Overview

Apollo is a prospecting and sales engagement platform for teams that need contact data and outreach tools in one workflow. It suits founders, individual sellers, and sales teams that want to move from lead research to follow-up without switching between separate tools. Its breadth is appealing, but credit limits and plan terms matter when estimating sustained prospecting volume.

Apollo combines a database of more than 240 million contacts and 30 million accounts with email sequencing, dialing, call recording, pipeline tools, and AI agents for account research, lead prioritization, outreach, follow-up, and meeting booking. More than 200 integrations connect it with services including Salesforce, HubSpot, Outreach, SalesLoft, Marketo, Sendgrid, LinkedIn, and major email providers.

Key features

Prospecting data and research

Direct-dial data, intent data, and technographic filters give teams several ways to narrow account and contact searches. That range is useful for sellers who need more than basic email discovery, though prospecting activity is tied to credits. Unused credits expire at the end of each billing cycle rather than rolling over.

Outreach and automation

Email sequencing, automated outreach, dialing, call recording, and pipeline tools make Apollo more than a data source. AI agents can research accounts, prioritize leads, draft outreach, follow up, and book meetings. This combination can suit teams consolidating prospecting and engagement work; buyers seeking only contact lookups may not need the wider workflow.

Browser extension and security

The free Chrome extension provides contact and account insights, email finding, dialing, and the ability to add prospects to lists or sequences. Apollo says it is ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certified and GDPR compliant, with data encrypted in transit and at rest. Its security controls include encrypted passwords, two-factor authentication, intrusion detection, and VPC firewall settings.

Pricing

Apollo uses a freemium model, with a free plan and a free trial. Trial access includes credits and most features of the selected plan, subject to trial-specific limits.

Plan	Price	What it includes
Free	0.00 USD per free	900 credits per seat per year, granted monthly; 2 sequences; API access; 1 intent topic
Basic	49.00 USD per month (billed billed annually)	30,000 credits per seat per year, granted upfront; email sequencing; core integrations

Free is a way for an individual or small team to explore Apollo, but its two-sequence cap and one intent topic constrain active outreach programs. Basic raises the annual credit allocation substantially and adds sequencing and core integrations, making it the more practical fit for regular prospecting. Its credits are granted upfront, while Free receives them monthly; neither plan carries unused credits into the next billing cycle. Basic's annual billing commitment is important to weigh against that upfront allocation.

Apollo also offers a free trial with credits and access to most features of the selected plan. Teams should treat it as a limited evaluation rather than assume trial activity reflects ongoing plan capacity.

Platforms

Apollo is available on web and through an extension, and it offers API access. The free plan includes API access, while the Chrome extension supports contact discovery and prospect organization in lists and sequences.

Who it's for

Apollo identifies founders and early-stage teams, individual sellers, full-time sales reps, and larger teams as audiences for its plans. The combination of data, outreach, and automation is strongest for sales organizations that will use several parts of that workflow. A lighter user who needs a small number of lookups may find the free plan's caps more consequential than its breadth.

Pros and cons

Pros: Combines a large contact and account database with prospecting, sequencing, dialing, and pipeline tools, reducing the need to piece together those stages.
Pros: Free includes API access and 900 credits per seat per year, with credits granted monthly.
Pros: More than 200 integrations and a free Chrome extension give teams multiple ways to fit Apollo into prospecting workflows.
Cons: Free is capped at two sequences and one intent topic, which can limit teams running several concurrent outreach motions.
Cons: Credits expire at the end of each billing cycle, so variable prospecting needs can leave paid or free allocations unused.
Cons: Basic's 49.00 USD per month price is billed annually, and its 30,000 yearly credits are granted upfront rather than monthly.

Alternatives

For a smaller free prospecting allowance, LeadIQ offers one user and 50 credits on its free plan; its Pro plan is aimed at growing sales teams focused on building pipeline. Lusha is another freemium option, with a permanent free plan providing 40 credits per month and one seat. Choose Wiza when its free allowance of 20 valid emails and five phone numbers, or its Email plan with 2,500 monthly exports, better matches the task.

ContactOut offers a free plan with 10 credits and a Team / API option with API access, bulk licensing for 700M+ profiles, and Salesforce and ATS integrations. Seamless.AI has a free plan for one user and 50 credits, plus a Pro plan with unlimited exports and an Enterprise plan with unlimited users and exports. SignalHire offers free monthly billing with five or 10 credits, and separate Emails and Phones plans at 69.00 USD per month. GetProspect includes 50 valid emails and 100 email verifications on its free plan. Lead411 has a seven-day free trial with 50 free exports.

Browse B2B Contact Data Providers, Sales Intelligence Software, Lead Qualification Software, AI Lead Generation Software, Email Outreach Software, and Sales Prospecting Software for more options.

Verdict

Apollo is a strong choice for founders and sales teams that want prospect data, outreach execution, and automation in one platform. Its free plan lowers the barrier to trying that combination, and Basic adds a much larger credit allocation for regular use. Look elsewhere if you need a narrowly focused contact-finding tool, or if expiring credits and annual billing do not suit your prospecting rhythm.

	Apollo	coldBirds
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$49/mo	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, extension, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	—	20 /mo
Outreach channels	—	email_only
Email warm-up	—	Yes
Reply detection	—	Yes

Apollo vs coldBirds

Apollo

coldBirds