Apollo.io pricing per plan
Apollo charges per user, and every seat on an account must be on the same plan. Credits are pooled across the team, granted at the start of each billing cycle and do not roll over. These are the figures as of October 2026.
| Plan | Price per user | What it adds | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 USD | Limited credits, email campaigns from Gmail accounts only | Founders testing the database |
| Basic | 49 USD on Apollo's pricing data; reported 59 monthly or 49 yearly | Email sequencing, core integrations, any email provider | One seller doing regular outbound |
| Professional | 99 USD on Apollo's pricing data; reported 99 monthly or 79 yearly | AI features, dialer and call recording, advanced CRM integrations, higher credit limits | Full-time reps |
| Custom | Quoted by sales | SSO, advanced security, API access, dedicated support | Larger teams and custom volumes |
Free
- Price per user
- 0 USD
- What it adds
- Limited credits, email campaigns from Gmail accounts only
- Who it suits
- Founders testing the database
Basic
- Price per user
- 49 USD on Apollo's pricing data; reported 59 monthly or 49 yearly
- What it adds
- Email sequencing, core integrations, any email provider
- Who it suits
- One seller doing regular outbound
Professional
- Price per user
- 99 USD on Apollo's pricing data; reported 99 monthly or 79 yearly
- What it adds
- AI features, dialer and call recording, advanced CRM integrations, higher credit limits
- Who it suits
- Full-time reps
Custom
- Price per user
- Quoted by sales
- What it adds
- SSO, advanced security, API access, dedicated support
- Who it suits
- Larger teams and custom volumes
Extra credits are sold as add-ons, charged immediately and renewed every cycle until you remove them. Annual billing is discounted, and moving from annual back to monthly means waiting for the annual term to end. Apollo's terms also limit the plans on its pricing page to internal business use.
For a team of three on Professional billed yearly, that is about 237 USD a month at the reported 79 USD rate, before extra credits, and about 297 USD on monthly billing.
Apollo alternatives compared on price and what they replace
Apollo bundles three jobs: a contact database, a sequencer, and a dialer. Most alternatives replace one of them, so start with the part you actually want to change. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page as of October 2026 unless marked as reported.
| Tool | Entry price | Replaces | What you get at entry | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo (for reference) | 49 USD per user a month on Basic | Data, sending, dialer | Database, sequences, core integrations | Teams that want everything in one seat |
| OutreachAuto | 99 USD a month, or 49 billed yearly | Data, research, writing, sending, follow-up | 1,500 new researched contacts, 3 inboxes, 1 seat, AI research and writing, reply labels, booking | Founders and teams of 2 to 15 that want the messages written for them |
| Lusha | 49.90 USD a month on Starter, 37.45 billed yearly | Data | 400 credits a month; Pro 69.90 with 600 credits | Reps who need phone numbers and emails, light volume |
| ZoomInfo | Quoted by sales, annual contracts | Data | Large North American company and contact database | Enterprise teams with a data budget |
| Instantly | 47 USD a month on Growth, 37.60 billed yearly | Sending | 1,000 contacts, 5,000 emails, unlimited inboxes; lead credits sold separately | High-volume cold email with many inboxes |
| Smartlead | 39 USD a month on Base, 32.50 billed yearly | Sending | 2,000 contacts, 6,000 sends, unlimited mailboxes | Agencies and senders who want low cost per inbox |
| lemlist | 69 USD a month on Email, 55 billed yearly | Sending, some data | Unlimited users and senders, 50,000 emails a month, data via credits | Teams that want personalized email with images and video |
Apollo (for reference)
- Entry price
- 49 USD per user a month on Basic
- Replaces
- Data, sending, dialer
- What you get at entry
- Database, sequences, core integrations
- Best for
- Teams that want everything in one seat
OutreachAuto
- Entry price
- 99 USD a month, or 49 billed yearly
- Replaces
- Data, research, writing, sending, follow-up
- What you get at entry
- 1,500 new researched contacts, 3 inboxes, 1 seat, AI research and writing, reply labels, booking
- Best for
- Founders and teams of 2 to 15 that want the messages written for them
Lusha
- Entry price
- 49.90 USD a month on Starter, 37.45 billed yearly
- Replaces
- Data
- What you get at entry
- 400 credits a month; Pro 69.90 with 600 credits
- Best for
- Reps who need phone numbers and emails, light volume
ZoomInfo
- Entry price
- Quoted by sales, annual contracts
- Replaces
- Data
- What you get at entry
- Large North American company and contact database
- Best for
- Enterprise teams with a data budget
Instantly
- Entry price
- 47 USD a month on Growth, 37.60 billed yearly
- Replaces
- Sending
- What you get at entry
- 1,000 contacts, 5,000 emails, unlimited inboxes; lead credits sold separately
- Best for
- High-volume cold email with many inboxes
Smartlead
- Entry price
- 39 USD a month on Base, 32.50 billed yearly
- Replaces
- Sending
- What you get at entry
- 2,000 contacts, 6,000 sends, unlimited mailboxes
- Best for
- Agencies and senders who want low cost per inbox
lemlist
- Entry price
- 69 USD a month on Email, 55 billed yearly
- Replaces
- Sending, some data
- What you get at entry
- Unlimited users and senders, 50,000 emails a month, data via credits
- Best for
- Teams that want personalized email with images and video
Why teams look for an Apollo alternative
- Credits run out. Contact exports and mobile numbers draw from a monthly pool, and the pool resets rather than rolling over, so a busy week can empty it.
- Data quality varies by market. Reviews in 2026 keep reporting that phone numbers and emails get weaker outside North American mid-market companies.
- Per-seat pricing grows with the team. Every seat must be on the same plan, so one heavy user can push the whole team up a tier.
