Apollo.io has four pricing tiers in 2026: Free, Basic, Professional, and Organization. The gap between what each plan includes — particularly around export credits, sequencing limits, and CRM integrations — is significant enough that choosing the wrong tier either means overpaying or hitting walls mid-month. This breakdown covers what each plan actually includes, the credit structures that drive real costs, and how Apollo compares to the alternatives on price.
Apollo.io pricing tiers at a glance (2026)
| Plan | Monthly Price (billed annually) | Monthly Price (billed monthly) | Email Credits/mo | Phone Credits/yr | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | ~50–60 | ~5 | Individual testing; light prospecting |
| Basic | ~$49/user | ~$59/user | ~1,000 | ~120 | Solo reps; small teams starting outbound |
| Professional | ~$79/user | ~$99/user | Unlimited (fair use) | ~120 | Growing outbound teams; AEs + SDRs |
| Organization | ~$119/user (3-seat min) | Custom | Unlimited (fair use) | Custom | Sales teams 10+; enterprise requirements |
Apollo's pricing has shifted toward annual contracts for the best rates. The monthly billing option is available but carries a 20–25% premium. Most teams planning to use Apollo as a primary prospecting and sequencing tool should budget on the annual rate.
All pricing above is approximate and based on Apollo's publicly available pricing page. Apollo periodically adjusts credit allocations and plan inclusions; verify current pricing directly with Apollo before signing.
The Free plan: what it actually gives you
Apollo's free plan is more generous than most competitors. You get real access to the contact database — not a demo or limited preview — with the ability to run searches, view company information, and export a limited number of contacts per month. The credit allocation on the free plan (approximately 50–60 email credits and 5 phone credits per month) is low enough that it won't support active outbound campaigns, but it's enough to validate data quality for your specific market before committing to a paid plan.
Sequencing on the free plan is limited to two active sequences with a cap on the number of steps. Gmail integration is available; Salesforce and HubSpot sync are not. If your workflow requires CRM logging, the free plan won't support it.
The practical use case for the free plan is either individual prospectors who are in light-activity mode, or teams who want to test Apollo's database quality against their ICP before buying. Export the credits against your target accounts and compare the data to what you're currently getting from another provider. That's the evaluation the free plan is designed to support.
The Basic plan: $49/user/month (billed annually)
The Basic plan brings email credits up to approximately 1,000 per month per user — enough for consistent individual outbound activity. Phone credits are approximately 120 per year (around 10 per month), which is low for teams running any meaningful calling motion alongside email.
Basic includes unlimited email sending (to contacts whose emails you've already exported), basic sequence functionality, and access to Apollo's AI email writing assistant. The CRM integrations — Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive — are available at the Basic tier, which is a meaningful inclusion that some comparable tools reserve for higher tiers.
Where Basic falls short: A/B testing of sequences is not available on Basic. Advanced reporting and analytics are limited. Custom fields and data enrichment automation are restricted. For solo reps or very small teams with a straightforward email-first prospecting motion, Basic is workable. For anyone needing to optimize sequences or run reporting at the team level, Professional is worth the step up.
The Professional plan: $79/user/month (billed annually)
Professional is where Apollo becomes a serious sales stack tool. The key addition is unlimited email credits under a fair use policy — in practice, this means Apollo monitors for unusually high export volumes and may flag accounts exporting at a rate inconsistent with normal team behavior, but for teams running standard outbound programs this limit is not a practical constraint.
Phone credits on Professional remain at approximately 120 per year (the same as Basic), which is one of the most common complaints from teams that run a hybrid email and calling motion. If phone prospecting is a significant part of your workflow, factor in that you'll either need to purchase additional phone credits or accept the cap.
Professional adds: A/B testing for sequences (test subject lines, email bodies, send times), advanced analytics and reporting, AI-assisted sequence recommendations, intent data signals (from Apollo's buyer intent product), and custom playbooks. The Salesforce integration at Professional tier includes advanced features like custom object sync and automated task creation, which Basic's Salesforce integration lacks.
For a team of three to five SDRs running email-primary outbound with Salesforce as their CRM, Professional at $79/user/month billed annually — approximately $4,750/year for a three-person team — is the most cost-competitive option in the market at this combination of data access and sequencing capability.
