Apollo.io
B2B sales platform combining a contact/company database with outreach automation and deal-tracking tools.
RecommendedLast reviewed July 11, 2026
What Apollo.io actually is.
Apollo pairs a contact and company database, 230M+ contacts and 30M+ companies by its own count, with the tools to reach them. You search or build a list, pull verified emails and phone numbers, then run multichannel sequences with automated follow-ups. There's a Chrome extension for prospecting on LinkedIn and elsewhere, plus a built-in dialer for cold calls. Nothing exotic. It's the standard find-verify-sequence loop, just bundled into one login.
The CRM layer is real but thin: pipeline boards and deal alerts exist, but Apollo positions itself as syncing into Salesforce or HubSpot rather than replacing them, so most teams keep a dedicated CRM as the system of record. Usage is credit-based, not just seat-based, so revealing a contact or exporting a list draws from a shared pool. Worth knowing before you plan a big list-building push.
What it does
- Search and build contact lists with verified email and phone data.
- Send multichannel sequences with automated follow-ups and nurture steps.
- Built-in dialer for cold calls from within the platform.
- Chrome extension pulls contact details while you browse LinkedIn and other sites.
- Pipeline boards and deal alerts track opportunities as they move.
- AI assistant writes call summaries and creates follow-up tasks.
- Syncs contact and activity data with Salesforce and HubSpot.
Think of it as prospecting-plus-sequencing with a CRM bolted on, not the other way around.
Where it sits in the pipeline.
- AI & Intelligence
- Data & Enrichment
- Scraping & Custom Data
- Email Infrastructure & Deliverability
- Outreach & Sending
- LinkedIn & Multichannel
- Signals & Intent
- Calls & Meetings
- CRM & Pipeline Ops
Runs well with
The tools we'd run next to Apollo.io, and what each pairing covers.
Pricing, without the fiction.
Apollo's free Starter plan works with no credit card, capped at low monthly credits and Gmail-only email sending. Trials add 50 general credits and 5 mobile credits before reverting to Starter limits after the trial ends. Paid plans add Outlook and Office 365 sending plus higher record-selection limits and larger credit pools, and extra credits can be purchased anytime. So-called Unlimited plans are not truly unlimited: a Fair Use Policy caps non-paying accounts at 10,000 credits per month, and caps paying accounts at the lesser of spend divided by $0.025 or one million credits per year. Budget for credit consumption, not just the subscription price, since list-building and exports drive the real cost.
Choose it, or skip it.
Choose it if
- Early-stage GTM teams that need a database, outreach sequencing, and light CRM in one tool without hiring a dedicated ops hire.
- Teams that want to test prospecting and sequencing before committing budget, since the free Starter plan needs no credit card.
- SMBs consolidating a scattered stack (separate data vendor plus separate sequencer) into one subscription to cut tool sprawl.
- Technical teams that want an API for enrichment and sequence triggers alongside day-to-day use of the web app.
Skip it if
- Teams that already run a dedicated CRM and need deep pipeline forecasting: Apollo's CRM layer is lighter than Salesforce or HubSpot.
- High-volume list builders on non-paying plans, since Fair Use Policy caps Unlimited-style usage at 10,000 credits per account per month.
- Teams needing Outlook or Office 365 sending on the free plan: only Gmail connects until you upgrade to a paid tier.
If not Apollo.io, then what.
- CognismCustom quote only, no public pricing; third-party estimates suggest roughly $15-25k/yr platform fee plus $1.5-2.5k/user/
Pick Cognism when EU/UK phone-verified data quality and GDPR compliance matter more than an all-in-one platform.
- DealfrontFree "Lite" tier (100 companies, 7-day history); paid plans from €79/mo (annual billing) for 50 companies/mo + 50 credit
Pick Dealfront for Europe-focused intent and firmographic data with a stronger regional compliance framing.
- Ocean.iocredit-based (pay-as-you-go or subscription), not fixed named tiers: subscription starts at a 9,000-credit minimum (about $47/mo billed yearly at $567/yr; monthly billing costs more per credit); pay-as-you-go priced per credit separately. Unlimited seats and API, Chrome extension, and MCP access come on every plan; larger teams get custom volume pricing through a sales call. Verified against ocean.io/pricing, fetched 2026-07-17.
Pick Ocean.io when you want account-based market mapping and lookalikes over a broad contact database.
Asked in real client work.
Is Apollo.io free to use?
Apollo offers a Starter plan with no credit card required, though it limits monthly credits and only connects Gmail for sending. Trial periods (separate from the free plan) add 50 general credits and 5 mobile credits temporarily. Once a trial ends, the account reverts to Starter's baseline limits unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
How do Apollo's credits work?
Credits get consumed by actions like revealing verified contact or company details and exporting records outside Apollo. Non-paying accounts on Unlimited-style plans are capped at 10,000 credits per account per month under Apollo's Fair Use Policy. Paying accounts get more headroom: the lesser of annual spend divided by $0.025, or one million credits per year. Extra credits can be purchased anytime.
Does Apollo.io replace a CRM like HubSpot or Salesforce?
Not fully. Apollo includes pipeline boards, deal alerts, and conversation tracking, but its own site positions these as syncing with Salesforce and HubSpot rather than replacing them. Teams already running a dedicated CRM typically keep it as the system of record and use Apollo for prospecting, enrichment, and sequencing, syncing qualified contacts and activity back in.
Is there an API for Apollo.io?
Yes. Apollo publishes API documentation covering search, enrichment, and sequence actions, so teams can pull contact and company data or trigger outreach programmatically instead of working only through the UI. Most users still run day-to-day prospecting and sequencing through the web app, with the API reserved for custom integrations and data pipelines.
What happens if I need Outlook or Office 365 instead of Gmail?
Non-paying Starter accounts are restricted to Gmail connections for sending sequences. Paid plans add Microsoft Office and other email providers, so teams standardized on Outlook or Office 365 need at least the entry paid tier before Apollo can send through their existing mailboxes.