, email warmup, and mailbox purchases also use credits. Credits are pooled across the team, granted at the start of each billing cycle (the full year upfront on annual paid plans), and expire unused at the end of the cycle. Add-on credits renew automatically until you remove them.
What are the best Apollo.io alternatives?
It depends on which part of Apollo you are replacing; none of the three covers every Apollo feature. Clay replaces list building and enrichment, for teams that need data from many providers and custom workflows. Artisan replaces rep-run outbound prospecting and sequencing with an AI BDR working from its own database. 11x replaces outbound execution (research, outreach, and follow-up) with an AI SDR, for teams with the budget. Clay is the only one of the three with a free plan, and Artisan and 11x cost considerably more than an Apollo seat, so staying on Apollo is usually the cheaper option for small teams.
Is Apollo.io the same as Apollo AI or Apollo GraphQL?
"Apollo AI" usually refers to the AI features inside Apollo.io, such as agents for research, list building, outreach, follow-up, and booking, plus the AI Assistant. It is not a separate product. Apollo.io is unrelated to Apollo GraphQL (a developer API platform), Apollo Research (an AI safety organization), and other products named Apollo.
Is Apollo a CRM?
Apollo is a sales intelligence and engagement platform, not a CRM, though it includes basic lead and deal management. It syncs with CRMs such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive, and many teams use Apollo for prospecting and sequencing while running pipeline management in a dedicated CRM.
Integrations & fit
Alternatives to consider
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Clay
GTM and RevOps teams that want to design custom prospecting and enrichment workflows across many data sources
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Artisan
Sales teams that want a single platform combining contact data, AI BDR research, and automated outbound sequencing
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11x
Sales teams with a validated outbound motion that want to scale prospecting and follow-up without adding SDR headcount
PaidAbout Apollo.io
Apollo.io is a sales intelligence and engagement platform that bundles a large B2B contact and company database with prospecting, sequencing, and AI features in a single product. Apollo now calls itself 'the AI GTM system': on top of its database of 240M+ contacts and 30M+ companies and its sequencer, agents can research accounts, build lists, write outreach, follow up, and book meetings, prompting a human at key moments. The AI Assistant, a parallel dialer, waterfall enrichment, and Apollo Anywhere and the Apollo MCP server (for working from ChatGPT, Claude, Gmail, or your CRM) round out the platform. Apollo fits teams that want one platform covering the bulk of an SDR or AE workflow — finding prospects, enriching them, sequencing outreach, and tracking engagement — rather than stitching together a database, a sequencer, and a separate AI tool. Its agents run inside a broader human-plus-AI workspace rather than as a standalone digital worker, and teams that want highly custom enrichment workflows are usually better served by Clay. Apollo has self-serve plans — Free, Basic ($49/seat/month billed annually or $65 monthly), Professional ($79 or $99), and Organization ($119/seat/month, annual only, 3-seat minimum) — which makes it accessible to smaller teams compared with sales-led AI SDR platforms; the AI agents start on Professional. This page covers Apollo.io (apollo.io), the sales platform — not Apollo GraphQL, Apollo Research, or other products named Apollo.
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