If you’re in outbound sales, chances are you’ve come across Apollo.io.
It’s often described as an “all-in-one” platform that combines a large B2B database with sales engagement tools like email sequencing, calling, and analytics.

Apollo.io has become especially popular among startups and mid-market teams because of its huge data pool and relatively low entry price. On G2, it’s one of the most reviewed tools in the sales tech category.

But here’s the catch: while Apollo.io gives you plenty of features on paper, the user experience and credit system often become pain points once teams scale.

👉 In this blog, we’ll break down Apollo.io’s features, pricing, reviews, and limitations in depth and then compare it with Salesgear, a modern alternative designed for high-performing outbound teams.

What is Apollo.io?

Apollo.io was founded in 2015 with a mission to make prospecting easier for sales teams by combining data and engagement in a single tool.

Over the years, it has positioned itself as a direct competitor to ZoomInfo on the data side, while also going head-to-head with Outreach and Salesloft on the engagement side.

The promise is straightforward:

• Find prospects using Apollo’s massive B2B contact database.
• Engage them with built-in email sequencing, calls, and LinkedIn touches.
• Track performance with analytics and reporting.
  

That makes Apollo.io attractive to:

• SDRs and BDRs who need a large pool of contacts
• Founders & small teams who want database + outreach in one place
• Mid-market teams looking for a cheaper alternative to ZoomInfo
  

But like most “do-it-all” platforms, Apollo.io often struggles to go deep in execution. For example, its sequencer isn’t as flexible as Outreach, and its data accuracy doesn’t match ZoomInfo’s verified dataset.

This leaves many teams using Apollo.io as a starting point, then moving to other platforms once they hit limitations.

Apollo.io Features (Deep Dive)

As one of the most widely used sales engagement platforms, Apollo.io has built its reputation around combining a large B2B database with engagement tools. Let’s look at its core features:

Contact Database

Apollo.io offers access to a database of 275M+ contacts and 65M+ companies, making it a go-to tool for B2B sales prospecting.

• ✅ Strong coverage in the US and across SaaS markets.
• ✅ Frequent updates keep the database fresh.
• ⚖️ Like any database, accuracy can vary, especially with job changes.
  

Prospecting Filters & List Building

With 65+ filters, Apollo.io helps users refine searches by title, location, industry, company size, tech stack, and more.

• ✅ Great for quickly generating targeted lead lists.
• ✅ Easy for SDRs and AEs to use without much training.
• ⚖️ Advanced filters are available, but sometimes require experimenting to get highly precise results.
  

Email Sequencing & Automation

Apollo.io provides a built-in email sequencer for outbound campaigns.

• ✅ Simple to set up with customizable steps.
• ✅ Personalization tokens make it easy to tailor messages.
• ⚖️ Email remains the strongest channel; while LinkedIn and call steps exist, they are still less emphasized compared to specialized outbound automation tools.
  

Dialer & Call Recording

The platform includes a dialer that allows reps to make calls without leaving Apollo.io.

• ✅ Convenient for teams that want engagement in one place.
• ✅ Call outcomes can be tracked alongside email activity.
• ⚖️ Some users mention call quality can depend on region, especially for international dialing.
  

LinkedIn Extension

Apollo.io’s Chrome extension lets users capture details while prospecting directly on LinkedIn.

• ✅ Saves time by reducing manual data entry.
• ✅ Handy for real-time lead enrichment.
• ⚖️ As with most extensions, performance depends on browser load and workflow habits.
  

Reporting & Analytics

Reporting dashboards track open rates, reply rates, call outcomes, and more.

• ✅ Offers visibility into rep activity and sequence performance.
• ✅ Helps managers identify what’s working and what needs adjustment.
• ⚖️ Advanced attribution and pipeline-level analytics may require integration with a CRM.
  

Integrations & API Access

Apollo.io connects with CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive, along with productivity tools like Gmail, Outlook, and Slack.

• ✅ Easy setup for pushing contacts into CRM.
• ✅ API access supports custom workflows.
• ⚖️ Deeper bi-directional sync and advanced automation are available in higher-tier plans.

Apollo.io Pricing in 2025 (With Numbers)

Pricing is one of Apollo.io’s biggest value propositions vs many enterprise tools. But the real cost depends not only on the base plan but also on credit consumption. Let’s break this down in detail.

Pricing Tiers (Base Costs)

According to Apollo’s site and G2, here are the pricing tiers as of late 2024 / 2025:

Key observations:

• The Organization tier requires a minimum of 3 users.
• The platform often offers ~20% discount on annual billing vs monthly.
• Some sources report slight differences in mobile / export credit allocations per plan (we’ll cover that next).

Credit Allotments & Usage

In Apollo.io, credits are consumed when you access data (emails, phone numbers), export, or do enrichment tasks. 