The Organization plan: ~$119/user/month (billed annually)
Organization is Apollo's enterprise tier, with a minimum seat requirement (typically three seats, often negotiated higher for larger discounts). The primary additions over Professional are: advanced permission controls and user management, custom roles and access levels, dedicated customer success, API access at higher rate limits, and enhanced data enrichment automation.
Organization also unlocks higher phone credit allocations — the specific amount is negotiated rather than fixed. Teams running high-volume calling programs (particularly SDR teams doing 50+ dials per day) should treat phone credit negotiation as part of the Organization contract conversation.
One meaningful addition at Organization is advanced security and compliance controls: SSO, SCIM provisioning, audit logs, and data governance features that enterprise procurement teams increasingly require. If your organization has a security review process for SaaS tools, Organization is likely the tier that passes it cleanly.
Apollo.io credit system: how it actually works
Apollo's credit system is the aspect of pricing that trips up new buyers most often. There are two distinct credit types that work differently:
Email credits are consumed when you export a contact's email address from Apollo's database. Once exported, that email address is yours to use in sequences — sending emails to that contact does not consume additional credits. The "unlimited email credits" on Professional and Organization plans means unlimited exports, not unlimited sending (sending is always unlimited on all paid plans).
Phone credits are consumed when you reveal a contact's phone number. Phone credits are scarcer across all plans and do not roll over. At 120 credits per year on Basic and Professional, a team of five SDRs has 600 phone reveals per year combined — approximately 50 per month across the team, or about 10 per SDR per month. That's enough for targeted calling on high-priority accounts but not for teams running high-volume cold calling programs.
Credits reset monthly for email credits and annually for phone credits on most plans. Unused credits typically do not carry over to the next period. If your team consistently hits credit limits in weeks two or three of the month, the right fix is either upgrading tiers or purchasing a credit add-on pack rather than staying on a plan that creates a mid-month workflow disruption.
What Apollo.io costs compared to alternatives
| Tool | Primary Use Case | Approximate Annual Cost (1 user) | Data Included? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo.io Basic | Prospecting + sequencing | ~$590/yr | Yes |
| Apollo.io Professional | Prospecting + sequencing | ~$950/yr | Yes |
| ZoomInfo Professional | Data only | $15,000–$25,000/yr (team) | Yes (premium) |
| Cognism | Data only (EMEA-strong) | $15,000–$30,000/yr (team) | Yes (premium) |
| Salesloft Professional | Sequencing only | ~$1,500/yr (estimated per seat) | No |
| Outreach | Sequencing only | ~$1,500–$2,000/yr (estimated per seat) | No |
| Apollo Pro + Salesloft | Data + premium sequencing | ~$2,500/yr per seat | Yes (Apollo data) |
The cost comparison makes Apollo's value proposition clear for smaller teams. A five-person SDR team using Apollo Professional instead of ZoomInfo (data) plus Outreach (sequencing) saves roughly $60,000–$80,000 per year. The tradeoff is data quality — specifically phone number accuracy and mobile direct dial rates — and sequencing sophistication for ops-heavy teams.
For teams where email is the primary channel and the target market is US-based mid-market companies, Apollo's data is competitive. For teams running high-volume cold calling with a heavy focus on mobile dials, or for teams where EMEA contact accuracy is critical, ZoomInfo or Cognism's premium data justify the price premium.
Apollo.io pricing: common buyer mistakes to avoid
Several patterns come up consistently in buyer reviews and community discussions about Apollo pricing:
Underestimating phone credit needs. The 120 phone credits per year on Basic and Professional looks fine on paper but creates real friction for teams with any meaningful calling motion. If your SDRs are expected to make 20+ calls per week, 120 reveals per year is inadequate. Clarify your calling volume requirements before committing to a plan without negotiated phone credits.
Not negotiating. Apollo's list prices are starting points, not fixed rates. Teams that enter contract negotiations with competitive quotes from ZoomInfo, Cognism, or Clay consistently report achieving better credit allocations, additional seat discounts, and multi-year pricing advantages. Apollo's sales team has pricing flexibility, particularly for teams of five or more.
Choosing Professional for data quality reasons, not feature reasons. The database quality is the same across all paid tiers. If your primary reason for considering Professional over Basic is data quality, reconsider — the data doesn't change. The reason to upgrade is features: A/B testing, advanced reporting, intent data, and higher phone credits.
