Comparison
Apollo is for teams that need a contact database, sequences and a dialer in one platform; Salesmotion is for teams that need to know which accounts to work now, with cited research and 50+ signal types. Apollo's published pricing is Free; $49–$119/user/mo (annual), and Salesmotion starts at $85/month on a monthly contract, so the two can run side by side.
By Semir JahicCEO & Co-Founder, SalesmotionLast reviewed | Feature | Apollo.io | Salesmotion |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Function | Contact database and sales engagement | Account intelligence: signals, cited research, drafted outreach |
| Core Question | Who should I contact and how? | Which account should I work now, and what should I say? |
| Data Focus | People and companies (240M contacts, 30M companies) | Accounts (earnings, strategy, leadership, hiring) |
| Engagement Tools | Sequences, dialer, AI Assistant | Outreach drafts pushed to lemlist |
| Pricing | Free; $49–$119/user/mo (annual) | $85/mo for individuals. Custom pricing for teams & enterprise. |
| Best For | Finding contacts and running outreach | Choosing accounts and having relevant conversations |
| Rating (G2) | 4.7/5 | 4.8/5 |
Apollo.io is an all-in-one prospecting and engagement platform. It combines a database of 240M contacts and 30M companies with sequences, a dialer, enrichment and AI tools, and says more than 600,000 companies use it.
Apollo's strength is that everything sits in one product with a published rate card. Reps search the database, reveal emails and phone numbers with credits, build lists and launch sequences without leaving the platform. A permanent free plan and a 14-day trial on paid plans make it easy to start, and most features are available from the Basic tier.
Apollo has been shipping quickly in 2026. It acquired Pocus in March, added Apollo MCP, waterfall enrichment, AI Research, AI Scores and Agents, and in September announced its AI GTM System, which it describes as bringing data, intelligence and execution into a single engine. Intent topics are included on every plan, including Free.
Best for: Teams that want a large contact database, sequencing, a dialer and enrichment in one self-serve platform with published per-seat pricing
G2 rating: 4.7/5
Pricing: Apollo publishes its pricing: a free tier, then Basic at $49, Professional at $79 and Organization at $119 per seat per month on annual billing (3-seat minimum on Organization). Monthly billing is $65 and $99 on Basic and Professional; Organization is annual only.
Salesmotion is the account intelligence and signal layer that sits alongside a contact database or sequencer. A contact database is good for finding people. Salesmotion tells a rep which of their accounts to work now, and why.
Three AI agents do the work. The Signal Agent monitors target accounts for 50+ signal types. The Research Agent turns 1,000+ public sources, including earnings calls, SEC filings, news, job postings and leadership announcements, into cited account briefs. The Outreach Agent drafts messages anchored to a named event and pushes them to lemlist.
Every data point links to its source. Salesmotion has a native Salesforce integration, a HubSpot integration, and a REST API and MCP server so Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants can call it. Pricing is published and starts at $85/month on a monthly contract.
Best for: B2B sales teams that need account-level research and live signals to decide which accounts to work, prepare for calls and write specific outreach
G2 rating: 4.8/5
Pricing: $85/mo for individuals — flexible monthly billing. Custom pricing for teams and enterprise on request.
How Apollo.io and Salesmotion stack up across key capabilities.
| Feature | Apollo.io | Salesmotion |
|---|---|---|
| Contact Database | 240M contacts and 30M companies; email 1 credit, phone number 8 credits | Verified emails and phone numbers for key contacts at tracked accounts |
| Account Research | AI research on contacts and accounts; pre-meeting AI insights | Cited briefs from 1,000+ public sources |
| Email Sequences | Built-in sequences (2 on Free, unlimited from Basic) | Outreach drafts pushed to lemlist |
| Buying Signals | Intent topics, signal filters, job changes, website visitors | 50+ signal types from earnings, leadership, funding, hiring and strategy |
| Source Traceability | Contact and intent data from Apollo Data and partners | Each signal and brief line links to the public source |
| Talking Points | AI Assistant and AI Research inside the outbound workflow | Drafted from named business events, with source links |
| Phone Dialer | US dialer (credits apply); Advanced Dialer add-on | Call prep: briefs and talking points for the rep on the call |
| CRM Integration | Salesforce and HubSpot, CRM integrations from Basic | Native Salesforce integration; HubSpot integration |
| AI Assistants | Apollo MCP | REST API and MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants |
| Pricing Model | Per seat, with pooled credits | Published; from $85/month on a monthly contract |
We held 55 sales and customer calls between August and October 2026. In 22 of them the question was not who to contact but which accounts to work this week, and when.
