Apollo.io has become one of the most popular sales intelligence platforms on the market, with over 210 million contacts in its database and pricing that starts at free. But the sticker price rarely tells the full story. Between credit limits that expire monthly, features gated behind higher tiers, and add-on costs that compound as your team scales, the actual spend often looks very different from what the pricing page suggests. We broke down every Apollo.io plan, mapped the credit system, and calculated the real costs so you can budget with confidence before signing a contract.
TL;DR: Apollo.io pricing ranges from free to $119/user/month (annual billing), but credit-based limits, feature gates, and data accuracy gaps mean actual costs often run 2-3x the advertised rate. Teams doing heavy outbound or cold calling should budget $150-$400/user/month once credit overages and add-ons are factored in.
Key Takeaways
- Apollo.io offers four plans: Free, Basic ($49/user/month annual), Professional ($79/user/month annual), and Organization ($119/user/month annual). Monthly billing adds 15-25% to each tier.
- The credit system is the real cost driver. Credits expire at the end of each billing cycle, phone numbers cost 8x more than emails, and overage credits cost $0.20 each with a 250-credit minimum purchase.
- Advanced features like the international dialer, custom reports, and advanced API access are locked behind the Organization plan ($119+/user/month), which requires a minimum of 3 users.
- Real-world data accuracy hovers around 65-70% according to user reviews, with email bounce rates of 15-25% reported across G2 and Trustpilot. Teams may need supplementary verification tools.
- For teams that need deep account intelligence rather than raw contact data, account-based alternatives like Salesmotion offer flexible pricing starting at $85/month with unlimited users on team plans and no credit limits — far more cost-effective than per-seat models.
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Apollo.io Pricing Plans Overview
Apollo structures its pricing across four tiers, each designed for different team sizes and outreach volumes. Here is the full comparison:
| Feature | Free | Basic | Professional | Organization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price (annual) | $0 | $49/user | $79/user | $119/user |
| Monthly price (monthly) | $0 | $59/user | $99/user | $149/user |
| Email credits | Unlimited (fair use) | Unlimited (fair use) | Unlimited (fair use) | Unlimited (fair use) |
| Mobile credits/month | 5 | 75 | 100 | 200 |
| Export credits/month | 10 | 1,000 | 2,000 | 4,000 |
| Data credits/year | 1,200 | 5,000 | 10,000 | 15,000 |
| Active sequences | 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| CRM integration | Limited | Salesforce, HubSpot | All integrations | All integrations |
| Dialer | No | No | US dialer | International dialer |
| Minimum users | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Custom reports | No | No | No | Yes |
Annual billing saves roughly 17-20% compared to monthly, depending on the tier. That discount is meaningful, but it locks you into a 12-month contract with limited flexibility to reduce seats mid-term.
“The moment we turned on Salesmotion, it became essential. No more hours on LinkedIn or Google to figure out who we're talking to. It's just there, served up to you, so it's always 'go time.'”
Adam Wainwright
Head of Revenue, Cacheflow
The Free Plan: What You Actually Get
Apollo's free tier is one of the more generous in the sales intelligence space. You get access to the full contact database, basic search filters, and unlimited email credits (subject to fair use limits of approximately 250 emails per day).
The catch: you are limited to 5 mobile credits and 10 export credits per month. That is enough to test the platform, but not enough to run any real outbound campaign. The free plan also restricts you to just 2 active sequences, which makes it impractical for teams managing multiple campaigns.
Who it works for: Solo founders or individual reps who want to evaluate the data quality before committing. It is not viable for ongoing prospecting.
The real limitation: Fair use policies on email credits mean Apollo can throttle or restrict access if usage exceeds what they deem reasonable. The exact threshold is not publicly documented, which creates uncertainty for teams trying to scale on the free plan.
Basic Plan: $49/User/Month
The Basic plan at $49/user/month (annual) is where Apollo becomes usable for small sales teams. You get unlimited sequences, CRM integrations with Salesforce and HubSpot, and access to advanced search filters including technographics and funding data.
The credit allocation is 5,000 data credits per year (roughly 416 per month) and 75 mobile credits per month. For a team of 5 reps doing moderate outbound, those credits can run out by mid-month if each rep is researching 10-15 accounts per day.
Annual cost for a 5-person team: $14,700 ($49 x 5 x 12). Add credit overages of $200-$500/month and you are looking at $17,100-$20,700/year.