Assuming the free plan is a true evaluation. The free plan's credit limits prevent meaningful data quality testing at scale. Export 50 contacts against your target ICP and the data looks fine — but that's not representative of what happens when you're pulling 500 contacts per month. The real evaluation happens at a 14-day trial of a paid tier, which Apollo offers to qualified buyers.
Who should use Apollo.io vs alternatives
Use Apollo.io if: You're a team of one to fifteen reps that needs both a B2B contact database and a sequencing tool, your primary outreach channel is email, your target market is primarily US-based, and you want to avoid paying separately for ZoomInfo (data) and Outreach or Salesloft (sequencing). Apollo's all-in-one model at its price point is the strongest value proposition in the SMB and lower mid-market segment.
Consider ZoomInfo if: Phone prospecting is a primary channel and mobile direct dial accuracy is critical, your team has 20+ reps where enterprise data governance matters, your ICP is heavily concentrated in large enterprise accounts where ZoomInfo's technographic and intent data has more depth, or you're already in ZoomInfo's ecosystem and the switching cost outweighs Apollo's savings.
Consider Cognism if: A significant portion of your target market is in Europe or the UK, GDPR-compliant mobile data is a requirement, and you're willing to pay a premium for human-verified mobile numbers. Cognism's data quality on mobile numbers in EMEA is a genuine competitive advantage.
Consider Clay if: You need maximum data customization, want to pull from multiple data sources simultaneously, and have technical resources (or a RevOps person) who can build and maintain Clay workflows. Clay is a data enrichment platform rather than a sequencing tool, so you'd still need a sequencing layer alongside it. See our Clay vs Apollo comparison for a full breakdown.
For a broader view of the alternatives, our Apollo.io alternatives guide covers the full competitive landscape, and our best sales intelligence tools for startups directory page compares Apollo against the full field on price, data depth, and use case fit.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Apollo.io cost?
Apollo.io has four plans. The Free plan costs $0 with limited credits. The Basic plan is approximately $49/user/month billed annually ($59 billed monthly). Professional is approximately $79/user/month billed annually ($99 billed monthly). The Organization plan starts at approximately $119/user/month billed annually with a minimum seat requirement. All pricing should be verified directly with Apollo as plan details change periodically.
Does Apollo.io have a free plan?
Yes. Apollo.io's permanently free plan gives you access to the full contact database with limited monthly credits — approximately 50–60 email reveals and 5 phone reveals per month. Basic sequencing and Gmail integration are included. The free plan is sufficient for individual prospectors doing light activity but not for active outbound teams. CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot) are not available on free.
What is included in Apollo.io's Professional plan?
The Professional plan at approximately $79/user/month (billed annually) includes unlimited email credits (fair use), approximately 120 phone credits per year, A/B testing for sequences, advanced analytics and reporting, AI writing assistance, intent data signals, custom fields, and full Salesforce and HubSpot integration including custom object sync. It's the most popular plan for growing outbound teams.
Is Apollo.io worth it?
For teams currently paying separately for a B2B contact database and a sequencing tool, Apollo.io at Professional is almost always worth it — the total cost is a fraction of ZoomInfo plus Outreach or Salesloft. The tradeoff is data quality on phone numbers (particularly mobile direct dials) and sequencing sophistication vs. dedicated tools like Outreach. For email-primary teams targeting US-based mid-market, the savings are typically $30,000–$80,000/year for a small team.
How does Apollo.io pricing compare to ZoomInfo?
ZoomInfo's entry-level contracts start at approximately $15,000–$20,000 per year even for a single user, while Apollo Professional runs approximately $950 per user per year. For a five-person team, Apollo is roughly $4,750/year vs ZoomInfo's $30,000–$50,000+/year. ZoomInfo's data quality advantage — particularly direct dials and mobile numbers — justifies the premium for phone-first outbound teams. For email-primary teams, Apollo's data is typically sufficient at dramatically lower cost.
Can I use Apollo.io for free?
Yes. Apollo.io offers a permanently free plan with real database access, limited credits, basic sequencing, and Gmail integration. It's more generous than most competitor free tiers but limited enough (approximately 50–60 email credits/month) that it won't support active outbound. Upgrading to Basic or Professional is required for consistent prospecting activity.