“the rate of responses is really, really low if they don't know you before.”
“I just feel like we have a lack of visibility into ... what accounts are actually hot”
“one of the things I'm always trying to figure out is the right timing”
Apollo publishes its pricing: a free tier, then Basic at $49, Professional at $79 and Organization at $119 per seat per month on annual billing (3-seat minimum on Organization). Monthly billing is $65 and $99 on Basic and Professional; Organization is annual only. The free plan stays free with no time limit and includes 900 credits per seat a year and two sequences. Paid plans start with a 14-day trial. Credits are pooled across the team, and an email costs 1 credit while a phone number costs 8.
Salesmotion publishes its price as well: $85/mo for individuals — flexible monthly billing. Custom pricing for teams and enterprise on request. There is no annual commitment on the individual plan.
These tools are complementary. Apollo provides the contacts and the engagement engine. Salesmotion provides the account intelligence that tells reps where to point it. Both publish their prices, so the combined cost is easy to work out before you talk to anyone. See our Apollo pricing guide and Salesmotion pricing.
We'd rather you pick the right tool than the wrong one. Salesmotion isn't for everyone — here's when another option on this page is the smarter call.
Salesmotion gives your reps the account intelligence they need to book more meetings and close bigger deals.
Apollo has the lower entry price, including a free plan. Apollo publishes its pricing: a free tier, then Basic at $49, Professional at $79 and Organization at $119 per seat per month on annual billing (3-seat minimum on Organization). Monthly billing is $65 and $99 on Basic and Professional; Organization is annual only. Salesmotion is $85/mo for individuals — flexible monthly billing. Custom pricing for teams and enterprise on request. They price different things: Apollo charges per seat for contact data and engagement, and Salesmotion covers account research and signals.
Yes. Apollo's free plan stays free with no time limit. It includes 900 credits per seat a year, granted monthly, two sequences and one intent topic. Paid plans start with a 14-day trial.
Not for prospecting mechanics. Apollo is a contact database and outbound engagement platform: list building, sequences, dialer. Salesmotion is the account intelligence and signal layer that sits alongside it: cited research, buying signals and drafted outreach. A team that adds Salesmotion keeps Apollo for contacts and sending, and uses Salesmotion to decide which accounts get the effort.
Yes. Apollo finds the contacts and sends the outreach. Salesmotion tells reps which of their accounts to work now and gives them a cited brief and a drafted message for each. See how Frontify's team uses Salesmotion.
Apollo's intent data shows which accounts are researching a topic, with intent topics included on every plan. Salesmotion adds the public record behind the account: what the company said on its earnings call, which executive just joined, what initiative was announced, each with a source link. That context turns an intent signal into a specific conversation. Learn more about signal-based selling.
If the gap is account research and not contact data, Salesmotion is built for it: the Research Agent writes cited briefs from 1,000+ public sources and the Signal Agent monitors 50+ signal types. Apollo offers AI Research and pre-meeting AI insights inside its prospecting workflow, so try both on a few of your own accounts. Read more on AI account research.
Yes to both. Apollo lists Apollo MCP and API access among its features. Salesmotion has a REST API and an MCP server that works with Claude, ChatGPT and other assistants, so an agent can pull account briefs, signals and contacts.
A Signal Agent, Research Agent, and Outreach Agent — working every day so your team spends less time researching and more time closing.
