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Apollo.io vs Instantly.ai
Features, pricing, strengths and trade-offs — and which one fits your situation.
The verdict
Editor’s verdict
Apollo.io is a prospecting platform built around its contact database, while Instantly.ai is a cold email sender built around unlimited mailboxes and warm-up. Choose Apollo.io if your team needs to find and enrich contacts, call them from a built-in dialer, add LinkedIn tasks to sequences, and sync everything to Salesforce or HubSpot, with moderate email volume per rep. Choose Instantly.ai if you send high-volume cold email across many domains and inboxes, need automatic warm-up and inbox rotation, and want flat pricing that does not grow with each mailbox. Apollo.io also has a free plan, while Instantly.ai does not. Many teams combine them, pulling lists from Apollo.io and sending through Instantly.ai. Neither is ideal if LinkedIn automation is central to your outreach; lemlist or Reply.io cover that inside the sequence.
Apollo.io has a free plan, while Instantly.ai has no free plan.
Which should you choose?
Choose Apollo.io if…
- You need sales teams that want a B2B contact database and outreach sequences in one platform
- You're one of: sdr and bdr teams, startup founders doing outbound, small sales teams without a data vendor
- You want a free plan (Instantly.ai doesn't have one)
- Database, sequencing and dialer in one tool
Choose Instantly.ai if…
- You need agencies and founders scaling cold email across many sending accounts
- Email warm-up matters to you
- Unlimited sending accounts matters to you
- You're one of: lead generation agencies, startup founders doing outbound, sdr teams sending high-volume cold email
- You want something quicker to learn
At a glance
| Apollo.io | Instantly.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Sales teams that want a B2B contact database and outreach sequences in one platform | Agencies and founders scaling cold email across many sending accounts |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Starting price | From $49/user/mo | From $47/mo |
| Learning curve | Medium | Low |
| Platforms | Web, Chrome extension, iOS, Android, API | Web, Chrome extension, API |
| Ideal for | SDR and BDR teams, Startup founders doing outbound, Small sales teams without a data vendor | Lead generation agencies, Startup founders doing outbound, SDR teams sending high-volume cold email |
Feature comparison
| Apollo.io | Instantly.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| B2B contact database | 200M+ contacts | 450M+ contacts |
| Email sequences | Yes | Yes |
| Email warm-up | No | Yes |
| Unlimited sending accounts | No | Yes |
| LinkedIn steps | Manual task steps | No |
| Built-in CRM | Yes | Yes |
| AI personalization | Yes | Yes |
| Dialer / calling | Professional plan and above | Via Instantly CRM |
| Email verification | Yes | Yes |
IncludedLimited / higher plansNot available— Not confirmed
Security & enterprise
| Apollo.io | Instantly.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Business / enterprise plan | Yes | Yes |
| SSO (SAML / OIDC) | Organization plan | — |
| SCIM user provisioning | — | — |
| SOC 2 | Type II | Type I |
| ISO 27001 | Yes | — |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | — | — |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Data residency options | — | US (default) |
| No training on your data | — | — |
| Audit logs | — | — |
| Admin controls | Yes | — |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |
From each vendor's security documentation. "—" = not confirmed. What to ask vendors · Compare all tools
What each tool does
Apollo.io
Apollo.io combines a large B2B contact and company database with multichannel sequences, a dialer, deal tracking and AI research tools. Reps search and filter prospects, enrich records, and run email, call and LinkedIn task steps from the same account. It is widely used by startups, SDR teams and small sales organizations as an all-in-one prospecting tool.
Key features- B2B database of 200M+ contacts with 65+ search filters
- Multichannel sequences with email, call and LinkedIn task steps
- Built-in dialer with recording and local presence (Professional and up)
- AI research, AI email writing and lead scoring
- Deals, pipeline and CRM enrichment
- Chrome extension for LinkedIn and Gmail
Instantly.ai
Instantly.ai is a cold email platform built around unlimited sending accounts, automatic warm-up and deliverability tooling. It adds a large B2B lead database, a built-in CRM with calling and SMS, and AI agents for writing, research and reply handling. It is used heavily by lead-gen agencies, startups and outbound teams sending at volume.
Key features- Unlimited email accounts and warm-up on all Outreach plans
- Inbox rotation and deliverability protection
- 450M+ B2B lead database with enrichment and verification
- Built-in CRM with calling, SMS and unified inbox
- AI agents for email writing, web research and replies
- Server and IP sharding on higher plans
Pricing
Apollo.io
Free forever plan; paid from $49/user/mo annual ($59 monthly) Basic
Instantly.ai
No free plan listed; paid from $47/mo (Growth Outreach), 10% off yearly
Prices last checked September 2026. Plans change often — confirm on each vendor's site.
Pros and cons
Apollo.io
Strengths- Database, sequencing and dialer in one tool
- Useful free plan for light prospecting
- Syncs with Salesforce and HubSpot
- AI research speeds up personalization
- No true email warm-up; its ramp-up only paces sending volume
- Credit limits restrict exports and mobile numbers
- Data accuracy varies by region and industry
- Dialer is limited to Professional plan and above
Not ideal for: Agencies sending high-volume cold email across many domains will get better deliverability tooling from Instantly or Smartlead.
Instantly.ai
Strengths- Flat pricing that does not charge per mailbox
- Warm-up network included
- Fast campaign setup with a clean interface
- CRM and lead database available in the same ecosystem
- No native LinkedIn steps inside sequences
- Lead database, CRM and outreach are billed as separate products
- Contact upload limits on lower plans
- Entry plan has a low monthly email cap
Not ideal for: Teams that rely on LinkedIn touches in the same sequence should consider lemlist or Reply.io.
Integrations
Apollo.io
Instantly.ai
FAQ
What is the main difference between Apollo.io and Instantly.ai?
Apollo.io is built for sales teams that want a B2B contact database and outreach sequences in one platform; Instantly.ai is built for agencies and founders scaling cold email across many sending accounts. Key differences: Instantly.ai offers email warm-up and unlimited sending accounts.
Is Apollo.io or Instantly.ai cheaper?
Apollo.io starts from $49/user/mo and Instantly.ai starts from $47/mo (as of September 2026). On entry price, Instantly.ai is cheaper — but compare what each plan includes, since limits differ. Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Do Apollo.io and Instantly.ai have free plans?
Apollo.io has a free plan, while Instantly.ai has no free plan.
Which is easier to use, Apollo.io or Instantly.ai?
Instantly.ai is generally quicker to learn (Apollo.io: medium, Instantly.ai: low learning curve).
What are good alternatives to Apollo.io and Instantly.ai?
Other sales & outreach tools worth comparing include HubSpot, lemlist and Smartlead.