What you do NOT get: No dialer, no call recording, no advanced API access, and no intent data. Teams that rely on phone outreach will need to upgrade or supplement with a separate dialer.
“The Business Development team gets 80 to 90 percent of what they need in 15 minutes. That is a complete shift in how our reps work.”
Andrew Giordano
VP of Global Commercial Operations, Analytic Partners
Professional Plan: $79/User/Month
The Professional plan is Apollo's most popular tier and the first plan that includes a built-in US dialer with call recording. Mobile credits increase to 100/month and export credits to 2,000/month. You also get 10,000 data credits per year.
This tier makes sense for SDR teams that combine email and phone outreach in the US market. The built-in dialer eliminates the need for a separate tool, which can save $30-$50/user/month compared to standalone dialers.
Annual cost for a 10-person team: $94,800 ($79 x 10 x 12). With credit overages typical for a team this size, realistic spend is $110,000-$130,000/year.
The gap: International teams cannot use the Professional dialer. If even one rep makes calls outside the US, you need the Organization plan for the international dialer. There is no way to mix plans within a single account.
Organization Plan: $119/User/Month
The Organization plan is Apollo's enterprise tier. It includes everything from Professional plus the international dialer, custom reports, advanced security controls, and tighter team permissions. Data credits increase to 15,000/year with 200 mobile credits and 4,000 export credits per month.
The minimum of 3 users means the entry price is $357/month or $4,284/year before any overages.
Annual cost for a 15-person team: $214,200 ($119 x 15 x 12). With enterprise-level usage patterns, budget $250,000-$300,000/year to account for credit overages and potential add-ons.
Worth noting: Seat reductions are not allowed mid-contract. If your team shrinks from 15 to 10 reps, you continue paying for 15 seats until the contract renews. Plan ahead when sizing your commitment.
How Apollo's Credit System Works
Apollo's credit system is the single most important factor in understanding your real costs. There are four credit types:
Email credits: Technically unlimited on all plans, but governed by a "fair use policy." Apollo does not publish hard limits for paid plans, though the free plan caps at approximately 250 emails/day.
Mobile credits: These are consumed when you reveal a phone number. Phone numbers cost 8x more in credit terms than emails. A team of 10 reps making 30 calls per day will burn through monthly mobile credit allocations in roughly 2 weeks on the Professional plan.
Export credits: Used when you export contacts to a CSV or sync to your CRM. Every CRM sync counts against this limit, which means teams using multiple sales tools (Outreach, Salesloft, HubSpot) are burning export credits from multiple directions.
Data credits: The annual pool used for revealing contact information. These are shared across your team, not per-user, which creates internal competition for credits as the month progresses.
Overages: When you exhaust your credit allocation, additional credits cost $0.20 each with a minimum purchase of 250 credits ($50). All credits expire at the end of your billing cycle with no rollover. This creates a use-it-or-lose-it dynamic that encourages over-consumption early in the month and rationing at the end.
Hidden Costs and Gotchas
Beyond the sticker price and credits, several costs catch teams off guard:
1. Data accuracy gaps require supplementary tools. According to a Salesforge analysis of 1,000+ user reviews, Apollo's real-world email accuracy hovers around 65-70%, with bounce rates of 15-25%. Industry best practice is under 5%. Teams often add a third-party email verification tool ($50-$200/month) to clean Apollo data before sending.
2. Feature paywalls escalate costs. Intent data, advanced API access, international dialing, and custom reports all require the Organization plan. Teams that start on Basic or Professional frequently upgrade within 6 months as they hit capability walls.
3. Auto-renewal and cancellation friction. Trustpilot reviews consistently flag Apollo's auto-renewal practices. Contracts renew automatically, and cancellation requires written notice 60 days before the renewal date. Missing that window locks you in for another year.
4. Sender reputation risk. High bounce rates from inaccurate data can damage your email domain reputation. Google and Microsoft track bounce rates, and consistent bounces can land your domain on blocklists. The downstream cost of a damaged sender reputation far exceeds the cost of the tool itself.
5. CRM data sharing concerns. Apollo's contributor network model means that when you connect your CRM, Apollo may use that data to enrich its own database. Some organizations, particularly those in regulated industries, find this incompatible with their data governance policies.
Is Apollo.io Worth the Price?
Apollo delivers strong value for small teams (under 10 reps) doing primarily email-based outbound in the US market. The combination of a large contact database, built-in sequencing, and competitive pricing makes it a solid entry point for startups and early-stage sales teams.
