9 Apollo.io Competitors & Best Alternatives [2024]

Apollo.io is a budget tool promising to “reach every buyer on earth”. So why do prospects check out Apollo competitors?

One potential reason could be that Apollo.io’s pricing is based on credits which doesn’t always allow users to gather enough contacts or companies they want. Top-ups can be expensive, which drives a scarcity mindset among the sales teams. 

In this article, we’ll see how Apollo.io compares to other sales intelligence solutions on the market. We’re looking at pricing, reviews and features of the most popular tools 👇

The top Apollo.io competitors on the market right now

1. Cognism

Cognism is an excellent Apollo alternative if you’re looking for more mobile numbers that have been extensively DNC screened. Cognism offers a high-quality contact database with phone-verified mobile numbers, B2B emails, and direct dials in EMEA, NAM, and APAC markets. 

Cognism’s email database is notified and only includes B2B emails. The focus is on valuable company data rather than bulk info from free public registries. Furthermore, Cognism does not collect user data to enrich its database like Apollo.io. 

This means, Cognism is GDPR and CCPA compliant, so you’re not risking legal implications when prospecting globally.

Here’s what makes Cognism the best Apollo.io alternative:

• 2x more cell phone numbers than other providers. 

• 47 million mobiles in the US alone.

• Phone-verified mobile number accuracy to help you connect with 87% of your list.

• Unrestricted views and individual and page-level exporting.*

• Cell phone verification service on request called Diamonds-on-Demand®.

• 16-step email address verification process ensures over 93% email deliverability.

• Global coverage and best EMEA data.

• 100% CCPA and GDPR compliance.

• Advanced Browser Extension integration with Salesforce, Outreach, and HubSpot. 

• Consent-based Bombora intent data with exclusive features: location data, exporting intent data and CRM intent enrichment.

• Advanced contextual data points and sales trigger alerts.

• CRM and sales engagement integration tools are included in every package.

*Within a generous fair use policy

What customers say: 

We interviewed Marc Parsons, SDR Team Lead, about Apollo competitors:

We also interviewed Jake Hampson, Founder of Sales on Demand, about his experience with Apollo alternatives:

Cognism pricing:

• Full access to quality data without extra charges in all packages.

• All packages offer unrestricted views and page-level exporting (up to 25 records at a time)*.

• Custom packages for teams with operational workflows to allow for building and exporting large lists.

For more information on Cognism packages, check out the pricing page or skip ahead and sample our data with 25 free leads 👇

2. ZoomInfo

(Source: softwareadvice.com)

ZoomInfo is similar to Apollo.io in that it pursues an AI-driven all-in-one platform with a company profile database and contact data.

However, ZoomInfo segments its database for specific functions and is said to charge differently for data in different regions. One G2 user commented that paying for the different regions was hard to justify for an international company.

Best features:

• Suite of tools and add-on packages.

• Chrome extension.

• Intent data.

Pricing:

• Available after a consultation.

• Tiers for sales, marketing, and recruitment.

• ZoomInfo pricing depends on the number of seats, credits, and add-ons.

See how ZoomInfo compares to Apollo.io!

What Cognism customers say: 

3. Lusha

(Source: Lusha)

Lusha is one of Apollo.io’s alternatives with monthly subscription plans. It’s affordable and has a self-service set-up until you want to negotiate an enterprise package.

Its advanced features are available on a custom plan, and users say its integrations could be improved.

Best features:

• Free option available.

• Contact exports on paid plans.

• Intent data.

Pricing:

• Free trial with basic features.

• Paid monthly plans with limited credits per user.

• Custom Lusha plan available.

4. Seamless.AI

(Source: seamless.com)

Check out Seamless.AI if you’re looking for Apollo.io competitors that use AI to find prospects’ details on the web, verify emails, and dial prospects directly in real-time. It’s a tool you can use to build lead lists at scale for sales, marketing, and recruitment.

Access to contact data is restricted by credits, and intent data is only available on higher-tier plans. An independent comparison of Apollo.io competitors revealed that Seamless has a high bounce rate even on data marked as high confidence and missing company data.

Best features:

• Claims to be a real-time search engine, not a database.

• Chrome browser extension.

• Intent data by Bombora.

Pricing:

• Paid plans start at $147 per month.

• Seamless AI Custom plans for enterprises.

5. Clearbit

(Source: G2)

Clearbit is a market intelligence tool that sources data across public and private sources, including social profiles, company websites, legal filings, or crowdsourcing.

Despite Pavilion members' survey showing the need to improve data quality (e.g., revenue, headcount for private companies, phone number accuracy), it’s still a good alternative to Apollo.io for mid-market and small businesses.

Best features:

• Audience segmentation for targeted messaging.

• Advanced firmographic, technographic, and employee data.

