Comparison
Apollo bundles prospecting and engagement at startup-friendly prices. Cognism delivers GDPR-compliant, phone-verified contacts for EMEA markets. This guide compares both to help you choose the right tool for your sales motion.
| Feature | Apollo.io | Cognism |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | US (San Francisco) | UK (London) |
| Core Strength | All-in-one prospecting + engagement | Phone-verified EMEA contact data |
| Database Size | 270M+ contacts globally | Smaller global DB, strong in EMEA |
| Engagement Tools | Built-in sequences, dialer, AI writer | No native engagement tools |
| Phone Data | Available, moderate accuracy | Diamond Data: 87%+ phone-verified |
| Pricing | Free tier; $49-$119/user/month | Custom; ~$15,000-$25,000+/year |
Apollo.io is a US-based all-in-one sales intelligence and engagement platform that combines a massive contact database with built-in outreach tools. With over 270 million contacts and 60 million companies in its database, Apollo has become one of the fastest-growing alternatives to legacy data providers.
Apollo differentiates itself by including email sequencing, a dialer, and AI-powered email writing alongside its contact database. This means reps can find prospects, verify their details, and launch multi-step outreach campaigns from a single platform. The built-in engagement suite eliminates the need for separate tools like Outreach or Salesloft for many teams.
Apollo is known for its transparent, affordable pricing and a generous free tier that provides 10,000 emails per month. The platform is especially popular with US-based startups, SMBs, and growth-stage companies running email-first outbound motions.
Best for: US-focused SMBs and startups that want affordable, all-in-one prospecting with built-in email sequencing and a dialer
G2 rating: 4.7/5
Pricing: Free: 10,000 emails/month. Basic: $49/user/month. Professional: $79/user/month. Organization: $119/user/month (min 3 users). Annual discounts available.
Cognism is a UK-headquartered B2B data provider that has built a strong reputation for phone-verified mobile numbers and GDPR-first data practices. The platform serves sales teams globally but has particular strength in European markets where US-centric providers often have data gaps.
Cognism's key differentiator is Diamond Data — mobile phone numbers that are verified by actually calling them. This manual verification process results in significantly higher connect rates compared to algorithmically verified databases. The platform also offers intent data through a Bombora partnership and integrates with major CRMs.
Cognism has expanded from its European base into North America and globally. It is the go-to choice for B2B sales teams that rely on phone-based outreach and need high-accuracy mobile numbers, especially when selling into EMEA markets.
Best for: Teams selling into EMEA markets that need GDPR-compliant, phone-verified mobile numbers for outbound calling
G2 rating: 4.6/5
Pricing: Custom pricing — typically $15,000-$25,000+/year based on team size and data access. Diamond Data may carry an additional premium. Annual contracts standard.
How Apollo.io and Cognism stack up across key capabilities.
| Feature | Apollo.io | Cognism |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Database | 270M+ contacts, US-strong coverage | Strong EMEA coverage, phone-verified |
| Phone Numbers | Available, algorithmically verified | Diamond Data: manually phone-verified |
| Email Accuracy | Real-time email verification | Email verification on delivery |
| GDPR Compliance | Basic compliance features | Purpose-built for GDPR from founding |
| Email Sequences | Built-in multi-step campaigns | Not available — data only |
| Intent Data | Basic buying intent signals | Bombora intent data partnership |
| AI Features | AI email writing + personalization | Limited AI capabilities |
| Chrome Extension | Full-featured LinkedIn extension | LinkedIn contact discovery extension |
Apollo and Cognism have very different pricing models. Apollo offers transparent, self-serve pricing starting with a free plan (10,000 emails/month). Paid plans range from $49 to $119 per user per month, with annual discounts. A 10-person team on Professional would cost approximately $9,480/year with annual billing.
Cognism requires a custom sales conversation and typically costs $15,000-$25,000+/year depending on team size and data access. Diamond Data (phone-verified numbers) may add premium pricing. Annual contracts are standard. Per-user costs tend to be higher than Apollo, especially for smaller teams.
The pricing comparison is not apples-to-apples. Apollo includes engagement tools (sequencing, dialer, AI writer) in its price, while Cognism is purely a data provider. However, Cognism's phone-verified data can deliver higher ROI for phone-first teams due to dramatically better connect rates. For email-first teams, Apollo offers significantly better value.
Apollo and Cognism solve different parts of the prospecting puzzle — Apollo adds engagement tools while Cognism delivers superior phone data. But both focus on contact-level information: who to reach and how to reach them.
Neither platform helps reps understand the account-level context that separates good outreach from great outreach. Knowing a prospect's email or phone number is table stakes. Knowing what their company is strategically focused on is what wins meetings.
Neither platform synthesizes intelligence from 1,000+ sources into comprehensive account briefs. Reps still need to manually research each company before reaching out.
Neither Apollo nor Cognism monitors earnings calls, strategic announcements, leadership transitions, or competitive displacement in real time. Both rely on basic intent signals.
Apollo offers AI email writing based on prospect attributes, but neither platform generates talking points anchored to real business events happening inside the target account.
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VP of Sales, Incredible Health
Salesmotion gives your reps the account intelligence they need to book more meetings and close bigger deals.
Cognism is significantly better for cold calling due to its Diamond Data — phone-verified mobile numbers with 87%+ accuracy. Apollo provides phone numbers but they are algorithmically verified and generally have lower connect rates. If phone outbound is central to your strategy, Cognism's verified data justifies its higher price.
Apollo has been expanding its global coverage, but Cognism remains superior for EMEA contact data, particularly phone numbers. If your team primarily sells into European markets, switching to Apollo may result in lower data quality for your target accounts. For US-focused teams, Apollo is typically the better value.
Apollo is clearly more budget-friendly. Its free plan provides 10,000 emails per month, and paid plans start at $49/user/month. Cognism requires custom pricing conversations and typically costs $15,000+/year. For startups, Apollo's all-in-one approach also eliminates the need for separate engagement software.
Some teams use both — Apollo for its engagement tools and Cognism for its EMEA phone data. However, this creates duplicate costs and workflow complexity. Most teams are better served choosing one based on their primary market (US vs EMEA) and outreach channel (email vs phone).
Salesmotion complements both tools by providing what they lack — deep account intelligence. It synthesizes 1,000+ sources into account briefs, monitors real-time signals, and generates personalized talking points. Teams use Salesmotion alongside their data provider of choice to pair contact information with account context.
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