- A database is not a pipeline. Apollo gives you contacts and a sequencer, but someone still has to research each account and write emails a buyer would answer. That is the hours-heavy part, and it is the part most teams never staff.
The Apollo alternatives in more detail
OutreachAuto
OutreachAuto is an AI SDR rather than a database. It builds the account list from your ideal customer description, writes a brief on each company, drafts a personalized sequence you approve, sends from your own inboxes, labels the replies and books the meeting. Starter costs 99 USD a month or 49 billed yearly with 1,500 new contacts; Growth costs 249 USD or 124 yearly with 5,000 contacts and 5 seats. Contact data is included in the plan, with no credit pool to watch.
Where Apollo wins: Apollo has a much larger searchable database, a built-in dialer and a Chrome extension for LinkedIn, and a free plan to start. If your reps call all day or need a huge filtered list for many uses, Apollo is the better buy. Our AI SDR pricing comparison shows where each kind of tool fits.
Lusha
Lusha is the lighter data option. Starter is 49.90 USD a month with 400 credits, or 37.45 billed yearly, and Pro is 69.90 USD with 600 credits. Teams over five users are sent to sales. It replaces Apollo's data, not its sequencer, so you still need a sending tool.
ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo is the usual pick for enterprise teams that need deep North American company data, org charts and intent signals. Pricing is by quote on annual contracts. It is overkill for a team of three, and it still leaves the research and writing to your reps.
Instantly and Smartlead
If Apollo's data is fine but you want more sending capacity, Instantly Growth (47 USD a month) and Smartlead Base (39 USD a month) both offer unlimited inboxes. Both are sending tools first. Our Instantly alternatives and Smartlead alternatives pages compare them in detail.
lemlist
lemlist Email costs 69 USD a month, or 55 billed yearly, with unlimited users and senders. It suits teams that want personalized images and video in email. See our lemlist alternatives page for its multichannel tier and per-seat costs.
What a three-person team pays, Apollo vs an AI SDR plan
Here is a rough monthly comparison for three people who want about 1,500 new contacts a month and every first email based on real research, using reported Apollo prices.
| Item | Apollo Professional, 3 users | OutreachAuto Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Software | About 297 USD monthly or 237 billed yearly | 249 USD monthly or 124 billed yearly, 5 seats |
| Contact data | Monthly credit pool, add-on credits extra | Included, 5,000 new contacts |
| Research and writing | Done by your team, about 5 minutes per contact | Done by the AI, approved by your team |
| Writing time at 1,500 contacts | Roughly 125 hours a month | A few hours of review |
| Calling | Built-in dialer | Not included |
Software
- Apollo Professional, 3 users
- About 297 USD monthly or 237 billed yearly
- OutreachAuto Growth
- 249 USD monthly or 124 billed yearly, 5 seats
Contact data
- Apollo Professional, 3 users
- Monthly credit pool, add-on credits extra
- OutreachAuto Growth
- Included, 5,000 new contacts
Research and writing
- Apollo Professional, 3 users
- Done by your team, about 5 minutes per contact
- OutreachAuto Growth
- Done by the AI, approved by your team
Writing time at 1,500 contacts
- Apollo Professional, 3 users
- Roughly 125 hours a month
- OutreachAuto Growth
- A few hours of review
Calling
- Apollo Professional, 3 users
- Built-in dialer
- OutreachAuto Growth
- Not included
The honest caveat: if your reps already write great emails fast, or they spend most of the day on the phone, Apollo is a fair price for data plus a dialer. The comparison only tips once you count the hours spent turning a contact list into emails a buyer would answer.
How to choose an Apollo alternative
- Name the part you want to replace. Data, sending and writing are three different purchases, and a tool that is great at one is often weak at the others.
- Price the whole team, not one seat. Add seats, credits, extra inboxes and add-ons for a year before you compare.
- Check data on your own market. Pull 50 contacts you already know from each tool and count how many emails and numbers are right.
- Keep replies in one place. When you send from many inboxes, a shared view of every mailbox saves the daily round of logging in and out to find answers.
- Run the new tool on one segment for a month and compare the cost of a booked meeting, not open rates.
When Apollo is still the right choice
Stay with Apollo if your team lives in its database, makes a lot of calls, and has someone who enjoys writing sequences. The free plan is also a fair way to test whether outbound works for you at all. Switch when the monthly credit math or the hours spent writing start to cost more than the tool.
How much does Apollo.io cost?
Apollo.io has a Free plan, Basic, Professional and a Custom tier. Apollo's pricing data lists Basic at 49 USD and Professional at 99 USD per user a month, and 2026 third-party breakdowns report 59 and 99 USD monthly, or 49 and 79 USD per user billed yearly. Custom is quoted by sales.
What is the best alternative to Apollo?
It depends on which part you replace. For data, Lusha starts at 49.90 USD a month and ZoomInfo serves enterprise teams. For sending, Instantly and Smartlead start under 50 USD a month. For research and writing done for you, OutreachAuto starts at 99 USD a month with contacts included.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Apollo?
For sending only, Smartlead Base costs 39 USD a month with unlimited mailboxes. For data only, Lusha Starter costs 37.45 USD a month billed yearly. Neither replaces the whole Apollo bundle on its own.
Does Apollo have a monthly plan?
Yes. Apollo offers month-to-month billing on paid plans, with a discount for annual billing. Switching from annual to monthly requires waiting until the annual term ends.
Do Apollo credits roll over?
No. Apollo grants credits at the start of each billing cycle, pools them across the team, and does not roll unused credits into the next cycle.
Is Apollo better than ZoomInfo?
Apollo is cheaper and self-serve, with a free plan and published per-user pricing, and it includes a sequencer. ZoomInfo is sold by quote on annual contracts and is generally stronger for enterprise North American data. Small teams usually start with Apollo.