• Insights for personalised ABM campaigns.

Pricing:

• Clearbit has custom plans with various add-ons.

6. RocketReach

(Source: g2)

RocketReach provides detailed business data and employee contact information for lead generation and outreach purposes. It has a browser extension to discover leads on Google, AngelList, Crunchbase, and Linkedln. It is one of the alternatives to Apollo.io’s email finder.

Best features:

• Key data points lookup tool.

• Integrations with the leading CRMs.

• Email personalisation and analytics tools.

Pricing:

• Email-only plans start at $421 a year for 1,200 lookups.

• Email + Phone plans start at $745 a year for 3600 lookups.

7. Sales Navigator

(Source: LinkedIn
Sales Navigator)

This tool is sometimes considered an Apollo.io competitor because it allows you to find prospects and companies that match your ideal customer profile.

You can use the InMail feature to contact them, but it’s best to enrich Sales Nav lists with actionable contact data like emails or cell phone numbers.

Best features:

• Account and lead insights (company news or job changes).

• Integrates with best prospecting tools, CRMs, and sales software.

• Team collaboration features.

Pricing:

• From $79.99 per user.

• Custom enterprise pricing.

8. Hunter.io

(Source: Hunter.io)

Hunter could be a good Apollo.io alternative if you’re mainly outreaching by email. This email finder tool helps you discover email addresses using a company name or domain. It indexes emails disclosed in public sources by crawling the web. However, this means Hunter collects personal data as well.

Best features:

• Built-in email campaign features.

• Confidence score for email addresses.

• Real-time email verification.

Pricing:

• Limited free plan.

• Paid plans cost between 49€ and 399€ per user a month.

9. LeadIQ

(Source: LeadIQ)

LeadIQ is another Apollo alternative that gets information from public and private sources such as social media platforms and job boards. It verifies emails in real time but has a limited offer on mobile numbers (max. 120 on enterprise plan). 

Best features:

• Sales trigger tracking.

• AI writer tool.

• Outreach sequence sync.

Pricing: 

• LeadIQ limited free version.

• Two credit-based plans.

• Custom enterprise offer.

What's the best Apollo alternative to get mobile numbers?

If you’re looking for an alternative to Apollo with accurate mobile phone numbers in NAM, EMEA, and APAC, Cognism offers phone-verified mobile contact data and global coverage.

Cognism offers 2x more mobile numbers than other providers. It also has a premium phone-verified mobile dataset called Diamond Data®.

What's more, Cognism is GDPR and CCPA-compliant. That means your teams can prospect confidently, knowing that numbers and DNC and TPC screened. 

Apollo.io does not offer a Diamond Data/on-demand service, and DNC screening is only available for new direct dial requests.

What is Apollo.io pricing?

Apollo pricing is considered affordable because of free and paid plans starting at $39 per user per month. These plans are relatively cheap but include a very limited number of credits. Add-on credits cost extra. GTM leaders who considered Apollo and its competitors’ pricing said that mobile numbers and emails in Apollo’s database needed improving despite lower cost.

Apollo pricing changes frequently and depends on region, so it’s uncertain which one they will adopt. For example, In February 2023, the vendor reduced the number of mobile and email credits it included in each package and in November 2023, it removed mobiles from free and basic packages. 

Is Apollo.io safe to use?

When it comes to prospecting, Apollo screens DNC in the UK and US. What's more, it has recently confirmed that its database is notified in the EU, UK & Switzerland only.

Apollo also includes personal emails in its database, which is restricted by GDPR. This means it's hard to establish if Apollo is fully GDPR compliant. Failing to ensure compliance may lead to serious legal implications for your business. 

In 2018 Apollo data was compromised, exposing email addresses and data points in their database. Next, in 2021 records of French users were stolen and put for sale online. The two Apollo.io data breaches understandably could undermine customers’ trust in the provider.

When looking for a safe Apollo.io alternative, consider Cognism. Cognism’s global database is fully notified, numbers are DNC screened in over 12 countries, and the tool only supplies B2B emails to mitigate legal risks for customers when prospecting.

What Apollo.io competitors are better for lead generation?

Consider providers that combine accurate and compliant B2B data in the market where you want to generate leads with access to intent data. One of Apollo’s competitors you can consider is Cognism, thanks to its partnership with Bombora’s consent-based intent data provider.

💡Find out more about how Cognism vs Apollo.io compare. 

Which Apollo.io competitor is the best? 

If you’re looking for an Apollo.io competitor that gives you:

✔️ More mobile numbers that go through to the right contacts. 

✔️ More confidence when prospecting. 

✔️ More targeted leads.

✔️ And more incoming revenue.

Then, Cognism is the best alternative to Apollo.io. Click 👇 to book your demo today!