Apollo has a genuinely useful free tier—50 credits/month, basic search filters, and the Chrome extension. That's not a crippled trial. You can actually evaluate the product and run light prospecting without spending a dollar.
Paid plans start at $49/user/month for the Basic tier, which covers most SMB needs: 900 credits, full email sequences, A/B testing, and CRM integrations. The Professional plan at $79/user/month adds call recording, buying intent signals, and a built-in dialer—worth it once your team is regularly calling prospects.
Here's every plan broken down, who each one is actually built for, and the costs that don't show up on the pricing page.
Apollo.io Plans & Pricing
Free
$0/mo
- 50 credits/month
- Basic search filters
- Limited sequences
- Chrome extension
- Community support
Basic
$49/user/mo
- 900 credits/month
- Full email sequences
- A/B testing
- CRM integrations
- Advanced search filters
Professional
$79/user/mo
- Everything in Basic
- Advanced reports
- Call recording
- Buying intent signals
- Built-in dialer
Annual billing discounts are available across all paid plans. Apollo doesn't always advertise the exact annual rate upfront, but expect roughly 20% off monthly pricing when you commit annually.
Which Apollo Plan Should You Pick?
Your choice depends on two things: how many prospects you need to find each month and whether your team is making calls.
Solo founder or indie hacker
Start with Free ($0/month). Fifty credits per month is enough to test Apollo's data quality in your market and run a small outbound experiment. If you're only emailing 10-20 prospects a week, the free plan can carry you for a while. The Chrome extension alone is worth signing up for—it shows contact data on LinkedIn profiles without leaving the page.
Small team (2-5 reps)
Basic ($49/user/month). This is where Apollo earns its keep. Nine hundred credits per user, full email sequences with A/B testing, and native CRM integrations. For a team of three, you're looking at $147/month total—hard to find a better deal for a combined prospecting and outreach tool.
Growth team doing calls
Professional ($79/user/month). The built-in dialer and call recording make this the right pick once your reps are spending real time on the phone. Buying intent signals help prioritize who to call first, which matters a lot when you have a team of 10+ SDRs who need to focus their time. The advanced reporting also helps managers figure out what's working at scale.
Enterprise team
Contact Apollo's sales team. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes dedicated support, higher credit limits, and more flexible terms. If you have 20+ seats, you'll likely get a volume discount.
Hidden Costs & Watch-Outs
Apollo's pricing page is fairly transparent, but there are real gotchas that affect your total cost.
The credit system adds up fast
Every email reveal or contact export costs one credit. If you're building lists of 500+ contacts regularly, 900 credits per month on the Basic plan will feel tight by week three. Bulk exports are the biggest credit drain—downloading a list of 200 contacts costs 200 credits in one click. You can buy additional credits, but that pushes your effective cost above the sticker price.
Annual contracts auto-renew
If you sign up for annual billing (which most people do for the discount), the contract auto-renews. Set a reminder 30 days before renewal if you want the option to cancel or renegotiate. I've heard from multiple users who were caught off guard by this.
Deliverability requires manual work
Apollo includes email sequencing, but it doesn't have built-in warmup like Instantly. You'll need to warm up your sending domains separately using a tool like Instantly or Warmbox if you want decent deliverability. That's an extra $30-40/month most Apollo users don't budget for upfront.
Data freshness varies
Apollo's database is massive, but data accuracy isn't uniform across industries and geographies. Job titles change, people switch companies, and emails go stale. Budget time for bounce verification before launching big campaigns. Third-party verification tools (NeverBounce, ZeroBounce) cost $3-10 per 1,000 emails verified.
How Apollo Compares on Price
The lead prospecting market ranges from free to enterprise-only pricing. Here's where Apollo falls.
Apollo vs ZoomInfo
This is the comparison that makes Apollo look like a steal. ZoomInfo typically starts around $15,000/year with annual contracts and mandatory minimums. Apollo's Basic plan at $49/user/month ($588/year for one user) delivers similar core prospecting features at roughly 4% of the cost. ZoomInfo has a larger database and better intent data, but for most startups and SMBs, Apollo's data is good enough. Read our Apollo vs ZoomInfo comparison for the full picture.
Apollo vs Clay
Clay takes a different approach—it's a data enrichment platform that pulls from multiple sources (including Apollo's own database). Clay's pricing runs from $149/month to $800/month, which is significantly more expensive than Apollo alone. But Clay gives you access to 75+ data providers in one workflow, which can mean better coverage for niche markets. If Apollo's built-in data is sufficient for your ICP, there's no reason to pay for Clay. See our Clay vs Apollo comparison.
You can also check out all Apollo alternatives for more options in this space.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Apollo cost?
Apollo offers a free plan with 50 credits/month. The Basic plan is $49/user/month (900 credits, full sequences, CRM integrations). The Professional plan is $79/user/month and adds call recording, buying intent signals, and a dialer. Annual billing offers a discount of roughly 20%.
Does Apollo have a free plan?
Yes. Apollo's free plan is genuinely useful, not a stripped-down trial. You get 50 credits per month, basic search filters, limited email sequences, and the Chrome extension for LinkedIn prospecting. It's a real product tier you can use indefinitely.
Is Apollo worth $49/month?
For SMBs doing outbound prospecting, Apollo at $49/user/month is one of the best values in the market. You get prospecting data, email sequences, A/B testing, and CRM integrations in one tool. The alternative is cobbling together separate tools for each function at a higher combined cost. See our full Apollo review.
How does Apollo pricing compare to ZoomInfo?
Apollo's Basic plan ($49/user/month) is a fraction of ZoomInfo's cost (typically $15,000+/year). ZoomInfo has a larger database and more advanced intent data, but Apollo covers the essentials at a price that's accessible to startups and small teams. Read our full comparison.
How many Apollo credits do I need?
Count how many new contacts you need to find and export each month. Each email reveal or export costs one credit. If you're prospecting 50 new contacts/month, the free plan's 50 credits might work. Most active SDRs need at least 200-500 credits/month, which means the Basic plan at 900 credits is the practical minimum for serious outbound.