Here’s what various sources report for credit allocations in each plan:

Note: “Unlimited email credits” is often tempered by a fair usage policy (e.g. daily send caps, restrictions on non-corporate email users)

Additional / Overage Credit Costs

Once you exceed the credit limits in your plan, you must purchase additional credits. Apollo charges around $0.20 per credit (monthly or annually) for add-on credits. 

Minimum purchase rules:

• For monthly plans, the minimum credit add-on is 250 credits.
• For annual plans, the minimum is 2,500 credits.

So, for example:

• If you need 1,000 extra credits in a month, that’s 1,000 × $0.20 = $200 extra.
• A 250-credit add-on costs 250 × $0.20 = $50.
  

Important: all unused credits expire at the end of the billing cycle. You cannot roll them over, and there are no refunds or extensions.

Example Scenarios

1. Small team on Basic plan
   
   • Suppose 2 users on Basic plan (annual): each pays $49 → total = $98/month base
   • If those users exhaust their mobile credits (75 per user = 150 total) and need 300 extra mobile credits, additional cost = 300 × $0.20 = $60
   • Final monthly cost = $98 + $60 = $158
     
2. Growing team on Professional plan
   
   • 5 users on Professional (annual): $79 × 5 = $395/month base
   • Need 10,000 extra export credits beyond 2,000 each: 10,000 × $0.20 = $2,000
   • Total = $395 + $2,000 = $2,395

Apollo.io Reviews & Ratings (with Data)

Here are real user signals + examples:

Ratings & Reach

• On G2, Apollo.io has a 4.7/5 average, based on 9,000+ reviews.
• It’s recognized for data availability, ease of setup, and support quality.
• In fall 2025, it surpassed 9,000 reviews and earned 627 badges across G2 grids.
  

Strengths in User Feedback

• Many users highlight value for money — they believe Apollo.io gives good feature depth at an accessible price.
• Frequent praise for combining prospecting + engagement tools in one platform, reducing tool switching.
• Strong comments about fast onboarding and intuitive interface, especially for small teams.
  

Constructive Feedback & Considerations

• Some users mention data accuracy issues (bounce rates, outdated contacts), which is fairly common in large B2B databases.
• Multiple reviews mention credit depletion or surprise costs when usage scales.
• A few users point to support response time as an area needing improvement, especially during peak times.
  

 Implementation & Adoption

One of Apollo.io’s strongest points is how quickly teams can get started.

• Setup: Signing up takes just a few minutes. A typical SDR can go from account creation → importing contacts → sending their first sequence within the same day.
• Learning Curve: Most users mention that basic prospecting and sequencing requires less than 1–2 hours of onboarding.
• CRM Integration: Connecting to Salesforce or HubSpot can take longer (often 1–2 days for full sync, depending on existing CRM hygiene).
  
• Adoption by Team Size:
  
  • Solo founder / SDR → can be productive in hours.
  • 10-person SDR team → typically onboarded in under 1 week.
  • Enterprise rollout (50+ reps) → often needs a structured implementation plan with admin support.
    

⚖️ Compared to larger enterprise tools like Outreach (which can take weeks to onboard), Apollo.io is much faster for small and mid-market teams.

Limitations of Apollo.io

While Apollo.io is well-regarded, there are a few limitations to be mindful of as usage grows:

1. Credit-Based Model
   
   • A small team may find the included credits enough, but scaling to thousands of leads/month requires consistent top-ups.
     
   • Example: A 20-SDR team sending 200 emails/day can consume 100,000+ credits/month, which often exceeds included limits.
     
2. Data Accuracy
   
   • Across reviews, some users note 10–15% bounce rates on email campaigns.
     
   • This isn’t unique to Apollo.io, but teams targeting niche industries may need to supplement data with other sources.
     
3. Channel Coverage
   
   • Email is Apollo.io’s strongest channel.
     
   • Call and LinkedIn steps exist, but adoption lags behind specialized outbound automation tools.
     
4. Reporting Depth
   
   • Activity-level reporting (opens, replies, call outcomes) is solid.
     
   • But advanced pipeline attribution, revenue forecasting, or multi-touch influence require integration with Salesforce or HubSpot.
     

⚖️ These limitations are less of a concern for smaller teams, but can become more visible at scale.

Apollo.io vs Salesgear

Here’s a direct comparison between Apollo.io features and Salesgear, based on the needs of outbound teams:

 Summary:

• Apollo.io is a good choice for affordable entry-level prospecting, especially for teams new to outbound.
  
• Salesgear fits better for scaling teams that need multi-channel automation, verified data, and predictable pricing at volume.
  

Why Consider Salesgear as an Alternative?

Apollo.io offers tremendous value but as teams grow, they face challenges (credit complexity, multi-channel depth, advanced analytics). That’s where Salesgear steps in.

