Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Instantly.ai | Apollo.io |
|---|---|---|
| Price (Base Plan) | $37/month | $49/month |
| Unlimited Email Accounts | ✓ | ✗ (1 account) |
| Built-in Prospecting Database | ✗ | ✓ (275M contacts) |
| Email Warmup | ✓ Built-in | ✗ External only |
| Unified Inbox | ✓ Unibox | ✓ |
| Sequences | ✓ | ✓ |
| Phone Dialer | ✗ | ✓ |
| Chrome Extension | ✗ | ✓ |
| Best For | High-volume cold email | All-in-one prospecting |
Deliverability: The Most Important Metric
This is what actually matters for cold email. Here are my real results from 6 months of testing:
Winner: Instantly — The unlimited accounts + built-in warmup gives Instantly a significant deliverability advantage. Apollo's single-account limitation means you hit spam filters faster at scale.
When to Choose Instantly.ai
✓ Choose Instantly if you:
- Send 500+ cold emails per day
- Need multiple sending domains/accounts
- Already have your own prospecting data (from Clay, ZoomInfo, etc.)
- Care most about deliverability and inbox placement
- Want built-in email warmup without external tools
- Are focused purely on cold email (not calls/other channels)
When to Choose Apollo.io
✓ Choose Apollo if you:
- Need built-in prospecting and don't have lists
- Want an all-in-one platform (prospecting + email + calling)
- Send fewer than 500 emails per day
- Value the Chrome extension for LinkedIn prospecting
- Need phone calling built into sequences
- Want a simpler, one-tool solution
Pricing Comparison
Instantly.ai Pricing
- Growth: $37/month — Unlimited accounts, 1K active leads
- Hypergrowth: $97/month — Unlimited accounts, 25K leads, API access
Apollo.io Pricing
- Basic: $49/month — 1 email account, unlimited emails, basic sequences
- Professional: $99/month — Advanced features, more credits
Winner: Instantly for pure value on cold email. Apollo's prospecting database justifies the slightly higher cost if you need it.
Final Recommendation
For most cold email use cases: Instantly wins.
The combination of unlimited accounts, built-in warmup, and superior deliverability makes Instantly the better choice for anyone doing serious cold outreach at scale.
But Apollo wins if: You need an all-in-one platform with prospecting, emailing, and calling. Apollo's 275M contact database is worth it if you don't already have list sources.
My setup: I use Clay for prospecting and Instantly for sending. This combo beats Apollo for deliverability and data quality, but requires two tools instead of one.