The value proposition weakens in three scenarios:
Heavy cold calling teams. Mobile credits are expensive and phone data accuracy is inconsistent. A LaGrowthMachine analysis found phone number accuracy around 55% in team testing. At 8 credits per phone number, inaccurate data is both costly and frustrating.
International teams. The international dialer is locked behind the Organization plan ($119/user/month, 3-user minimum). There is no way to access it on lower tiers, even for a single rep.
Teams that need deep account intelligence. Apollo excels at contact data and outreach sequencing. It does not provide the depth of account research, signal monitoring, or buying-window detection that enterprise sales teams need to prioritize which accounts to pursue and when. If your sales motion depends on knowing why and when to engage an account, not just who to contact, Apollo's value is limited to one piece of a larger puzzle.
Apollo.io vs Account Intelligence Platforms
Apollo and account intelligence platforms like Salesmotion solve different problems. Apollo is a contact database with sequencing tools. Account intelligence platforms monitor buying signals, automate account research across 1,000+ sources, and generate outreach anchored to real business events.
| Dimension | Apollo.io | Account Intelligence Platform |
|---|---|---|
| Core function | Contact database + sequencing | Account intelligence + signals |
| Pricing model | Per-seat + credits | Account-based (from $85/mo, unlimited users on team plans) |
| Seat limits | Per-user billing | Unlimited users on team plans |
| Credit system | Yes (expires monthly) | No credits or limits |
| Account research | Basic company data | 1,000+ source deep briefs |
| Signal monitoring | Limited intent topics | Earnings, hiring, leadership, M&A, product launches |
| Outreach | Built-in sequencer | AI-generated, signal-anchored messages |
| CRM integration | Salesforce, HubSpot | Salesforce, HubSpot (native sync) |
| Data approach | Crowdsourced contributor network | Verified public + proprietary sources |
| Best for | SDR teams, email-first outbound | Enterprise AEs, account-based selling |
| G2 rating | 4.7/5 (9,000+ reviews) | 4.8/5 |
The pricing models reflect different philosophies. Apollo charges per seat and per action (credits), which means costs scale linearly with team size and usage. Flat-rate account intelligence platforms charge per organization, so adding reps does not increase cost.
For teams evaluating both approaches, the question is not which tool is cheaper. It is whether your sales motion is driven by volume (more contacts, more sequences, more dials) or by intelligence (deeper research, better timing, higher conversion on fewer accounts). For alternatives to Apollo across both categories, we compared the top options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Apollo.io have a free plan?
Yes. Apollo offers a free-forever plan with access to the full 210M+ contact database and basic search filters. You get 5 mobile credits and 10 export credits per month, with unlimited email credits subject to fair use (approximately 250 emails per day). The free plan limits you to 2 active sequences and does not include CRM integrations. It is useful for testing data quality but not sufficient for ongoing prospecting.
How much does Apollo.io really cost per user?
The advertised price ranges from $49-$119/user/month on annual billing. However, real-world costs typically run $150-$400/user/month when you factor in credit overages, supplementary verification tools, and tier upgrades for locked features. A Cognism breakdown of Apollo pricing confirms that the credit system is the primary cost driver beyond the base subscription, and teams should model their expected credit usage before committing.
Do Apollo.io credits roll over?
No. All Apollo credits expire at the end of your billing cycle, whether monthly or annual. Unused credits are forfeited with no refund or extension. Overage credits purchased mid-cycle also follow the same expiration policy. This creates a use-it-or-lose-it dynamic that can lead to wasteful spending early in the month and rationed usage at the end.
Can I cancel Apollo.io mid-contract?
Apollo requires written notice at least 60 days before your renewal date. If you miss this window, the contract auto-renews for another full term. Seat reductions are also not permitted mid-contract. Multiple Trustpilot reviews report difficulties with the cancellation process, including locked accounts and charges after attempting to cancel.
How does Apollo.io compare to account intelligence platforms?
Apollo provides basic company firmographic data (industry, size, funding) alongside its contact database. Account intelligence platforms like Salesmotion provide deep research across 1,000+ sources, including earnings call analysis, leadership changes, hiring patterns, strategic initiatives, and competitive moves. Apollo tells you who to contact. Account intelligence tells you why and when to reach out, which matters most for enterprise deals where timing and context determine win rates. Teams using account intelligence platforms report 85% reductions in research time and 40% increases in qualified pipeline.