1. Unified Credits Model
   
   • Unlike Apollo.io’s separate credit buckets (mobile, export, etc.), Salesgear offers one pool of credits for both data and outreach.
     
   • This removes surprise costs and makes budgeting simpler for managers.
     
2. Multi-Channel Engagement
   
   • Salesgear sequences support email, phone, and LinkedIn in a single workflow.
     
   • Example: An SDR can send an email on Day 1, a LinkedIn message on Day 3, and a call on Day 5 — all in one sequence.
     
3. Verified Data
   
   • Salesgear emphasizes accuracy over volume, reducing bounce rates and wasted effort.
     
   • Particularly valuable for teams targeting high-value accounts where every outreach matters.
     
4. Ease of Use & Adoption
   
   • Onboarding is designed for speed: new SDRs can go from login → finding verified contacts → sending their first multi-channel sequence in under 30 minutes.
     
5. Scalable Pricing
   
   • Salesgear’s pricing stays predictable even as you add users or increase outbound volume.
     
   • Especially important for teams scaling beyond 20–30 reps where Apollo.io credits can add up quickly.
     

In short: If you’re a startup or small team, Apollo.io may be the right first step. If you’re looking for a long-term, scalable solution that balances data accuracy with multi-channel outreach, Salesgear is a strong Apollo.io alternative.

FAQs about Apollo.io Features

Q1. How many emails can you actually send with Apollo.io?

Apollo.io advertises “unlimited email credits” on paid plans, but in practice, there are daily sending limits tied to your connected inbox.

For example, Gmail and Outlook accounts typically cap safe sending at 200–500 emails per day per inbox.

Teams with multiple inboxes can multiply this volume, but deliverability best practices (warm-up, domain rotation) are essential.

Q2. What happens if you run out of Apollo.io credits?

If you hit your monthly credit limit (e.g., 1,000 exports on Basic, 2,000 on Professional, 4,000 on Organization), you’ll need to buy add-ons. These cost about $0.20 per credit, with a minimum of 250 (monthly plans) or 2,500 (annual plans). 

For heavy prospecting teams, this can add hundreds or thousands of dollars per month.

Q3. Is Apollo.io a CRM replacement?

No. Apollo.io is a sales engagement platform, not a CRM. It integrates with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot to push contacts and log activity, but it doesn’t replace deal tracking, forecasting, or opportunity management. 

Larger teams almost always run Apollo.io alongside a CRM, not instead of one.

Q4. How accurate is Apollo.io’s data?

Apollo.io claims 275M+ contacts and 65M+ companies. While this breadth is impressive, accuracy varies. 

In reviews, users mention email bounce rates around 10–15%, depending on industry and region. 

Accuracy tends to be higher in North America tech markets and lower in niche verticals or emerging regions.

Q5. How long does it take to onboard a sales team to Apollo.io?

• Single user / founder: same-day setup, usually under 2 hours.
• 10-person SDR team: typically 3–5 days for everyone to learn sequences, filters, and credits.
• 50+ enterprise team: often 2–3 weeks, including CRM alignment, domain warm-up, and custom workflows.
  This is faster than tools like Outreach or Salesloft, which often require a dedicated admin and several weeks to implement.
  

Q6. Who is Apollo.io best suited for?

Apollo.io is best for:

• Startups needing quick access to a large database.
• Small teams (1–20 reps) who want prospecting + outreach in one place.
• Cost-sensitive buyers who need an all-in-one tool at <$100/user/month.
  It’s less suited for teams who prioritize multi-channel depth, enterprise-level analytics, or verified accuracy at scale.
  

Q7. What is the best Apollo.io alternative for 2025?

The answer depends on your team’s stage:

• If you need only data: ZoomInfo or Cognism may be better for verified databases.
• If you need enterprise engagement depth: Outreach or Salesloft excel at advanced multi-channel.
• If you need both data + multi-channel outreach in one: Salesgear is designed as a scalable Apollo.io alternative, offering verified data, unified credits, and full multi-channel sequences.
  

Conclusion

Apollo.io has become one of the most recognized names in outbound sales tech and for good reason. With a massive contact database, built-in sequencing, and affordable entry pricing, it gives startups and small teams an easy on-ramp to B2B sales prospecting.

At the same time, Apollo.io’s credit-based model, variable data accuracy, and limited multi-channel depth can present challenges as teams grow. That’s why many companies eventually evaluate Apollo.io alternatives.

If your team is scaling and wants predictable pricing, verified data, and true multi-channel outbound automation tools, Salesgear offers a modern path forward. With faster onboarding, unified credits, and a balance of data + engagement, it helps teams book more meetings with less friction.

👉 As sales engagement evolves in 2025, the question isn’t whether Apollo.io works — it’s whether it’s the best long-term fit for your team.